Objective : To explore the mechanism by which total flavones of rhododendron ( TFR) protect against cerebral ischemia⁃reperfusion ( I/R) injury by inhibiting the TNF⁃α/caspase⁃8/caspase⁃3 signaling pathway . Methods : The middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) method was used to establish the rat I/R model . Rats were randomly divided into Sham surgery , MCAO , and post⁃I/R intervention with TFR 200 mg/kg (TFR 200 mg/ kg) groups . After establishing the MCAO rat model , rats in the TFR 200 mg/kg group were administered TFR (200 mg/kg) solution for 14 consecutive days following I/R injury surgery . Hematoxylin⁃Eosin (HE) staining was used to observe neurological function scoring , cerebral blood flow assessment , histological examination of brain tissue , assay kits were used to detect lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and neuron⁃specific enolase (NSE) activities in rat serum . ELISA assay kits was used to measure interleukin⁃1 (IL⁃1) and interleukin⁃6 (IL⁃6) levels , and Western blot and immunohistochemistry were conducted to detect the expression levels of cleaved caspase⁃3 , caspase⁃8 , and TNF⁃α proteins in rat brain tissue 14 days post⁃surgery . Results : After cerebral ischemia⁃reperfusion treatment , MCAO resulted in abnormal neurological function in rats , significantly increased neurological function scoring index , obvious changes in cerebral tissue histomorphology and cerebral blood flow , significant upregulation of cleaved caspase⁃3 , caspase⁃8 , and TNF⁃α protein expression levels in brain tissue , and significant elevation of LDH , NSE , IL⁃1 , and IL⁃6 levels in serum . Rats in the TFR 200 mg/kg group showed significantly reduced neurological function scoring , significant improvement in cerebral tissue pathological damage , decreased expression levels of cleaved caspase⁃3 , caspase⁃8 , and TNF⁃α proteins in brain tissue , as well as decreased levels of LDH ,NSE , IL⁃1 , and IL⁃6 in serum . Conclusion TFR may alleviate cerebral ischemic hypoxic injury by inhibiting the TNF⁃α/caspase⁃8/caspase⁃3 signaling pathway .

ObjectiveTo investigate the anti-inflammatory effect of the component compatibility of Gentianae Macrophyllae Radix and Clematidis Radix et Rhizoma on the rat model of rheumatoid arthritis （RA） and the mechanism. MethodSeventy-two SPF-grade SD rats （male and female） aged 5 to 6 weeks were selected. Except the blank group， the rat model of collagen-induced arthritis （CIA） was replicated by the type Ⅱ collagen induction method. The 64 rats after successfully modeling were randomly divided into model group， methotrexate group （0.375 mg·kg^-1）， gentianoside with magnoflorine group （150.454 1 mg·kg^-1+5.061 8 mg·kg^-1）， gentianoside with clematichinenoside AR group （150.454 1 mg·kg^-1+16.433 1 mg·kg^-1）， sweroside with magnoflorine group （3.455 8 mg·kg^-1+5.061 8 mg·kg^-1）， sweroside with clematichinenoside AR group （3.455 8 mg·kg^-1+16.433 1 mg·kg^-1）， swertiamarin with magnoflorine group （9.303 2 mg·kg^-1+5.061 8 mg·kg^-1）， and swertiamarin with clematichinenoside AR group （9.303 2 mg·kg^-1+16.433 1 mg·kg^-1）， with 8 rats in each group. Each group was given the corresponding medicinal solution or normal saline by gavage for 15 d. During the experiment， the general status， of rats in each group were observed and recorded. Tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， interleukin-1β （IL-1β）， rheumatoid factor （RF）， C reactive protein （CRP）， prostaglandin E₂ （PGE₂）， and anti-cyclic peptide containing citrulline antibody （anti-CCP Ab） in the serum of rats were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. The histopathological changes in rat ankle joints were observed by hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining. Immunohistochemistry （IHC） and Western blot were used to detect the protein expression of nuclear factor-κB （NF-κB） and vascular endothelial growth factor （VEGF） in rat ankle joints. Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR） was used to detect the mRNA expression of NF-κB and VEGF in rat ankle joints. ResultCompared with those in the blank group， rats in the model group were in poor general conditions with significant foot-plantar swelling， and the content of CRP， anti-CCP Ab， and IL-1β in the rat serum was significantly increased （P<0.01）. In the model group， the tissue structure of the ankle joint was severely damaged， and the protein and mRNA expression of NF-κB and VEGF in the rat ankle joints were significantly up-regulated （P<0.01）. As compared with the model group， the general status of rats in each administration group was significantly improved. The levels of serum TNF-α， IL-1β， RF， CRP， PGE₂， and anti-CCP Ab were reduced to different degrees in these administration groups， among which the effects of the gentianoside with clematichinenoside AR group on down-regulating serum TNF-α and IL-1β， the gentianoside with magnoflorine group on down-regulating serum RF and CRP， the sweroside with magnoflorine group on down-regulating serum PGE₂， and the swertiamarin with clematichinenoside AR group on lowering serum anti-CCP Ab were better than those of administration groups. The histopathological changes in the ankle joint were improved to different degrees. The protein and mRNA expression of NF-κB and VEGF in rat ankle joints in the administration groups was significantly down-regulated （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and the swertiamarin paired with clematichinenoside AR group had the most significant effect. ConclusionThe component compatibility of Gentianae Macrophyllae Radix and Clematidis Radix et Rhizoma exerts a good therapeutic effect on the rat model of RA， and the compatibility of components from the two medicines has a multi-channel， multi-target， and synergistic effect. The five component compatibility patterns， namely gentiobioside with magnoflorine， gentiobioside with clematichinenoside AR， sweroside with clematichinenoside AR， swertiamarin with magnoflorine， and swertiamarin with clematichinenoside AR， all have potential advantages. The mechanism may be related to the reduction of inflammatory factor secretion and the inhibition of abnormal protein and mRNA expression of NF-κB and VEGF.

A new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has been identified as the etiologic agent for the COVID-19 outbreak. Currently, effective treatment options remain very limited for this disease; therefore, there is an urgent need to identify new anti-COVID-19 agents. In this study, we screened over 6,000 compounds that included approved drugs, drug candidates in clinical trials, and pharmacologically active compounds to identify leads that target the SARS-CoV-2 papain-like protease (PLpro). Together with main protease (M
Antiviral Agents/therapeutic use* ; Binding Sites ; COVID-19/virology* ; Coronavirus Papain-Like Proteases/metabolism* ; Crystallography, X-Ray ; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical ; Drug Repositioning ; High-Throughput Screening Assays/methods* ; Humans ; Imidazoles/therapeutic use* ; Inhibitory Concentration 50 ; Molecular Dynamics Simulation ; Mutagenesis, Site-Directed ; Naphthoquinones/therapeutic use* ; Protease Inhibitors/therapeutic use* ; Protein Structure, Tertiary ; Recombinant Proteins/isolation & purification* ; SARS-CoV-2/isolation & purification*