The covalent binding of drugs and their metabolites to proteins forms drug-protein adducts, which may cause adverse reactions in the body. The development of adductomics technology is helpful for the identification of covalent adducts between drugs and human plasma proteins. For many drugs, such as beta-lactam antibiotics, acyl glucuronides, covalent tyrosine kinases inhibitors, and reactive metabolites, human serum albumin (HSA) is a potential target and biomarker for the formation of drug-protein adducts. In this review, we will describe the relevant technical advances, describe the methods for the identification of covalent adducts of drugs and HSA, define the chemical reactions that form adducts, and preliminarily explore the role of drug-HSA adducts in adverse drug reactions and the potential effect on pharmacokinetics.

CD200 and its receptor CD200R constitute an endogenous inhibitory signal. The binding of CD200 and CD200R can regulate the immune response to pathogenic stimuli, which has received much attention in recent years. It has been found that CD200-CD200R is involved in the regulation of many kinds of pathological inflammation, including autoimmune diseases, cardiac cerebrovascular disease, infection and tumor. This paper reviews the protein structure, distribution, expression, biological function of CD200-CD200R and the correlation with diseases, and analyses the current status and development ideas of CD200-CD200R as drug targets. It aims to provide theoretical support for new drug research and development based on this target.

The breakage pattern of unit particles during the production of oral solid dosage forms (OSD) is closely related to the quality of intermediate or final products. To accurately characterize the particles and study the evolution law of particle breakage, the Bonding model of the discrete element method (DEM) was used to investigate the breakage patterns of model parameters, particle shape and process conditions (loading mode and loading rate) on the dynamic breakage, force-time curve, breakage rate, maximum breakage size ratio and fracture strength of particles. The results showed that the particle breakage force was positively correlated with normal strength and bonded disk scale, negatively correlated with normal stiffness per unit area and tangential stiffness per unit area, and weakly correlated with tangential strength. The particle breakage rate was negatively correlated with the aspect ratio of the particles, and the maximum breakage size ratio was positively correlated with the aspect ratio of the particles; among the three loading modes, the breakage rate of compression breakage model was the largest, the breakage rate of shear breakage model was the second largest, and the breakage rate of wear breakage model was the smallest; the maximum breakage size ratio was positively correlated with the loading rate, the loading mode and the loading rate had no mutual influence on particle breakage rate, but had mutual influence on the maximum breakage size ratio. The research results will provide a theoretical basis for the shift of OSD from batch manufacturing to advanced manufacturing.

Seven triterpenoids were isolated and purified from the 95% aqueous EtOH extract whole plants of P. villosa by various chromatographic techniques, such as silica gel, ODS, Sephadex LH-20 gel column chromatography and preparative high performance liquid chromatography. Based on physicochemical properties and spectral analyses, the structures of the seven compounds were identified as 29-acetoxyoleanolic acid-3-O-α-L-arabinopyranoside (1), oleanolic acid (2), 3β-hydroxy-24-norursa-4(23), 12, 20(30)-trien-28-oic acid (3), 3β-hydroxy-24-nor-urs-4(23), 12-dien-28-oic acid (4), ursolic acid (5), hederagenin (6), oleanolic acid 3-O-arabinoside (7). Compound 1 is a new compound. Compounds 3, 4, 6, and 7 are isolated from P. villosa for the first time. All compounds were assayed for their anti-inflammatory activity by the prodution of NO in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. The results showed that compounds 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7 significantly inhibited the NO release.

In this study, we have firstly investigated the feasibility of rhamnolipids as targeting ligands to develop drug delivery systems for active targeting of pancreatic cancer. Rhamnolipid-modified liposomes (RhaL-Lip) were prepared by a thin film hydration method, and were evaluated preliminarily for RhaL-Lip physicochemical properties, in vitro release characteristics, ex/in vivo targeting, and in vitro pharmacodynamics. RhaL-Lip exhibited excellent targeting ability of human pancreatic cancer (BxPC-3) cells and enhanced anti-tumor effects. On this basis, the natural structural analogue of rhamnolipid, Polyphyllin Ⅶ (PPVⅡ), as the targeting material and active ingredient, we explored the targeting and anti-tumor activity of Polyphyllin Ⅶ modified liposomes (PPVⅡ-Lip). The results showed that PPVⅡ-Lip has a homogeneous particle size and has a more robust targeting ability for solid tumor in vivo, which can achieve more enrichment at the tumor site. Compared with gemcitabine, the first-line chemotherapy drug for pancreatic cancer, PPVⅡ-Lip showed a stronger inhibitory effect. In conclusion, this targeted drug delivery strategy is expected to provide beneficial ideas for drug delivery studies in targeted therapy for pancreatic cancer. Animal experiments were conducted with approval from the Animal Ethics Committee of southwest university (approval number: IACUC-20210130-2).

The n-butanol fraction of Alpinia oxyphylla Fructus 70% ethanol extract was separated and purified using column chromatography with MCI Gel CHP-20, Sephadex LH-20, ODS, and silica gel, combined with semi preparative liquid phase and TLC separation methods. One new halogenated 4, 5-seco-eudesmane sesquiterpenoid and two new eremophilane sesquiterpenoids were isolated and purified from the n-butanol fraction of Alpinia oxyphylla Fructus. The structures of the isolated compounds were identified using modern spectroscopic methods (1D, 2D NMR, UV, IR, MS, etc.), and the absolute configuration of the new compounds were determined using the methods of calculated ECD and induced ECD.

A novel series of 2-aryl substituted benzothiopyranone compounds was designed and synthesized based on our previously obtained benzothiopyranone scaffold with significant antituberculosis activity. All target compounds were evaluated for their antimycobacterial activity and preliminary druggability was subsequently investigated for some selected compounds with good activity. The results indicated that most compounds showed good activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H₃₇Rv. Among them, compounds 8g, 8h, 8q and 9f showed potent activity with MIC ranged from 0.2 to 0.4 μg·mL^-1. Furthermore, some active compounds exhibited low cytotoxicity and cardiotoxicity risk. It is worth noting that compounds 8h and 8q with good liver microsome stability and low inhibition of CYPs 3A4/5 and 2C9 were suitable for combination drug regimen to treat tuberculosis.

Urine nontargeted metabolomics technology was developed for investigating the effect and mechanism of improving learning and memory ability in APP/PS1 mice of Psoralea corylifolia. All animal experiments were approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine (Approval No.: 2020092502). Sixteen APP/PS1 mice were randomly divided into the model group and Psoralea corylifolia group (0.5 g·kg^-1), and eight male C57BL/6J mice of the same background were selected as control group, step-through test and novel object recognition were used as evaluation indexes. Changes in urine endogenous metabolites of mice from eachgroup were determined by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS), and differential metabolites were screened, and metabolic pathway enrichment analysis was performed. The results of pharmacodynamic investigation showed that Psoralea corylifolia can reduce the dark incubation period and number of errors in APP/PS1 mice (P < 0.01) and improve the new object recognition index of APP/PS1 mice (P < 0.01). Metabolomics analysis identified 15 differential metabolites, and 9 differential metabolites were significantly call back by Psoralea corylifolia. Metabolic pathway analysis showed that histidine metabolism, citric acid cycle, taurine and hypotaurine metabolism and glucose metabolism were the main metabolic pathways of Psoralea corylifolia in improving learning and memory ability. These studies suggest that Psoralea corylifolia improves the learning and memory ability of APP/PS1 mice, and its mechanism may be related to improving mitochondrial dysfunction, reducing peripheral histamine level, regulating energy metabolism disorders and antioxidant levels.

This study used kidney metabolomics to investigate the underlying mechanisms of Guilingji (GLJ) on mild cognitive impairment (MCI) rats. The rats were randomly divided into 6 groups (n = 8), i.e., control group, model group, positive drug (Ginkgo biloba tablet, donepezil) group, GLJ group (low and high dose group). The MCI rat model was replicated using subcutaneous injection of D-galactose into the back of the neck along with a semi-high-fat diet for a total of 8 weeks, and drug was administered from the 5th week for 4 weeks. The kidney function and renal pathological changes of each group of rats were tested. And LC-MS based kidney metabolomics coupled with multivariate data analysis were conducted to explore the potential biomarkers, and corresponding metabolic pathways were then determined. After administration of GLJ, the level of urea nitrogen was decreased compared with those of the model group, and the abnormalities of morphology in kidney tissues were improved. The positive drugs (ginkgo biloba tablet and donepezil) had no significant modulating effect on renal function indexes. Ginkgo biloba tablet can lessen the pathological injury of kidney tissue, and donepezil had no improvement on renal histopathology. A total of 23 MCI related differential metabolites were identified in kidney, and 17 metabolites were signifcantly restored by GLJ compared with those of the model group. Additionally, we found that the cysteine and methionine metabolism, nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism, taurine and hypotaurine metabolism, glycerophospholipid metabolism were significantly involved in the regulatory effect of GLJ. The results illuminate the "cong shen zhi nao" mechanism of GLJ, and also provide a research basis for the clinical use of GLJ for the treatment of MCI. The animal experiment of this study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Shanxi University (approval number: 2020DW121).

To investigate the role of chamagogic polysaccharides (polysaccharides of Brassica rapa L., BRPs) against doxorubicin (DOX) cardiotoxicity and related mechanisms, H9c2 cells were selected for the study, and the effects of BRPs on DOX induced damage in H9c2 cells were detected by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8); H9c2 cells were divided into the control group, the model group, and the drug group (0.5-3 mg·mL^-1); the control group was cultured under normal conditions, and the remaining groups were induced for 24 h by 1 μmol·L^-1 DOX after treatment. Apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry; the levels of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were measured in each group; intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) were detected. Western blot was used to detect the expression of proteins related to the apoptosis and transcription factor NF-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)/heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) pathway. Compared with the control group, DOX-induced H9c2 cell injury was characterized by decreased cell viability, increased apoptosis, elevated LDH and MDA levels, decreased SOD activity, significantly increased ROS levels, and significantly decreased MMP; the level of B cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) protein decreased, and the level of Bcl-2 associated X protein (Bax) increased significantly; In the model group, the expression levels of Nrf-2, HO-1, quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) were reduced, and the expression levels of Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap1) and phosphorylated p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase were significantly increased, Moreover, BRPs (0.5-3 mg·mL^-1) increased the protein expression levels of Nrf2, HO-1, and NQO1, and decreased the levels of Keap1 and phosphorylated p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase. In summary, the ability of BRPs to protect H9c2 cells and inhibit apoptosis may be related to their regulation of the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway to antagonize oxidative stress.