Alterations of mitochondrial structure and function in tumor cells allow cell survival and proliferation under hypoxic and acidic microenvironment. The effect of normal mitochondria on tumor initiation and development remains unknown. In this study, mice were euthanized by rapid cervical dislocation for isolation of hepatic mitochondria, which were injected intravenously to melanoma-bearing mice. This animal experiment had been approved by Southwest University Experiment Animal Ethics Review Committee. The results showed that exogenous mitochondria can significantly inhibit the growth of melanoma. Mitochondria isolated from the liver of young mice had more potent anti-melanoma effect than those isolated from aging mice. The average volume of tumors decreased significantly from 1.35 cm³ to 0.34 cm³, and the average mass of tumors decreased significantly from 0.63 g to 0.22 g. This anti-tumor mechanism might be associated with induction of mitophagy and cell necrosis after the exogenous mitochondria entering the melanoma cells. As mitotherapy can clinically improve somatic cell survival for treatment of pediatric patients with myocardial ischemia, the observed anti-tumor effect of exogenous mitochondria provides a hope for selective tumor treatment.

IMB5046 is a newly discovered nitrobenzoate functioning as a microtubule inhibitor. Here we report its synthesis and in vitro anti-angiogenic activity. IMB5046 was synthesized by conjugation of 2-morpholin-4-yl-5-nitrobenzoic acid with 4-(methylthio)benzyl alcohol via two-step reactions. The structure of the end product was verified using ¹H NMR and HR-MS spectroscopy. The effect of these compounds on cell proliferation was determined using MTT assay, and their impact on cytoskeleton was investigated using fluorescence assay. Flow cytometry was performed to examine the effect of IMB5046 on cell cycle. Cell wound scratch assay and Transwell assay were performed to examine cell migration. Endothelial tube formation assay was used to evaluate the anti-angiogenic activity of IMB5046. The results indicated that IMB5046 induced endothelial cell contraction and microtubule depolymerization, and inhibited the proliferation of endothelial cells and tumor cells, while two raw materials showed no obvious effects. IMB5046 arrested cell cycle at G₂/M phase, even at low-cytotoxic concentrations it significantly inhibited the motility of endothelial cells. IMB5046 inhibited the tube formation of endothelial cells according to the number of tubes and junctions. In conclusion, IMB5046 is a promising microtubule-targeting drug with anti-angiogenic activity.

The purpose of this study was to select the active compounds targeting Hsp90 protein in pancreatic cancer cells through a new dual "target + activity" rapid discovery technique. We combined an in vitro anti-cancer activity screening method with a dual-luciferase reporter gene and multi-chromatography separation technology, for rapid discovery of potential Hsp90 inhibitors from the Chinese herbal medicine Physalis angulata L. The anti-proliferation activity of those compounds was assessed in pancreatic cancer cell line BxPC-3 by MTT assays. The molecular mechanisms of Hsp90 inhibition were explored by Western blot and shRNA knockdown assays. As a result, two withanolides, withanolide E (WE) and 4β-hydroxywithanolide E (HWE), were identified from Physalis angulata L. The half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) of WE and HWE were 0.71±0.03 and 1.23±0.10 μmol·L^-1 for the growth of BxPC-3 cells in 48 h. Luciferase reporter assay demonstrated that WE and HWE significantly induced heat shock element (HSE) activity in a dose-and time-dependent manner. The molecular mechanism study showed that after exposing to 5 μmol·L^-1 WE or HWE for 48 h, the aggregation of Hsp90 dimer was upregulated to 6.5±1.3 and 11.8±2.0 fold, while the expression of Hsp90 client protein Akt was downregulated to 21.7%±2.8% and 9.8%±1.4% of the control group. Moreover, the Hsp90 inhibitory activity of WE or HWE was canceled by shRNA mediated Hsp90 knockdown. Overall, based on the dual "target + active" rapid discovery technique, two new Hsp90 inhibitors WE and HWE were found from Physalis angulata L. The Hsp90 inhibitory mechanism of WE and HWE may be mediated by induction of Hsp90 aggregate dimer and inhibition of Hsp90 client protein Akt expression.

This study was designed to explore the interventional mechanism involving "multi-components, multi-targets and multi-pathways" of Gu-Chang-Zhi-Xie pills (GCZX) for treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) using pharmacological network technology. Firstly, 96 active ingredients from GCZX pills were screened by ADME parameter filtration and chemical space principal component analysis, and the targets of anti-IBS function were predicted using PharmMapper online database. Secondly, AutoDock Vina was used to validate the docking between the active ingredients and predicted disease targets, and to establish the corresponding relationship between "pharmacodynamic molecules and target proteins". Finally, the target elements were mapped into the KEGG biological pathway by CluoGO plug-in, which further elucidates the potential relationship between the key targets and the mechanism of action of Gu-Chang-Zhi-Xie pills for treatment of IBS. The results showed that most of the top 11 key pharmacodynamic molecules were isoquinoline alkaloids, which mainly acted on inflammatory or pain targets, with different degrees of anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects. A total of 39 key targets were identified, including TPH1, TNF-α, IL-6, IFN-γ, MAO-A and IL-10. These targets were mapped to 29 KEGG pathways, of which the P-value of 5-HT signaling pathway was the smallest. Therefore, the pharmacodynamic molecules mainly act on 6 core targets and may play a major role in the regulation of 5-HT signal synthesis or transport pathway. This study sets an example for drug development and mechanistic investigation using innovative technology.

Recently, hepatic sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (HSOS) caused by Gynura Rhizoma (Tusanqi) has gained global attention. The purpose of this research is to investigate the effects and mechanisms of Danning tablet, a traditional Chinese formula, on protecting against HSOS induced by Gynura Rhizoma. All experiments were approved by the Animal Research Committee of Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Animal welfare and the animal experimental protocols were strictly consistent with related ethics regulations of Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. HSOS was induced by intragastrical administration of Gynura Rhizoma extract (1 g·kg^-1·d^-1) for 40 consencutive days. On the other hand, mice in the protection group were intragastrical administration of Danning tablet powder (3 g·kg^-1·d^-1) 4 hours before treatment of Gynura Rhizoma extract. The results showed that Danning tablet could significantly attenuate the liver injury in HSOS mice. Mice in the protection group showed decreased serum activity of spartate amino transferase, and levels of total bile acids and total bilirubin. In addition, the endothelial damage to the central venules, subendothelial hemorrhage, sinusoidal hemorrhage, and subendothelial fibrosis in HSOS mice were clearly attenuated in the protection group. Measurements of the key factors involved in liver fibrosis revealed that protection group showed significantly reduction in hepatic hydroxyproline concentration, mRNA expression of α-smooth muscle actin and fibrosis-related genes such as Collagen-1, Collagen-3, Mmp2 and Mmp9, as well as Smad3 phosphorylation (p-Smad) and serum transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β). Moreover, pro-inflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1β, were also reversed in the protection group. All these results demonstrate the key roles of the TGF-β/p-Smad3 and inflammatory signaling pathways in the protection effect of Danning tablet on Gynura Rhizoma-induced HSOS, and pointing to the possibility of utilizing Danning tablet for protection against Gynura Rhizoma induced HSOS clinically.

To screen the antithrombotic effective components group of Trichosanthes extract, and to verify its pharmacodynamics and analyze its mechanism, the HPLC fingerprint of Trichosanthes extract (0.09, 0.45, 0.9 g·kg^-1) was established, and the pharmacodynamic indexes of antithrombosis in rats with aspirin (0.01 g·kg^-1) as positive control group were determined (the animals used in this experiment were approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Wannan Medical College). The antithrombotic spectrum-activity relationship of Trichosanthes extract was studied and the effective antithrombotic ingredients group was screened by grey relational analysis. The monomer compound mixed solution (0.006, 0.03, 0.06 g·kg^-1) was prepared according to the content of each component in the active component group, and the pharmacodynamics and action mechanism were studied to verify the correctness of the spectrum-effect relationship. The correlation between the 22 components of Trichosanthes extract and antithrombotic efficacy was different and showed dose-effect relationship. Cytosine, uracil, guanine, hypoxanthine, xanthine, adenine, guanosine, and adenosine are the main antithrombotic components of Trichosanthes extract. The ratio of cytosine, uracil, guanine, hypoxanthine, xanthine, adenine, guanosine and adenosine was 3:12:10:5:2:8:13:14. Compared with the model group, the thrombus dry weight of each effective components group could be effectively reduced (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05), but there was no significant difference between each effective components group and the Trichosanthes extract group. Compared with the model group, the TXB₂ content in group (0.06 g·kg^-1, 0.03 g·kg^-1) could be effectively reduced (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05), and the content of 6-keto-PGF_1α could be increased in each group (P < 0.01), and the TXB₂/6-keto-PGF_1α tended to be normal and showed a dose-effect relationship. The effect was better than that in the Trichosanthes extract group (0.45 g·kg^-1) (P < 0.01). The effective ingredients group has a good antithrombotic effect, its mechanism is to inhibit platelet aggregation and improve vascular endothelial function.

The chemical constituents of Cydonia oblonga (Quince) seeds were investigated using chromatographic methods, including silica gel, Sephadex LH-20 and semi-preparative-HPLC. Eleven compounds were isolated and their structures were elucidated on 1D or 2D NMR, and HR-ESI-MS. These analyses have lead to identification of 5, 7-dihydroxy-2-n-pentacosanyl chromen-4-one (1), ursolic acid (2), tormentic acid (3), oleanolic acid (4), β-daucosterol (5), β-sitosterol (6), amygdalin (7), rutin (8), kaempferol (9), quercetin (10) and isoquercitrin (11). Among these, compound 1 is a new compound, and compounds 3, 5 were isolated from this plant for the first time. Compounds 1-4 and 8 showed significant PTP1B inhibitory activities with IC₅₀ value of 0.465, 16.14, 28.96, 23.78 and 11.70 μmol·L^-1, respectively.

Based on coumarin core structure as the procaspase-3 activator 1541 from our previous study, twelve coumarin derivatives bearing benzothiazole or benzene moiety were designed and synthesized. Target compounds were evaluated for in vitro antitumor activity against a procaspase-3 overexpressing cancer cell line (human histiocytic lymphoma cell, U937) and a procaspase-3 no-expression cancer cell line (human breast adenocarcinoma cell, MCF-7) to rule out off-target effects. The results revealed that coumarin derivatives bearing benzothiazole showed more potent inhibition activity and selectivity against procaspase-3 over-expressing cancer cell line (U937) than procaspase-3 low-sensitive cancer cell line (MCF-7). Caspase-3 activity evaluation showed that coumarin derivatives bearing benzothiazole showed remarkable caspase-3 activation activity, among them, compound 5f displayed the strongest activity with 93% degree. Flow cytometric assay revealed that compound 5f could inhibit proliferation of tumor cells by inducing apoptosis. Procaspase-3 activity assay showed that compound 5f showed strong procaspase-3 activation activity.

A sensitive and efficient liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for quantitative determination of diflucortolone in rabbit plasma after dermal administration of diflucortolone valerate cream to rabbits. After extraction with ethyl acetate, the chromatographic separation was performed on Zorbax Eclipse XDB-C18 (50 mm×4.6 mm, 5 μm) with a gradient mobile phase consisting of 50% acetonitrile-50% methanol and 0.1% formic acid-5% methanol-5 mmol·L^-1 ammonium formate at a flow rate of 0.35 mL·min^-1. The quantitative analysis was carried out using multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) at specific ion transitions of m/z[M+H]⁺ 395.2→m/z 355.2 for diflucortolone and m/z[M+H]⁺ 258.1→m/z 120.9 for ethoxyphenylethylamine (internal standard) in positive ion mode with electrospray ionization (ESI) source. This validated LC-MS/MS method had a linearity over the concentration range of 0.01-10 ng·mL^-1 with the lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) at 0.01 ng·mL^-1. At level of LLOQ, the inter and intra-assay precision (RSD) were no greater than 9.82% and 11.0%, respectively. The main pharmacokinetic parameters of the diflucortolone including t_max, C_max, AUC_{0-72 h}, and t_1/2 were as follows:(6.33±1.21) h, (0.168±0.080 0) ng·mL^-1, (3.15±0.834) h·ng·mL^-1, (32.0±17.4) h. The method was validated in the pharmacokinetic study of diflucortolone in rabbit following dermal administration of diflucortolone valerate cream at dose of 0.01 g·cm^-2. In this study, the program of animal testing had been approved by Committee on the management and usage of experimental animal in the Evaluation Company of Innovative Drug, Tianjin Institute of Pharmaceutical Research.

This study aimed to evaluate the predictive performance of a vancomycin population pharmacokinetic model in 0-10 year Chinese pediatric patients. This study was approved by the Ethics Research Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, data from hospitalized children ≤ 10 years of age who receiving vancomycin were collected retrospectively. Individual predictive values (IPRED) were estimated by Bayesian Analysis based on a previous published population pharmacokinetic model, and compared with the observed steady state trough concentration. As results, a total of 371 vancomycin serum concentrations from 191 patients were taken for the external validation. The mean error (ME), the mean relative prediction error (ME%), the mean absolute error (MAE) and the root mean square error (RMSE) in individual prediction method for the total patients were -0.50 mg·L^-1, 6.03%, 1.84 mg·L^-1, 2.86 mg·L^-1 respectively. The correlation coefficient between individual predictions and detection values was 0.95. The stability and the predictive performance of model were accepted by goodness-of-fit, visual predictive check (VPC) and Bland-Altman. The percentage of individual prediction error within ±30% was 82.75%. The above results suggest that, this Chinese pediatric population pharmacokinetic model in 0-10 years old has a good prediction performance. It can be applied to the design of initial treatment plan and predicting the extent of drug exposure.