Daily Cosmetic Research Analysis

Engineering heterologous natural product pathways in bacteria has achieved broad success but most approaches suffer from low initial production levels that require extensive, resource-heavy iterative strain optimization. Xanthommatin is a structurally complex, color-changing animal ommochrome with material and cosmetic applications, yet production in microbial cell factories has been difficult. Here, we introduce a growth-coupled biosynthetic strategy involving a feedback loop where an excised one-carbon (C1) moiety is used as a driver of bacterial growth, simultaneously boosting bioproduction of the target compound. This broadly applicable, plug-and-play strategy is illustrated by enabling xanthommatin biosynthesis in a 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate auxotroph of the platform soil bacterium Pseudomonas putida. In this design, formate released during xanthommatin production relieves the C1 deficiency, thereby effectively coupling bacterial growth to pigment synthesis. Adaptive laboratory evolution streamlined xanthommatin's gram-scale bioproduction from glucose, establishing C1 restoration as a general biosynthetic approach to accelerate the engineering of natural product biosynthesis in bacteria.

BACKGROUND: Hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) are recognized risk factors for non-healing wounds, yet their combined effects and underlying mechanisms remain unclear. METHODS: In this study of 8406 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey participants (1999-2004), weighted logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios for non-healing wounds and Cox proportional hazards models were employed to assess hazard ratios for all-cause mortality. Additive and multiplicative interactions were evaluated. Nonlinear relationships used restricted cubic splines. Mediation analyses explored inflammatory marker contributions. Bulk transcriptomic and single-cell sequencing data were integrated to identify homocysteine (Hcy)-diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) hub genes, construct an Hcy risk gene scoring system, and elucidate key mechanisms by which Hcy remodels the DFU microenvironment. RESULTS: Both T2D [odds ratio (OR): 2.42, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.69-3.47] and HHcy (OR: 1.67, 95% CI: 1.10-2.54) independently elevated non-healing wound risk. Participants with both conditions exhibited higher odds (OR: 5.28, 95% CI: 3.20-8.70), with additive interaction (relative excess risk due to interaction: 2.83, AP: 0.54, SI: 2.95). In diabetic men, Hcy displayed a J-shaped relationship with non-healing wounds ( P for nonlinearity = 0.027), with the lowest risk around 8.9 µmol/L. In diabetic patients, inflammatory markers mediated the link, with proportions of 11.1% for red cell distribution width, 9.16% for monocyte/lymphocyte ratio, 5.28% for systemic inflammation response index, and 4.03% for neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio. Hcy drove immune-metabolic reprogramming in the DFU microenvironment by regulating key gene networks such as IL1B and MMP9, activating the MIF-CD74/CXCR4 axis to form a B cell-centric inflammatory cascade network. Both T2D and HHcy were associated with higher all-cause mortality, without joint interaction observed. Participants with a history of non-healing wounds had a higher all-cause mortality risk. CONCLUSIONS: T2D and HHcy synergistically worsen non-healing wounds, but not all-cause mortality. In diabetic males, Hcy levels displayed a J-shaped relationship with non-healing wound risk. Mechanistically, Hcy amplified systemic inflammation and drove stromal-immune crosstalk via the MIF-CD74/CXCR4 axis, reshaping the diabetic wound microenvironment.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Stomatitis is among the most debilitating complications of cancer treatment, particularly chemotherapy. The use of medicinal plants has been suggested as a potential therapeutic approach to mitigate this condition. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of Malva sylvestris (mallow) mouthwash on chemotherapy-induced stomatitis in cancer patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This triple-blind randomized clinical trial was conducted in 2024 on 70 cancer patients with chemotherapy-induced stomatitis who attended medical centers in an urban area of Iran. Participants were randomly allocated to two groups using the minimization method. The intervention group received 15 ml of Malva sylvestris mouthwash three times daily for 14 days, while the control group received standard chlorhexidine mouthwash. The severity of stomatitis and associated pain were assessed at baseline and on days 3, 7, and 14 using the World Health Organization (WHO) Mucositis Scale and the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for pain, respectively. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 22. RESULTS: Before the intervention, no statistically significant differences were observed in mean stomatitis or pain scores between the two groups. By day 7, the intervention group demonstrated significantly lower mean scores for both stomatitis and pain compared with the control group (P < 0.001). Moreover, the reduction in stomatitis severity over time was greater in the intervention group than in the control group (P < 0.05). On day 14, although the intervention group maintained lower mean stomatitis scores, the difference between the two groups was not statistically significant (P = 0.08). CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that Malva sylvestris mouthwash has a beneficial effect in reducing the severity of stomatitis and associated pain in patients undergoing chemotherapy. Therefore, its use may be recommended as a supportive intervention for patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals involved in cancer care. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Trial registration number: IRCT20150713023190N15. Date of registration: 2024/07/20.