Pharmacology is a bridge discipline between medicine and pharmacy,betmeen basic medicine and clinical medicine,between life sciences and chemistry as well as material science. Phar?macology is closely related to many subjects,and is an indispensable subject in medical sciences. It plays an important role in the development of medical sciences. The main tasks of pharmacology development involve rational drug use,new drug research and development,and promotion of medical sciences and life sciences. During the whole process of new drug development,the development of pharmacolo?gy has played a positive role. As such,new drug research and development depends on the develop?ment of pharmacology. Pharmacology plays an important role in the development of new drugs and is involved in the whole process of research and development. Thus,it is a support subject for new drug development. Strengthening pharmacological research and improving the overall level of pharmacologi?cal in China are of great significance for promoting new drug research and development and ensuring ra?tional drug use.

Danshen-Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae，is one of the common traditional Chinese medicines，which has been used clinically in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases more than 20 centuries.The active ingredients of Danshen has been researched 5 decades by the modern methods.Many researchers investigated the pharmacological effects of water soluble ingredients of Danshen-salvianolic acids in vivo and in vitro.The results demonstrated that salvianolic acids have different pharmacological effects such as potent antioxidative effects，scavenging free radicals，protect neural cells against injuries caused by anoxia， etc.In present paper，the pharmacological effects of salvianolic acids and the mechanisms of their actions are reviewed based on the research results obtained in our laboratory and other authors.

Phosphodiesterases(PDEs) is the only protein enzyme family,which catalyze the hydrolysis of cyclic nucleotide second messages(cAMP and cGMP).PDEs regulate many physiologic and pathologic processes.Recent advance showed that PDE7 hydrolyze cAMP exclusively and is divided into PDE7A and PDE7B. PDE7 mainly express in immune and inflammatory cells.The selective inhibition of this family generates profound,functional effects and PDE7 has been used as a therapeutic target for diseases related with inflammation,such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD),rheumatoid arthritis and Alzheimers disease(AD).

cAMP response element binding protein(CREB) is a genetranscription regulator locating in the nucleus.The activated CREB by phosphoration plays an important role by binding to the cAMP response elements and modulate the transcription of various target genes.In addition,the activity of CREB is also regulated by lots of transcriptional regulators in signal transduction mechanism.In central nerve system,CREB participates in promoting neuron growth,the processes of plasticity and long term memory.More importantly,researches of CREB in the pathological processes of Alzheimers disease,Hungtingtons disease and HIV-related dementia have made a progress recently,providing a basis for some therapy strategies to the related neurodegenerative disorders.

Glucagon-like peptide-1 is an endogenous 30-amino acid gut peptide,which binds at the GLP-1 receptor coupled to the cyclic AMP second messenger pathway.Stimulation of neuronal GLP-1 receptors plays an important role in regulating neuronal plasticity and cell survival.GLP-1 has been documented to induce neurite outgrowth and to protect against excitotoxic cell death and oxidative injury in cultured neuronal cells.Moreover,GLP-1 and Exendin-4,a naturally occuring more stable analogue of GLP-1 that likewise binds at the GLP-1 receptor,were shown to reduce levels of ?-amyloid precusor protein(?APP) in neurons.Treatment with GLP-1 or a related peptide beneficially affects a number of the therapeutic targets associated with Alzheimers disease(AD).This review will consider the potential therapeutic relevance of GLP-1 to AD.

Urotensin Ⅱ,a cycle peptide originally found from the fish,is the most potent vasoconstrictor.Urotensin Ⅱand its receptor have been found in central nerve system,cardiovascular system and other organs and tissues.It has been suggested that urotensin Ⅱplays important roles in the physiological and pathological procedures.Based on the evidences obtained from experiments,urotensin Ⅱmay become a new target for treating many diseases,particularly for cardiovascular diseases.

The family of apelin peptides is derived from a single gene and activates the 7-transmembrane G-protein-coupled receptor,namely APJ.Apelins have been shown to be involved in the regulation of cardiovascular functions,fluid homeostasis,central nervous system functions,insulin sensitivity,food and water intake.The properties of this system may make it a novel drug target of therapeutic applications in the cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension and heart failure,and related diseases like obesity.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play a very important role in vascular homeostasis both physiologically and pathophysiologically. The imbalance between production and metabolism of ROS contributes to various vascular diseases. Recent studies have demonstrated that ROS regulated the redox-sensitive protein kinases in the signal transduction pathways,affected the activities of these kinases, and thus modulated the gene expression.

ABSTRACT Recent research suggests that the ?-amyloid peptide (A?) is central to the pathophysi-ology of Alzheimers disease (AD). Amyloid plaques, primarily composed of A?, have significant neurotoxic effects. So it is therapeutic strategies for AD to lower the production of A? in the brain. A? is a product of catabolism of amyloid precursor protein ( APP) by ?-secretase and y- secretase. BACE ( ?-secretase) exhibits all the properties of the ?-secretase, and as the key rate-limiting enzyme that initiates the formation of A?, BACE is an attractive drug target for AD. The recent research of ?-secretase is reviewed in this paper.