Anti-inflammatory Therapy Progress in Major Adverse Cardiac Events after PCI: Chinese and Western Medicine / 中国结合医学杂志

Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is one of the leading causes of death in cardiovascular disease. Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is an important method for the treatment of coronary heart disease (CHD), and it has greatly reduced the mortality of ACS patients since its application. However, a series of new problems may occur after PCI, such as in-stent restenosis, no-reflow phenomenon, in-stent neoatherosclerosis, late stent thrombosis, myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury, and malignant ventricular arrhythmias, which result in the occurrence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) that seriously reduce the postoperative benefit for patients. The inflammatory response is a key mechanism of MACE after PCI. Therefore, examining effective anti-inflammatory therapies after PCI in patients with ACS is a current research focus to reduce the incidence of MACE. The pharmacological mechanism and clinical efficacy of routine Western medicine treatment for the anti-inflammatory treatment of CHD have been verified. Many Chinese medicine (CM) preparations have been widely used in the treatment of CHD. Basic and clinical studies showed that effectiveness of the combination of CM and Western medicine treatments in reducing incidence of MACE after PCI was better than Western medicine treatment alone. The current paper reviewed the potential mechanism of the inflammatory response and occurrence of MACE after PCI in patients with ACS and the research progress of combined Chinese and Western medicine treatments in reducing incidence of MACE. The results provide a theoretical basis for further research and clinical treatment.

Pharmacokinetic characteristics of psoralen,isopsoralen,psoralenoside and isopsoralenoside in rats after oral administration of Psoraleae Fructus extract / 中国中药杂志

Coumarins are the main active components in Psoraleae Fructus. To study the multi-component pharmacokinetics of Psoraleae Fructus, this study established a sensitive and rapid ultra-pressure liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry(UPLC-MS/MS) method for simultaneous determination of psoralen, isopsoralen, psoralenoside, and isopsoralenoside in rat plasma. After validation, the method was applied to the investigation of pharmacokinetics of psoralen, isopsoralen, psoralenoside, and isopso-ralenoside in rats after single and multiple administration of Psoraleae Fructus extract. The results revealed that the exposure of psoralen and isopsoralen in rat plasma was high after a single intragastric administration of Psoraleae Fructus extract, with an AUC_(0-∞) of 443 619-582 680 and 167 314-276 903 ng·mL~(-1)·h~(-1), respectively. Compared with these two compounds, the exposure of psoralenoside and isopsoralenoside was lower with marked gender difference. After 7-day administration of Psoraleae Fructus extract to rats, the AUC_(0-∞) of psoralen and isopsoralen was 29 701-81 783 and 39 234-89 914 ng·mL~(-1)·h~(-1), respectively, which was significantly lower than that at the first day(P<0.05), and that of psoralenoside and isopsoralenoside was 7 360-19 342 and 8 823-45 501 ng·mL~(-1)·h~(-1), respectively. There was no significant gender difference in exposure of psoralenoside and isopsoralenoside in male and female rats. However, the exposure of psoralenoside and isopsoralenoside in male rats was reduced(P<0.05), and the t_(1/2) and mean residence time(MRT) were shortened, suggesting that the removal of these two compounds from the body was accelerated.

Rapid and simultaneous determination of 10 active components of Psoraleae Fructus in beagle dog plasma using UPLC-MS/MS and its application in pharmacokinetic study / 中国中药杂志

An UPLC-MS/MS method for rapid and simultaneous determination of psoralen, isopsoralen, apigenin, genistein, bavaisoflavone, neobavaisoflavone, bavachin, bavachinin, psoralenoside, and isopsoralenoside of Psoraleae Fructus in beagle dog plasma was established, and then the method was applied in the pharmacokinetic study after oral administration of Psoraleae Fructus extract to beagle dogs. The pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by the software of WinNonlin. A Waters HSS-T3 column(2.1 mm×100 mm,1.8 μm)was used for liquid chromatography separation with acetonitrile-water(containing 0.004% formic acid) as the mobile phase for gradient elution.The mass spectrometry was detected using electrospray ion source(ESI) under multi-reaction monitoring mode(MRM), as well as positive ion mode. Analysis time only takes 8.5 min. The methodological study in terms of specificity, accuracy, precision, linear range, recovery, matrix effect, and stability, was validated. The LC-MS analysis method established in this experiment was simple, specific, accurate, reliable, and meet the requirement of pharmacokinetic study in plasma after administration of Psoraleae Fructus extract to beagle dogs. Six beagle dogs received intragastric administration of Psoraleae Fructus extract, T_(max) of 10 chemical components is 1.92-5.67 h; among them, C_(max) of psoralen, isopsoralen, psoralenoside and isopsoralenoside is 383-3 613 ng·mL~(-1), and AUC_(0-∞) is 3 556-18 949 ng·h·mL~(-1), t_(1/2) is 2.45-4.83 h. C_(max) of the remaining six compounds is 0.81-19.9 ng·mL~(-1), AUC_(0-∞ )is 6.54-178 ng·h·mL~(-1), t_(1/2) is 2.95-7.29 h. The UPLC-MS/MS analysis method established in this study was proved to be accurate and sensitive that it can be applied to the pharmacokinetic study of beagle dogs after oral administration of Psoraleae Fructus extract.

An exploration into the therapeutic effects and molecular mechanisms of paeoniflorin in the treatment of adjuvant-induced arthritis rats by a network pharmacology-based research strategy / 药学学报

Paeoniflorin (PAE), the major active compounds of Chinese herbs Radix Paeoniae Alba andChinese patent drug "Total Glucosides of Paeony Capsules", which is effective in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), exerted multi-pharmacological activities, such as anti-inflammatory, immune-regulatory, etc. However, its potential action mechanisms remain unclear. Herein, we predicted the putative targets of Radix Paeoniae Alba and constructed an interaction network of putative targets of Radix Paeoniae Alba and known RA-related genes. A list of key putative targets was identified by calculating their topological features (degree, node betweenness and closeness) in the above pharmacological network. Importantly, pathway enrichment analysis revealed that these key putative targets were significantly enriched in several RA-related pathways, including cartilage damage-related IL1B-TNF-TLR2-JUN-MMP1-MMP3 signaling pathway. Further molecular docking simulation showed that PAE, the major active compounds of Radix Paeoniae Alba, has strong binding affinity with MMP1 and MMP3 proteins. Next, in vivo experiments based on the adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) animal models showed that PAE significantly alleviated the disease severity and the syndromes of severe redness or swelling in hind limbs of AIA rats, including decreasing the arthritis score, the diameter of the limbs, and elevating body weight and pain thresholds (all P<0.05). ELISA assay indicated that PAE obviously suppressed the abnormal up-regulation of serum inflammatory factors including IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-17 and IFN-γ in AIA rats (all P<0.001). Western blot analysis found that PAE simultaneously modulated the abnormal up-regulation of MMP1 and MMP3 proteins in the ankle tissues of AIA rats (all P<0.001) (all procedures in the current study were performed in accordance with the ethical standards of the Center for Laboratory Animal Care, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences). In conclusion, PAE alleviated the cartilage damage and disease severity in the progressive process of RA via regulating the IL1B-TNF-TLR2-JUN-MMP1-MMP3 pathway. This study provided the theoretical basis of the PAE for its immune-regulatory effects, and as well provided references for the action mechanism study of extract compounds of Chinese herbs.

Chemical Constituents of Psoraleae Fructus and Its Main Toxic Ingredients / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Psoraleae Fructus (Buguzhi) is dried mature fruit of Psoralea corylifolia. It is spicy and bitter in favor and warm in nature, and distributed to kidney and spleen meridians. Psoralea Fructus has the effects of warming kidney and tonifying Yang,absorbing Qi and relieving asthma,warming spleen and stopping diarrhea; for external use,it can remove beverage. It is mainly used to treat impotence and nocturnal emission cold and knee pain,kidney deficiency and asthma caused by kidney Yang deficiency; for external use, it can treat vitiligo and alopecia areata. Its principle chemical components are coumarins,monoterpene phenols,flavonoids,with an estrogen-like effect as well as anti-inflammatory,antibacterial,antifungal,anti-oxidation,anti-tumor and immunomodulatory activities, and can be used for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis,bacterial infections,asthma and osteoarthritis. However,the long-term administration with large doses of psoralen have the potential risk of causing liver damage,with phototoxicity,nephrotoxicity and reproductive toxicity,which restricts its application in clinical therapy. Therefore,it is essential to fully understand the chemical composition and mechanism of psoralen. Through the review and summarization of literatures about psoralen at home and abroad,this article systematically reviews the chemical constituents and toxicity of Psoralea Fructus, provides Chinese and English names,structural formulas,molecular formulas,molecular weights,CAS numbers of the compounds and the toxicity information about psoralen reported in recent years, in order to provide a reference for further study on the compositional spectrum and pharmacokinetics,toxic kinetic studies and clinical medication safety of psoralen.

Qualitative characterization of flavonoids in Scutellariae Radix by using PREC-IDA-EPI / 中国中药杂志

Flavonoids are the most abundant constituents and induce these the rapeutic effects against inflammation, gastrointestinal infections, cardiovascular diseases, and respiratory. Most of these flavonoids have low content in Scutellarie Radix. It was difficult to detect some minor compounds by using LC-MS method with full scan. Based on the review of flavonoids that had been extracted from Scutellariae Radix, a method with PREC-IDA-EPI technique was developed and applied to Scutellariae Radix by using UPLC-MS/MS. A total of 97 flavonoids were identified, including 29 aglycones and 68 -glycosides. This study laid the foundation for pharmacodynamicss of Scutellariae Radix.It is believed that an individual detection scheme based on the PREC-IDA-EPI technique could be used to identify unknown compounds.

Changyanqing decoction produces anti-inflammatory effect by inhibiting the activation of nuclear factor-kappaB / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To detect the changes in intestinal mucosal permeation in rats with methotrexate-induced small intestinal damage and investigate the protective effects of Changyanqing decoction.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Rat enteritis model was established by methotrexate (MTX) and sodium chloride. The rats were randomly divided into normal control group, model group, N-acetylcysteine (NAC) group and Changyanqing decoction group, and Changyanqing decoction (100 mg/kg) or saline was administered daily in the corresponding groups by gastric irrigation for 6 days. The disease activity index (DAI), colonic mucosal damage index (CMDI) and histological score (HS) of the rats were observed and evaluated. The levels of mRNA expressions of TNF-alpha and IL-1beta were detected by semi-quantitative RT-PCR. The expression of IL-10 was detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay, and IkappaB expression was determined with Western blotting.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with the normal control group, the model group showed significantly increased DAI, CMDI and HS. The DAI, CMDI, and HS in rats treated with Changyanqing decoction were significantly decreased in comparison with those in the model group (P<0.01). The expressions of TNF-alpha and IL-1beta were significantly higher in MTX-treated group than in the control group. The expression of TNF-alpha and IL-1beta mRNA in the Changyanqing group and NAC group were significantly lower, but IL-10 significantly higher than those of the MTX group. In MTX group, obvious NF-kappaB activation was observed, whose expression was significantly stronger in the cell nuclei, and the IkappaB in the cytoplasm was markedly degraded.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Changyanqing decoction offers protection on intestinal mucosa by inhibiting NF-kappaB activation to reduce TNF-alpha and IL-1beta mRNA expressions and increase IL-10 expression.</p>

Effect of angiotensin II on Rho-Rock pathway in rat hepatic stellate cell contraction / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the mechanisms of angiotonin II (AngII)-induced Ca(2+)-independent pathways mediated by Rho kinase in hepatic stellate cells (HSCs).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>HSC-T6 cells were treated with 1 micromol/L of AngII, and the subsequent cell contraction was directly observed with silicone rubber membrane culture method. The cells with 10 micromol/L AngII treatment were examined for myosin light chain (MLC) phosphorylation level using Western blotting, and the effects of irbesartan (a specific inhibitor of AngII 1- receptor) and Y27632 (a Rho kinase inhibitor) on AngII-induced MLC phosphorylation were evaluated. RT-PCR was used to detect the expression of Rock2 in Ca(2+)- independent pathways mediated by Rho kinase.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>AngII induced HSC contraction and time-dependent MLC phosphorylation changes, which peaked 15 min after the treatment followed by gradual reduction. Irbesartan or Y27632 treatment significantly lowered MLC phosphorylation level in AngII-induced cells (P<0.01). The mRNA expression of Rock2 increased significantly after AngII treatment (P<0.01), but decreased following subsequent irbesartan or Y27632 treatment.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>AngII induces HSC contraction through Ca(2+)-independent pathways mediated by Rho kinase.</p>

Effects of Changyanqing decoction on the expressions of interleukin-10 and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 in rats with ulcerative colitis / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effect of Changyanqing decoction, a traditional Chinese medicinal preparation, on the expressions of interleukin-10 (IL-10) and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) in the colon mucosa of rats with ulcerative colitis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The rats with ulcerative colitis induced by trinitrobenzene sulphonic acid and ethanol enema were randomly divided into 3 groups, namely the model group, sulfasalazine (SASP) group, and Changyanqing decoction group. Daily treatment with intragastric administration and enema of normal saline, SASP (100 mg/kg), and Changyanqing decoction (39.75 mg/kg), respectively, were administered 24 h after the establishment of colitis till the end of the experiment. Another group of rats was used as the normal control group. The disease activity index (DAI) and colon mucosa damage index (CMDI) of the rats were calculated. The activity of myeloperoxidase (MPO) was measured by biochemical method, and the expressions of IL-10 and ICAM-1 protein were measured by ELISA and immunohistochemistry, respectively.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with the normal group, the model group showed significantly increased DAI, CMDI, HS score and MPO activity in the colon tissues (P < 0.01), with also significantly increased expression of ICAM-1 (P < 0.01) and decreased expression of IL-10 in the rat colon mucosa (P < 0.01). Treatment with Changyanqing decoction resulted in a significant reduction in DAI, CMDI, HS score and MPO activity (P < 0.01), and decreased the expression of ICAM-1 (P < 0.01) and increased the expression of IL-10 (P < 0.01) in the colon mucosa. The expression of ICAM-1 in the colon mucosa was positively correlated to that of IL-10 (r = 0.927, P < 0.01) and the activity of MPO (r = 0.621, P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Changyanqing decoction has protective effect against rat ulcerative colitis, mediated probably by enhancement of IL-10 expression and reduction in ICAM-1 expression and neutrophil infiltration.</p>

Spheres isolated from Colo205 cell line possess cancer stem-like cells under serum-free culture condition / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>Isolation and expansion tumor spheres from colorectal cancer cell line Colo205 cultured in serum-free medium(SFM) supplemented with human recombinant EGF and bFGF.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Colo205 cells were cultivated in SFM,while cells cultivated in serum-supplemented medium(SSM) served as the control. Cells morphology were observed by optical microscope, and expression of intestinal stem cells marker Musashi-1 was detected by immunocytochemical. To induce cell differentiation, tumour spheres were cultivated without EGF and bFGF in the presence of 10% serum. Then we analysed expressions of stem cell surface markers CD133 and CD44 among undifferentiated cell, post-differentiated cells and routine Colo205 cells under serum-supplemented culture condition by flow cytometry. At last we compared cell cycle and spectral karyotype between two groups.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In SFM consisting of EGF and bFGF, a minority of Colo205 cells could survive, proliferate and form the suspended tumor spheres. We detected high Musashi-1 expression in these cells. Compared with the SSM group and the post-differentiation SFM group, the expressions of CD133 and CD44 were significantly increased in the undifferentiated SFM group (P<0.05). There was no statistical difference in the expression of CD133 and CD44 between the post-differentiation SFM group and the SSM group (P>0.05). Cell cycle analysis indicated that tumor spheres were of a high proliferation state.We could not find any noticeable difference in the number of chromatosomes between the SFM group and the SSM group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Tumor spheres in which enriched cancer stem cells can be generated under serum-free culture condition with EGF and bFGF.</p>

Analysis of lymphocyte immune abnormality in 52 cases of children idiopathic aplastic anemia / 中国实验血液学杂志

This study was aimed to investigate the characteristics of lymphocyte immune abnormality in children idiopathic aplastic anemia (IAA) in order to explore the immune pathogenesis of childhood IAA. The phenotypes of lymphocytes, the ratios of Th1/Th2 and Tc1/Tc2, the levels of CD25(+) and CD4(+)CD25(+) T lymphocytes in peripheral blood of IAA patients were measured at the onset of disease by flow cytometry and were compared with that in normal controls. The influences of those immunological indicators on prognosis of IAA were also analyzed. The results showed that there were 40 cases of severe aplastic anemia (SAA) and 12 cases of mild aplastic anemia (MAA). The levels of CD3(+) CD8(+) T cells in SAA group and MAA group were significantly higher than those in controls (p < 0.05). The levels of CD3(+) and CD3(+) CD4(+) T cells in MAA group were lower than that in SAA group (p < 0.05), but there were no difference was compared with control group. No differences of the levels of CD3(-)CD19(+) T cells were between the both SAA and MAA groups and the control group. The levels of CD3(-)CD56(+) T cells in SAA group and MAA groups were lower significantly than that in control group. As compared to control group, the levels of Th1 and Tc1 in SAA group and MAA groups increased significantly (p < 0.05), and the ratios of Th1/Th2 and Tc1/Tc2 in SAA group and MAA groups increased significantly (p < 0.05). The level of Th2 increased in SAA group. As compared to MAA group, the levels of Th1 and Tc1 and the ratios of Th1/Th2 and Tc1/Tc2 in SAA group increased significantly (p < 0.05). The levels of CD25(+) T lymphocyte in SAA group and MAA group increased significantly (p < 0.05), and were higher than that in normal controls, but levels of CD4(+)CD25(+) T lymphocyte and ratio of CD4(+)CD25(+)/CD4(+) in SAA group and MAA group had no significant difference. It is concluded that the abnormal lymphocyte immune function exist in the onset of childhood IAA. The polarization of Th1/Th2 and Tc1/Tc2 shifts to Th1 and Tc1 cells. These changes closely relate to severity of the disease. There is high level of CD25(+) T lymphocyte in children IAA. These changes reveal that abnormality of immune function plays an important role at the onset of childhood idiopathic aplastic anemia.

Effects of siwu tang on protein expression of bone marrow of blood deficiency mice induced by irradiation / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the effects of siwu tang on protein expression of bone marrow of blood deficiency mice and provide the theoretical and experimental basis for understanding the molecular mechanism of blood enriching function of siwu tang.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Blood deficiency mice were established by using 3.5 Gy 60Co gamma-ray. With proteomic technologies including two-dimensional electrophoresis, image analysis, in-gel digestion, peptide mass fingerprinting and bioinformatics the proteins of bone marrow of blood deficiency mice were isolated, analyzed, and identified.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Siwu tang could reverse 10 up-regulated and 4 down-regulated proteins of blood deficiency mice bone marrow. Seven of the proteins were likely to be lymphocyte specific protein 1, proteasome 26S ATPase subunit 4, hematopoietic cell protein-tyrosine phosphatase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, growth factor receptor binding protein 14 and lgals12 respectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Siwu tang can regulate the protein expression of bone marrow of blood deficiency mice and thus promote the growth and differentiation of hematopoietic cells and then exert its effects on blood enriching function.</p>