Oleanolic acid-loaded nanoparticles attenuate activation of hepatic stellate cells via suppressing TGF-ß1 and oxidative stress in PM2.5-exposed hepatocytes.

Liver fibrosis has the potential to progress into liver cirrhosis, liver failure, and even death. Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) activation play a central role in liver fibrosis, and persistently damaged hepatocytes secrete soluble factors that activate transdifferentiation of HSCs into myofibroblasts. Our previous studies indicated that fine particulate matter (PM2.5) can activate HSCs by stimulating hepatocytes to secrete TGF-ß1. However, whether PM2.5 activates HSCs by regulating oxidative stress in hepatocytes remains uncertain. Oleanolic acid (OA) has been widely used in the clinic for hepatoprotection in Chinese medicine. In the present study, OA-loaded nanoparticles (OA-NP) with high solubility were used to attenuate the activation of HSCs induced by PM2.5-treated hepatocytes, and further studies were performed to explore the mechanism in which OA-NP plays a vital part. Our results showed that consistently PM2.5 treatment induced oxidative stress in hepatocytes. Moreover, the activation of HSCs induced by PM2.5-treated hepatocytes was reversed by antioxidant N-acetylcysteine treatment. Hence, PM2.5 may participate in the activation of HSCs by regulating oxidative stress in hepatocytes. Using a co-cultivation system, our results proved pretreatment with OA-NP significantly attenuates the activation of HSCs induced by PM2.5-exposed hepatocytes. In addition, the TGF-ß1 expression and oxidative stress in hepatocytes with PM2.5 treated were reduced by the incubation with OA-NP. These observations demonstrated that OA-NP protects against the activation of HSCs by decreasing the TGF-ß1 level and oxidative stress in PM2.5-exposed hepatocytes.

Synthesis of flavaspidic acid AB / 中国药科大学学报

@#Flavaspidic acid AB is a bicyclic phloroglucinol derivative with various biological activities in Dryopteris fragrans (L.) Schott. The structure of flavaspidic acid AB was analyzed by inverse synthesis techniques, and its synthesis was designed under the principle of association. Using phloroglucinol as raw material, the 2-methyl-4-butyrylphloroglucinol was synthesized by Vilsmeier-Haack reaction, reduction and acylation, and the flavaspidic acid fragment was synthesized by acylation, alkylation and deacylation, after which N, N-dimethylmethyleneammonium iodide was activated and the flavaspidic acid AB was obtained. The structures of intermediates and flavaspidic acid AB were confirmed by MS, 1H NMR and 13C NMR, and the yield of the target product reached 14.7%. Results indicate that the designed synthetic route of flavaspidic acid AB is simple and easy.

Synthesis of the related substances of deferasirox / 中国药科大学学报

@#To perform the quality control of deferasirox and establish its quality criterion, three related substances which were determined by analyzing the synthetic route were synthesized, and their structures were confirmed by 1H NMR and MS. These substances were 2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-4H-benzo［1, 3-e］oxazin-4-one(A), 2-hydroxy-N-(2-hydroxyben-zoyl)-benzamide(B), and methyl-4-［3, 5-bis(2-hydroxyphenyl)- 1H- ［1, 2, 4］triazol-1-yl］-benzoate(C).

Training of students’experimental techniques and skills in medicinal chemistry / 中华医学教育探索杂志

According to medicinal chemistry experiment characteristics,the teaching meth-ods and grading system were reformed,The main point of this course is improving students’ex-perimental technique and skill capability so as to effectively arouse the students’interest in study and improve their comprehensive experimental ability.