Institute of
bioorganic chemistry

The journal Trends in Biotechnology published a review devoted to biotechnologies based on the fungal bioluminescence pathway (FBP). Unlike luminescent reporter systems that require the addition of a substrate, FBP uses the natural metabolite caffeic acid to maintain continuous, autonomous luminescence. This allows for the production of autonomously luminescent living organisms and overcomes the key limitations of previous technologies. The review examines recent advances in the creation of luminescent plants and FBP-based biosensors and discusses the potential applications of this reporter system in science and the economy. Learn more

Scientists from the State Research Center IBCh RAS, together with leading physicians from the N.N. Burdenko Center for Neurosurgery, have discovered that the blockade of inflammation in the spinal cord, which is forced by the immune system, during the acute period of traumatic injury, has evident clinical benefits in terms of subsequent recovery. The results of cytokine profiling and magnetic resonance imaging/tractography indicate a significant improvement in the rate of neural conduction regeneration when immunoglobulin and low-molecular-weight chemokine receptor blockers are administered to injured animals. It is worth noting that some of these drugs are already actively used for the treatment of other diseases, which makes it possible to quickly translate them into clinical practice. The study results are published in the prestigious scientific journal Advanced Science. Learn more

An article by researchers from the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry has been published in Frontiers in Immunology, dedicated to the study of B-lymphocytes infiltrating lung and kidney tumors. For the first time, the scientists demonstrated that in patients with lung adenocarcinoma a subpopulation of memory B cells expressing membrane IgA is characterized by increased expression of FCRL4, PD-1, and RUNX2 — markers of chronic antigen stimulation and functional exhaustion. Analysis of TCGA data showed that a high level of FCRL4 expression is associated with poorer patient survival. The study expands our current understanding of the role of B cells in tumors and may contribute to the development of immunotherapy approaches aimed at restoring B-cell activity.

Researchers from the Laboratory of Systemic Protein and Peptide Analysis at the IBCh RAS, together with colleagues from the All-Russian Research Institute of Agricultural Microbiology, investigated how soft wheat adapts to drought at the proteome and peptidome levels. In leaves under water deficit, dehydrins, RRM-domain proteins, dirigent proteins, and nonspecific lipid transfer proteins—multifunctional proteins involved in lipid transport, membrane remodeling, and pathogen defense—were activated. In roots, enzymes related to sulfur metabolism, LEA proteins, and malic enzyme were upregulated, enhancing antioxidant protection. For the first time, an extracellular peptidome was described that includes phytocystatins, plantacyanins, and CAPE peptides—molecules capable of regulating intercellular signaling and increasing drought tolerance. This study provides the first comprehensive evidence of complex, organ-specific changes in the proteome and extracellular peptidome of soft wheat under prolonged drought, revealing new molecular components of intercellular communication that may serve as targets for improving crop stress resilience. The results are published in Plants.

Sodium channels play an important role in nature — for example, they determine the excitability of the nervous system and muscles. Their selective conductivity has been intensively studied for many decades, but its physicochemical basis is still unclear. In a new theoretical paper, scientists from the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry have proposed the so-called “secondary chelation” mechanism, in which the spatial organization of water molecules in the hydration shell of the ion plays a key role. The selectivity filter of a bacterial sodium channel is designed to optimally interact with the hydration shell of Na⁺, while the shell of K⁺ is forced to “shrink”, which prevents its passage. The work was published in the journal Structure and was also awarded an illustration on the cover of the issue. Learn more