Sempervirine, a yohimbane-type alkaloid isolated from Gelsemium elegans, was found to significantly inhibit the cellular proliferation of U251 cells in vitro and in vivo in a dose-dependent manner. U251 cells were treated with 0-16 μmol·L^-1 of sempervirine for 24, 48 or 72 h. An MTT assay and clone formation assay were used to investigate cell survival and clone formation. Hoechst staining and Annexin V-FITC/PI staining were used to measure cell apoptosis. The expression of PI3K, AKT, p-AKT, Bax, Bcl-2, caspase-3 and cleaved caspase-3 was determined by Western blot analysis. The antitumor effect of sempervirine in vivo was investigated by inoculating nude mice with U251 cells. All animal experiments were in strict accordance with the regulations of the Biomedical Ethics Committee of Fujian Medical University (Fujian, China). The results show that sempervirine significantly inhibits the proliferation and induces the apoptosis of U251 cells, promotes cleavage of caspase-3, down-regulates the protein expression of PI3K and Bcl-2/Bax, and inhibits phosphorylation of AKT in vitro. Intraperitoneal injection of 4 or 8 mg·kg^-1·day^-1 of sempervirine inhibits U251 cells tumor growth in the xenograft nude mice, and tumor weight decreased by 44.76% and 61.26%, respectively. Our study shows that sempervirine significantly inhibits the proliferation of U251 cells in vitro and in vivo, laying a foundation for further research and development of its anti-glioma effect.

Drug-induced liver injury and herbal preparations containing pyrrolizidine alkaloid (PA) have gained global attention. The purpose of this research was to investigate the effects and mechanisms of Alismatis Rhizoma, a traditional Chinese medicine, to protect against acute liver injury in mice induced by senecionine (SEN), a representative toxic PA compound. All experiments were approved by the Animal Research Committee of Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Animal welfare and the animal experimental protocols were strictly consistent with related ethics regulations of Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Acute liver injury was induced by a single intragastric administration of SEN (50 mg·kg^-1). Mice in the protection groups received intragastric administration of Alismatis Rhizoma water extract (WE, 18 g·kg^-1 per day) or ethanol extract (EE, 18 g·kg^-1 per day) 5 days before SEN treatment. The results show that Alismatis Rhizoma extracts can significantly attenuate acute liver injury in mice. Mice in the protection groups showed decreased serum activities of alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase, as well as decreased total bile acids. In addition, the infiltration of inflammatory cells, sinusoidal hemorrhage, and hepatic necrosis in SEN-treatment mice was clearly attenuated in the protection groups. Interestingly, EE showed a better effect than WE. The content of principal bile acids in serum and the mRNA and protein expression of key factors related to bile acid metabolism were also measured. Alismatis Rhizoma up-regulated the bile acid transporters and drug metabolism enzymes, consistent with the observed bile acid homeostasis and alleviation of SEN-induced injury to hepatocytes. The present study points to the possibility of utilizing Alismatis Rhizoma for protection against liver injury caused by drugs and preparations containing PA.

Although the guiding principles for molecular identification of traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) using DNA barcoding have been recorded in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, there is still a lack of systematic research on its application to commercial TCM decoctions. In this study, a total of 212 commercial TCM decoctions derived from different medicinal parts such as root and rhizome, fruit and seed, herb, flower, leaf, cortex, and caulis were collected to verify applicability and accuracy of the method. DNA barcodes were successfully obtained from 75.9% (161/212) of the samples, while other samples failed to be amplified due to genomic DNA degradation. Among the 161 samples, 85.7% of them were identified as recorded species in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2020 edition). In addition, 14 samples could be identified as species recorded in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia and their closely related species in the same genus. Morphological identification for the unconfirmed samples showed that eight were genuine species and three were adulterants, while the other three were unidentifiable due to lack of morphological characteristics. Furthermore, the DNA barcodes of seven samples accurately mapped to the sequences of adulterants. Remarkably, counterfeit products were detected in two samples. These results demonstrate that DNA barcoding is suitable for the identification of commercial TCM decoctions. The method can effectively detect adulterants and is appropriate for use throughout the industrial chain of TCM production and distribution, and by the supervisory agencies as well.

The permeation and pharmacodynamics of ocular drugs are influenced by the corneal barrier. Here, a hard-soluble drug, brinzolamide, was selected as the model drug and used for preparation of minimally invasive dissolving microneedles. Brinzolamide was dissolved in ethanol and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) K90 was added and dissolved. The mixture solution was casted into the dissolving microneedles mold and dried and brinzolamide dissolving microneedles (BMN) were obtained after demolding. The stereoscopic and scanning electron microscopic images showed that BMN were conical needles with the height of 750 μm, the bottom diameter of 300 μm, and the inter-tip distance of 500 μm. The dissolving microneedles patch was composed of 10×10 arrays with the area of 1 cm² and the high drug load of 7.3 mg·cm^-2. BMN showed a rapid in vitro drug release with 93% accumulative release at 2 h and the high drug corneal permeation amount of 877±105 μg. BMN exhibited the high mechanical strength of 0.32 N/needle, leading to easy rat corneal insertion with the depth of 200 μm. Moreover, BMN were rapidly dissolved in the cornea, and more importantly, the damaged cornea were quickly self-healed within 24 h. Animal experiments were approved by the Ethics Committee of Beijing Institute of Radiation Medicine, Academy of Military Medical and the experiments were conducted in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations. Ocular minimally invasive dissolving microneedles have the advantages of corneal minimal wounds and rapid healing, high drug loading, and high permeability, favoring the treatment of ocular diseases.

Nucleotide binding oligomerization domain (NOD)-like receptor protein 3, NLRP3) inflammasomes regulate the secretion of caspase-1, interleukin-18 (IL-18), IL-1β, and other cytokines, and participates in aging. In recent years, it has been found that NLRP3 inflammasomes are abnormally activated in aging heart and vessels, and inhibition of NLRP3 inflammasomes can alleviate heart aging and vascular aging. This review summarizes the research of NLRP3 inflammasome in heart and vascular aging, and the related drugs to promote the discovery of the mechanism of NLRP3 inflammasome in heart and vascular aging and the development of related drugs.

Compared with crystalline drugs, their amorphous forms present long-range disordered molecular arrangements, and often exhibit higher apparent solubility and dissolution. However, several small molecule amorphous drugs may exhibit gelation phenomenon during the dissolution process, and show abnormal dissolution behavior with significantly lower dissolution than crystalline drugs. The current study aims to discover the relationship between the gelation of amorphous drugs and their abnormal dissolution, and further explore the internal gelation mechanism. Amorphous simvastatin (SIM), carvedilol (CAR), and irbesartan (IRB) were prepared by melt cooling method and characterized via X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Gel formation causes the dissolution of these three amorphous drugs to be significantly lower than their crystalline state. The formed gels were characterized as three-dimensional dense network structures by scanning electron microscope (SEM). Furthermore, amorphous SIM, CAR and IRB showed the critical gel temperature at 8-15℃, 25-30℃ and 45-50℃, and amorphous CAR and IRB showed the critical gel pH at 1 and 0.25. The mechanism of gel formation was proposed to be closely related to the transformation of amorphous drugs into the supercooled liquid state (as the important driving force) and the protonation induced self-assembling under acidic conditions. In addition, the wettability and properties of amorphous drugs also affect the formation of gelation.

The abnormal activation and mutation of signal transducer and activator transcription (STAT) proteins has been implicated in multiple lymphomas. The research discovery and clinical application of STATs inhibitors have become an important strategy for treating lymphoma. This review introduces the abnormal activation and mutation of STATs in multiple malignant lymphomas, and focuses on reviewing the latest screening strategies targeting STATs and its clinical application in the treatment of lymphoma, providing references for the further development of STATs inhibitors.

To find antibacterial candidate compounds, eighteen novel sulfonamide derivatives containing a fused-ring were designed and synthesized on the basis of previous studies, with structures confirmed by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and MS. Antibacterial activities of the products were evaluated by the agar dilution method. The results show that these derivatives have different degrees of inhibitory activity on the tested bacteria, with the compounds Ⅱi and Ⅱr the most potent. The MIC of Ⅱi for S. aureus, E. coli and MRSA was 8, 32 and 16 μg·mL^-1, respectively, and the MIC of the Ⅱr was 8, 64 and 32 μg·mL^-1, respectively. The anti-MRSA activities of the two compounds is significant and is worthy of further structural optimization and study.

With a deepening understanding of cancer treatment, immune checkpoint inhibitors are recognized widely as a novel fundamental remedy for various malignancies with effectiveness and safety. With the development of pharmacometrics, model-informed drug development (MIDD) has emerged to accelerate the process of clinical research for new drugs and improve the accuracy of decision-making in new drug research, especially for immune checkpoint inhibitors. As a typical illustration, the research development of pembrolizumab is presented in this review to highlight the application of MIDD, which may provide a reference for the development of other new antitumor drugs.

With the development of the research on innovative drugs in our country, first-in-class drugs are becoming a main goal for both pharmaceutical companies and scientific institutions. Discovery of first-in-class drugs require amounts of basic research, a massive investment and novel methods, acting as a beacon for the new drug development. In 2020, FDA totally approved 53 novel drugs with 38 small molecules, which still accounting for a major component. Among them, many first-in-class drugs are important including a first EZH2 inhibitor(tazemetostat) for the treatment of epithelioid sarcoma, a first attachment inhibitor(fostemsavir) with novel mechanism for the treatment of HIV, a first farnesyltransferase inhibitor(lonafarnib) for the treatment of HutchinsonGilford progeria syndrome(HGPS) and a first MC4 receptor agonist for the treatment of rare genetic diseases of obesity, etc. The research procedures of the above drugs are representative with new ideas. In this review, we outline3 of the first-in-class drugs to discuss the research background, discovery and development process as well as the therapeutic potentials to provide methods and ideas for the further drug development.