A novel natural compound crocin II from saffron directly targets ANGPTL8, a key driver of metabolic dysfunction‑associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), and promotes its degradation via the autophagosome‑lysosome pathway. This PROTAC‑like mechanism suppresses lipogenesis, restores lipid metabolism, reverses hepatic steatosis, insulin resistance, and hyperlipidemia in preclinical models, with excellent organ safety, providing a safe, translatable natural strategy for MASLD therapy.

A new study reveals cathepsin S (CTSS) as a key immune checkpoint driving cholestatic liver injury by skewing invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells toward pathogenic iNKT17 polarization. The natural product celastrol directly binds and inhibits CTSS, restores autophagy/mitophagy in iNKT cells, reprograms the liver immune microenvironment toward protective iNKT1 polarization, alleviates cholestasis, and halts liver fibrosis, establishing a safe, translatable immune‑targeting strategy for cholestatic liver diseases.

The utilization of light as an external stimulus to promote the generation of hot electrons in plasmonic heterostructures and thus augment their catalytic efficacy presents significant potential for bacterial biofilm eradication. Towards this goal, Scientist in China engineered a Ti/ePt-Au NBPs/RGDC implant, which not only brought the redshift of the NIR absorption peak, but also accelerated charge separation. The proposed strategy holds tremendous promise for developing next-generation smart coatings to combat implant-associated biofilm infections.

A novel metabolic engineering strategy enhances riboflavin production by manipulating intracellular guanine levels through transporter engineering, demonstrating that overexpression of the NupG transporter can increase riboflavin titers by 15.3%.

A comprehensive genetic toolkit was developed for engineering Streptococcus species, addressing a critical need for better regulatory tools in these industrially important lactic acid bacteria. The study introduces short synthetic promoters and efficient sRNA-based repressors that enable streamlined control of gene expression.

Chinese researchers have developed a cost-effective strategy for enhancing microalgae cultivation using fermented agricultural waste. The study demonstrates that an optimized fermented agricultural hydrolysate can increase the marine diatom Chaetoceros muelleri cell density by 2.56-fold compared to standard medium.

A research team from Jiangnan University has developed an engineered Escherichia coli strain capable of producing orotic acid at unprecedented levels using an innovative antibiotic-free plasmid stabilization system. The study reports a final titer of 150.48 g/L with a yield of 0.63 g/g glucose in fed-batch fermentation.

A new mechanism based on Murraya exotica L. extract to ameliorate rheumatoid arthritis by simultaneously inhibiting the NF-κB and AP-1 signaling pathways to suppress synovial hyperplasia, inflammation, and oxidative stress is provided, and a new strategy for multi-targeted phytotherapy of rheumatoid arthritis is opened.

A new mechanism based on Silibinin meglumine (SM) to ameliorate hepatic encephalopathy (HE) by directly targeting uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) to inhibit oxidative stress and suppress excessive mitophagy-mediated mitochondrial dysfunction is provided, and a new strategy for HE therapy is opened.

A new mechanism based on Yangxinshi Tablet and its core active ingredients (senkyunolide H, apigenin, astragaloside IV, and astragaloside VII) to ameliorate post-myocardial infarction heart failure with reduced ejection fraction by inhibiting the FOXO1/PDK4 signaling pathway to improve the tricarboxylic acid cycle and restore energy homeostasis is provided, and a new strategy for metabolic targeted therapy of heart failure is opened.