Lonicera Linn. is the largest genus of family Caprifoliaceae, which has a long history and abundant resources in China. Due to its ornamental and medicinal properties, the species of Lonicera shows outstanding economic value. However, affected by the huge demand and high price stimulation, there is a serious mixing phenomenon on the market. In this study, high-throughput sequencing technology was used to analyze the analysis of L. angustifolia Wallich ex Candolle var. myrtillus (Hook. f. & Thomson) Q. E. Yang, L. myrtillus Hook. f. et Thoms. var. cyclophylla Rehd, L. szechuanica Batal and L. tangutica Maxim to sequence and assemble their chloroplast (CP) genomes, and to conduct structural comparisons and phylogenetic studies. The results showed that the chloroplast genomes of the four species showed a typical circular tetrad structure, with a total length of 154 608-163 413 bp and a total GC content of 37.93%-38.42%. A total of 128-129 genes were annotated, including 83-84 protein-coding genes, 8 rRNA genes, and 37 tRNA genes. A total of 53-68 SSRs and 133-745 long repeats were detected by chloroplast repeat structure analysis. Phylogenetic studies showed that 21 species of Lonicera medicinal plants could be significantly clustered into one branch, among which the relatives of L. angustifolia and L. szechuanica were close, and the kinship of L. myrtillus and L. tangutica was close. This study is the first comprehensive study of the chloroplast genome and phylogenetic relationship of Loicera species, and the experimental results provide a scientific basis for revealing the genetic information, species evolution and genetic diversity of Lonicera species.

Cerebroprotein hydrolysate oral liquid (COL) is a neuroprotective preparation composed of various amino acids and peptides, which has beneficial effects on diverse central system diseases. However, the therapeutic effect and potential mechanism of oral COL on ischemic stroke (IS) still need to be explored. This study aims to investigate the therapeutic effects and underlying mechanisms of COL on IS in vivo and in vitro. An IS rat model was established through middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) surgery, and triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining, behavioral scoring, Evans blue leakage, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunofluorescence staining were performed to investigate the effects of COL on cerebral infarct size, neurological function, blood-brain barrier (BBB) and neuroinflammation in IS rats. An in vitro model of IS was established on hCMEC/D3 cells through oxygen-glucose deprivation/reperfusion (OGD/R), and cell counting kit-8 assay, reactive oxygen species (ROS) detection, scratch test and Transwell test were conducted to examine the influence of COL on cell viability, oxidative stress and migration ability. Lipidomics technology, real-time quantitative PCR and Western blot experiments were used to investigate the regulation and mechanism of COL on lipid metabolism in the brain of IS rats. All the animal experiments were approved by Ethical Committee of Animal Experiments of China Pharmaceutical University (No.2022-02-23). Our results showed that intragastric administration of COL could significantly reduce the area of cerebral infarction, improve neurological deficits, lower the levels of inflammatory factors, and protect against the blood-brain barrier damage of rats with IS. OGD/R modeling resulted in a significant decrease in the viability, an elevation in intracellular ROS levels, and a weakened cell migration ability of hCMEC/D3 cells. COL treatment could effectively protect hCMEC/D3 cells from damage caused by OGD/R. More importantly, cerebral ischemia led to significant lipid metabolism disorders in the brain of rats, and significant accumulation of intracerebral triglycerides (TAG) and ceramides (Cer) was observed in IS rats. COL was proved to significantly reverse lipid metabolism disorders in the brain of IS rats and reduce the content of cytotoxic lipid Cer by upregulating the intracerebral levels of an acid ceramidase called N-acylsphingosine amidehydrolase 1 (ASAH1). In summary, COL was proved to be a promising and effective candidate for IS treatment, which could alleviate cerebral ischemic injury by regulating abnormal lipid metabolism.

Insulin-like growth factor 2 mRNA binding protein 2 (IGF2BP2) is a recognition protein for N⁶-methyladenosine (m⁶A), mediating the stability of downstream mRNA, and is a promising anti-tumor target. Based on the lead compound 1g from previous screening, this study designed and synthesized 52 IGF2BP2 small molecule inhibitors using thiazole hydrazone as the parent nucleus. Among them, 9g, 10g, 37g, 47g and 52g showed good inhibitory activities. This work represents an initial exploration in the development of small molecule inhibitors targeting IGF2BP2, using thiazolehydrazone as the core structure. It lays a foundation for subsequent related research.

The non-alkaloid chemical constituents of dried Phellodendron chinense barks were investigated. A total of 14 phenolic compounds (1-14) were isolated from the 95% ethanol extract of Phellodendron chinense by the utilization of silica gel, medium pressure liquid chromatography, Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography, and preparative liquid chromatography. Among of the isolated compounds, isophellolactone (1) was identified as a new compound. The isolated 14 compounds were further tested the activity on α-glucosidase inhibition. The results for the first time demonstrated that quininic acid ester 3-6 and 8 exhibited good α-glucosidase inhibitory activity. Polyhydroxy hexa-membered carbon ring in quinine ester derivatives is possibly the essential group for the α-glucosidase inhibitory activity.

The ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) is responsible for protein degradation in both normal and pathological states. E3 ligases selectively attach ubiquitin to specific substrates, which is essential for regulating cellular homeostasis. The function of E3 ligases has been associated with a variety of diseases, such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. The discovery of E3 ligands can help regulate E3 ligases, thus expanding new ideas for disease treatment. Targeted protein degradation (TPD) drugs, including proteolysis targeting chimera (PROTAC), have become increasingly popular in recent years due to their dependence on E3 ligands. In this paper, we review the discovery techniques of E3 ligands, including activity-based protein mapping, fragment-based drug discovery, and library-based methods, and briefly introduce the protein interaction detection techniques involved in the ligand discovery techniques, in the hope of providing certain ideas for the future discovery of E3 ligands as well as the treatment of diseases.

Heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) is a class of molecular chaperones essential for maintaining protein homeostasis in cells. Hsp70s also play important roles in the pathogenesis of a variety of diseases, including cancer, neurodegenerative diseases and infectious diseases, which makes them potential targets for the treatment of these diseases. It is necessary to develop small molecule inhibitors to validate this class of important therapeutic targets. In recent years, the discovery of small molecule inhibitors for Hsp70s has made remarkable progress, and Hsp70 inhibitors with different modalities have been reported. In this paper, Hsp70 and relevant diseases are briefly introduced, and the discovery of Hsp70 small molecule inhibitors with distinct modalities are summarized, providing reference for the further discovery and development of Hsp70 small molecule inhibitors.

This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic effect and possible mechanism of carboxyamidotriazole (CAI) on imiquimod (IMQ)-induced psoriasis-like mice model and M5 (IL-1α, IL-17A, IL-22, TNF-α and oncostatin M)-induced keratinocytes model of psoriasis. The severity of psoriasis-like skin lesion in mice was evaluated by psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) score. The histopathological changes of skin were examined by hematoxylin-eosin staining and Baker score was calculated. The levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in skin were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Transcriptome sequencing technique was used to analyze differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) was used to detect mRNA expressions. The animal experiments conducted in this study were approved by the Institutional Animal Care Use & Welfare Committee of Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Science (grant No. ACUC-A02-2022-115). The results showed that CAI significantly improved the severity of psoriasis-like lesion, reduced PASI score, attenuated pathological changes, decreased Baker score and inhibited the levels of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-17A, IL-23 and TNF-α in skin of IMQ-induced mice. Transcriptome sequencing analysis revealed that regulating keratinocytes and their mediated keratinization might be involved in the mechanism of CAI. Further qPCR study validated that CAI down-regulated the mRNA expression of DEG S100a7. Moreover, the keratinocyte model of psoriasis was established by stimulating HaCaT cells by M5. It was shown that CAI decreased the mRNA expression levels of S100a7, Il1β, Il6, Il17, Il23 and Ccl20, which were up-regulated by M5 stimulation. In conclusion, CAI might have a good therapeutic efficacy on psoriasis, and its mechanism was related to regulate the function of keratinocytes and downregulate cytokines and S100a7.

As a major global public health problem, pulmonary diseases threaten human life and health while causing a huge economic burden. The messenger RNA (mRNA)-based inhalation preparation, which effectively targets pulmonary cells can overcome the problems of traditional therapy, such as high side effects, low pulmonary bioavailability, and difficulty in synthesizing target proteins in vitro, thus providing new ideas for the treatment of pulmonary diseases. However, as the lung structure is complex and mRNA has trouble entering cells, researchers have been attempting to develop a suitable nano delivery system for higher delivery efficiency. This review introduces the barriers to pulmonary delivery, discusses the recent research development of the mRNA pulmonary delivery systems, including lipid nanoparticles, polymeric nanoparticles, polypeptides and exosomes, summarizes their limitations and looks forward to the application of mRNA inhalation preparations.

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) accounts for about half of the number of patients with heart failure. In addition to the typical features of heart failure such as myocardial stiffness and diastolic function impairment, the key characteristic of HFpEF is the normal left ventricular ejection fraction, which increases the difficulty of clinical diagnosis. QiShenYiQi Dripping Pills (QSYQ) is a standardized traditional Chinese medicine approved by the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA), and many clinical studies have demonstrated the efficacy and safety of QSYQ in the treatment of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, but the role of QSYQ in HFpEF has not been clarified. In this paper, high fat diet (HFD) and drinking water containing N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 0.5 g·L^-1, pH=7.4) were used in C57BL/6N male mice to construct the classical HFpEF model (the experiment was approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of Hefei University of Technology, the approval number is HFUT20220921002), and at the 8^th week, the mice were dosed with ① empagliflozin, ② low-dose QSYQ (LQ), ③ high-dose QSYQ (HQ), ④ empagliflozin plus low-dose QSYQ (ELQ) for 4 weeks, the body weight of the mice was recorded during the experiment, echocardiography, blood pressure and glucose tolerance were detected and the exercise capacity of mice was evaluated, and pathological and biochemical experiments were used to detect cardiac fibrosis, liver fibrosis and serum biochemical indexes in mice, RNAseq assay was performed with mice heart tissues. The results showed that QSYQ as well as QSYQ+empagliflozin could significantly reduce the body weight, improve diastolic function and hypertension, improve glucose tolerance and enhance exercise ability of HFpEF mice. At the biochemical and molecular levels, QSYQ and QSYQ+empagliflozin can reduce the cross-sectional area of cardiomyocytes and reduce cardiac collagen contents, thereby alleviating myocardial hypertrophy and fibrotic phenotypes, and improve metabolic disorders. The RNAseq results suggest that the function of QSYQ in improving HFpEF may be related to calsequestrin 1. In conclusion, this study shows that QSYQ and QSYQ+empagliflozin can significantly improve HFpEF-related cardiac dysfunction and metabolic disorders, which provides a theoretical basis for the clinical treatment of HFpEF.

Pulmonary disease is one of the major threats to human health. However, the current clinical treatment drugs for lung diseases generally have problems such as low lung delivery efficiency, fast clearance rate and obvious toxic side effects. Recently, membrane biomimetic nanocarriers have attracted more and more attention. Due to their advantages of high targeting, long cycle time, good biocompatibility and strong immune escape ability, membrane biomimetic nanocarriers have become a major research hotspot in targeted therapy of lung diseases. In this review, we discuss the main preparation methods of membrane biomimetic nanoparticles, the characteristics of membrane biomimetic nanocarriers from different cell sources and their application in the targeted therapy of lung diseases. At the same time, according to the characteristics of different membranes, the shortcomings, current technical limitations and future prospects are discussed. This review is expected to provide references for the design of membrane biomimetic nanocarriers and their potential applications in the treatment of lung diseases.