Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease characterized by excessive activation of autoreactive T cells and B cells, abundant production of autoantibodies and multiple joint involvement. Under the influence of heredity and environment, the disorder of innate immunity and adaptive immunity is the fundamental cause of the disease. In recent years, with rapid development of immunometabolism, milestone has been made in regulating the differentiation and function of immune cells through different energy metabolism pathways and related molecules. Many studies have shown that Trp-IDO1, 2/TDO2-Kyn metabolic pathway mediates the pathogenesis and development of autoimmune diseases such as RA. This review summarizes the role of tryptophan (Trp), kynurenine (Kyn) and other metabolites in this metabolic pathway, as well as the role of rate-limiting enzymes indoleamine 2, 3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1), indoleamine 2, 3-dioxygenase 2 (IDO2) and tryptophan-2, 3-dioxygenase 2 (TDO2) in mediating RA inflammatory immune response and synovitis inflammation. This provides an important basis for elucidating the new pathological mechanism of RA and discovering new drug targets.

The herb pair is the simple and exquisite experience summary accumulated by generations of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) experts in the process of long-term herbal prescription for curing diseases. Although it is only a combination of two herbs, it is cleverly matched and properly proportioned, which can well interpret TCM characteristics of "great combination and artful application". Moreover, the herb pair is an intermediate point between single herb and several TCM formulae, which implicates certain regularity and some connotation of many TCM formulae for diagnosis and treatment based on an overall analysis of the illness and the patient's condition. Our team has long been focusing on the complexity of drug interactions and the diversity of TCM components to carry out systematic research on herb pair by using modern scientific and technological knowledge and approaches. As results, a series of modern research approaches and strategies formed for the compatibility effect and bio-active components of the herb pair. By representing the principles and application characteristics of these approaches, this paper provides important support for elucidating scientific connotation of compatibility regularity of herb pairs and application of formulae optimization, as well as explorative ideas and approaches for modern research on other herb pairs.

Using CBBR as the parent core constructed in our lab, we designed and synthesized 15 novel compounds with diverse structures for evaluation of anti-bacterial activities. Structure activity relationship studies revealed that ① ring C was essential for the activity; ② 7, 8-or 8, 13-disubstituted CBBR derivatives showed ideal activities, weaker or similar to those corresponding to 7-, 8-, or 13-monosubstituted CBBR derivatives. Among those, compound 9a showed the most potential activity against MRSA/VISA isolates with MIC values of 1-2 μg·mL^-1, much better than Lev. 9a also displayed higher stability in the plasma and liver microsomes. Molecular docking indicated that 9a might target bacterial DNA Topo Ⅳ ParE subunit, indicating a mode of action distinct from current antibacterial drugs on market. The results provided key scientific evidence for developing such compounds into a new family of anti-MRSA drugs.

Utilization of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) resources for pharmaceutical development is an important part of modernization of TCM. The classical TCM prescriptions provide an important insight for developing new drugs. Based on the advantages of local TCM resources, focusing on the key scientific problems in the quality evaluation of medicinal materials and the study of classical prescriptions, this research group takes the quality evaluation of medicinal materials as the starting point. Metabolomics serves as a technical means of "quality evaluation of TCM, to support scientific connotation of classical prescriptions and development of new drugs from TCM. Using Radix Bupleurum as an example, this paper systematically and thoroughly expounds the above research ideas and strategies from the aspects:quality evaluation of medicinal materials, basic research of Xiaoyansan, and research and development of new anti-depressants. This provides the scientific basis for the modernization of TCM.

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is one of the most serious microvascular complications in diabetic patients, and is the leading cause of end-stage renal disease. The interaction between metabolic and hemodynamic factors leads to activation of the common pathways of diabetic kidney injury. Studies have shown that salvianolic acid can alleviate renal fibrosis and renal injury caused by diabetes by regulating renal tubular interstitial activator A, transforming growth factor-β1 and monocyte chemokine protein-1. It can also participate in the reconstruction of the glomerular extracellular matrix by affecting the expression of protein kinase ERK1/2 protein, which serves a protective effect on diabetic kidneys. Tanshinone can inhibit oxidative stress mediated glucose-induced kidney injury, inhibit the expression of protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) activity, and improve the secretion function of beta cells in type 2 diabetes mellitus. Interstitial fibrosis in diabetic nephropathy can be alleviated by blocking TGF-β/Smad, NF-κB and Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. It has been suggested that salvianolic acid and salvianone are excellent candidates for prevention and treatment of diabetic nephropathy. We provide here the scientific basis for in-depth research and development of salvianolic acid and salvianone into drugs.

Tuberculosis (TB) caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) infection remains a major public health problem of global concern, largely due to antibiotics resistance, persistence and immune evasion. Sphingolipid bioactive molecules are involved in several important pathophysiological processes. Sphingosine-1-phosphate is a key product of sphingolipid metabolism, and can play a role in two manners:autocrine and/or paracrine. Sphingosine-1-phosphate regulates T cells and a variety of antigen-presenting cells during M. tuberculosis infection, promotes antigen processing and expression in monocytes, is involved in the maturation of phagolysosome, regulates Ca²⁺ homeostasis, participates in the autophagy of macrophages, inhibits the survival and proliferation of M. tuberculosis within host cells, and effectively reduces the necrosis of the mouse lungs infected by M. tuberculosis. Injection of 20 nmol per mouse sphingosine-1-phosphate inhibited up to 47% of mycobacterial growth in the lung and spleen of mice infected by M. tuberculosis. In this paper, sphingosine-1-phosphate, its receptors and regulatory network were reviewed, and the specific mechanism of sphingosine-1-phosphate inhibiting the survival of M. tuberculosis-infected host cells was elaborated. This will provide novel insights into the new targets for tuberculosis prevention and treatment.

This study aims to develop multifunctional drug delivery system based on hollow mesoporous copper sulfide (HMCuS) nanoparticles. This type of nanoparticles is expected to achieve the synergistic treatment of tumor by targeted phototherapy and chemotherapy. The carrier was synthesized by a substitution method, and the anti-cancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) was loaded and then modified by hyaluronic acid (HA) to prepare the anticancer drug system DOX/HMCuS-HA. The results suggested that DOX/HMCuS-HA presented uniform spherical structure, with the drug loading efficiency of 33.6%, the particle size and zeta potential being 113.8±6.9 nm and 18.4±2.8 mV, respectively. When 100 μg·mL^-1 HMCuS was irradiated under 808 nm laser (2 W·cm^-2) for 8 min, the temperature can heat up 51℃, demonstrating high photothermal conversion efficacy. Electron spin resonance (ESR) tests and methylene blue degradation experiments showed that HMCuS nanoparticles could simultaneously produce hydroxyl radical (·OH) mediated photodynamic therapy. In addition, HA was responsible for minimizing premature drug release and increasing tumor targeting efficiency by acting as a smart gatekeeper with tumor specific targeting moiety. In vitro drug release experiments showed that the coated HA could be degraded by intracellular lysosomal enzyme hyaluronidase, which facilitated DOX release. The acidic microenvironment of tumor cell and external near infrared (NIR) stimulus could trigger further release of DOX from the nanoparticles. These results point to a new strategy for timely and effective anti-tumor treatment.

Aging is a normal physiological process involving coaction of many factors. The anti-aging effects of natural products have been studied by many domestic and international scholars, but not far enough, which still needed to be explored. Flavonoids, as natural products, have a variety of pharmacological activities and present in many traditional Chinese medicines. In recent years, research results indicate that flavonoids can delay the aging process of the nervous, immune, and reproductive systems, and the liver, skin and other tissues. The anti-aging effects of flavonoids have attracted more and more attention. Therefore, development of anti-aging drugs from flavonoids is of great significance to improve the quality of life for the elderly and slow the process of aging. However, the mechanism of the anti-aging effect of flavonoids remains unknown at present. This review will discuss the anti-aging effect and mechanisms of flavonoids in traditional Chinese medicine from the aspects of cellular signaling pathways and metabolic pathways based on the modern theories of aging.

This study was designed to explore the antipyretic mechanism of Pueraria radix. The method of network pharmacology was used to determine the known ingredients corresponding to Pueraria radix, predict the drug-related gene/protein targets, and analyze the interplay between key ingredients and targets. Biological Information Annotation Databases (DAVID) was used to enrich the biological processes and pathways. The result of network analysis was validated by molecular docking. It was found that 49 active ingredients of Pueraria radix not only regulate 21 targets (e.g. PTGS2, EGFR), but also affect 11 biological processes (e.g. oxidation-reduction process, prostaglandin synthesis, positive regulation of fever generation and inflammatory response) and 7 metabolic pathways (arachidonic acid metabolism, serotonergic synapse and HIF-1, et al). Molecular docking results showed that more than 65% of the active ingredients could be well docked with key targets, and the relevant literatures indicated that the active components could inhibit the expression of PTGS2, which means the result has a high reliability. These results indicated that Pueraria radix may carry its pyretic action via a "multi-ingredients-multitargets-multi-pathways" mode, which provides a scientific basis for further research and drug development.

Cellular energy metabolism disorder caused by dysfunction of nutrient utilization and mitochondrial damage contributes to a variety of diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, metabolic diseases, and cardiovascular diseases. Understanding the effects of energy metabolism on diseases will help to improve our knowledge about disease etiology and may serve to develop strategies to delay disease progress. There are many compounds developed for targeting energy metabolism disorders, such as small molecules targeting the 18 kDa transporter (TSPO) for treatment of Alzheimer's disease, glucagon-like peptide-1 analogues for treatment of Parkinson's disease, inhibitors of glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) and lactate dehydrogenase A for treatment of tumors, the fibroblast growth factors based treatment for type 2 diabetes (T2D), selective ligands of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-β/δ for treatment of cardiovascular diseases. We review here the abnormal energy metabolism of common energy metabolism disorder-related diseases, summarize the potential targets that may be used for new drug discovery, and the strategies for alleviating the disease process by improving energy metabolism.