Construction and preliminary application of drug carrier system based on yeast membrane vesicles / 药学学报

As an edible eukaryotic microorganism, Saccharomyces cerevisiae has the characteristics of high safety, rapid proliferation, low cost, easy transformation, etc. It has been widely used to produce vaccines, antibodies, insulin, etc. Up to now, yeast components, such as cell wall and yeast microcapsules, have been widely used in the treatment of tumors, inflammatory virus infection, post-traumatic osteoarthritis and other diseases. Among them, the components of yeast cell membrane are relatively simple and stable, which are easy to be extracted on a large scale. Therefore, yeast cell membrane material was used to construct yeast membrane vesicle nanosystem, and its biomedical application was preliminarily explored. In this study, Saccharomyces cerevisiae membrane vesicle (SMV) was prepared by co-extrusion method, and the particle size and surface potential of SMV, drug loading and release characteristics, stability, cell safety, and in vitro therapeutic effect were investigated. The results showed that the average particle size of SMV was 185.1 nm. Curcumin and silica nanoparticles were effectively encapsulated by co-incubation and ultrasonic methods, and the characteristics of cell membrane proteins were maintained. Moreover, SMV had good stability and biocompatibility. In addition, SMV could be effectively uptaken by macrophages RAW 264.7, and curcumin loaded SMV could effectively eliminate reactive oxygen species (ROS). In conclusion, the yeast plasma membrane vesicles prepared in this study could effectively deliver curcumin drugs and encapsulate nanoparticles, and could be effectively absorbed by macrophages and effectively eliminate ROS, providing new ideas and new methods for biomedical applications of yeast membrane materials.

Molecular mechanism of Fagopyri Dibotryis Rhizoma in treatment of acute lung injury based on network pharmacology and in vitro experiments / 中国中药杂志

The present study explored the mechanism of Fagopyri Dibotryis Rhizoma(FDR) and its main active components in the treatment of acute lung injury(ALI) based on the network pharmacology and the in vitro experiments. The main active components of FDR were obtained from the TCMSP database and screened by oral bioavailability and drug-likeness. The related target proteins of FDR were retrieved from the PubChem database, and the target genes related to ALI were screened out from the GeneCards database. A protein-protein interaction(PPI) network of compound target proteins and ALI target genes was constructed using STRING 11.0. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis(IPA) platform was used to analyze the common pathways of the potential compound target proteins of FDR and ALI target genes, thereby predicting the key targets and potential signaling pathways of FDR for the treatment of ALI. Finally, the potential pathways and key targets were verified by the in vitro experiments of lipopolysaccharide-induced RAW264.7 cells intervened by epicatechin(EC), the active component of FDR. The results of network pharmacology showed that 15 potential active components such as EC, procyanidin B1, and luteolin presumedly functioned in the treatment of ALI through nuclear transcription factor-κB(NF-κB) signaling pathway, transforming growth factor-β(TGF-β) signaling pathway, and adenosine 5'-monophosphate(AMP)-activated protein kinase(AMPK) signaling pathway through key targets, such as RELA(P65). The results of in vitro experiments showed that 25 μmol·L~(-1) EC had no toxicity to cells and could inhibit the expression of the p65-phosphorylated protein in the NF-κB signaling pathway to down-regulate the expression of downstream inflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), IL-1β and nitric oxide(NO), and up-regulate the expression of IL-10. These results suggested that the therapeutic efficacy of FDR on ALI was achieved by inhibiting the phosphorylation of p65 protein in the NF-κB signaling pathway and down-regulating the level of proinflammatory cytokines downstream of the signaling pathways.

Preventive effects of jinghua weikang capsule on NSAID-induced injury to the mucosa of the small intestine: an experimental research / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the preventive effects of jinghua weikang capsule (JWC) on nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) induced injury to the mucosa of the small intestine.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Thirty-two Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups, i.e., the blank control group, the model group, the JWC group, and the esomeprazole group. Diclofenac was administered to rats in the model group, the JWC group, and the esomeprazole group at the daily dose of 15 mg/kg. JWC and esomeprazole was respectively given to those in the JWC group, and the esomeprazole group one day ahead. Normal saline was given to rats in the blank control group. Rats were killed 3 days later. The pathological changes of the small intestine were observed by hematoxylin and eosin stain.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with the blank control group, the general score for the small intestine (4.63 +/-0.52 vs 0.00 +/-0. 00) and the pathological score (4.00 +/-0.90 vs 0.00 +/-0. 00) obviously increased in the model group, showing statistical difference (P <0.05). Compared with the model group, the general score for the small intestine (1.88 +/-0.99) and the pathological score (2.11 +/-1.11) obviously decreased in the JWG group, showing statistical difference (P <0.05). Compared with the model group, the general score for the small intestine (2.75 +/-1.28) and the pathological score (2. 30 +/-0.94) obviously decreased in the esomeprazole group, showing statistical difference (P <0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>JWC could prevent NSAIDs induced injury to the mucosa of the small intestine.</p>