The objective of the study was to investigate the effects of nebulizers and add-on spacers on nebulization performances of Re-Du-Ning injection. Chlorogenic acid and geniposide were taken as the chemical markers of the injection. In vitro nebulization performances including real-time particle size distribution, aerodynamic particle size distribution (APSD), respirable drug delivery rate (RDDR) and percentage of respirable delivered dose (RDD%), residual rate and nebulization time were determined after nebulization of Re-Du-Ning injection via jet or mesh nebulizers. The delivery efficiency was the ratio of delivery dose to the drug content of the injection. The aerosol delivery efficiency of Re-Du-Ning injection for the jet nebulizer was about 30% of the nominal dose whereas those for mesh nebulizers varied from 24% to 35% in adult breathing pattern. Upon the inclusion of spacers, the delivery efficiencies of mesh nebulizers increased to 37%-68% whereas the presence of a spacer decreased the delivery efficiency of the jet nebulizer. When the aerosols of mesh nebulizer exhibited comparative fine particle fraction (FPF) and mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD) to those of the jet nebulizer, the RDD% of the former nebulizer with a spacer was more than two folds of the latter. These results indicated that the addition of spacer was demonstrated to significantly improve the delivery efficiency of Re-Du-Ning injection by mesh nebulizers.

We established in vitro evaluation methods of the nebulization characteristics of budesonide suspension for inhalation and analyzed the influence factors. The delivery rate and total drug substance delivered (TDD) of two manufacturers were determined by using the breath simulator with different nebulizers. The aerodynamic particle size distribution was investigated by next generation impactor (NGI) and HPLC as well. The fine particle dose (FPD), the mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD), the delivery rate and TDD results of the same sample with different nebulizers were significantly different (P < 0.01), mainly due to the different design parameters of the nebulizers. The FPD of two samples were significantly different (P < 0.01) by the same nebulizers, probably due to differences in physical and chemical properties differences such as suspension particle size. The analysis method of nebulization characteristics provided in this paper can be used to select the nebulization device with appropriate delivery dose and aerodynamic particle size distribution (APSD) for different inhalation liquid preparations in clinical practice, and can also be used as the guidance for the selection of nebulization device and analysis method in the research and development of generic inhalation liquid preparations and quality consistency evaluation.

Protein disulfide isomerase (PDI), also named PDIA1, is an archetype member of protein disulfide isomerase family, which mainly exists in endoplasmic reticulum and plays an important role in pathophysiological progress via enzyme activity and molecular chaperone function helping protein folding correctly. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a kind of neurodegenerative diseases characterized by abnormal protein aggregation. Recently, PDI mutants have been found in ALS patients and the important role of PDI protein in the development of ALS has also been confirmed. Here, we focus on the recent studies of PDI in ALS hoping to provide a novel target for the treatment of ALS.

Flavanone 3-hydroxylase (F3H), flavonol synthase (FLS) and anthocyanin synthase (ANS) are members of the 2-oxoglutarate-dependent oxygenase (2-ODD) superfamily, which play important functions in plant flavonoid biosynthesis. In this study, 16 2-ODD genes involved in flavonoid biosynthesis pathway were screened and identified from safflower genome database using bioinformatics method. The length of the proteins encoded by these genes ranged from 283 (CtFLS2) to 442 aa (CtANS6), and the molecular weight ranged from 32 062.05 (CtFLS2) to 48 245.49 Da (CtANS6). The proteins encoded by these genes were hydrophilic. Phylogeny divided it into three subfamilies, two conserved residues, H-x-D-xn-H and R-x-S, were found in this gene family using conserved motifs analysis, the analysis of cis-acting elements in the upstream 2 000 bp region showed that these genes might be regulated by environmental factors such as light, temperature and plant hormones such as salicylic acid, methyl jasmonate and so on. The members of the safflower 2-ODD gene family involved in flavonoid biosynthesis pathway were analyzed by qRT-PCR, the result showed that the expression patterns of these members were different in diverse flowering period and leaf. This study can lay a foundation for further exploring the function of 2-ODD genes involved in flavonoid biosynthesis pathway in safflower.

Twenty-five candidate MLO genes of Lonicera japonica were obtained by whole genome sequencing. Bioinformatics analysis showed that the number of amino acids in the protein family ranged from 137 to 846, the theoretical isoelectric point ranged from 5.02 to 9.50, and it was rich in basic amino acids. One protein did not contain transmembrane domain, and the other proteins ranged from 3 to 10. The results of subcellular localization showed that 21 proteins were located on the cell membrane and 1 protein was located on the chloroplast. Phylogenetic trees were constructed from 133 MLO proteins of Lonicera japonica, Triticum aestivum, Arabidopsis thaliana, Solanum lycopersicum, Nicotiana tabacum, Nicotiana sylvestris and Nicotiana tomentosiformis. The results indicated that MLO family proteins of Lonicera japonica could be divided into five subgroups. Tissue specific analysis showed that the expression of MLO genes in Lonicera japonica had obvious tissue specificity. Among them, 8 genes were highly expressed in leaves, 2 genes in stems and 2 genes in flowers. Four genes were significantly upregulated after inoculation with powdery mildew, among which MLO14 increased the most, which was more than 2 000 times higher than that of the control. In this study, the composition and expression of the MLO gene related to the occurrence of powdery mildew of Lonicera japonica were preliminarily analyzed, which laid a foundation for the further use of MLO as a target gene to develop new germplasm resistant to powdery mildew of Lonicera japonica.

The metabonomics method was used to explore the processing and synergistic mechanism of epimedium fried with suet oil in warming the kidney and enhancing yang. The kidney-yang deficiency rat model was established by injection of hydrocortisone. Then the UPLC-Q-TOF-MS (ultra-performance liquid chromatography with quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry) metabolomics method was combined with multivariate statistical analysis methods and univariate statistical analysis to screen and identify kidney-yang deficiency potential biomarkers in plasma and urine samples. Finally the metabolic regulation mechanism of suet oil group, the epimedium raw product group, the epimedium heating product group, and the epimedium fried with suet oil group improved kidney-yang deficiency was analyzed. The results showed that the plasma and urine metabolism of rats with kidney-yang deficiency induced by hydrocortisone showed obvious trajectory changes. 15 biomarkers related to kidney-yang deficiency were identified in plasma and urine, involving 5 metabolic pathways, namely glycerophospholipid metabolism, sphingolipid metabolism, sulfur metabolism, glyoxylate acid and dicarboxylate metabolism, and cysteine and methionine metabolism. The metabolic pathway of epimedium fried with suet oil warming kidney and promoting yang involved glycerophospholipid metabolism, cysteine and methionine metabolism, and the two processing factors of epimedium fried with suet oil "heating" and "suet oil" enhanced its function of warming the kidney and promoting yang by regulating glycerophospholipid metabolism, cysteine and methionine metabolism, respectively. In this way, the processing and synergistic mechanism of epimedium fried with suet oil was clarified. The animal experiments involved in this article comply with ethical standards and have been approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of Jiangsu Provincial Academy of Chinese Medicine (approval number: AEWC-20200702-119).

Compared with systemic administration such as oral delivery or injection, inhaled medicines directly locate in the respiratory tract to exert therapeutic effects, offering obvious advantages in the treatment of respiratory diseases. Marketed inhaled medicines are yet difficult to meet the clinical demands, and there are considerable challenges in the discovery and development of novel inhaled medicines due to the lack of experiences- and property-based rules for inhaled compounds. Personalized modification of candidate drugs through prodrug technology to meet the requirements of inhalation therapy is the current alternative approach for inhaled drug development. In this review, we intend to summary the applications of prodrug technology in the research of inhaled medicines over the past 20 years. These studies have shown that esterified prodrugs and macromolecule conjugates could effectively prolong lung retention; mannose modification or acid-sensitive bond connection can achieve targeted drug release in alveolar macrophages; personalized modified prodrugs can obtain suitable physicochemical properties for pulmonary delivery and reduce drug toxicity. In general, the application of prodrug technology can modify the physicochemical and biopharmaceutical properties of drugs and may promote the discovery and development of novel inhaled medicines.

Modern pharmacological studies have shown that Cistanche deserticola (C. deserticola) has a protective effect on the liver, but its active fraction and mechanism are not clear. In order to identify the effective fraction of C. deserticola Y. C. Ma, an acute alcoholic liver injury model in mice was established with 56-proof Erguotou and different fractional extracts of C. deserticola Y. C. Ma (total glycosides, polysaccharides, and oligosaccharides) were administered. After 14 days of oral administration, liver pathology and lipid deposition were measured and the expression of nuclear factor E2-related factor (Nrf-2), kelch-like ECH-associated protein-1 (Keap-1), and plasmalemma vesicle-associated protein-1 (PV1) were measured by immunofluorescence. The levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), endotoxin (ET), diamine oxidase (DAO), and D-lactic acid (D-LA) in serum, and superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), catalase (CAT), and malondialdehyde (MDA) in liver were measured by ELISA. All animal experiments were carried out with approval of the Experimental Animal Welfare Ethics Committee of the Peking University Health Science Center. The results show that the total glycosides of C. deserticola Y. C. Ma (400 mg·kg^-1) could decrease liver pathology, decrease serum endotoxin, diamine oxidase, and D-lactic acid, and reduce hepatic lipid deposition. Total glycosides also promoted Nrf-2 transfer into the nucleus and decreased the expression of Keap-1 and PV1. In summary, the total glycosides of C. deserticola Y. C. Ma had a protective effect in acute alcoholic liver injury and the mechanism may be related to the activation of the Nrf-2/Keap-1 pathway, improvement of intestinal wall integrity, and inhibition of the transport of harmful substances into the liver.

As two original plants of Tibetan herb Jieji, Gentiana waltonii Burk. and Gentiana lhassica Burk. belong to Section Cruciata of Gentiana, Gentianaceae. Here, we report on whole chloroplast genome sequences in the alpine species, respectively, and the features of plastomes were investigated. The plastome of G. waltonii is 148 705 bp long (148 652 bp in G. lhassica) and encodes 112 genes, including 78 protein-coding genes, 30 transfer RNA genes, and 4 ribosomal RNA genes. Two pseudogenes, namely ψrps16 and ψinfA, were found in plastomes. In addition, two novel loci were detected, and a species-specific polymerase chain reaction assay was developed for differentiating G. waltonii and G. lhassica from 10 alpine species in Section Cruciata. Gentiana. Our study provides basic data for identifying Tibetan herbs, alpine species conservation and molecular phylogenetic studies of Gentiana and Gentianaceae.

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) can cause a variety of digestive tract diseases, the serious may develop into gastric cancer. Nowadays, H. pylori infection rate exceeds 50%, and its eradication rate is declining due to the continuous increase of drug resistance, leading to the occurrence of plenty of stubborn infections, which seriously threaten human health. At present, it is difficult to achieve satisfactory curative effect by increasing the types of antibiotics combination or increasing their dose. In this review, the clinical treatments of H. pylori were introduced. Proceed from the characteristics and pathological background of H. pylori infection that makes H. pylori difficult to eradicate, the research advances of drug delivery strategies for improving H. pylori eradication rate were reviewed, such as strategies that could increase drug concentration in stomach (e.g. drug delivery systems with gastric acid-stabilized ability), increase drug concentration in H. pylori colonization sites (e.g. drug delivery systems with gastric retention or H. pylori targeted abilities), overcome H. pylori resistance (metal nanoparticles, anti-biofilm delivery systems), enhance host immune response (vaccine preparation) and so on. Novel drug delivery systems, such as cell membrane coating technology and phage therapy, are comparatively rare in the field of anti-H. pylori, but have broad application prospects. This review would provide reference for the development and application of therapeutic strategies to improve H. pylori eradication rate.