ABSTRACT
Objective Neurodegenerative diseases, such as ischemia, traumatic injury, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease are characterized by neuronal loss and dysfunction. It is known that glutamate-induced toxicity plays an important role in neurodegenerative diseases. Glutamate toxicity seems to be mediated by excessive influx of Ca2+ into neuronal cells through activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor. To search for potential NMDA receptor inhibitors in traditional Chinese medicine. Methods A series of computer methods including drug-likeness evaluation, ADMET tests as well as molecular docking have been used. Results 1,5-O-dicaffeoyl-quinic acid was identified as NMDA receptor inhibitor by virtual screening. Its neuroprotective activity was further confirmed by in vitro test. 1,5-O-dicaffeoyl-quinic acid showed strong neuroprotection against NMDA-induced cell injury. Conclusion 1,5-O-Dicaffeoylquinic acid may be regarded as a potential NMDA receptor inhibitor for the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative disorders.
ABSTRACT
Liver X receptor β (LXRβ) has been a new target in the treatment of hyperlipemia, which was related to the cholesterol homeostasis. In this study, the quantitative pharmacophores were constructed by 3D-QSAR pharmacophore (Hypogen) method based on the LXRβ agonists. The optimal pharmacophore model containing one hydrogen bond acceptor, two hydrophobics and one ring aromatic was obtained based on five assessment indictors, including the correlation between predicted value and experimental value of the compounds in training set (correlation), Δcost of the models (Δcost), hit rate of active compounds (HRA), identification of effectiveness index (IEI) and comprehensive evaluation index (CAI). And the values of the five assessment indicators were 0.95, 128.65, 84.44%, 2.58 and 2.18 respectively. The best model as a query to screen the traditional Chinese medicine database (TCMD), a list of 309 compounds was obtained andwere then refined using Libdock program. Finally, based on the screening rules of the Libdock score of initial compound and the key interactions between initial compound and receptor, four compounds, demethoxycurcumin, isolicoflavonol, licochalcone E and silydianin, were selected as potential LXRβ agonists. The molecular simulation methods were high-efficiency and time-saving to obtainthe potential LXRβ agonists, which could provide assistance for further researchingnovel anti-hyperlipidemia drugs.
ABSTRACT
The research progress on new technologies for high throughput screening of effective traditional Chinese med-icine (TCM) components was summarized based on the recent documents at home and abroad ,among which bio-chromatogra-phy ,chip-technology and computer-aided virtual screen technology were widely used .Compared with traditional screening technology ,those new ones had shown advantages in efficiency ,automation and high-throughput ,providing new ways to screen effective components of TCM with high throughput .