Carboxylesterase 1 (CE1) is an important serine hydrolase in mammals, which involved in the hydrolysis of a variety of compounds (endogenous substrates like cholesterol and xenobiotic compounds like ester-contain drugs and pesticides). This study aimed to design and develop the fluorescent probe substrates for human carboxylesterase 1 (hCE1), on the basis of the structural features of hCE1 preferred substrates. Four carboxylic esters deriving from BODIPY-8-carboxylic acid were designed and synthesized. After then, reaction phenotyping assays and chemical inhibition assays were used to evaluate the selectivity of these four ester derivatives towards hCE1. Our results clearly demonstrated that the substrate specificity of these ester substrates towards hCE1 would be improved with the decrease of the alcohol group on BODIPY-8-carboxylesters, while BODIPY-8-carboxylesters with small alcohol groups including methyl (BCM) and ethyl (BCE) esters could serve as the ideal probe substrates for hCE1. Given that BCM exhibit rapid hydrolytic rate in hCE1, we further investigate the enzymatic kinetics of this fluorescent probe substrate in both human liver microsomes (HLM) and recombinant hCE1, as well as to explore its potential application in high-throughput screening of hCE1 inhibitors by using HLM as enzyme source. The results showed that the kinetic behaviors and the affinity of BCM in HLM is much closed to those in recombinant hCE1, implying that hCE1 played the key roles in BCM hydrolysis in HLM. Furthermore, the inhibition study demonstrated that BCM could be used for rapid screening and characterization of hCE1 inhibitors, by using HLM to replace recombinant hCE1 as enzyme source.

Praeruptorin C (PC), D (PD) and E (PE) are important compounds extracted from Peucedanum praeruptorum DUNN and have been reported to exert multiple pharmacological activities. The present study is purposed to determine the inhibition of PC, PD and PE on the activity of important phase I metabolic enzymes-carboxylesterases (CES). In vitro human liver microsomes (HLM) incubation system was used to determine the inhibition potential of PC, PD and PE on the activity of CES1 and CES2. Inhibition behaviour was determined, and in vitro-in vivo extrapolation was performed by using the combination of in vitro inhibition kinetic parameter (K_i) and in vivo exposure level of PD. PD exhibited the strongest inhibition on the activity of CES1, with 81.7% activity inhibited by 100 μmol·L^-1 of PD. PD noncompetitively inhibited the activity of CES1 with the K_i to be 122.2 μmol·L^-1, indicating inhibition potential of PD towards CES1 in vivo. Therefore, closely monitoring the endogenous metabolic disorders caused by PD and interaction between PD and drugs mainly undergoing CES1-catalyzed metabolism is very necessary.

Precision medicine (PM) involves the application of "omics" analysis and system biology to analyze the cause of disease at the molecular level for targeted treatments of individual patient. Based on the targeted treatment PM is closely related to pharmaceuticals, which, as a therapeutic means and supply front, mainly embody the two aspects:drug discovery/development, and clinical administration. Innovation of new molecular entities with safety and specific efficacy is the prerequisite and guarantee for the PM practice; on the other hand, the outcome and clues in clinical PM feedback to new drug research. PM and drug research/application are interdependent and promote each other. Aimed at precision medicine, drug discovery and development involve well-known contents:the discovery and validation of targets, the association between target functions and indications (proof of concept), lead discovery and optimization, the association between preclinical investigations and clinical trials, the lean of industrialization and pharmacoeconomics. At the molecular level the therapeutic efficacy originates from the interactive binding between specific atoms or groups of the drug molecule and the complementary atoms or groups of the macromolecular target in three-dimensional space. The strict arrangement of such critical atoms, groups, or fragments reflect specific features for a precise binding to the corresponding target. An alteration of amino acid residues in mutational targets leads to the change in conformation of the target protein, and an accurate structure of drug is necessary for binding to the mutant species and avoiding off-targeting effect. For the tailoring of clinical treatment to the individual patient design and development of various new molecular entities are critical for treatment choice according to the molecular features of biological markers of patients. This article provides some examples and methods of drug design and development in the new period.

This study was conducted to investigate the inhibitory effect and the molecular mechanism of deoxyschizandrin on the activity of NLRP3 (NOD-like receptor family, pyrin domain containing 3) inflammasome. Bone marrow-derived macrophages were used to study the effects of deoxyschizandrin on inflammasome activation using inflammasome inducers (ATP and nigericin). Cytotoxic effect was evaluated with CCK-8. The expression of IL-1β, caspase-1 in the supernatant and the expression of pro-caspase-1, pro-IL-1 β, ASC, NLRP3 in cell was detected by Western blot for the inhibitory effect of deoxyschizandrin (25, 50, 100 and 200 μmol·L^-1) on the activity of NLRP3 inflammasome. Immunofluorescence was applied to investigate NF-κB (p65) transportation to the nucleus. The results of CCK-8 showed that the optimum concentration of deoxyschizandrin was 6.25-400 μmol·L^-1. Deoxyschizandrin (25, 50, 100, and 200 μmol·L^-1) could inhibit the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome caused by nigericin and ATP, and inhibit the secretion of IL-1 β, which was associated with inhibiting the cleavage of pro-caspase-1. The results of immunofluorescence and Western blot also suggest that the inhibitory activity of deoxyschizandrin on NLRP3 inflammasome was not dependent on NF-κB pathway and protein expression of NLRP3, ASC, pro-caspase-1 and pro-IL-1 β mediated by NF-κB. Our results confirmed that deoxyschizandrin could suppress the cleavage of pro-caspase-1 and inhibit the activity of NLRP3 inflammasome at 25-200 μmol·L^-1 to reduce the inflammation response.

The study was designed to explore the effects of HS060098 on activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARα, γ and δ) and in the down-regulation of hyperlipidemia in golden hamster. Luciferase gene reporters of PPARα, PPARγ and PPARδ were constructed in HepG2 cells and the green fluorescent protein (GFP) was used as an internal reference. Transfected cells were then cultured with various concentrations of HS060098 for 24 h. The peroxisome proliferator-response element luciferase activity was determined by the dual-luciferase reporter gene assay system. To investigate the lipid-lowering effect of HS060098, hyperlipidemic golden hamsters fed by high-diet were administered orally with HS060098 through prophylactic and therapeutic approaches respectively. The levels of blood lipids such as total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and fat index in hamsters were evaluated. The results showed that HS060098 was a potent activator of PPAR δ with a good selectivity and the median effective concentration (EC 50) is 0.01 μmol·L^-1, while no obvious PPARα and PPARγ activation was observed. In the golden hamster, oral administration of HS060098 (5, 10, 20 mg·kg^-1·d^-1) for 2 weeks, led to a significant decrease the concentrations of plasma TC, TG, LDL-C and fat index (P＜0.05 or P＜0.01), whereas the contents of plasma HDL-C were increased significantly (P＜0.05 or P＜0.01). The data suggest that HS060098 is a novel PPAR δ agonist with a significant activity in the prevention and therapy of hyperlipemia in golden hamster.

This study was designed to investigate effects of pargyline on histone methylation in the promoter and enhancer regions and transcription of cytochrome P450 3A4/3A7 (CYP3A4/3A7) gene. Human primary fetal liver cells were isolated, cultured and randomly divided into several groups including control, solvent, pargyline low, middle, high dose (treated with 0.6, 1.2, 2.4 mmol·L^-1). HepG2 cells were cultured and treated with 0.03, 0.3, 3 mmol·L^-1 pargyline. After 48 hours, total RNAs were prepared from the cells to determine the expression of CYP3A mRNA in primary fetal cells and HepG2 cells with real-time quantative PCR (qPCR). HepG2 cells were cultured and then treated with 3 mmol·L^-1 pargyline for 48 hours. The chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay was performed with dimethylation of histone H3 at lysine 4 (H3K4me2), and IgG antibodies respectively. The precipitated DNA was resuspended and used for qPCR. Primers were used to detect different regions of CYP3A4/3A7 promoter and enhancer. Occupancy of H3K4me2 was shown as percent of input DNA relative to control cells. The results suggested that pargyline has an effect on primary fetal liver cells and HepG2 cells proliferation. The level of CYP3A7 was markedly enhanced in human primary fetal liver cells by treatment with 1.2, 2.4 mmol·L^-1 of pargyline (P＜0.05, P ＜0.01) and the levels of CYP3A4/3A7 were remarkably enhanced by treatment with 3 mmol·L^-1 of pargyline in HepG2 cells (P＜0.001) compared with solvent control. Occupancy of H3K4me2 on human CYP3A4 promoter (-362 to +53) and enhancer segment (-7 836 to -6 093) harbored the overlapping hepatocyte nuclear factors 4A (HNF4A) binding site compared with a negative control. Occupancy of H3K4me2 on human CYP3A7 promoter (-163 to +103) and enhancer segment (-4 054 to -3 421, -6 265 to -6 247) overlapped with glucocorticoid receptor (GR) binding site. In conclusion, the enriched H3K4me2 in the promoter and enhancer regions was induced by pargyline with HNF4A or GR binding site in CYP3A4/3A7 gene to activate the corresponding genes.

This study was designed to screen the targets of bioactive ingredients of Baihe Dihuang Tang, and investigate the "multi-components, multi-targets and multi-pathways" intervention mechanism of Baihe Dihuang Tang on psychological sub-health. The ADME/T calculation method was used to screen the active ingredient of Baihe Dihuang Tang, and then using ADME/T calculation method to filtrate the active components of Baihe Dihuang Tang, then Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP), PharmMapper database and Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) were combined to forecast and filtrate the targets of the main active ingredients. In addition, the predicted targets were verified by the Surflex-dock in Sybyl. The Cytoscape software was used to construct the Baihe Dihuang Tang ingredients-targets-disease network, while ClueGO software was used to analyze the molecular function and biological process of the targets. There are total 11 active ingredients and 21 targets in Baihe Dihuang Tang. A good interaction between them was supported by the score. The 21 targets were mainly involved in gamma-aminobutyric acid signaling pathway, cAMP metabolic process and monoamine transport relevant biological processes. Thus, Baihe Dihuang Tang may play a role in the intervention of psychological sub-health by regulating the activity of G-protein coupled amine receptor and the expression of monoamine neurotransmitter, which reflects the features of traditional Chinese medicine multi-components, multi-targets and multi-pathways. This research provides evidences on the pharmacological mechanism of Baihe Dihuang Tang effect on psychological sub-health.

This study is designed to investigate the protective effect and mechanism of cordycepin on nonalcoholic fatty liver in ob/ob mice. Twelve-week-old male ob/ob mice were divided into 5 groups according to their body weight and blood glucose, and C57BL/6J mice were used in the control group. The animals were orally administered with cordycepin for 7 weeks. Body weight and food intake were measured once a week. Blood were collected from ophthalmic venous and biochemical indexes were determined at the 2nd and 4th week. Insulin tolerance test was performed at the 5th week. After 7 weeks of administration, liver tissues were collected to determine the contents of triglycerides and total cholesterol, and pro-inflammatory cytokines. Liver histology was performed by hematoxylin-eosin and oil-red O staining. Total RNA were extracted from liver tissues and the levels of lipid metabolism-related and inflammation-related genes were detected by real time PCR. Cordycepin effectively reduced the blood lipids level and improved liver function. Nevertheless, it did not improve insulin resistance in ob/ob mice. Cordycepin significantly reduced the contents of triglycerides and cholesterol, and the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in liver tissues. Moreover, cordycepin remarkably suppressed the expression of genes related to lipids synthesis and inflammation. These results indicate that cordycepin may improve non-alcoholic fatty liver in ob/ob mice, and the underlying mechanism may be associated with decreased expression of genes related to lipids synthesis and inflammation.

Thiochromanones and 1,3,4-thiadazoles as heterocyclic compounds have broad biological activities. In order to find novel compounds with antifungal bioactivity, substituted thiophenol and maleic anhydride were used to synthesize the intermediate 4-oxothiochromane-2-carboxylic acid. It was reacted with 2-amino-1,3,4-thiadiazol to get fourteen target compounds containing 1,3,4-thiadazole moiety. The structures of the obtained compounds were confirmed by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and HR-MS. All compounds were investigated for antifungal activity via microdilution broth method. The results showed that the target compounds 3a and 3c to Epidermophyton floccosum and Mucor racemosus exhibited better antifungal activity than the positive control fluconazole, in which the minimum inhibition concentration can reach 8 μg·mL^-1 and 16 μg·mL^-1. Compound 3e showed significant inhibitory activity to Helminthosporium maydis, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Botrytis cinerea compared with that of the positive control carbendazim. Compound 3b exhibited inhibitory activity to Helminthosporium maydis better than the positive control carbendazim.

Twenty phenylpropenamide analogs with structural novelty were designed and synthesized upon pharmacophore-combination strategy. The structures of target compounds were elucidated by IR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and MS, and all the target compounds were biologically evaluated for the inhibitory activities of platelet aggregation induced by adenosine diphoshate (ADP) and (AA) arachidonic acid via Bron method. As a result, compounds 6b, 9b, 9d and 9h demonstrated potent inhibitory activity against platelet aggregation induced by AA. Meanwhile, compounds 6b, 6d, 6j, 9b and 9g exhibited significant suppression of platelet aggregation induced by ADP.