Home Latest Articles
Latest Articles
  • Pan LIU, Xueling LIU, Qingwei ZHAO
    Chinese Pharmaceutical Journal. 2024, 59(17): 1558-1564.

    It is important to select a suitable in vitro experimental model to study the pathology and pharmacological mechanisms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), thereby developing advanced therapeutic drugs. Immortalized cell lines, as a classic in vitro model, offer several advantages in the research and drug evaluation of IBD, such as high efficiency, low cost, simple operation and intuitive experimental results. However, these models cannot recapitulate the multicellular composition and intercellular interaction of intestinal tissue in vivo and may lose genetic characteristics after multiple passages in vitro. The development of organoids and organs-on-a-chip has promoted the technological innovation of in vitro models by significantly improving our capability to simulate the architecture and function of IBD. The enhanced reproducibility of the organoid model to the microenvironment of the source tissue also confers improved predictive capability for patient treatment response. This paper reviews the current research status of these models by discussing their characteristics, advantages, disadvantages, and their applications in evaluation of IBD therapeutic drugs and development of advanced therapeutic drugs, as well as in the exploration of pharmacological mechanisms.

  • Yinuo MA, Feifei TAO, Lisha ZHOU, Meijing WANG, Lixin ZHAO, Yang SUN
    Chinese Pharmaceutical Journal. 2024, 59(17): 1565-1572.

    OBJECTIVE To analyze the dynamic changes of cell types and protein expression during the occurrence and development of ulcerative colitis. METHODS Single-cell sequencing technology was used to analyze the intestinal tissues of ulcerative colitis model mice and normal mice. After quality control, a total of 58 714 cells were used to construct a colitis dataset for downstream analysis. Then, the changes of epithelial compartments in the process of colitis occurrence and development were analyzed by means of dimensionality reduction clustering, GO analysis and Monocle quasi-time analysis. RESULTS Compared with the normal samples, the interaction between cell subsets in colitis samples changed significantly. The analysis revealed that most epithelial cell subtypes were destroyed and reduced in number during the colitis phase. The Wnt pathway was inhibited, which is important for maintaining stem cell function. The Ppia-Bsg ligand receptor pair was highly expressed in normal samples. CONCLUSION The depletion of Ppia secreted by stromal cells in the inflammatory state leads to stem cell senescence, which ultimately disrupts the homeostasis of epithelial cells and aggravates colitis.

  • Cheng JIN, Songxia YU, Fan ZHAO, Xia WU, Minglan WU, Qiao ZHANG, Qingwei ZHAO, Xingjiang HU
    Chinese Pharmaceutical Journal. 2024, 59(17): 1573-1580.

    OBJECTIVE To investigate the potential therapeutic effects and underlying mechanisms of total alkaloids derived from processed Aconitum carmichaelii Debx (ACA) on ulcerative colitis (UC) in mice. METHODS The chemical composition of ACA was analyzed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. A mouse model of UC was induced using dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) to assess the effects of continuous administration of salicylazosulfapyridine(SASP) (200 mg·kg-1) and ACA (10 and 20 mg·kg-1) over seven days, evaluating parameters such as body weight, disease activity index, colon length, and pathological damage to the colon. The anti-inflammatory activity and mechanisms of ACA were investigated through in vitro experiments, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and Western blotting. RESULTS ACA is primarily composed of various characteristic monomeric alkaloids. Treatment with ACA (10 and 20 mg/kg) significantly mitigated weight loss, disease index elevation, colon shortening, and pathological damage induced by DSS in the mice. Additionally, ACA reduced the levels of inflammatory factors, including IL-1β, IL-18, and IL-6, elevated by DSS in colitis. The in vitro inflammatory model further demonstrated that ACA functions as a specific inhibitor, MCC950, similar to the NLRP3 inflammasome, which suppresses the secretion of the aforementioned inflammatory factors in the supernatant of LPS- and Nigericin-induced THP-1 cells. Protein expression analysis suggested that this effect may be linked to the inhibition of the NLRP3 signaling pathway. CONCLUSION ACA contains multiple structurally similar monomeric alkaloids that exhibit anti-UC activity in mice, potentially exerting anti-inflammatory effects through the inhibition of the NLRP3 inflammasome.

  • Xiaoqian CHI, Changwei CHAI, Haijing ZHANG, Lianqiu WU
    Chinese Pharmaceutical Journal. 2024, 59(17): 1581-1589.

    OBJECTIVE To explore the mechanism of action of coptisine derivative Q3 against dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced ulcerative colitis (UC) in mice from the perspective of changes in the inflammatory signaling pathway TLR4/NF-κB and compositions of the intestinal microbiota. METHODS Fifty mice were randomly divided into normal control group, model group, sulfasalazine (SASP) group, Q3-low dose group, Q3-high dose group, with 10 in each group. Mice in the groups except the control group were orally administered with 2.5% DSS solution to induce UC model. The SASP was given 700 mg·kg-1·d-1 of sulfasalazine by intragastric administration, and the Q3 low and high dose groups were given 50 and 100 mg·kg-1·d-1 of Q3, respectively. The other groups were given an equal amount of distilled water. After 6 days of administration, the mouse colon tissues were taken for DAI score and length measurement. HE staining was used to detect the degree of pathological damage in each group. 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing was used to detect changes in intestinal flora in the intestinal contents of mice. Immunohistochemistry and Western blot were used to detect the expression of TLR4 and p-p65 in colon tissue. The protein expressions of TLR4, p-p65 and p-IκBα and the nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65 in IEC6 cells and RAW264.7 cells were detected by Western blot and immunofluorescence. RESULTS In the DSS-induced mouse ulcerative colitis model, compared with the model group, in vivo Q3 could significantly improve the weight loss, colon length, and increase in DAI scores of UC mice. HE staining results showed that Q3 significantly improved the intestinal pathological damages such as tract epithelial damage, crypt structure disorder and goblet cell reduction; immunohistochemistry and Western blot results showed that Q3 could significantly reduce the expression of TLR4 and p-p65 in the colon tissue of mice in the model group. The results of 16S rRNA showed that Q3 could increase the biodiversity of intestinal microbiota and regulate the composition of intestinal microbiota after DSS administration. It was also shown that in vitro Q3 could inhibit the nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65 in both IEC6 and RAW264.7 cells by immunofluorescence. CONCLUSION Q3 can improve intestinal inflammation by inhibiting the TLR4/NF-κB pathway and regulating the composition of intestinal flora, exerting anti-UC effects, which is expected to become a candidate compound for the treatment of UC.

  • Xu ZHANG, Xiurong GAO, Qianru WANG, Taomin HU, Qin CAI, Xingxing WU, Tao ZHANG, Yuan XU
    Chinese Pharmaceutical Journal. 2024, 59(17): 1590-1596.

    Chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) is the most common adverse reaction in cancer patients during chemotherapy. 5-HT3 receptor antagonists are recommended as the first-line drugs against CINV. However, the commonly used clinical dosage forms of 5-HT3 receptor antagonists are mainly oral and intravenous administration, among which intravenous administration is easy to produce adverse reactions and requires professional medical operation. Oral administration has first-pass effect, especially for patients with severe vomiting after chemotherapy, so the commonly used clinical dosage forms have certain defects and limited clinical application. Transdermal drug delivery system has the advantages of avoiding gastrointestinal first-pass effect, less toxic and side effects, and good patient compliance, so the transdermal drug delivery system of anti-tumor nausea and vomiting drugs has been widely concerned and studied. In this paper, the research status of transdermal delivery of 5-HT3 receptor antagonists at home and abroad is reviewed, which provides reference for the research and development of new preparations and new delivery routes of these drugs.

  • Yating YUAN, Xiulan WU, Fan TANG, Fujiang WANG, Haitao GE
    Chinese Pharmaceutical Journal. 2024, 59(17): 1597-1604.

    OBJECTIVE To synthesize scutellarein derivatives and study their solubility and bioactivity. METHODS Based on the lead compound scutellarein, 12 compounds were designed and synthesized using functional group substitution, parent nucleus ring opening, and electron rearrangement principles. The structures of the compounds were characterized through 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR and MS, their solubility was tested, and their transient receptor potential vanilloid 3 (TRPV3) inhibitory activities were evaluated through calcium flow detection. An animal model of psoriasis induced by imiquimod (IMQ) was established and the three most active compounds were selected for anti-psoriasis evaluation. RESULTS All compounds had higher solubility than scutellarein. In the calcium flow experiment, compounds I-01, I-04, and I-06 showed stronger TRPV3 inhibition than scutellarein, with I-06 having the strongest activity. Animal experiments on psoriasis showed that I-01, I-04, and I-06 could significantly improve the pathological appearance and inflammatory response of psoriasis mice, and I-06 performed the best. CONCLUSION This type of modified scutellarein has potential therapeutic value for psoriasis and provides a new approach for targeting TRPV3 to treat various skin diseases.

  • Xinyue WANG, Chang LIU, Xiaoying YANG, Mengwei NIU, Tingting FENG, Hui SHI, Ying ZHOU
    Chinese Pharmaceutical Journal. 2024, 59(17): 1605-1619.

    OBJECTIVE To idenntify the whole chemical components of different extracts of alangium chinense root and fibrous root using ultra high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry(UPLC-MS/MS), and screen the index components of different medicinal parts”. METHODS UPLC-MS/MS technology was used to analyze the total components of alcoholic extract (ALE), water extract (ALW) of Alangium chinense root, alcoholic extract (AFE) and water extract (AFW) of Alangium chinense fibrous root. Principal component analysis (PCA), orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) and other multivariate statistical analysis were used to screen and analyze the chemical components with significant differences in different medicinal parts of Alangium chinense. RESULTS A total of 406 active chemical components were identified from the extract of Alangium chinense. The mass spectrometry cracking rules of phenolic acids, flavonoids, alkaloids and terpenoids were summarized and analyzed in different medicinal parts. Twenty Index components such as fraxin, loganic acid and benzoyleneurea were screened from different medicinal parts. CONCLUSION There were obvious differences in the components of different medicinal parts and different extracts of Alangium chinense. Phenolic acids, flavonoids and alkaloids are the main compounds, and they were mainly concentrated in flavonoid biosynthesis pathway. This study provides a scientific basis for clarifying the pharmacodynamic material basis and quality differences of different parts of Alangium chinense, and lays a foundation for rapid identification, quality control and further development and utilization of Alangium chinense.

  • Yiyao WANG, He HUANG, Yunhang GAO, Ling SONG, Han LI, Huiying WANG, Bo PENG, Hongping HOU, Zuguang YE, Junmiao CHEN, Guangping ZHANG, Tengfei CHEN
    Chinese Pharmaceutical Journal. 2024, 59(17): 1620-1628.

    OBJECTIVE To establish a liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for determination of cinnamic acid (CA), vanillic acid (VA) and 3,3'-O-dimethylellagic acid (DMA) concentrations in rat plasma and evaluate the pharmacokinetics and the correlations between dose and systemic exposure levels of CA, VA and DMA in rats after single dose administration of Anshen Buxin Liuwei Pills (ASBX). METHODS Blood was collected from male SD rats at different time points after different dose administration. The plasma was processed by protein precipitation method. The concentrations of CA, VA and DMA in plasma were determined by LC-MS/MS method. Pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated with MaS Studio software. The correlations between dose and systemic exposure level were analyzed by confidence interval method. RESULTS The linear relationship of the calibration curves of the three compounds were good within the tested ranges, and the specificity, precision and accuracy, recovery, matrix effect and stability of the method all met the requirements for biological sample assay. After single intragastric administration of ASBX, the tmax of CA, VA and DMA were 0.22-0.40, 0.08 and 5.40-8.20 h, the t1/2 were 0.79-2.04, 0.37-0.65 and 4.26-9.58 h, the ρmax were 279.70-302.88, 16.42-43.33, and 2.81-7.20 ng·mL-1, and the AUC0-∞ were 351.83-537.96, 7.20-18.82, and 29.27-119.64 ng·h·mL-1, respectively. The results of confidence interval analysis showed that the ρmax and AUC of VA and DMA, and AUC of CA were positively correlated with dose, but the ρmax of CA was not clearly correlated with dose. CONCLUSION The LC-MS/MS analysis method is proved to be rapid, sensitive, and accurate, so it can be applied to the pharmacokinetic study of ASBX after intragastric administration in rats. This sdtudy provides a reference for future research on the pharmacodynamic material basis and safe and effective clinical use of ASBX.

  • Donglin SUI, Yi WEI, Yu ZHU, Xiaoqiang CHEN, Guanghui MA
    Chinese Pharmaceutical Journal. 2024, 59(17): 1629-163.

    OBJECTIVE To preparet aurocholic acid modified PLGA nanospheres for oral delivery of semaglutide. METHODS The nanospheres were prepared by dobule emulsion solvent evaporation technique, and the preparation process was optimized by single-factor experiments; the nanospheres were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and laser particle size measurement; pharmacokinetic experiments were performed using SD rats; pharmacodynamic experiments were performed using db/db mice. RESULTS The FT-IR showed that taurocholic acid was successfully modified to the surface of the nanospheres. The particle size of the nanospheres was (185.9±3.31) nm, the ζ-potential was (-32.53±0.95) mV, and the drug loading and encapsulation rates were (11.15±0.07)% and (85. 51±0.01)%. The nanospheres showed good sustained release in vitro, with a cumulative release rate of 84. 96% within 192 h. Pharmacokinetic experiments were performed in SD rats, and the results showed that the bioavailability of nanospheres was 2.5%, and the slow release of semaglutide could be achieved within 192 h. The efficacy of nanospheres was verified in db/db mice, and the results showed that after gavage administration of nanospheres, the blood glucose of diabetic mice decreased rapidly and remained stable for about 3 d. CONCLUSION The oral delivery of semaglutide nanospheres prepared in this study has high drug loading and encapsulation efficiency, which can effectively control the blood glucose of diabetic mice within 3 d and improve the bioavailability.

  • Chunmei TAN, Cuifen FANG, Juanjuan WANG, Ting DONG, Linlin ZHANG, Cheng ZHENG, Bilian CHEN
    Chinese Pharmaceutical Journal. 2024, 59(17): 1637-1642.

    OBJECTIVE To establish an ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method for simultaneous determination of three pyrrolizidine alkaloids and five aristolochic acids in Fufang Banxia Tablets, and carry out preliminary risk assessment. METHODS ACQUITY UPLC BEH C18 column (2.1 mm×100 mm, 1.7 μm) was used. The mixed solution of methanol-acetonitrile (1∶1) was used as mobile phase A, and 0.1% formic acid solution and 5 mmol·L-1 ammonium formate were used as mobile phase B. Gradient elution was performed at a flow rate of 0.3 mL·min-1 and the column temperature was maintainedat 30 ℃. Electrospray ion source (ESI), multiple reaction monitoring mode (MRM) and positive ion scanning were used. RESULTS Three pyrrolizidine alkaloids showed a good linear relationship in the range of 0.48-482.60 pg, and five aristolochic acids showed a good linear relationship in the range of 0.51-538.51 pg. The correlation coefficients were higher than 0.99. The average recoveries were between 60.4%% and 120.5%, with RSDs of 2.1%-9.7%. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids and aristolochic acids were detected in all five batches, the total content of pyrrolizidine alkaloids was 5.42-5.46 mg·kg-1, and the total content of aristolochic acids in positive samples were 1.04-1.70 mg·kg-1. CONCLUSION The established method is simple and accurate, and can simultaneously determine the contents of three pyrrolizidine alkaloids and five aristolochic acids in Fufang Banxia Tablets. The preliminary risk assessment shows that the safety risk of Fufang Banxia Tablets is low.