BACKGROUND: There are some adverse reactions when bone morphogenetic protein-2 is applied independently in clinic; therefore, it is urgent to develop an ideal carrier material to reduce the incidence of adverse reactions induced by bone morphogenetic protein-2. OBJECTIVE:To comprehensively understand the performance of different kinds of bone morphogenetic protein-2 carrier materials, and to summarize their research progress in the field of spinal fusion. METHODS:The literatures about bone morphogenetic protein-2 scaffolds in spinal fusion were retrieved by the first author from PubMed and Wanfang datebase durings July 1, 1995 to July 1, 2015 with the key words of“tissue engineering, bone morphogenetic protein-2, spinal fusion, scaffold” in English and Chinese, respectively. Repetitive studies were excluded. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Bone morphogenetic protein-2 carrier materials mainly include four categories: natural biological materials, synthetic organic materials, synthetic inorganic materials and composite materials, each of which has several representative scaffold materials. Each category has their own shortcomings when applied in animal spinal fusion, for instance, the mechanical properties of natural biological materials are generaly poor; synthetic organic materials may cause inflammatory reactions; the mechanical strength of synthetic inorganic materials is poor and the production process of composite materials is relatively complicated. Therefore, the selection of bone morphogenetic protein-2 carrier materials stil needs further experimental study.

New drug research and development is a technology-intensive industry with high investment, high cycle and high risk. In recent years, with the rapid development of modern disciplines such as omics technology, bioinformatics, high-throughput and high-content screening, and artificial intelligence, the research and development of small-molecule drugs has presented a new paradigm characterized by "integrated medicinal chemistry". This review summarizes new enabling drug discovery technologies, the emergence of new subfields formed through integration innovations and practical chemistry toolbox in the field of medicinal chemistry.

Virus infection is a serious threat to human health and social development. The increase in pandemics caused by emerging and re-emerging viruses highlights the urgent need for broad-spectrum antivirals. In this perspective, we highlight recent case studies and summarize the universal strategies and methodologies in broad-spectrum antiviral drug discovery from common targets, common steps in viral life cycle, universal strategies, and broad-spectrum molecules, hoping to provide valuable guidance for the current and future development of antiviral drugs.

Although current synthetic anti-gout drugs have significant therapeutic effects in reducing serum uric acid levels, they have serious side effects such as allergic reactions and liver and kidney damage. Natural products with a wide range of uric acid-lowering and high safety have played a critical role in anti-gout drug discovery and development. This paper reviews the natural products with uric acid-lowering or anti-gout pharmacological effects and the investigation on their mechanisms of action, to provide information for drug discovery and development.

Over the course of human civilization, viral infections have been a part of human life and still represent one of the heaviest burdens for human and society, with a huge devastating socioeconomic impact. Inorganic and bioinorganic chemistry have made important contributions to medical science and human health in the past half century. In this paper, we selected the representative cases in recent years, and reviewed the research progress of antiviral drug discovery from the perspective of bioinorganic chemistry.

Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of coronary renal shunt via splenic vein for portal hypertension (PHT) after splenectomy.Methods The retrospective descriptive study was adopted.The clinical data of 5 patients with PHT who were admitted to the People's Hospital of Ningxia Autonomous Region from August 2012 to April 2015 were collected.Operative procedures:two procedures of coronary renal shunt via splenic vein (SV) were carried out after primary splenectomy.Procedure 1:the SV was freed from the residual end to the right for 5-6 cm in length and end-to-side spleno-renal shunt was carried out.The anterior wall of superior mesenteric vein (SMV) was exposed beneath the pancreatic neck and dissected behind the neck upward until the upper edge of the SV and its confluence with the left gastric vein (LGV) were exposed.The SV was ligated with clip between portal vein (PV) and LGV to let blood flow from LGV drain through the whole course of SV to left renal vein (LRV).Procedure 2:the peritoneum at the inferior border of the pancreas was incised,and the junctions of the SV and SMV and junctions of the SV and LGV were exposed.The inferior mesenteric vein (IMV) was divided between ligations.Dissection of the SV was carried out to the left for 3-4 cm in length and was divided.Its distal end was tied and proximal stump anastomosed to LRV by the end-to-side anastomosis.The SV was ligated with clip between PV and LGV.The right gastric and gastroepiploic vessels were ligated at the junction of the antrum and the body,and from this point,the hepatogastric ligment and the omentum were divided upward and downward respectively to completely separate the venous flow between the hepatointestinal area and the stomach in the two procedures.Patients took oral enteric-coated aspirin and warfarin after operation.(1) Intraoperative observation indicators included surgical procedures,operation time,volume of blood loos and free portal pressure (FPP).(2) Postoperative observation indicators included recovery of patients,time to anal exsufflation,time for diet intake,time of abdominal drainage,duration of hospital stay and occurrence of complications.(3)The follow-up using telephone interview and outpatient examination was performed to detect the changes of platelet (PLT),portal vein thrombosis (PVT),patency of spleno-renal vein anastomosis,oral anticoagulants and gastroesophageal varices up to October 2015.Measurement data with skewed distribution were analyzed by M (range).Results (1)Intraoperative observation indicators:5 patients underwent successful coronary renal shunt via splenic vein.Two patients received procedure 1 and 3 patients received procedure 2.Operation time and volume of blood loss were 226 minutes (range,195-298 minutes) and 425ml (range,235-820 mL).FPP was 3.46 kPa (range,2.69-4.61 kPa) before spleen resection,2.69 kPa (range,2.11-3.07 kPa) after spleen resection,2.98 kPa (range,2.30-3.36 kPa) after spleno-renal anastomosis,respectively.(2) Postoperative observation indicators:5 patients had good recovery,and time to anal exsufflation,time for fluid diet intake,time of abdominal drainage removal and duration of hospital stay were respectively 3 days (range,2-4 days),3 days (range,2-4 days),5 days (range,4-9 days) and 14 days (range,10-17 days).Of 5 patients,1 was complicated with pleural effusion and atelectasis and 1 with serum tumescence of incision.(3) Follow-up situations:5 patients were followed up for a median time of 18 months (range,6-36 months).The level of postoperative PLT was continuously growing,and the dose of oral warfarin was increased according to the level of growing PLT.The follow-up results of procedure 1 in 2 patients:1 patient was followed up for 36 months and complicated with splenic vein thrombosis at postoperative month 6,and underwent transcatheter hepatic arterial chemoembolization (TACE) due to primary liver cancer at postoperative month 12,and then no special treatment was conducted due to splenic vein occlusion and sever esophageal varices without red-color sign or bleeding at postoperative month 36.The other patient was followed up for 24 months,and didn't undergo special treatment due to mild hepatic encephalopathy with a level of blood ammonia of 76 μmol/L at postoperative month 3,and then was found to have mild esophageal varices at postoperative month 18 by computed tomography (CT) and gastroscopy.Three patients using procedure 2 were followed up at month 6,12,18,with increased body mass index (BMI) and without occurrence of peritoneal effusion and hepatic encephalopathy,and they were complicated with mild gastroesophageal varices by reexamination of CT angiography and gastroscopy at postoperative month 6.Conclusion Coronary renal shunt via splenic vein for PHT after splenectomy could relieve hypersplenism and reduce selectively vein decompression of gastroesophageal varices.

Currently, clinically used drugs for the treatment of gout inflammation, such as colchicine, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and glucocorticoids, can only relieve the pain of joint inflammation and have severe hepatorenal toxicity and multiple organ adverse reactions. The NOD-like receptor thermal protein domain associated protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome is a key complex that induces the onset of gout inflammation and has become a crucial target in the development of anti-gout drugs. This article reviews the research progress of anti-gout small molecules targeting the NLRP3 inflammasome and their bioactivity evaluation methods in the past five years, in order to provide information for the development of specific drugs for the treatment of gout inflammation.

The pandemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused a serious impact on global public health and the economy. SARS-CoV-2 infiltrates host cells via its surface spike protein, which binds to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 on the host cell membrane. As a result, small molecules targeting spike protein have emerged as a hotspot in anti-SARS-CoV-2 drug research. Activity screening is an important step in seeking small molecule drugs. Therefore, this article aims to review the biological activity evaluation methods of small molecule inhibitors targeting SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, with the goal of laying the foundation for the discovery of new anti-SARS-CoV-2 drugs.

At present, there is no cure for acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) due to HIV-1 latent reservoirs. Therefore, it urgently requires novel HIV-1 latency-regulating agents with high potency, low toxicity and favorable drug-like properties to achieve a functional cure for AIDS. Herein, we reviewed the advances in HIV-1 latency-regulating agents since 2019, including the drug discovery strategies, bioactivities, and mechanisms of these compounds. It is of great guiding significance in the development of latency-regulating agents with clinical value.

To address the continuous emergence of drug-resistant strains of viruses and the outbreaks of novel virus infections, developing new antiviral drugs based on novel strategies has become an important and urgent research topic. In recent years, the rapidly developing multi-specific binding strategy has become a focus and been widely applied in antiviral. This review summarizes the recent progress of the multi-specific binding strategy in the antiviral field from the perspective of medicinal chemistry and discusses existing challenges as well as future opportunities for antiviral drug discovery.