Latest ArticlesThe chemical constituents of Dioscorea opposite Thunb. were isolated and purified by Diaion HP-20, Sephadex LH-20, Toyopearl HW-40, MCI Gel CHP-20, ODS, silica gel column chromatography and semi-preparative-HPLC. Nine compounds were found and their structures were elucidated by spectral data and physicochemical properties, which were identified as 2-(1', 2', 3'-trihydroxybutyl-4'-O-α-D-glucopyranoside)-6-(2", 3", 4"-trihydroxybutyl)-pyrazine (1), uracil (2), xanthine (3), hypoxanthine (4), thymine (5), adenosine (6), uridine (7), inosine (8), and 5'-deoxy-5'-methylsulphinyladenosine (9). The compound 1 is a new pyrazine derivative, and the compound 3-5, 8, 9 are found in this plant for the first time.
Hepatic disease is one of the high-prevalence diseases in China, of which gastrointestinal bleeding is a common complication treated by proton pump inhibitors. Vonoprazan is a novel proton pump inhibitor which acts better than lansoprazole in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. In this study, the pharmacokinetics of vonoprazan was compared between acute hepatic injury and normal condition in rats. Results showed that the exposure (AUC) of vonoprazan was significantly higher in rats with acute hepatic injury than in normal rats, and the metabolites formation rates of vonoprazan also slowed down, which might be due to the change of activity of enzymes and transporters. This find may provide a theoretical basis for the dose regulation of vonoprazan in patients with hepatic injury.
The difference in pH between apical and basolateral side of intestinal epithelial and pH dependence character of the combination of FcRn (neonatal Fc receptor) and ligand might improve the delivery of hydrophobic drugs by facilitating the transcytosis of nanocarriers. Here we designed FcBP (IgG Fc domain-binding peptides) decorated coumarin 6 (C6) loaded poly(ethyl ethylene phosphate)-co-poly(ε-caprolactone) (PEG-PCL) micelles with different ligand densities to study the effect of pH and ligand density on the endocytosis and exocytosis process of micelles on human colon adenanocaricinoma cell lines (Caco-2). Active micelles with different ligand densities and passive micelles were prepared using the thin-film hydration method. The size of the micelles was characterized by dynamic light scattering analysis and the morphology was observed by transmission electron microscope. The endocytosis and exocytosis of the micelles at pH 7.4 and pH 6.0, as well as the effect of FcRn on the endocytosis, were investigated by flow cytometry. The results showed that the size of micelles was about 30 nm, which was not affected by FcBP decoration. We found that pH and ligand density could both influence the endocytosis. The uptake of active micelles was higher at pH 6.0 than at pH 7.4, and an optimal ligand density of endocytosis was appeared in both pH environment. Then we proved that FcBP decorated micelles could be endocytosed at pH 6.0 and exocytosed at pH 7.4, and the exocytosis process was also related to ligand density. Micelles with 10% ligand density had the largest exocytosis, showing the potentiality to deliver drugs through the intestinal epithelial. In addition, the competitive inhibition experiments illustrated that the interaction between FcRn and FcBP were essential to endocytosis. The results will enhance the understanding on the FcBP decorated PEG-PCL micelles for transmemberane drug delivery.
This study was designed to investigate the effect of minocycline on microglia activation of M1/M2 phenotypes. The model was induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in BV-2 microglia cells, and was used to evaluate the effect and mechanism of minocycline. We measured nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) in M1 type microglia, and interleukin-10 (IL-10) and transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) in M2 type microglia through enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). We used flow cytometry to detect the expression of M1 marker CD16/32 and M2 marker CD206 in order to evaluate the influence of minocycline on microglia activation of M1/M2 polarization. Finally, we explored the mechanism of minocycline through detection of the protein expression in response to activation of toll like receptor 4 (TLR4)-mediated myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88) dependent pathway, mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB). The results suggest that minocycline obviously inhibited the production of NO, PGE2, TNF-α and IL-6, and increased the production of IL-10, TGF-β in LPS-stimulated BV-2 cells. Minocycline significantly down-regulated the expression of M1 marker CD16/32 and up-regulated the expression of M2 marker CD206. These results suggest that minocycline can inhibit the activation of microglia to M1 phenotype and promote the transformation of M2 phenotype through down-regulation of p38 and NF-κB signaling pathways.
This study was designed to explore the "multi-components, multi-targets and multi-pathways" intervention mechanism of Huanglian Jiedu decoction (HLJDD) in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) by pharmacological network technology, which may establish a foundation for drug development and innovative research. Seventeen active constituents of HLJDD with anti-AD activities were submitted to PharmMapper and Molecule Annotation System (MAS 3.0) bioinformatics softwares to predict the target proteins and carry out related KEGG pathways annotation respectively. The network of "active compound-target-pathway" was constructed and analyzed using the Cytoscape 3.4.0 software. The results suggest that 47 pathways are affected by the 17 active components through 59 target proteins, in which 4 target proteins are related to AD and 2 pathways related to neuroinflammation, respectively. The effect of HLJDD on AD may be dependent on clearing/reducing β-amyloid protein, inhibiting Tau hyperphosphorylation, anti-inflammation and immunoregulation.
In order to find highly active antidiabetic agents, the 3-amino group of skeletal structure of thiazolidine-2, 4-diones (TZDs) was modified to generate the new molecules TM1 and TM2 in the present research. The new molecules TM3-TM6 containing rhodanine structural units were designed based upon the bioisostere and combination principles. The target molecules TM7, which is similar to the traditional TZDs structurally, were designed by connecting the phenolic hydroxyl of the above target molecules to carbazole through a linker. All of these target compounds were synthesized successfully by selecting suitable synthetic routes with optimized procedures. The assay results of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor response element (PPRE) agonist activity revealed that the PPAR agonist activity was decreased due to the change of TZD ring. The assay of α-glucosidase inhibitory activity and protein tyrosine phosphatase-1B (PTP-1B) inhibitory activity showed that most of the seven serials target molecules have weak activities in vitro. However, 3 of the compounds exhibited strong PTP-1B inhibitory activities. TM2-6 exhibited the highest inhibitory activities, which reached 96.71% with IC50 1.48 mg·L-1. In addition, the toxicity prediction disclosed that the highly active compounds were almost non-toxic. These results provide a hint for the development of new antidiabetic
In the era of genome-wide association study (GWAS), a large number of drug response-related loci have been identified in the non-coding sequences. The interpretation of these loci in mechanism is concerned with the effects on the mRNA expression level of these genes. Expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) studies indicate the relationship of genome variants and the level of mRNA. Its elucidation of the relationship between genetic variation and gene expression, gene interaction and gene regulatory network provides an efficacious mean for pharmacogenomics. The effects of gene polymorphism on drug responses have been unraveled thoroughly in studies which combined pharmacogenomics with eQTL and GWAS.
Fibronectin extra-domain B (ED-B) has been a good target in new drug development, several relevant antibody drugs are in phase Ⅱ or Ⅲ clinical trials for metastatic melanoma, soft-tissue sarcoma and so on. Some data of phase Ⅱ clinical trials shows that ED-B antibody drugs (L19-IL2 and L19-TNF α) for melanoma are significantly superior to PD-1 antibody drugs. This article describes several aspects of ED-B, such as biological characteristics, the development of targeted drugs, and the potential therapeutic applications, including modifying protein drug structure, constructing fusion protein, expanding indications, developing companion diagnostics and individual treatments. We also discuss how to promote original innovation in drug discovery, which might help to find new development focus.
Three sesquiterpenoids were isolated from the dichloromethane extract of the roots of Stelleropsis tianschanica Pobed through a combination of various chromatographic approaches, including silica gel, Sephadex LH-20, reverse phase C18 and so on. On the basis of spectroscopic data analysis, they were identified as (+)-guaia-l(10), ll-dien-9-one-5α-hydroxy (1), 4β, 5βH-guai-9, 7(11)-dien-12, 8-olide-1α, 8α-diol (2), 4α, 5βHguai-9, 7(11)-dien-12, 8-olide-1α, 8α-diol (3). The compound 1 is a new sesquiterpenoid, and the compound 3 was isolated for the first time from the genus Stelleropsis.
LEA (late embryogenesis abundant) proteins that are highly hydrophilic and thermally stable play a role in plant defense. The full-length cDNA of DoLEA2 was cloned by rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) from Dendrobium officinale (GenBank number:KY626329). The cDNA is 1 224 bp and encodes 313 amino acids. The deduced DoLEA2 protein contained LEA_2 and WHy domains. Multiple sequence alignment revealed that DoLEA2 shared a high homology with other species. Phylogenetic tree showed that DoLEA2 belonged to the monocotyledon and its closest relative was P. aphrodite. DoLEA2 was differentially expressed in the different organ. The expression was most abundant in the leaves, followed by that of the roots and stem. DoLEA2 could express in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3), and the best induction conditions were 0.5 mmol·L-1 IPTG at 37℃ for 4 h. The growth curves of E. coli BL21 (DE3) showed that the recombinant DoLEA2 protein improved tolerate against salt stress over the control. This study represents the first time of cloning and identification of the function of LEA2 in D. officinale. The result sets up an important foundation for the molecular mechanism of stress resistance in Dendrobium officinale.