Research progress on the material basis and pharmacological effects of Pien Tze Huang / 药学学报

The medicinal history of Pien Tze Huang is long, and it is the only "double top secret" variety of technology and formula at present. It has the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, detumescence and pain, cooling blood and removing blood stasis. At present, researchers have analyzed and identified some compounds in Pien Tze Huang and its precious medicinal materials, such as Panax notoginseng, calculus bovis, snake gall and musk, and conducted activity screening, pharmacokinetics and pharmacological related studies on these chemical components. It was found that Pien Tze Huang had a significant effect on the treatment of acute and chronic hepatitis, ulcer, colon cancer, liver cancer and other diseases. The purpose of this paper is to systematically discuss the research achievements of researchers in recent years on the material basis, pharmacological effects and clinical application of Pien Tze Huang, with a view to providing ideas for the further research of Pien Tze Huang.

Silybin alleviates hepatic lipid accumulation in methionine-choline deficient diet-induced nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in mice via peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α / 中国天然药物

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is regarded as the most common liver disease with no approved therapeutic drug currently. Silymarin, an extract from the seeds of Silybum marianum, has been used for centuries for the treatment of various liver diseases. Although the hepatoprotective effect of silybin against NAFLD is widely accepted, the underlying mechanism and therapeutic target remain unclear. In this study, NAFLD mice caused by methionine-choline deficient (MCD) diet were orally administrated with silybin to explore the possible mechanism and target. To clarify the contribution of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα), PPARα antagonist GW6471 was co-administrated with silybin to NAFLD mice. Since silybin was proven as a PPARα partial agonist, the combined effect of silybin with PPARα agonist, fenofibrate, was then evaluated in NAFLD mice. Serum and liver samples were collected to analyze the pharmacological efficacy and expression of PPARα and its targets. As expected, silybin significantly protected mice from MCD-induced NAFLD. Furthermore, silybin reduced lipid accumulation via activating PPARα, inducing the expression of liver cytosolic fatty acid-binding protein, carnitine palmitoyltransferase (Cpt)-1a, Cpt-2, medium chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase and stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1, and suppressing fatty acid synthase and acetyl-CoA carboxylase α. GW6471 abolished the effect of silybin on PPARα signal and hepatoprotective effect against NAFLD. Moreover, as a partial agonist for PPARα, silybin impaired the powerful lipid-lowering effect of fenofibrate when used together. Taken together, silybin protected mice against NAFLD via activating PPARα to diminish lipid accumulation and it is not suggested to simultaneously take silybin and classical PPARα agonists for NAFLD therapy.

The mechanism of androgen independent signaling pathway in castration-resistant prostate cancer and the research progress on related drugs / 药学学报

Prostate cancer is one of the common malignant tumors of male urogenital system, and the incidence of prostate cancer in China has increased significantly in the past decade. At present, endocrine therapy based on androgen blockade is the main method of clinical treatment except radical surgery and radiotherapy/chemotherapy for prostate cancer. However, the clinical benefit can only be obtained in the early stage of treatment, and nearly 90% of patients will develop to the castration resistance, and among them, nearly 90% of patients will have bone metastasis. The quality of life decreases sharply with the progression of disease for patients. In addition to the androgen signal pathway, studies have shown that many other oncogenic signal pathways have involved in the development of castration resistance, including classic cancer signaling pathways, immune and inflammatory signaling pathways, etc. Understanding the mechanism of androgen independent signal pathway in the formation of castration resistance will help to understand the off-target effect of androgen blocking therapy and introduce new treatment targets or strategies to get rid of the "no drug available" dilemma for clinical treatment of castration resistance.

A hepatoprotection study of Radix Bupleuri on acetaminophen-induced liver injury based on CYP450 inhibition / 中国天然药物

We investigated the potential hepatoprotective effect of Radix Bupleuri (RB) by inducing acute liver injury (ALI) in an animal model using acetaminophen (APAP) after pretreatment with RB aqueous extract for three consecutive days. Compared to those of the APAP group, the biochemical and histological results of the RB pretreatment group showed lower serumaspartate transaminase (AST) and alanine transaminase (ALT) levels as well as less liver damage. Pharmacokinetic study of the toxicity related marker acetaminophen-cysteine (APC) revealed a lower exposure level in rats, suggesting that RB alleviated APAP-induced liver damage by preventing glutathione (GSH) depletion. The results of cocktail approach showed significant inhibition of CYP2E1 and CYP3A activity. Further investigation revealed the increasing of CYP2E1 and CYP3A protein was significantly inhibited in pretreatment group, while no obvious effect on gene expression was found. Therefore, this study clearly demonstrates that RB exhibited significant protective action against APAP-induced acute live injury via pretreatment, and which is partly through inhibiting the increase of activity and translation of cytochrome P450 enzymes, rather than gene transcription.

Pharmacokinetics of the prototype and hydrolyzed carboxylic forms of ginkgolides A, B, and K administered as a ginkgo diterpene lactones meglumine injection in beagle dogs / 中国天然药物

Ginkgo diterpene lactones meglumine injection (GDLI) is a commercially available product used for neuroprotection. However, the pharmacokinetic properties of the prototypes and hydrolyzed carboxylic forms of the primary components in GDLI, i.e., ginkgolide A (GA), ginkgolide B (GB), and ginkgolide K (GK), have never been fully evaluated in beagle dogs. In this work, a simple, sensitive, and reliable method based on ultra-fast liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UFLC-MS/MS) was developed, and the prototypes and total amounts of GA, GB, and GK were determined in beagle dog plasma. The plasma concentrations of the hydrolyzed carboxylic forms were calculated by subtracting the prototype concentrations from the total lactone concentrations. For the first time, the pharmacokinetics of GA, GB, and GK were fully assessed in three forms, i.e., the prototypes, the hydrolyzed carboxylic forms, and the total amounts, after intravenous administration of GDLI in beagle dogs. It was shown that ginkgolides primarily existed in the hydrolyzed form in plasma, and the ratio of hydrolysates to prototype forms of GA and GB decreased gradually to a homeostatic ratio. All of the three forms of the three ginkgolides showed linear exposure of AUC to the dosages. GA, GB, and GK showed a constant half-life approximately 2.7, 3.4, and 1.2 h, respectively, which were consistent for the forms at three dose levels (0.3, 1.0, and 3.0 mg·kg) and after a consecutive injection of GDLI for 7 days (1.0 mg·kg).

Update on immune and metabolic dysregulation in major depressive disorder and the implications for drug intervention / 药学学报

Traditional anti-depressant therapy based on the regulation of monoamine neurotransmitters has shown certain limitations. Recently, accumulating clinical and preclinical studies have reported the tantalizing link between immune dysregulation, inflammatory process and the initiation and exacerbation of major depressive disorder (MDD). With a deepening understanding of neural-immune-metabolic interactions, an immunometabolism driven disease network has attracted huge interests in understanding neuronal inflammation and dysfunction underlying MDD pathogenesis and intervention. This review describes recent data uncovering immunometabolic dysregulation as a key factor in MDD network, with a focus on the recent appreciation of immune-metabolic actions of several anti-depressant compounds. The implications for the discovery of novel antidepressant drugs and clinical management of MDD are discussed.

Comparative pharmacokinetic study of vonoprazan in acute hepatic injury rats and normal rats / 药学学报

Hepatic disease is one of the high-prevalence diseases in China, of which gastrointestinal bleeding is a common complication treated by proton pump inhibitors. Vonoprazan is a novel proton pump inhibitor which acts better than lansoprazole in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. In this study, the pharmacokinetics of vonoprazan was compared between acute hepatic injury and normal condition in rats. Results showed that the exposure (AUC) of vonoprazan was significantly higher in rats with acute hepatic injury than in normal rats, and the metabolites formation rates of vonoprazan also slowed down, which might be due to the change of activity of enzymes and transporters. This find may provide a theoretical basis for the dose regulation of vonoprazan in patients with hepatic injury.

Appropriate choice of collision-induced dissociation energy for qualitative analysis of notoginsenosides based on liquid chromatography hybrid ion trap time-of-flight mass spectrometry / 中国天然药物

Liquid chromatography hybrid ion trap/time-of-flight mass spectrometry possessesd both the MS(n) ability of ion trap and the excellent resolution of a time-of-flight, and has been widely used to identify drug metabolites and determine trace multi-components for in natural products. Collision energy, one of the most important factors in acquiring MS(n) information, could be set freely in the range of 10%-400%. Herein, notoginsenosides were chosen as model compounds to build a novel methodology for the collision energy optimization. Firstly, the fragmental patterns of the representatives for the authentic standards of protopanaxadiol-type and protopanaxatriol-type notoginsenosides authentic standards were obtained based on accurate MS(2) and MS(3) measurements via liquid chromatography hybrid ion trap/time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Then the extracted ion chromatograms of characteristic product ions of notoginsenosides in Panax Notoginseng Extract, which were produced under a series of collision energies and, were compared to screen out the optimum collision energies values for MS(2) and MS(3). The results demonstrated that the qualitative capability of liquid chromatography hybrid ion trap/time-of-flight mass spectrometry was greatly influenced by collision energies, and 50% of MS(2) collision energy was found to produce the highest collision-induced dissociation efficiency for notoginsenosides. BesidesAddtionally, the highest collision-induced dissociation efficiency appeared when the collision energy was set at 75% in the MS(3) stage.

Effects of diammonium glycyrrhizinate on hepatic and intestinal UDP-Glucuronosyltransferases in rats: Implication in herb-drug interactions / 中国天然药物

Glycyrrhizin is a major bioactive component of liquorice, which exerts multiple biochemical and pharmacological activities and is frequently used in combination with other drugs in the clinic. Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), an immunosuppressant widely used in transplant patients, is metabolized by UDP-glucuronyltransferases (UGTs). Although significant evidence supports that glycyrrhizin could interact with the cytochrome P450s (CYPs), few studies have addressed its effects on UGTs. The present study aimed at investigating the regulatory effects of diammonium glycyrrhizinate (GLN) on UGTs in vitro and in vivo. We found that long-term administration of GLN in rats induced overall metabolism of MMF, which might be due to the induction of UGT1A protein expression. Hepatic UGT1A activity and UGT1A mRNA and protein expression were significantly increased in GLN-treated rats. UGT1A expression levels were also increased in the intestine, contradicting with the observed decrease in intestinal UGT1A activities. This phenomenon may be attributed to different concentrations of glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) in liver and intestine and the inhibitory effects of GA on UGT1A activity. In conclusion, our study revealed that GLN had multiple effects on the expression and activities of UGT1A isoforms, providing a basis for a better understanding of interactions between GLN and other drugs.

NAMPT inhibition synergizes with NQO1-targeting agents in inducing apoptotic cell death in non-small cell lung cancer cells / 中国天然药物

Nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT) catalyzes the first rate-limiting step in converting nicotinamide to NAD(+), essential for a number of enzymes and regulatory proteins involved in a variety of cellular processes, including deacetylation enzyme SIRT1 which modulates several tumor suppressors such as p53 and FOXO. Herein we report that NQO1 substrates Tanshione IIA (TSA) and β-lapachone (β-lap) induced a rapid depletion of NAD(+) pool but adaptively a significant upregulation of NAMPT. NAMPT inhibition by FK866 at a nontoxic dose significantly enhanced NQO1-targeting agent-induced apoptotic cell death. Compared with TSA or β-lap treatment alone, co-treatment with FK866 induced a more dramatic depletion of NAD(+), repression of SIRT1 activity, and thereby the increased accumulation of acetylated FOXO1 and the activation of apoptotic pathway. In conclusion, the results from the present study support that NAMPT inhibition can synergize with NQO1 activation to induce apoptotic cell death, thereby providing a new rationale for the development of combinative therapeutic drugs in combating non-small lung cancer.

Isochlorogenic acid A affects P450 and UGT enzymes in vitro and in vivo / 中国天然药物

Isochlorogenic acid A (ICQA), which has anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, and antiviral properties, is commonly presented in fruits, vegetables, coffee, plant-based food products, and herbal medicines. These herbal medicines are usually used in combination with other medicines in the clinic. However, little is known about the regulatory effects of ICQA on drug-metabolizing enzymes and the herb-drug interactions. In the present study, we evaluated the inhibitory potentials of ICQA on CYP1A2, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP3A4, CYP2D6, and CYP2E1 in vitro based on a cocktail approach. The P450 and UGT activities in mice treated with ICQA for a prolonged period were also determined. Our results demonstrated that ICQA exhibited a weak inhibitory effect on CYP2C9 in human liver microsomes with IC being 57.25 μmol·L and Ki being 26.77 μmol·L. In addition, ICQA inhibited UGT1A6 activity by 25%, in the mice treated with ICQA (i.p.) at 30 mg·kg for 14 d, compared with the control group. Moreover, ICQA showed no mechanism-based inhibition on CYP2C9 or UGT1A6. In conclusion, our results further confirm a safe use of ICQA in clinical practice.

Metabolomic approach to evaluating the effect of the mixed decoction of kelp and licorice on system metabolism of SD rats / 药学学报

The aim of the study is to evaluate the effects of the single and mixed decoction of Thallus laminariae (kelp) and Glycyrrhiza glabra (licorice) on the metabolism and their difference. The mixed decoction of kelp and licorice and the single decoction were made and intragastrically administered to the SD rats. The effect on system metabolism, the toxicity of liver and kidney were assessed by GC-MS profiling of the endogenous molecules in serum, routine biochemical assays and histographic inspection of tissues from SD rats, separately. The mixed decoction of kelp and licorice induced more obvious pathological abnormalities in SD rats than a single decoction of kelp, while the extracts of licorice did not show any pathological change. Neither the mixed, nor the single decoction showed abnormal histopathology. After intragastric administration of extracts for 5 days, the mixed decoction induced a decrease of ALT (no significant change in the groups of single decoction) and an increase of BUN (so did the single decoction of kelp). Metabolomic profile of the molecules in serum revealed that the metabolic patterns were all obviously affected for the three groups, i.e., the mixed and single decoction of kelp and licorice. The rats given with the single decoction of kelp showed a similar pattern to that of the mixed decoction, indicating that the kelp primarily contributed the perturbation of metabolism for the mixed decoction. All three groups induced a decrease of branched chain amino acids, TCA cycle intermediates and glycolysis intermediates (e.g., pyruvic acid and lactic acid) and an increase of 3-hydroxybutyric acid. Kelp decoction showed stronger potential in reducing TCA cycle intermediates and glycolysis intermediates than the other two groups, while the levels of branched chain amino acids were the lowest after licorice extracts were given. These results suggested that the effect of the mixed decoction on metabolism was closely associated with both kelp and licorice. The continuous administration of single decoction of kelp and the mixed decoction of licorice and kelp resulted in pathological abnormalities in kidney of SD rats. The mixed decoction of kelp and licorice distinctly perturbed sera molecules and hence system metabolism, which showed associated with those of kelp and licorice. Although the metabolic effect was associated with both kelp and licorice, the results suggested kelp contributed to it primarily.

Pharmacodynamics and potential synergistic effects of Mai-Luo-Ning injection on cardiovascular protection, based on molecular docking / 中国天然药物

As a computer-assisted approach, molecular docking has been universally applied in drug research and development and plays an important role in the investigation and evaluation of herbal medicines. Herein, the method was used to estimate the pharmacodynamics of Mai-Luo-Ning injection, a traditional Chinese compound herbal prescription. Through investigating the interactions between several important proteins in cardiovascular system and characteristic components of the formula, its effect on cardiovascular protection was evaluated. Results showed the differences in the interactions between each component and the selected target proteins and revealed the possible mechanisms for synergistic effects of various characteristic components on cardiovascular protection. The study provided scientific evidence supporting the mechanistic study of the interactions among multi-components and targets, offering a general approach to investigating the pharmacodynamics of complicated materials in compound herbal prescriptions.

A review of the expression and activity of drug metabolism enzymes in tumorous cells / 药学学报

Tumorous cells are characterized by distinctive metabolic reprogramming and living conditions. Understanding drug metabolizing features in tumor cells will not only favor the estimation of metabolic rate, elimination half life and the assessment of potency, but also facilitate the optimal design of anti-tumor drugs/prodrugs. This article reviewed the expression and activity features of major drug metabolizing enzymes (DMEs) in solid tumorous tissues, such as liver, intestine, breast and lung, and the difference from the correspondingly normal tissues, exemplified by the metabolic properties of some classic antitumor-agents in tumorous tissues. In combination with the data retrieved in vitro tumor cell lines, we discussed the similarities and differences of DMEs expression and function between tumor tissues (in vivo) and tumor cells (in vitro), and proposed the possible factors that cause the differences.

Progress in the role of farnesoid X receptor in metabolic regulation and tumor cell proliferation / 生理学报

Farnesoid X receptor (FXR) is a ligand-activated transcriptional factor belonged to the superfamily of nuclear receptors. In the past decades, FXR has been found with important roles in the regulation of metabolic homeostasis of bile acids, cholesterol, lipids and carbohydrates. Recent studies further demonstrate the potential protective effect of FXR against metabolic diseases, such as hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia, as well as inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). In addition, FXR plays an essential role in liver regeneration, tumor cell proliferation and apoptosis. However, the role of FXR in the development of tumor is still obscure and even with discrepancy. This article reviews the function of FXR in metabolic regulation and recent progress in basic, clinical and pharmacological researches related to tumor cell proliferation involving FXR.

Application and development of in vitro metabolism study at early drug discovery stage / 药学学报

Drug metabolism studies, including in vivo and in vitro metabolism studies, are significant in the design of candidate compounds and screening of lead compounds at drug discovery/development stages. Compared with in vivo metabolism studies, in vitro metabolism studies have the advantages of rapidity, simplicity, without consumption of large amounts of samples and animals. Moreover, it is convenient for researchers to observe the selective interaction between compound and target. Therefore, in vitro metabolism studies are appropriate for high throughput screening of compounds which are lack of metabolism information and have been widely used during drug discovery stages. This article briefly introduced the application of in vitro drug metabolism studies based on the metabolic stability, reaction phenotyping and metabolic drug-drug interactions, aiming to raise valuable evaluation strategies for innovative drug discovery in China.

Evaluation of myocardial ischemia rat model based on metabonomic method of small molecule metabolites of plasma and cardiac muscle / 药学学报

Isoproterenol (ISO)-induced myocardial ischemia animal model has been widely applied to the study of myocardial ischemia and evaluation of drug efficacy. Metabolic profiling of endogenous compounds can make a deep insight into biochemical process of the ISO-induced myocardial ischemia rats. Herein, rats were treated with ISO (2 mg x kg(-1)) for 10 days. After the model was established by measuring myocardial histopathology and plasma creatine kinase, GC/TOF-MS was used to determine endogenous metabolites in plasma and cardiac muscle of rats, and pattern recognition was used to process the data. Results showed that the plasma metabolic profiling of ISO-induced myocardial ischemia rats was significantly different from that of the control, and it had the tendency to the normal state after the discontinue of ISO injection. Besides, the cardiac muscle of rats treated with ISO for 10 days and the normal cardiac muscle could also be separated clearly. The potential biomarkers in plasma and cardiac muscle of model rats had homogeneity and their own specialty. Biochemical metabolic pathway analysis indicated that this myocardial ischemia model was involved in the alternation of energy metabolism, saccharometabolism, lipid metabolism, nucleoside metabolism and amino acid metabolism, and in relationship with oxidative stress. These findings revealed that metabonomics may be a promising tool to evaluate myocardial ischemia rat model induced by ISO and could further extend the study of pharmacodynamic action of drugs at the molecular level.

The identification and pharmacokinetic studies of metabolites of salvianolic acid B after intravenous administration in rats / 中国天然药物

AIM@#To identify and quantify the major metabolites of salvianolic acid B (SAB) after intravenous injection in rats.@*METHODS@#LC-IT/TOF-MS was used to identify the metabolites in rat bile, plasma, and urine; LC-MS/MS was used to quantify the two major metabolites.@*RESULTS@#In rat bile, plasma, and urine, nine metabolites were identified, including methylated metabolites of SAB, lithospermic acid (LSA), the decarboxylation and methylation metabolites of LSA, salvianolic acid S (SAS), and dehydrated-SAS. The t1/2 of monomethyl-SAB and LSA were both very short, and monomethyl-SAB had a larger AUC than LSA in rats.@*CONCLUSION@#Nine metabolites were found, the metabolic pathway was described, and the pharmacokinetic profiles of LSA and monomethyl-SAB were studied, thereby clarifying that methylation was the dominant metabolic pathway for SAB in rats.

Effect of diammonium glycyrrhizinate on entecavir pharmacokinetics in rats / 中国天然药物

AIM@#This study was designed to explore the effects of short-term and long-term pretreatment of diammonium glycyrrhizinate (GLN) on the pharmacokinetics of entecavir (ETV) in rats.@*METHODS@#Male SD rats were randomized into short-term and long-term experimental groups, respectively. In the short-term experiment, the control group received saline, the low dose group received GLN 13.5 mg·kg(-1) and the high dose group received GLN 40.5 mg·kg(-1). ETV (0.09 mg·kg(-1)) was given i.g. 0.5 h after saline/GLN administration. For the long-term experiment, rats were allocated into two experimental designs. The control group received saline/ETV (0.09 mg·kg(-1)), the low dose group received GLN 13.5 mg·kg(-1)/ETV 0.09 mg·kg(-1) + GLN 13.5 mg·kg(-1), while the high dose group received GLN 40.5 mg·kg(-1)/ETV 0.09 mg·kg(-1) + GLN 40.5 mg·kg(-1); all administration was continued for 15 days. On the 16(th) day, 0.09 mg·kg(-1) ETV was administrated to all groups. Blood samples were obtained at different time points after ETV administration to determine plasma ETV concentrations.@*RESULTS@#Pretreatment with glycyrrhizin resulted in no significant alterations in the main pharmacokinetic parameters of ETV in the short-term and long-term administration experiments.@*CONCLUSION@#Diammonium glycyrrhizinate has no effect on ETV pharmacokinetics in rats.

Study on the plasma protein binding rate of Schisandra lignans based on the LC-IT-TOF/MS technique with relative quantitative analysis / 中国天然药物

The main objective of the current study was to develop a universal method for a protein binding assay of complicated herbal components, and to investigate the possible relationship between compound polarity and protein binding using Schisadra lignans as an example. Firstly, the rat, dog and human plasma were spiked with three different concentrations of Schisandra chinensis extract (SLE), and ultramicrofiltration was used to obtain the unbound ingredients. Secondly, thirty-one Schisandra lignans in total plasma and ultrafiltered fluid were measured by LC-IT-TOFMS. Lastly, a relative exposure approach, which entailed calculating the relative concentrations of each Schisandra lignan from the corresponding calibration equation created from the calibration samples spiked with the stock solution of SLE, was applied in order to overcome the absence of authentic standards. The results showed that Schisandra lignans exhibited a high capability to bind with plasma protein, furthermore, the protein binding ratio of the lignan components increased proportionally with their individual chromatographic retention time, which indicated that the ratio of protein binding of lignans might increase accordingly with decreasing polarity. This study suggested that the compound polarity might be an important factor affecting the plasma protein binding of herbal components.