Recent advances in deorphanization of GPR35 and its functions in related diseases / 药学学报

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) represent the largest family of membrane proteins and are the target of approximately half of all therapeutic drugs. There are ～300 orphan GPCRs, which have great potential in drug development. G protein-coupled receptor 35 (GPR35), a rhodopsin-like orphan GPCR, is widely involved in immune regulation, gastrointestinal disorders, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, as well as other diseases, suggesting its great potential as a therapeutic target in a variety of diseases. However, the current research on GPR35 is insufficient, including the true endogenous ligand has not been confirmed, the molecular mechanism of its role in disease is not fully understood, and there is a lack of effective intervention strategies targeting GPR35. This article summarizes the deorphatization of GPR35, GPR35-related signaling pathways and their association with various diseases, in order to provide a reference for in-depth study of GPR35 in diseases and development of drugs targeting GPR35.

Research progress on the role and intervention strategies of NRP1 in colorectal cancer / 药学学报

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common malignant tumors in the world, and its incidence and mortality are among the top three of all malignant tumors. In recent years, CRC is becoming more common in younger patients. Currently, surgery is the main or first treatment of early stage CRC, however, up to 50% patients have recurrence and metastasis post-surgery. While chemotherapy and radiotherapy are often used as adjuvant treatment after surgery or as main treatment options for late stage CRC, they usually induce severe adverse effects. Safe and effective treatments for CRC are still lacking. Therefore, it is essential to discover new therapies for CRC. Neuropilin 1 (NRP1), as a transmembrane glycoprotein, is reported to highly express in CRC, and its overexpression is demonstrated to be closely related to the occurrence and development of CRC. NRP1 is involved in angiogenesis, tumor growth, autophagy, and lipid metabolism, which is expected to be a potential new target for the treatment of CRC. This paper reviews the role of NRP1 in CRC, including its molecular structure, expression in CRC, as well as its connection with autophagy and metabolism. The regulatory factors of NRP1 in CRC were introduced, including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), semaphorin 3A (SEMA3A), transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), etc. The potential intervention strategies of CRC targeting NRP1 were summarized in order to provide reference for the diagnosis and prevention of CRC.

A four-component combination derived from Huang-Qin Decoction significantly enhances anticancer activity of irinotecan / 中国天然药物

Huang-Qin Decoction (HQD) is a classic prescription for diarrhea in Chinese medicine treatment. Recent studies have demonstrated that HQD and its modified formulation PHY906 could ameliorate irinotecan (CPT-11) induced gastrointestinal (GI) toxicity and enhance its anticancer therapeutic efficacy. Nevertheless, which constituents in HQD are effective is still unclear so far. The study aims to screen out the key bioactive components combination from HQD that could enhance the anticancer effect of CPT-11. First, the potential bioactive constituents were obtained through system pharmacology strategy. Then the bioactivity of each constituent was investigated synthetically from the aspects of NCM460 cell migration, TNF-α release of THP-1-derived macrophage and MTT assay in HCT116 cell. The contribution of each constituent in HQD was evaluated using the bioactive index E

Role of MAPK signaling pathway in osteopontin-mediated ossification of the ligamentum flavum / 中国组织工程研究

BACKGROUND:Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway is an important signal transduction system.Our precious animal experiments have shown that osteopontin can mediate the ossification of the ligamentum flavum.OBJECTIVE:To investigate the role of MAPK signaling pathway in osteopontin-induced ossification of the ligamentum flavum.METHODS:The ligamentum flavum specimens obtained from 16 cases undergoing thoracic/lumbar posterior decompression surgery were divided into ossification and non-ossification groups (n=8 per group).The expression of osteopontin and its receptors CD44 and integrin was observed by immunohistochemical staining.The activation of phosphorylation in MAPK signaling pathway was detected by western blot assay.The MAPK signaling pathway was blocked by SB203580 or U0126 blocker alone to observe the induction of osteopontin.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Osteopontin and its receptor CD44 were expressed in the ossification group,but not in the non-ossififcation group.However,the expression of integrin was not detected in the ossification group.The expression levels of alkaline phosphatase and osteocalcin in the ligamentum flavum were significnatly increased under the induction of osteopontin (P ＜ 0.05),and osteopontin could activate the phosphorylation of P38 and ERK1/2 in the MAPK signaling pathway (P ＜ 0.05),but the phosphorylation of JNK was not obvious.p38 phosphorylation blocked with SB203580 blocker could significantly inhibit the osteopontin-induced osteoblast differentiation of ligament flavum cells (P ＜ 0.05),while U0126 blocker had no obvious effect.These results indicate that p38 in MAPK signaling pathway is a key molecule in osteopontin-mediated ossification of the ligamentum flavum.

Quantitation of camellianin A in HepG2 cells using a high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometric method / 中国天然药物

The present study was designed to develop a sensitive and selective high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric method for the determination of Camellianin A in HepG2 cells. The extraction of Camellianin A was achieved using 15% trichloroacetic acid and then separated on a C column interfaced with a triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer in multiple reaction monitoring mode. The mobile phase was consisted of methanol-water (0.1% formic acid) (55 : 45, V/V). The total run time was 5.0 min. The method was linear in the concentration range of 0.25-250.0 ng·mL. The lower limit of quantification was 0.25 ng·mL. The intra- and inter-day relative standard deviations of entire concentration range were less than 9.3%. The proposed HPLC-MS/MS method was successfully applied to detect the intracellular concentration of Camellianin A in HepG2 cells.

Liver metabolomics study reveals protective function of Phyllanthus urinaria against CCl-induced liver injury / 中国天然药物

Phyllanthus Urinaria L. (PUL) is a traditional Chinese medicine used to treat hepatic and renal disorders. However, the mechanism of its hepatoprotective action is not fully understood. In the present study, blood biochemical indexes and liver histopathological changes were used to estimate the extent of hepatic injury. GC/MS and LC/MS-based untargeted metabolomics were used in combination to characterize the potential biomarkers associated with the protective activity of PUL against CCl-induced liver injury in rats. PUL treatment could reverse the increase in ALT, AST and ALP induced by CCl and attenuate the pathological changes in rat liver. Significant changes in liver metabolic profiling were observed in PUL-treated group compared with liver injury model group. Seventeen biomarkers related to the hepatoprotective effects of PUL against CCl-induced liver injury were screened out using nonparametric test and Pearson's correlation analysis (OPLS-DA). The results suggested that the potential hepatoprotective effects of PUL in attenuating CCl-induced hepatotoxicity could be partially attributed to regulating L-carnitine, taurocholic acid, and amino acids metabolism, which may become promising targets for treatment of liver toxicity. In conclusion, this study provides new insights into the mechanism of the hepatoprotection of Phyllanthus Urinaria.

Jiawei Erzhiwan improves menopausal metabolic syndrome by enhancing insulin secretion in pancreatic β cells / 中国天然药物

Menopausal metabolic syndrome (MMS) is a series of syndrome caused by ovarian function decline and hormone insufficiency, and is a high risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Erzhiwan (EZW), composed of Herba Ecliptae and Fructus Ligustri Lucidi, is a traditional Chinese herbal formula that has been used to treat menopausal syndrome for many years. We added Herba Epimedii, Radix Rehmanniae, and Fructus Corni into EZW, to prepare a new formula, termed Jiawei Erzhiwan (JE). The present study was designed to determine the anti-MMS effects of JE using ovariectomized (OVX) adult female rats that were treated with JE for 4 weeks, and β-tc-6 cells and INS cells were used to detected the protect effectiveness of JE. Our results showed JE could increase insulin sensitivity and ameliorated hyperlipidemia. Metabolomics analysis showed that the serum levels of branched and aromatic amino acids were down-regulated in serum by JE administration. Moreover, JE enhanced the function of islet β cells INS-1 and β-tc-6, through increasing the glucose stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS), which was abolished by estrogen receptor (ER) antagonist, indicating that JE functions were mediated by ER signaling. Additionally, JE did not induce tumorigenesis in rat mammary tissue or promoted proliferation of MCF-7 and Hela cells. In conclusion, our work demonstrated that JE ameliorated OVX-induced glucose and lipid metabolism disorder through activating estrogen receptor pathway and promoting GSIS in islet β cells, thus indicating that JE could be a safe and effective medication for MMS therapy.

Comparative analysis of volatile oils in the stems and roots of Ephedra sinica via GC-MS-based plant metabolomics / 中国天然药物

With a great difference in therapeutic effects of Mahuang (MH, the stems of Ephedra sinica) and Mahuanggen (MHG, the roots of Ephedra sinica), chemical differences between MH and MHG should be investigated. In the present study, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)-based plant metabolomics was employed to compare volatile oil profiles of MH and MHG. The antioxidant activities of volatile oils from MH and MHG were also compared. 32 differential chemical markers were identified according to the variable importance in the projection (VIP) value of orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) and P value of Mann-Whitney test. Among them, chemical markers of tetramethylpyrazine (TMP) and α-terpineol were quantified. Their contents were much higher in most MH samples compared with MHG. The antioxidant assay demonstrated that MH had significantly higher free radical-scavenging activity than MHG. Although MH and MHG derived from the same medicinal plant, there was much difference in their volatile oil profiles. MH samples had significantly higher content of two reported pharmacologically important chemical markers of TMP and α-terpineol, which may account for their different antioxidant activities.