Serum metabolomics of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with lung-Qi deficiency syndrome / 中国中药杂志

The present study analyzed the potential biomarkers of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD) with lung-Qi deficiency syndrome by non-targeted metabolomics and explored the biological basis of this syndrome. Blood samples of 96 COPD patients with lung-Qi deficiency syndrome(COPD with lung-Qi deficiency syndrome group) and 106 healthy people(healthy control group) were collected, and the metabolic profiles of both groups were analyzed by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry(UPLC-Q-TOF-MS). Multivariate statistical analysis and differential metabolite screening were carried out by using Progenesis QI and Simca-P. Metabolic pathways were constructed through the MetaboAnalyst. Seven potential biomarkers, such as L-cystathionine, protoporphyrinogen Ⅸ, and citalopram aldehyde, were identified. Compared with the results in the healthy control group, the content of citalopram aldehyde, N1-methyl-2-pyridone-5-carboxamide, and 11β,17β-dihydroxy-4-androsten-3-one was significantly up-regulated, while that of the other four compounds such as L-cystathionine, dihydrotestosterone, protoporphyrinogen Ⅸ, and D-urobilinogen was down-regulated. These potential biomarkers involved six metabolic pathways, including cysteine and methionine metabolism, porphyrin and chlorophyll metabolism, drug metabolism of cytochrome P450, steroid hormone biosynthesis, glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism, and nicotinate and nicotinamide meta-bolism. This study is expected to provide a certain scientific basis for the research on traditional Chinese medicine syndrome of COPD with lung-Qi deficiency syndrome from the molecular biology level.

Protective Mechanism of Danggui Shaoyaosan on Podocytes of Nephrotic Syndrome Rats Based on AngⅡ-TRPC6 Pathway / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective:To explore the protective effect and the mechanism of Danggui Shaoyaosan（DSS） on angiotensin Ⅱ （AngⅡ）/transient receptor potential cation channel 6 （TRPC6） pathway in nephrotic syndrome （NS） rats. Method:In animal experiments， doxorubicin （4 mg·kg^-1 for the 1^st week and 2 mg·kg^-1 for the 2^nd week） was injected twice to the tail vein of rats to induce NS model in 160 rats， which were then randomly divided into model group （normal saline）， losartan group （30 mg·kg^-1·d^-1）， and low-（4.3 g·kg^-1·d^-1）， medium-（8.6 g·kg^-1·d^-1）， and high-dose （17.2 g·kg^-1·d^-1） DSS groups. Besides， a normal group was also set. After intervention for four weeks， ultrastructure changes of the kidney were identified by transmission electron microscopy （TEM）. The 24-hour urine protein was detected by kits. Radioimmunoassay was used to detect the content of AngⅡ and Calcineurin （CaN） in plasma. Western blot was used to detect the protein expression of TRPC6， angiotensin Ⅱ type 1 receptor （AT1R）， podocyte slit diaphragm-specific protein （Nephrin）， and cysteine-aspartic acid protease-3 （Caspase-3） in the renal cortex. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of TRPC6 and AT1R in the slit diaphragm. In cell experiments， AngⅡ stimulated MPC5 podocytes. The cells were randomly divided into a normal group， an AngⅡ group， an AngⅡ+SAR7334 （TRPC6-specific inhibitor） group， an AngⅡ+5%DSS group， an AngⅡ+10%DSS group， and an AngⅡ+15%DSS group. Western blot was used to detect the protein expression of TRPC6， AT1R， Nephrin， and Caspase-3 in podocytes. Result:Compared with the normal group， the model group showed increased 24-hour urine protein content （<italic>P</italic><0.01） and AngⅡ and CaN in plasma （<italic>P</italic><0.01）， incomplete glomerular structure， the extensive fusion of podocyte process with elevated fusion rate （<italic>P</italic><0.01）， increased expression distribution of AT1R and TRPC6 in the renal cortex， and up-regulated protein expression of AT1R， TRPC6， and Caspase-3 in renal tissues （<italic>P</italic><0.01）， and reduced Nephrin protein expression （<italic>P</italic><0.01）. Compared with model group， the losartan group and the high-dose DSS group exhibited decreased 24-hour urine protein content （<italic>P</italic><0.01） and the content of AngⅡ and CaN in plasma （<italic>P</italic><0.01）， improved glomerular structure， reduced fusion rate of podocyte process （<italic>P</italic><0.01）， diminished expression distribution of TRPC6 and AT1R in the renal cortex， declining protein expression of AT1R， TRPC6 and Caspase-3 in renal tissues （<italic>P</italic><0.01）， and elevated Nephrin protein expression （<italic>P</italic><0.01）. Additionally， compared with the normal podocytes， AngⅡ-stimulated podocytes showed increased protein expression of AT1R， TRPC6 and Caspase-3 （<italic>P</italic><0.01）， and decreased expression of Nephrin （<italic>P</italic><0.01）. Compared with the AngⅡ group， the AngⅡ+SAR7334 group displayed reduced protein expression of AT1R， TRPC6， and Caspase-3 （<italic>P</italic><0.01） and increased protein expression of Nephrin （<italic>P</italic><0.01）. Conclusion:DSS can improve the pathological characteristics of NS presumedly by inhibiting the interaction between AngⅡ and TRPC6 in podocytes and improving the structural integrity of podocytes to repair the damage of glomerular molecular barrier and slow down the progression of NS-induced proteinuria.

Simultaneous determination of six constituents in Yitai Capsules by HPLC / 中成药

AIM To establish an HPLC method for the simultaneous content determination of ginsenoside Re,ginsenoside Rg1,ginsenoide Rb1,specnuezhenide,calycosin-7-O-β-D-glucoside and oleanolic acid in Yitai Cap sules (Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma,Astragali Radix,Ligustri lucidi Fructus,etc.).METHODS The analysis of 70％ ethanol extract of this drug was performed on a 25 ℃ thermostatic Luna C18 column (4.6 mm ×250 mm,5 μm),with the mobile phase comprising of methanol-O.2％ phosphoric acid flowing at 1.0 mL/minin a gradient elution manner,and the detection wavelength was set at 203 nm.RESULTS Six constituents showed good linear relationships within their own ranges (r ＞ 0.999 0),whose average recoveries were 95.58％-102.12％ with the RSDs of 0.82％-1.73％.CONCLUSION This simple and stable method can be used for the rapid quality control of Yitai Capsules.

Uric acid transporter and the balance of serum uric acid / 国际药学研究杂志

During the uric acid production, excretion and reabsorption in the liver, kidney and intestine, several uric acid transporter proteins are involved in these processes. A large number of studies have shown that glucose transporter 9 plays an important role in the uric acid transport in the liver, kidney and intestine, and participates in the uric acid reabsorption. The ATP-binding cassette superfamily G member 2 is mainly expressed in the apical membrane of the proximal tubular epithelial cells of the kidney, which is involved in the uric acid secretion. The multidrug resistant protein 4 is expressed in the apical membrane of the renal tubular epithelial cells, which transfers uric acid from the renal tubular epithelial cells into the renal tubular lumen. The urate-anion transporter 1 as well as the organic anion transporters 1 and 3 are all the organic anion transporters belonging to the SLC22 A family of transmembrane transporters, and all participate in the uric acid transport in the kidney, especially the uric acid secretion and excretion. In this review, we summarize the research progress of these uric acid transporters, focusing on their effects on the regulation of the serum uric acid balance.

A new flavonoid glycoside from leaves of Vitex negundo var. cannabifolia / 中草药

Objective: To investigate the flavonoid glycosides from the leaves of Vitex negundo var. cannabifolia. Methods: Column chromatography including silica gel, Sephadex LH-20, and ODS was used to separate and purify the chemical constituents, and their structures were elucidated by physicochemical properties, MS, and NMR spectroscopic data. Results: Seven flavonoid glycosides were obtained from the ethyl acetate layer of 95% EtOH extract of the leaves of V. negundo var. cannabifolia, and identified as luteolin-4'-O-(6″-O-p-hydroxybenzoyl)-β-D-glucoside (1), luteolin-7-O-(6″-O-p-hydroxybenzoyl)-β-D-glucoside (2), luteolin-6-C-(6″-O-trans-caffeoyl)-β-D-glucoside (3), luteolin-6-C-(2″-O-trans-caffeoyl)-β-D-glucoside (4), perfoliatumin A (5), isovitexin (6), and luteolin-7-O-β-D-glucoside (7). Conclusion: Compound 1 is a new compound named cannabifolin G; Compounds 2-4 and 7 are obtained from this plant for the first time; Compound 5 is firstly isolated from the plants in Vitex L.

Elucidating hypoglycemic mechanism of Dendrobium nobile through auxiliary elucidation system for traditional Chinese medicine mechanism / 中国中药杂志

To build the Dendrobium nobile -T2DM network, and elucidate the molecular mechanism of D. nobile to type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Collect the chemical composition of D. nobile and the targets on T2DM by retrieving database and documents, build the network of D. nobile to T2DM using the entity grammar systems inference rules. The molecular mechanism of D. nobile to T2DM includes: (1) regulating lipid metabolism by lowering triglyceride; (2) reducing insulin resistance; (3) protecting islet cells; (4) promoting the glucose-dependent insulin tropic peptide (GIP) secretion; (5) inhibiting calcium channel. Under the guidance of network pharmacology, through entity grammar systems inference rules we elucidate the molecular mechanism of D. nobile to T2DM, and provide the basis for the further development of health care products based on D. nobile.

HPLC determination of two phenylpropanoid amides in solani melongenae radix from different cultivation regions / 中国中药杂志

A quantitative HPLC-DAD method was developed for simultaneous determination of N-trans-p-coumaroyloctopamine and N-trans-p-coumaroyltyramine in Solani Melongenae Radix from different cultivation regions in China The separation was performed on an Agilent Eclipse XDB C18 column (4.6 mm x 250 mm, 5 microm) at 30 degrees C with a gradient elution of methanol and 0.1% formic acid in water as mobile phase. The flow rate was set at 1.0 mL x min(-1) and the detection wavelength was 300 nm. The calibration curves of N-trans-p-coumaroyloctopamine and N-trans-p-coumaroyltyramine were linear over the ranges of 2.84-68.16, 3.10-74.40 mg x L(-1), and the average recoveries (n = 9) were 99.30% and 102.8%, respectively. The developed method was successfully applied for the analysis of sixteen samples from different cultivation regions in China, which indicated that the method is simple, rapid, accurate, and reliable for quality evaluation of Solani Melongenae Radix.