Epigenetic alterations may provide important insights into gene-environment interaction in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Here we observe epigenome-wide DNA methylation differences in 240 newly-diagnosed IBD cases and 190 controls. These include 439 differentially methylated positions (DMPs) and 5 differentially methylated regions (DMRs), which we study in detail using whole genome bisulphite sequencing. We replicate the top DMP (RPS6KA2) and DMRs (VMP1, ITGB2 and TXK) in an independent cohort. Using paired genetic and epigenetic data, we delineate methylation quantitative trait loci; VMP1/microRNA-21 methylation associates with two polymorphisms in linkage disequilibrium with a known IBD susceptibility variant. Separated cell data shows that IBD-associated hypermethylation within the TXK promoter region negatively correlates with gene expression in whole-blood and CD8+ T cells, but not other cell types. Thus, site-specific DNA methylation changes in IBD relate to underlying genotype and associate with cell-specific alteration in gene expression.

In a retrospective analysis of plasma samples from patients with CD or UC, we associated levels of IgG Fc-glycosylation with disease (compared to controls) and its clinical features. These findings could increase our understanding of mechanisms of CD and UC pathogenesis and be used to develop diagnostics or guide treatment.

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Considering the enormous importance of protein turns as participants in various biological events, such as protein–protein interactions, great efforts have been made to develop their conformationally and proteolytically stable mimetics. Ferrocene-1,1′-diamine was previously shown to nucleate the stable turn structures in peptides prepared by conjugation with Ala (III) and Ala−Pro (VI). Here, we prepared the homochiral conjugates of ferrocene-1,1′-diamine with l-/d-Phe (32/35), l-/d-Val (33/36), and l-/d-Leu (34/37) to investigate (1) whether the organometallic template induces the turn structure upon conjugation with amino acids, and (2) whether the bulky or branched side chains of Phe, Val, and Leu affect hydrogen bonding. Detailed spectroscopic (IR, NMR, CD), X-ray, and DFT studies revealed the presence of two simultaneous 10-membered interstrand hydrogen bonds, i.e., two simultaneous β-turns in goal compounds. A preliminary biological evaluation of d-Leu conjugate 37 showed its modest potential to induce cell cycle arrest in the G0/G1 phase in the HeLa cell line but these results need further investigation.

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been implemented in a wide range of commercial products, resulting in their unregulated release into aquatic as well as terrestrial systems. This raises concerns over their impending environmental effects. Once released into the environment, they are prone to various transformation processes that modify their reactivity. In order to increase AgNP stability, different stabilizing coatings are applied during their synthesis. However, coating agents determine particle size and shape and influence their solubility, reactivity, and overall stability as well as their behavior and transformations in the biological medium. In this review, we attempt to give an overview on how the employment of different stabilizing coatings can modulate AgNP-induced phytotoxicity with respect to growth, physiology, and gene and protein expression in terrestrial and aquatic plants and freshwater algae.