Latest ArticlesTo investigate the effect of Fufang yinhua jiedu (FFYH) granules against coronavirus and its potential mechanism, we used Huh7, Huh7.5, H460, and C3A cell lines as in vitro models to evaluate the cytotoxicity and antiviral activity of FFYH by observation of cell pathogenic effect (CPE); and then the inhibitory effect of FFYH on the transcription expression of coronavirus RNA and inflammatory factor mRNA were evaluated by quantitive reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR); finally, the inhibitory effect of FFYH on the expression of coronavirus protein and its underlying mechanism against coronavirus were investigated by Western blot and immunofluorescence. Our results indicated that 50% toxic concentration (TC50) FFYH on Huh7, Huh7.5, H460, and C3A cells were 2 035.21, 5 245.69, 2 935.28 and 520 µg·mL-1, respectively; 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) of FFYH on HCoV-229E in Huh7 and Huh7.5 cells were 438.16 and 238.54 µg·mL-1 with safety index (SI) of 4.64 and 21.99, respectively; IC50 of FFYH on HCoV-OC43 in H460 cells was 165.13 µg·mL-1 with SI of 17.78. Moreover, FFYH not only could inhibit the replication of coronaviruses (HCoV-OC43 and HCoV-229E) through inhibiting the transcription of viral RNA and the expression of viral protein, but also effectively suppress the expression of inflammatory factors interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and interleukin-8 (IL-8) at mRNA level caused by coronaviruses, which might be associated with the inhibitory effect of FFYH on mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway and the nuclear translocation of nuclear transcription factor-κB (NF-κB). In summary, our results demonstrated that FFYH exhibited a good in vitro anti-coronavirus effect, which provides a theoretical basis for its clinical use in the treatment of anti-coronavirus pneumonia.
This study was designed to obtain recombinant human thioredoxin (rhTXN) by gene cloning and prokaryotic expression, and evaluated its therapeutic effect in the mouse ulcerative colitis (UC) model induced by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS). The human thioredoxin gene TXN was cloned from the cDNA of Jurkat cells. The recombinant expression plasmid pCold TF-rhTXN was constructed by restriction enzyme digestion. After expression in E. coli BL21 (DE3), recombinant human thioredoxin was purified by a nickel column. Intact rhTXN recombinant protein was obtained after removal of the fusion partner-tag by enzyme digestion and the activity of disulfide reductase was detected by the insulin reduction method. The animal experiments in this study were performed in accordance with the ethical guidelines of the Laboratory Animal Welfare Ethical Review Committee of Nanjing University. Experiment ulcerative colitis was induced by providing mice with sterilized drinking water which contained 3% DSS. rhTXN was injected intraperitoneally. The therapeutic effect was studied by weight change, colon length and HE (hematoxylin and eosin) stained sections. In vivo imaging was used to study the targeting of rhTXN to DSS mice. The GSE107499 data set of GEO database was used to screen the hub genes at the lesional sites of UC and study the correlation with TXN. The experimental results showed that rhTXN was successfully expressed and purified with disulfide reductase activity. rhTXN (100 μg·kg-1) had a significant therapeutic effect on maintaining the weight change of mice (P = 0.000 5) and reducing intestinal injury (P < 0.000 1), and had a colon targeting effect on DSS mice. In GSE107499 data set, TXN in inflammatory sites of UC patients was significantly down regulated (P < 0.01) and negatively correlated with hub gene CD40 (P < 0.01) and positively correlated with hub gene fibronectin 1 (FN1) (P < 0.01). In this study, biologically active rhTXN was successfully prepared and proved to have a promising therapeutic effect on the DSS mouse model, and TXN gene was significantly correlated with the UC hub genes CD40 and FN1.
As a member of the human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER) family of receptor tyrosine kinases, HER3 is an aberrantly activator of the PI3K/AKT pathway. Studies have indicated that HER3 is related to the progression of a variety of tumor types such as breast cancer, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), ovary cancer and colon cancer, and in acquired resistance to EGFR and HER2 therapies. However, the attempts to target HER3 with neutralizing antibodies are not ideal previously. This is most likely due to the fact that the antibodies targeting HER3 fail to completely block the heterodimerization of HER3 and other receptors. Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) can specifically bind to target cells and exert the highly cytotoxicity effect on cancer cells through chemical drugs. ADCs have been widely used in clinical cancer therapies. We analyzed and optimized the structure of the antigen-antibody complex between HER3 and antibody LmAb3 by computer-aided molecular simulation technology, and the key sites involved in antigen binding in LmAb3 were predicted by distance geometry and computer graphics technology. Then a novel anti-HER3 antibody FD001 was obtained by point mutation technology. The affinity measurement by ForteBio results showed that the affinity of FD001 is much higher than LmAb3, the KD values of FD001 and LmAb3 with HER3 were 1.48E-11 and 2.46E-10, respectively. Antibody drug conjugate FD001-DM1 is obtained by coupling FD001 to DM1 [emtansine, N2'-deacetyl-N2'-(3-mercapto-1-oxopropyl)-maytansine] by lysine coupling technology. The results of cell cytotoxicity experiments showed that FD001-DM1 could effectively inhibit the proliferation of HER3-positive HT-29 colon cancer cells, with EC50 value of 33.62 nmol·L-1. The in vivo xenografts therapy results showed that the tumor volume of the FD001-DM1 treatment group was about 25% of that of the control group, and there was no significant weight reduction of the mice. These results reveal that FD001-DM1 had good in vivo and in vitro anti-tumor activity with high safety, which may provide effective help for further exploration of HER3-targeted ADCs drugs. The mice in this study were used and treated in accordance with international laboratory animal care and use guidelines and approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of the Military Cognitive and Brain Science Institute of the Military Medical Research Institute.
Five new megastigmanes (1-5) were isolated from a decoction of Uncaria rhynchophylla by separation techniques of column chromatography using a combination of multiple stationary phases, including macroporous adsorbent resin, MCI resin, silica gel, Sephadex LH-20, and Toyopearl HW-40F, and reversed phase HPLC. Their structures were characterized by spectroscopic data analysis of HR-ESI-MS, NMR, and CD, in combination with Mosher's mothed as well as ECD and NMR calculations. The new compounds were named uncarphyllonone A (1), uncarphyllonols A (2) and B (3), and uncarphabscisic acids A (4) and B (5). Although the structures of 3 and 4 were previously reported, the reported NMR spectroscopic data were incorrect or do not support the assigned structures in literatures. This is also the first report of discovery of new megastigmane natural products from the Uncaria genus.
Seven nucleoside compounds were isolated from the Oenothera biennis L. by various chromatographic techniques such as Diaion HP-20, silica gel, Sephadex LH-20, MCI and semi-preparative HPLC. Their structures were identified by analysis of physicochemical properties and spectral data, and determined as 9-(3′-carbonyl methyl)hydroxypurine (1), 1-(3′-carbonyl methyl)purine-6, 8-dione (2), N-methyl-2-pyridone-5-carboxamide (3), uracil (4), uridine (5), thymidine (6) and 2′-Ο-methoxy luridine (7). Compound 1 is a new nucleoside and compounds 2-7 were newly isolated from the Oenothera biennis L. Compounds 1-2 can significantly increase the viability of BEAS-2B cells induced by TGF-β1, showing potent anti-pulmonary fibrosis activity.
Four compounds were isolated from the 70% EtOH extract of Ardisia crispa by using various chromatographic techniques, including silica gel, ODS and semi-preparative HPLC. The structures of 1-4 were elucidated based on physicochemical properties and spectroscopic data. These compounds were defined as crispalactone A (1), (+)-pinoresinol (2), 3, 5-dimethoxy-4- hydroxyphenol-1-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (3) and (+)-schizandriside (4). Compound 1 is a new γ-valerolactone derivative, and compounds 2-4 are firstly isolated from Ardisia crispa.
Sixteen compounds were isolated from the ethanol extract of Illigera rhodantha by silica gel, ODS, and Sephadex LH-20 column chromatographies. These compounds were identified as (2R, 3R)-2, 3-dihydroxy-2-methylbutane-1, 4-diyldibenzoate (1), p-hydroxyphenethyl trans-ferulate (2), 4-O-benzoyl-2-C-methyl-D-erythritol (3), N-trans feruloyl-3-methyldopamine (4), tribulusamide A (5), cryptomeridiol (6), teuclatriol (7), oleanolic acid (8), icario A2 (9), vanillic acid (10), p-hydroxybenzoic acid (11), gallic acid (12), ethyl gallate (13), chrysophanol (14), D-1-O-methyl-inositol (15), and hexadecanoic acid (16) based on their spectral data and physico-chemical properties. Compound 1 is an undescribed compound, of which its absolute configurations were determined by Mosher and ROESY methods; all the compounds except 10, 11 and 14 were isolated from Illigera genus for the first time. Compared with the positive control indomethacin, compounds 4-6, 8 and 9 inhibited significantly against the NO production in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells.
Twenty compounds were isolated from the ethyl acetate extract of Smilax glabra by using various chromatographic techniques, including macroreticular resin, silica gel, Sephadex LH-20 and semi-preparative HPLC. Their structures were elucidated by physicochemical properties, MS and spectroscopic data. These compounds were elucidated as glabraside A (1), glabraone A (2), 5-hydroxy-3ʹ, 4ʹ, 7-trimethoxy-flavanone (3), naringenin (4), quercetin 7-O-α-L-rhamnoside (5), neoastilbin (6), neoisoastilbin (7), isoastilbin (8), eriodictyol-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (9), naringenin-7-O-α-L-rhamnoside (10), kaempferol 3-O-[4′′′′′-O-acetyl-α-L-rhamnosyl-(1→6)]-[β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)]-β-D-glucopyranoside (11), 5-hydroxymaltol (12), 3, 4, 5-trimethoxyphenyl-1-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (13), 2-(3′, 4′-dihydroxyphenyl)-1, 3-benzodioxole-5-aldehyde (14), kompasinol A (15), (+)-syringaresinol (16), cis-resveratrol (17), trans-resveratrol (18), flufuran (19) and 5-hydroxymethyl-furaldehyde (20). Two new compounds (1 and 2) showed inhibitory activity toward nitric oxide (NO) production, with IC50 values of 56.8 and 29.5 μmol·L-1, respectively.
The ethyl acetate part of the alcoholic extract of Cordia dichotoma fruits was purified by a combination of normal-phase silica gel column chromatography, Sephadex LH-20 gel column chromatography and semi-preparative HPLC, and the structure was identified by modern spectroscopic techniques (UV, IR, MS, NMR). A total of 10 compounds were isolated and identified as cordilide (1), (S)-2-hydroxy-3-(4′-hydroxyphenyl) propanoic acid (2), vanillic acid (3), p-coumaric acid (4), 3-hydroxy-1-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)propan-1-one (5), benzoic acid (6), p-hydroxypropiophenone (7), p-hydroxyacetophenone (8), 5′-methoxyevofolin B (9) and vanillin (10). Among them, compound 1 is a pair of new phenylpropanoid enantiomers, and compounds 3, 6, 8 and 9 were isolated for the first time from the genus.
Saponins and sterones are two main characteristic components in Achyranthis Bidentatae Radix. In order to control the quality of Achyranthis Bidentatae Radix more effectively, a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was established by using double external standards calibration method (DESCM) for simultaneous determination of the contents of achyranthoside C, achyranthoside D, β-ecdysterone, 25R-inokosterone and 25S-inokosterone in Achyranthis Bidentatae Radix. Chromatographic separation was achieved on an Agilent Poroshell 120 EC-C18 (150 mm × 4.6 mm, 2.7 μm) using 0.1% phosphoric acid in water and 0.1% phosphoric acid in acetonitrile as mobile phase. The flow rate was 0.8 mL·min-1 and the column temperature was set as 35 ℃, the injection volume was 5 μL and the total analytical time was 30 min. β-Ecdysterone was used as the reference to calculate the relative correction factors (RCF) and relative retention time (RRT) of 25R-inokosterone and 25S-inokosterone, achyranthoside D was used for achyranthoside C. The RCFs of 25R-inokosterone, 25S-inokosterone, and achyranthoside C were 1.116, 1.056, and 0.888 1, respectively. The double external standards calibration method (DESCM) and external standard method (ESM) were used to calculate the contents of five ingredients in Achyranthis Bidentatae Radix samples from different sources and the variation between the results was within acceptable limits (RE ≤ 5%). The results showed that the contents of two saponins and three sterones of Achyranthis Bidentatae Radix were 0.597%-1.916% and 0.044%-0.150% respectively. The total content of saponins was about 10 times that of sterones. In conclusion, the established DESCM allowed simultaneous determination of five ingredients (achyranthoside C, achyranthoside D, β-ecdysterone, 25R-inokosterone, and 25S-inokosterone) in Achyranthis Bidentatae Radix, providing a scientific and feasible overall quality evaluation method for Achyranthis Bidentatae Radix.
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