Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by persistent inflammation and joint damage, accompanied by the accumulation of plasma cells, which contributes to its pathogenesis. Understanding the genetic alterations occurring during plasma cell differentiation in RA can deepen our comprehension of its pathogenesis and guide the development of targeted therapeutic interventions. Here, our study elucidates the intricate molecular mechanisms underlying plasma cell differentiation by demonstrating that PRDX1 interacts with DOK3 and modulates its degradation by the autophagy-lysosome pathway. This interaction results in the inhibition of plasma cell differentiation, thereby alleviating the progression of collagen-induced arthritis. Additionally, our investigation identifies Salvianolic acid B (SAB) as a potent small molecular glue-like compound that enhances the interaction between PRDX1 and DOK3, consequently impeding the progression of collagen-induced arthritis by inhibiting plasma cell differentiation. Collectively, these findings underscore the therapeutic potential of developing chemical stabilizers for the PRDX1-DOK3 complex in suppressing plasma cell differentiation for RA treatment and establish a theoretical basis for targeting PRDX1-protein interactions as specific therapeutic targets in various diseases.

Lipidomics is an emerging discipline that systematically studies the various types, functions, and metabolic pathways of lipids within living organisms. This field compares changes in diseases or drug impact, identifying biomarkers and molecular mechanisms present in lipid metabolic networks across different physiological or pathological states. Through employing analytical chemistry within the realm of lipidomics, researchers analyze traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). This analysis aids in uncovering potential mechanisms for treating diverse physiopathological conditions, assessing drug efficacy, understanding mechanisms of action and toxicity, and generating innovative ideas for disease prevention and treatment. This manuscript assesses recent literature, summarizing existing lipidomics technologies and their applications in TCM research. It delineates the efficacy, mechanisms, and toxicity research related to lipidomics in Chinese medicine. Additionally, it explores the utilization of lipidomics in quality control research for Chinese medicine, aiming to expand the application of lipidomics within this field. Ultimately, this initiative seeks to foster the integration of traditional medicine theory with modern science and technology, promoting an organic fusion between the two domains.

Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata (Fuzi) represents a significant traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) that exhibits both notable pharmacological effects and toxicity. Various processing methods are implemented to reduce the toxicity of raw Fuzi by modifying its toxic and effective components, primarily diterpenoid alkaloids. To comprehensively analyze the chemical variations between different Fuzi products, ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-linear ion trap quadrupole Orbitrap mass spectrometry (UHPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap MS) was employed to systematically characterize Shengfuzi, Heishunpian and Baifupian. A total of 249 diterpenoid alkaloids present in Shengfuzi were identified, while only 111 and 61 in Heishunpian and Baifupian were detected respectively, indicating substantial differences among these products. An untargeted metabolomics approach combined with multivariate statistical analysis revealed 42 potential chemical markers. Through subsequent validation using 52 batches of commercial Heishunpian and Baifupian samples, 8 robust markers distinguishing these products were identified, including AC1-propanoic acid-3OH, HE-glucoside, HE-hydroxyvaleric acid-2OH, dihydrosphingosine, N-dodecoxycarbonylvaline and three unknown compounds. Additionally, the MS imaging (MSI) technique was utilized to visualize the spatial distribution of chemical constituents in raw Fuzi, revealing how different processing procedures affect the chemical variations between Heishunpian and Baifupian. The distribution patterns of different diterpenoid alkaloid subtypes partially explained the chemical differences among products. This research provides valuable insights into the material basis for future investigations of different Fuzi products.
Diterpenes/chemistry* ; Alkaloids/chemistry* ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid/methods* ; Aconitum/chemistry* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry* ; Metabolomics ; Mass Spectrometry/methods* ; Plant Roots/chemistry* ; Molecular Structure

Evaluating the consistency of herb injectable formulations could improve their product quality and clinical safety, particularly concerning the composition and content levels of trace ingredients. Panax notoginseng Saponins Injection (PNSI), widely used in China for treating acute cardiovascular diseases, contains low-abundance (10%-25%) and trace saponins in addition to its five main constituents (notoginsenoside R₁, ginsenoside Rg₁, ginsenoside Re, ginsenoside Rb₁, and ginsenoside Rd). This study aimed to establish a robust analytical method and assess the variability in trace saponin levels within PNSI from different vendors and formulation types. To achieve this, a liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method employing multiple ions monitoring (MIM) was developed. A "post-column valve switching" strategy was implemented to eliminate highly abundant peaks (NR₁, Rg₁, and Re) at 26 min. A total of 51 saponins in PNSI were quantified or relatively quantified using 18 saponin standards, with digoxin as the internal standard. This study evaluated 119 batches of PNSI from seven vendors, revealing significant variability in trace saponin levels among different vendors and formulation types. These findings highlight the importance of consistent content in low-abundance and trace saponins to ensure product control and clinical safety. Standardization of these ingredients is crucial for maintaining the quality and effectiveness of PNSI in treating acute cardiovascular diseases.
Ginsenosides ; Saponins ; Chemometrics ; Panax notoginseng ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Chromatography, Liquid ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Five new racemic N-acetyldopamine (NADA) trimers, asponchimides A-E (1-5), were isolated from Aspongopus chinensis, a prominent traditional Chinese medicinal insect employed for alleviating pain, treating indigestion, and addressing kidney ailments. Compounds 1-5 were successfully resolved by chiral high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), yielding five pairs of enantiomers: (+)- and (-)-asponchimides A-E (1a/1b-5a/5b). Their structural identities were discerned by extensive spectroscopic analyses, including high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS), ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, infrared (IR) spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and their absolute configurations were determined by electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations. Compounds 1-5 are pioneering instances of NADA trimers featuring a Δ⁷ double bond. When subjected to a series of bioassays, a majority of the compounds exhibited weak inhibitory activity against nitric oxide (NO) production in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells.
Molecular Structure ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Dopamine ; Nitric Oxide

Inherent complexity of plant metabolites necessitates the use of multi-dimensional information to accomplish comprehensive profiling and confirmative identification. A dimension-enhanced strategy, by offline two-dimensional liquid chromatography/ion mobility-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spec-trometry (2D-LC/IM-QTOF-MS) enabling four-dimensional separations (2D-LC, IM, and MS), is proposed. In combination with in-house database-driven automated peak annotation, this strategy was utilized to characterize ginsenosides simultaneously from white ginseng (WG) and red ginseng (RG). An offline 2D-LC system configuring an Xbridge Amide column and an HSS T3 column showed orthogonality 0.76 in the resolution of ginsenosides. Ginsenoside analysis was performed by data-independent high-definition MSE (HDMSE) in the negative ESI mode on a Vion TM IMS-QTOF hybrid high-resolution mass spectrometer, which could better resolve ginsenosides than MSE and directly give the CCS information. An in-house ginsenoside database recording 504 known ginsenosides and 58 reference compounds, was estab-lished to assist the identification of ginsenosides. Streamlined workflows, by applying UNIFI TM to auto-matedly annotate the HDMSE data, were proposed. We could separate and characterize 323 ginsenosides (including 286 from WG and 306 from RG), and 125 thereof may have not been isolated from the Panax genus. The established 2D-LC/IM-QTOF-HDMSE approach could also act as a magnifier to probe differ-entiated components between WG and RG. Compared with conventional approaches, this dimension-enhanced strategy could better resolve coeluting herbal components and more efficiently, more reli-ably identify the multicomponents, which, we believe, offers more possibilities for the systematic exposure and confirmative identification of plant metabolites.

Objective To explore the role of pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) in vascular endothelial cells dysfunction induced by sodium arsenite (NaAsO2).Methods Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (EA.Hy926 cells) were treated with different levels of NaAsO2 [0 (control),1,2,5,10,20,50 μmol/L] for 24 hours.The cell viability was determined using CCK8.Colorimetric assay was used to detect the activity of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in culture supematants,PEDF content in the supematant of EA.Hy926 cells was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA),and nitric oxide (NO) content in cells was detected by flow cytometry.Results Compared with the control group [(101.08 ± 3.22)％],the cell viability of 20 μ mol/L group [(80.69 ± 7.95)％] and 50 μmol/L group [(69.87 ± 10.54)％] decreased significantly,and the differences were statistically significant (P ＜ 0.05).The activity of iNOS increased significantly in 10,20,50 μmol/L groups [(829.1 ± 68.2),(772.3 ± 37.1),(874.6 ± 43.5) U/L],respectively,in comparison with that of the control group [(397.5 ± 43.5) U/L] in the cell culture supematant (P ＜ 0.01).Similarly,PEDF levels in the groups of 10,20,50 μmol/L [(12.06 ± 0.55),(11.97 ± 0.39) and (13.89 ± 0.26) mg/L respectively] were higher than that of the control group [(10.70 ± 0.35) mg/L,P ＜ 0.01],and the highest content of PEDF was found in 50 μmol/L group.The NO level in 50 μmol/L group (11 558.99 ± 397.43) was significantly lower than that of the control group (14 131.49± 262.61,P ＜ 0.01).Conclusion PEDF is involved in the vascular endothelial cells dysfunction induced by arsenic.

Twenty-one protostane-type triterpenoids with diverse structures, including nine new compounds (-), were isolated from the of Linn. Structurally, alisolides A‒F (-), composed of an oxole group coupled to a five-membered ring, represent unusual C-17 spirost protostane-type triterpenoids. Alisolide H () is a novel triterpenoid with an unreported endoperoxide bridge. Alisolide I () represents the first example of 23,24-acetal triterpenoid. Their structures were elucidated based on spectroscopic analysis, wherein the absolute configurations of ‒, were further confirmed by the Mo(OAc)-induced ECD method. Furthermore, all isolates were evaluated for their inhibitory effects on LPS-induced NO production in Caco-2 cells, and all the compounds showed remarkable inhibitory activities, with IC values in the range of 0.76-38.20 μmol/L.

Objective To investigate and compare the predictive value of 2 prediction scoring systems for diagnosis of coronary heart disease (CHD) in patients with suspected symptom, and provide information for diagnosis and therapy. Methods By prospectively studying a database of 272 patients with suspected CHD,the total score was calculated by prediction scoring system including PROCAM (The Prospective Cardiovascular Munster Study) and SCP(Suspected CHD Prediction Scoring System) with the data of clinic parameters and risk factors. All patients received coronary angiography and they were categorized into the CHD group (n =94) and non CHD group ( =178) according to the angiography result. The relationship between total scores and the SYNTAX score was evaluated by Spearman analysis and the value of the prediction scoring system was evaluated by the ROC (receiver operating characteristic) system. Results The score of PROCAM was from 6. 00 -77. 00(41. 76 ± 19. 91), and the score was significantly correlated with the extent and severity of coronary artery atherosclerosis (rs = 0. 420,P = 0. 023). The score of SCP was from 1. 00 - 13. 00(8. 64 ± 3. 42), and it was significantly correlated with the SYNTAX score (rs = 0. 482,P = 0. 016). The areas under ROC was 0. 770 (P = 0. 007) in PROCAM and that was 0. 733 (P = 0. 012) in SCP. Conclusions The nature and extent of coronary artery atherosclerosis could be evaluated by the scoring system effectively,which had a good correlation with CAG result.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has played a pivotal role in maintaining the health of Chinese people and is now gaining increasing acceptance around the global scope. However, TCM is confronting more and more concerns with respect to its quality. The intrinsic "multicomponent and multitarget" feature of TCM necessitates the establishment of a unique quality and bioactivity evaluation system, which is different from that of the Western medicine. However, TCM is investigated essentially as "herbal medicine" or "natural product", and the pharmacopoeia quality monographs are actually chemical-markers-based, which can ensure the consistency only in the assigned chemical markers, but, to some extent, have deviated from the basic TCM theory. A concept of "quality marker" (Q-marker), following the "property-effect-component" theory, is proposed. The establishment of Q-marker integrates multidisciplinary technologies like natural products chemistry, analytical chemistry, bionics, chemometrics, pharmacology, systems biology, and pharmacodynamics, etc. Q-marker-based fingerprint and multicomponent determination conduce to the construction of more scientific quality control system of TCM. This review delineates the background, definition, and properties of Q-marker, and the associated technologies applied for its establishment. Strategies and approaches for establishing Q-marker-based TCM quality control system are presented and highlighted with a few TCM examples.