This study aimed to address the protective role of Guilingji (GLJ) against hydrocortisone-induced Kidney-Yang deficiency syndrome in rats with metabolites in serum, and explore its regulative approaches. KidneyYang deficiency syndrome rat model was constructed by high-dose injection of hydrocortisone. Rats were randomly divided into 6 groups:control group, model group, positive (Jinkui Shenqi Wan) group and low, medium, or highdose group of GLJ for continuous administration over 30 days. The efficacy of GLJ was evaluated with traditional pharmacodynamic indicators (body weight, behavioral indicators, and biochemical parameters) after the model was replicated successfully. Animal experimentation was approved according to the Committee on the Ethics of Animal Experiments of Shanxi University. Serum metabolic profiles obtained by UHPLC-Q Exactive Orbitrap-MS were used to explore metabolic regulation mechanism of GLJ. The results showed that GLJ could significantly improve Kidney-Yang deficiency syndrome. Pathway analysis showed that leucine-isoleucine metabolism, ether ester metabolism, and bile acid metabolism were the main pathways, with the main mechanism of action involving energy balance, intestinal homeostasis and immune function.

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.

We studied the effect of aqueous extract from Huang qi on gene expression profile of doxorubicin induced nephropathy in rats, and explored the molecular mechanism of the intervention. The gene expression profiles of control group, model group and aqueous extract from Huang qi group were detected by using transcriptome sequencing technique. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened by STEM trend analysis software. GO function enrichment and KEGG pathway analysis were performed for DEGs, and the gene expression level was verified by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). The results showed that, compared with the control group, 432 DEGs were obtained in doxorubicin nephropathy model group; compared with the model group, 811 DEGs were obtained due to aqueous extract of Huang qi. The results of GO function enrichment and KEGG enrichment analysis indicated that PI3K-AKT pathway (Col6a6, Nr4a1, Sgk1, Gng7) and lipid metabolism-related genes (Cpt1b, Pcsk9, Abca1, Ascm5) were the key pathways and genes in the treatment of doxorubicin induced nephropathy by aqueous extract from Huang qi, which played a protective role in kidney. In conclusion, the molecular mechanism of aqueous extract from Huang qi in protection against doxorubicin induced nephropathy rats is closely related to apoptosis-related genes and lipid metabolism-related genes, suggesting for the need of follow-up study for key gene validation and mechanism of action of aqueous extract from Huang qi for prevention of doxorubicin induced nephropathy.

The purpose of current study is to investigate the metabolic profile of a triptolide derivative (5R)-5-hydroxytriptolide in vitro. (5R)-5-Hydroxytriptolide was incubated with the hepatocytes of human, monkey, dog, rat or mouse, respectively. Compared with inactivated hepatocytes, four metabolites were identified in hepatocytes from all five species:oxidative ring-opening metabolite (M1), glutathione-conjugating metabolite (M2), and monooxidative combined with glutathione-conjugating metabolites (M3-1 and M3-2), respectively. In human or rat liver microsomes, seven metabolites of (5R)-5-hydroxytriptolide were found, dehydrogenated metabolite (M4) and monooxidative metabolites (M5-1-M5-6), respectively. Reference standards for the metabolites were obtained either through chemical semisynthesis or biotransformation through rat primary hepatocytes. The structures of five metabolites were confirmed, which were 12, 13-epoxy ring-opening metabolite M1, 12-glutathione-conjugating metabolite M2, (16S)-, (2R)- and (19R)-monohydroxylated metabolites M5-1, M5-4, and M5-5, respectively. In vitro activity assay revealed that only (2R)-hydroxylated metabolite exhibited weak immunosuppressive activity with less than one-tenth the activity of its parent drug, and a significant decrease in toxicity was observed. It is suggested that (5R)-5-hydroxytriptolide might undergo metabolic inactivation and detoxification in vivo.

This study aimed to explore the anti-tumor activity and mechanisms of action of isorhamnetin, a compound isolated from Astragalus membranaceus, in combination with sorafenib for treatment of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The anti-tumor activity of isorhamnetin in combination with sorafenib was detected by MTT assay with cells in culture or Renca xenograft model in mice. Western blot was used to study the mechanisms of isorhamnetin in combination with sorafenib. Lymphocyte proliferation assay was also used to investigate the effects of the two drugs in combination. The results indicated that isorhamnetin inhibited the proliferation of RCC cells, with IC₅₀ for A498, 786-O and Renca cell lines with being 31.7, 28.8 and 106.0 μmol·L^-1, respectively. Isorhamnetin in combination with sorafenib improved the anti-lymphocyte proliferation activity of sorafenib with the IC₅₀ down to 12.0 μmol·L^-1. Isorhamnetin inhibited the growth of RCC in mice slightly with the inhibition efficiency at 26.9%. With 50.0 mg·kg^-1 isorhamnetin in combination with 20.0 mg·kg^-1 sorafenib, the anti-tumor activity of sorafenib was enhanced, with inhibition of growth rate increased to 60.7%. Meanwhile, isorhamnetin in combination with sorafenib could promote the lymphocytes proliferation in Renca xenograft model. Western blot results showed that combination of isorhamnetin and sorafenib could inhibit c-Raf/MEK/ERK and AKT/mTOR signaling pathways. In conclusion, the combination of isorhamnetin with sorafenib could increase the anti-tumor activity of sorafenib in RCC in vitro and in vivo. The mechanisms may be related to the inhibition of c-Raf/MEK/ERK and AKT/mTOR signaling pathways. Procedures for animal study were performed with approval of the Animal Care and Use Committee of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College.

This study was designed to investigate the inhibitory effect and mechanism of neferine (Nef) on invasion and metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells (NPC). The viability of CNE-1 and 5-8F cells was detected by CCK-8 assay after treatment with different concentrations of Nef. The effects of Nef on cell migration and invasion were detected by the scratch test and Transwell assay. Western blot analysis was used to detect the effects of Nef on levels of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-associated proteins and transcription factors. The differentially expressed gene profiles between control group and Nef group were analyzed by microRNA microarray, combined with bioinformation analysis. It was observed that 30 μmol·L^-1 Nef had no significant effect on the viability of CNE-1 and 5-8F cells. Western blot assay showed that the expression level of neurotroponin cadherin (N-cadherin) and vimentin decreased after treatment with Nef, while the expression of epithelial cadherin(E-cadherin) increased. The expression of transcription factors including Twist, Snail, and Slug exhibited no significant difference. Results of the microRNA microarray suggest that 10 microRNAs showed significant differences when compared with the control group. Bioinformatics analysis showed that hsa-let-7c-5p and hsamicroRNA-423-5p targeted the same downstream genes:small integral membrane protein 3 (SMIM3) and nerve growth factor (NGF). Overexpression of hsa-let-7c-5p and hsa-miR-423-5p promoted the invasion and migration ability of 5-8F cells and decreased the expression of SMIM3 and NGF. The results from this study suggest that Nef may inhibit the invasion and metastasis of NPC cells by inhibiting the expression of hsa-let-7c-5p and hsamiR-423-5p followed by the upregulation of SMIM3 and NGF; thus, regulating the expression of EMT-associated proteins. Our data have provided experimental evidence for the inhibition of tumor invasion and metastasis by Nef.

The aim of this study is to solidify the volatile oil (VO) of Bupleuri radix and forsythiae fructus by using mesoporous silica Sylysia 350FCP (Sylysia 350FCP) as carrier, and to investigate the changes of micromeritic properties before and after drug loading. The volatile oil drug-loading powder (VO-DLP) was prepared by blending process. The micromeritic properties were evaluated by angle of repose, particle size, bulk density, true density and porosity. The compressibility and compactibility of the powder were evaluated by plastic strain energy, ejection force, friction energy and tensile strength. The powder was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, powder X-ray diffraction and synchronous thermal analysis. In addition, the thermal stability, mechanical stability and other key properties of VO-DLP were investigated. We found that mesoporous silica as a carrier of solidifying volatile oil has the advantages for large drug load, high thermal stability, and high mechanical stability. In addition, the excellent properties of mesoporous silica as solid lubricant and glidant are not affected after loading VO, and has no effect on the compression process and compactibility of materials. What's more, it can meet the demand of continuous production.

The surface hydrophobicity of nanoparticles plays an important role in drug delivery process. The aim of this study was to verify the feasibility of using self-assembly method to prepare drug-loaded nanoparticles with tunable surface hydrophobicity. Here, Soluplus was selected as the polymeric carrier to prepare panobinostat (PNB) loaded micelles. Three different monoglycerides, glycerly monooleate (GMO), glycerly linoleate (GML) and glycerly linolenate (GMLO), were used to modify the surface of PNB-Soluplus micelles to prepare polymerlipid hybrid nanoparticles (PLHNs). The effect of monoglyceride type and amount on the physico-chemical properties of PNB-loaded PLHNs was investigated, and the surface hydrophobicity of PLHNs was characterized by Rose Bengal (RB) binding method and mucin particle method. The results suggested that compared with the PNB-Soluplus micelles (particle size 77.97±0.78 nm, zeta potential 0.44±0.29 mV, entrapment efficiency 99.45%±1.47%, the RB binding constant (K) value 0.008±0.002, the increased particle size after mixing with mucin particles 7.90±1.41 nm), surface hydrophobicity of the PLHNs increased significantly when modified by GMO, GML, GMLO, with K values of 0.055±0.010, 0.050±0.011 and 0.058±0.008, respectively. The increased particle sizes after mixing with mucin particles were 17.37±4.48 nm, 22.60±2.10 nm and 25.13±3.89 nm, respectively. Among them, the physico-chemical properties of the GMLO modified PNB-loaded PLHNs (particle size 81.60±4.52 nm, zeta potential 0.77±0.03 mV, entrapment efficiency 99.59%±0.20%) kept constant, thus GMLO was selected to further investigate the effect of GMLO mass ratio (1%-3%) to Soluplus on the properties of the nanoparticles. While no statistical significant difference in particle size, zeta potential, entrapment efficiency or in vitro release behavior was found when GMLO ratio increased, the surface lipophilicity of the PLHNs, as characterized by K values and the increased particle sizes after mixing with mucin particles, increased almost linearly with the increase of GMLO amount. In conclusion, we demonstrated that drug-loaded PLHNs based on Soluplus and GMLO can be prepared by self-assembly method, and the surface hydrophobicity was tunable by modifying the mass ratio of GMLO to Soluplus. This approach could be used for related basic science research aiming to elucidate the effect of surface hydrophobicity on in vivo behavior of drug-loaded system.

Nine compounds were isolated from 95% ethanol extract of the roots of Tagates erecta by silica gel column chromatography and Sephadex LH-20 chromatography. Their structures were identified by spectroscopic data as 5-hydroxymethylfurfuryl methyl succinate (1), 5, 7, 3'-trihydroxyl-3, 6, 4'-trimethoxylflavone (2), syringic acid (3), 5, 7, 4'-trihydroxyl-3, 6-trimethoxylflavone (4), patuletin-4'-methoxyl-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (5), patulitrin (6), 5, 3'-dihydroxyl-3, 6, 4'-trimethoxylflavone-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (7), (2, 2'-biththiophen)-5-ol (8), and 3-hydroxyl-4-methoxyl benzoic acid (9). Among them, compound 1 is a new disubstituted succinate and compound 8 was isolated from a natural resource for the first time. Compounds 2, 4, 5 and 9 were isolated from this genus for the first time. By measuring the biological activity and virulence of different compounds against soybean cyst nematode, it has found that compounds 1-8 exhibited a toxic effect on soybean cyst nematode, and ED₅₀ values indicate that compounds 3 and 7 are the most potent, with ED₅₀ values of 0.008 μg·mL^-1.

Based on dehydrogenation of monocrotaline-induced Beagle dog model of pulmonary hypertension (PH), GC-TOF-MS metabolomics technique was used to identify potential biomarkers and biologically significant changes in the serum. Pattern recognition method was used for processing metabolomics data to compare PH Beagle dogs (n=11) versus healthy controls (n=8). The results show that 514 compounds were detected in the serum. The profiles of PH models and healthy controls can be distinguished clearly, indicating that there are significant differences in the metabolic profiles. Data analysis revealed 15 types of potential biomarkers, including amino acids glycine and 3-cyanoalanine, glucose, fructose, 1-monopalmitic acid glycerin, and malic acid. Diversified metabolites and their metabolic pathways have been analyzed. We found that different degrees of turbulence and disorganization occurred in glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism, TCA cycle, starch and sucrose metabolism pathways in the Beagle dogs. A soluble guanylate cyclase activator, 4, 6-diamino-2-[1-(3-fluorothiophen-2-yl) methyl-1H-pyrazolo[3, 4-b]pyridin-3-yl] -5-pyrimidinyl-N-methyl methyl carbamate (sGC003), was administered (n=15) for comparison with the model and the control. We found that three groups were clearly clustered, indicating that there were differences in the three groups of metabolites. ANOVA statistical analysis results suggested that sGC003 exhibited pharmacodynamic effect, and at the same time, it also changed the endogenous metabolites to some extent. This study laid a foundation for the application of metabolomics in early diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension and provided experimental evidence for the application of sGC003 compound. In this study, the program of animal testing had been approved by Committee on the management of experimental animal in the Beijing Rixin Technology Co. Ltd.