Exploring the key anti-fatigue components of American ginseng based on metabolomics and zebrafish models / 药学学报

The aim of this paper is to explore the key anti-fatigue active components in the saponin-like composition of American ginseng. The anti-fatigue activity of western ginseng samples was evaluated using a zebrafish model; metabolomics techniques were used to identify the main saponins in western ginseng from different origins; the active substances and relevant targets of the anti-fatigue effect of western ginseng were initially screened by constructing a PPI protein interaction network between western ginseng saponins and disease targets, and the key active ingredients were screened using a molecular docking method; finally, the anti-fatigue activity of the key active ingredients was evaluated using a zebrafish, animal experiment was approved by the Ethics Committee of Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences (SYXK20220005). The anti-fatigue activity of the key active ingredients was evaluated using a zebrafish model. The results of the zebrafish activity evaluation showed that there were significant differences in the activities of the western ginseng samples from the two origins, and a total of 10 different saponins were identified as possibly related to the anti-fatigue activity after further metabolomic testing and pattern discrimination. The core anti-fatigue targets were screened with the help of component-disease target PPI, combined with pharmacophore-like parameters and molecular docking techniques, and pseudoginsenoside F11 was found to have good binding activity to five of the targets. Finally, the zebrafish model revealed that pseudoginsenoside F11 exhibited significant anti-fatigue activity. This study used metabolomics and zebrafish model to screen the key active substances of pseudoginsenoside F11 for its anti-fatigue activity, which will provide a reference for further research on the anti-fatigue of pseudoginsenosides.

Discovery and identification of quality markers of Sparganii Rhizoma based on zebrafish thrombosis model / 中草药·英文版

Objective: The aim of the present study was to determine the quality marker (Q-Markers) of Sparganii Rhizoma against thrombus through an integration of investigations on its antithrombotic effect, content determination and spectrum-effect correlation analysis. Methods: Based on the concept of Q-Marker, Sparganii Rhizoma was investigated for the identification of chemical component. The pharmacological effects on arachidonic acid-induced thrombosis in zebrafish were also investigated. The material basis in ethanol extract was determined by HPLC-UV. Furthermore, the potential Q-Markers were analyzed and predicted according to the effect-chemical correlation analysis. Finally, the anti-thrombotic Q-Markers were verified through the anti-thrombotic test of monomer components. Results: The model of thrombosis zebrafish was established with larvae exposed to 100 µmol/L arachidonic acid for 1 h. Nine ingredients in Sparganii Rhizoma were identified as 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, vanillic acid, ferulic acid, p-hydroxybenzaldehyde, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, vanillin, protocatechuic acid, p-coumaric acid and isoferulic acid. According to the determination effect of zebrafish thrombosis model and HPLC content analysis results, all the other contents present positive correlation except 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, and the P values of three representative potential Q-Markers (ferulic acid, protocatechuic acid and p-coumaric acid) were 0.002, 0.001 and 0.026, respectively. Conclusion: Sparganii Rhizoma showed a dose-dependent effect on the recovery of reducing cardiac red blood cell on zebrafish model. Three phenolic acids (ferulic acid, protocatechuic acid and p-coumaric acid) were proved to possess the anti-thrombotic effects which could be regarded as the potential Q-Markers for quality assessment of Sparganii Rhizoma.

Network pharmacologic molecular mechanism of Shenmai Injection in treatment of COVID-19 combined with coronary heart disease / 中草药

Objective: To analyze the molecular interaction network pathway of Shenmai Injection in the treatment of COVID-19 with coronary heart disease by using network pharmacology. Methods: Using the TCMSP and ETCM to retrieve the chemical constituents of Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma Rubra and Ophiopogonis Radix in Shenmai Injection. The target of the compound was predicted through the SwissTargetPrediction database. The target of COVID-19 with coronary heart disease was screened through the NCBI database and the GeneCards database, and the targets of compound and disease were mapped to obtain the target of the compound for treating the disease. FunRich software and DAVID database were used to perform GO function enrichment analysis and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis, and Excel software and Tableau software to draw bar charts and bubble charts for visualization. Finally, Cytoscape 3.7.1 software was used to build compound-target-pathway network. Glide was used to dock the components of Shenmai Injection with 3CL hydrolase (Mpro). Results: The results showed that ophiopogonin D', ophiopogonin D, ginsenoside Rg2, methyl ophiopogonanone A, ophiogenin-3-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl (1→2)-β-D-glucopyranoside, ginsenoside Rb2, ginsenoside R0, ophiopogon A, sanchinoside Rd, ophiopogonanone E, and ginsenoside Re showed higher degrees in the analysis and stronger binding with 3CL hydrolase. Those compounds were the main effective components in the treatment of COVID-19 combined with coronary heart disease, involving 77 targets such as IL6, GAPDH, ALB, TNF, MAPK1, MAPK3, TP53, EGFR, CASP3, and CXCL8. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis revealed that there were 124 (P < 0.05) signaling pathways involving HIF-1 signaling pathway, TNF signaling pathway, sphingolipid signaling pathway, Toll-like receptor signaling pathway, neurotrophin signaling pathway, VEGF signaling pathway, apoptosis, Ras signaling pathway, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, and prolactin signaling pathway. The results of molecular docking showed that the affinity between the 17 components of Shenmai Injection and the 3CL hydrolase of SARS-CoV-2 was less than -25 kJ/mol. Conclusion: Shenmai Injection can achieve simultaneous intervention of COVID-19 and coronary heart disease by inhibiting cytokine storms, maintaining cardiac function homeostasis, regulating immunity, and antivirals. It presents the network regulation mechanism of mutual influence and complex correlation. This study can provide a scientific basis for the treatment of Shenmai Injection in critically ill patients with COVID-19.

TCM chemical biology--emerging interdiscipline of "TCM chemistry" and "biology" / 中国中药杂志

Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) is a research area with highly original innovation features,and is also a Chinese name card to the world. However,TCM owns a unique theoretical system which is quite different from western modern medicine,leading to an awkward situation of deficient modern social identity as well as poor international spread. Therefore,how to establish a research strategy in line with the characteristics of TCM itself to systematically interpret the unique scientific connotation of TCM is always a public hot topic. Based on persistent practical exploration and scientific consideration in TCM,our group firstly promoted the concept of traditional Chinese medicine chemical biology(TCM chemical biology,TCMCB). The major idea of TCMCB is to clarify the nature of TCM regulating life progress to link TCM to modern medicine by using TCM components as chemical tools. Notably,TCMCB mainly focuses on TCM target identification and TCM-guided disease molecular mechanism exploration,further to clarify the basic law of TCM mediating disease process. Finally,TCMCB-guided scientific studies can help explain TCM theory and promote the developmentof modern innovative drugs based on identified targets using TCM active components. Moreover,TCMCB is of vital importance for investigating the scientific nature of biological progress and the pattern of disease occurrence and development,indicating a key significance for modern life science and medicine. This review introduces the definition of TCMCB as well as its academic thought,research method,technology system and scientific significance,for providing new research ideas and scientific thoughts for TCM development.

Study on liver protection and hepatotoxicity of saikosaponin a based on zebrafish model / 中国中药杂志

Bupleuri Radix has both liver protection and hepatotoxicity. Saponins are the main pharmacodynamic and toxic components of Bupleuri Radix. Based on zebrafish physical model and the model of alcoholic fatty liver( AFL) pathology,the liver toxic and protective effect of saikosaponin a( SSa) were assessed. The results indicated that 1. 77 μmol·L-1 SSa showed protective effect to AFL zebrafish. 5. 30 μmol·L-1 SSa was hepatotoxic to healthy zebrafish,but it showed protective effect to AFL zebrafish. 5. 62 μmol·L-1 SSa was hepatotoxic to healthy and AFL zebrafish. This study is benefit for clinical safety of saikosaponin a.

The protective effect of QZXK in nerve injury using zebrafish model induced by MPTP / 中国药理学通报

Aim To investigate the protective effect of Qi ZhiXiaoke granules ( QZXK ) on nerve injury using zebrafish and nerve cell injury models. Methods The nerve injury model was established using wild zebrafish AB line, 72 hours after fertilization treated with 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1 , 2 , 3 , 6-four pyridine ( MPTP ) .Then QZXK of different doses were administered for three days,and the trajectory of the zebrafish behavior was recorded and analyzed. Neuroblastoma PC12 cells were incubated with different concentrations of QZXK and MPTP,and the cell viability of PC12 cells was de-tected by MTT. The mitochondrial membrane potential and expression of apoptosis related protein Caspase3 were measured by kits. Results Compared with con-trol group,MPTP reduced the movement distance of ze-brafish,and with the increase of concentration, QZXK promoted the movement distance and reversed the swimming behavior abnormality of zebrafish. Compared with control group, QZXK could inhibit the apoptosis induced by MPTP and promote the cell viability of PC12 cells with MPTP. QZXK improved the membranepotential and decreased the expression of Caspase3 . Conclusions QZXK exerts neuroprotective effect in the process of nerve injury induced by MPTP. The mechanism may be related with inhibiting apoptosis of neural cells. These experiment provides experimental and theoretical foundation for QZXK promoting cogni-tive function.

Model establishment of skin damage and molecular mechanism on transgenic zebrafish embryos / 中国药理学通报

Aim To establish a new model of skin damage by u-sing vincristine to transgenic zebrafish (krt4:NTR-hKikGR).Methods Skin fluorescent transgenic zebrafish embryos after 24 h fertilization were treated with the 0.01~0.04 mmol·L-1 vincristine,and zebrafish skin cell ablation was investigated un-der fluorescence microscope after 24 h,at same time skin death cells were detected with TUNEL assay and image processed, then the protein expressions of KRT4, caspase-3 and p53 were assessed with Western blot. Results 0.02 mmol·L-1and 0.04 mmol·L-1vincristine could obviously induce zebrafish skin cell apoptosis(P<0.01) with statistically significant differ-ence compared with the control, and the same result could be accomplished in TUNEL assay. Results of Western bolt showed that vincristine could increase the embryos caspase-3 and p53 expression(P <0.01), while vincristine in high concentration might decrease KRT4 markedly(P<0.01). Conclusion Vin-cristine can induce damage on zebrafish skin with suppression KTR4,which can be used as a new skin damage model.

Biosafety hazard of laboratory animals in medical colleges and its prevention and control / 中国比较医学杂志

Biosafety hazard has been paid high attention with increasing use of animal species and quantities in medical colleges. In the present paper, we analyze potential biosafety risks in medical colleges from characteristics of biosafety environment, experiment activity, zoonosis, laboratory animal management, etc. , then give some advices on prevention and control of biosafety hazards.

Biosafety hazard of laboratory animals in medical colleges and its prevention and control / 中国比较医学杂志

Biosafety hazard has been paid high attention with increasing use of animal species and quantities in medical colleges. In the present paper, we analyze potential biosafety risks in medical colleges from characteristics of biosafety environment, experiment activity, zoonosis, laboratory animal management, etc. , then give some advices on prevention and control of biosafety hazards.

Endogenous metabolites investigation of cadiotoxicity induced by astemizole on zebrafish using GC-MS metabonomics / 中国药学杂志

OBJECTIVE: To analysis metabolic changes of zebrafish treated by astemizole, and to find potential cardiotoxicity related biomarkers. METHODS: Forty-eight hpf zebrafish was treated by astemizole and cardiac toxicity was denoted with heart rate, sinus venous (SV) -bulbus arteriosus (BA) distance and heart phenotype. Meanwhile, zebrafish tissue samples were obtained and subjected to GC-MS analysis to find potential biomarkers of cardiotoxicity. RESULTS: Heart rate of zebrafish treated by astemizole decreased significantly compared with the control groups accompanied with apparent atrioventricular block and cardiac morphological changes. Metabonomics analysis show that the metabolic profiling distinguished astemizole group from the control group and 12 potential biomarkers, glucose, glycine, lactic acid, creatinine, glutamine, N-acetyl-L-lysine, L-proline, citric acid, L-tyrosine, phosphate, cholesterol, palmitic acid, are identified. CONCLUSION: These results showed that metabonomics based on new model organism, zebrafish, can be used to express the astemizole-induced cardiotoxicity. The biomarkers found contribute to the early warning for drug-induced cardiotoxicity.