1.High-efficient discovering the potent anti-Notum agents from herbal medicines for combating glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis.
Yuqing SONG ; Feng ZHANG ; Jia GUO ; Yufan FAN ; Hairong ZENG ; Mengru SUN ; Jun QIAN ; Shenglan QI ; Zihan CHEN ; Xudong JIN ; Yunqing SONG ; Tian TIAN ; Zhi QIAN ; Yao SUN ; Zhenhao TIAN ; Baoqing YU ; Guangbo GE
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B 2025;15(8):4174-4192
Notum, a negative feedback regulator of the Wnt signaling, has emerged as a promising target for treating glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis (GIOP). This study showcases an efficient strategy for discovering the anti-Notum constituents from herbal medicines (HMs) as novel anti-GIOP agents. Firstly, a rapid-responding near-infrared fluorogenic substrate for Notum was rationally engineered for high-throughput identifying the anti-Notum HMs. The results showed that Bu-Gu-Zhi (BGZ), a known anti-osteoporosis herb, potently inhibited Notum in a competitive-inhibition manner. To uncover the key anti-Notum constituents in BGZ, an efficient strategy was adapted via integrating biochemical, phytochemical, computational, and pharmacological assays. Among all identified BGZ constituents, three furanocoumarins were validated as strong Notum inhibitors, while 5-methoxypsoralen (5-MP) showed the most potent anti-Notum activity and favorable safety profiles. Mechanistically, 5-MP acted as a competitive inhibitor of Notum via creating strong hydrophobic interactions with Trp128 and Phe268 in the catalytic cavity of Notum. Cellular assays showed that 5-MP remarkably promoted osteoblast differentiation and activated Wnt signaling in dexamethasone (DXMS)-challenged MC3T3-E1 osteoblasts. In dexamethasone-induced osteoporotic mice, 5-MP strongly elevated bone mineral density (BMD) and improved cancellous and cortical bone thickness. Collectively, this study constructs a high-efficient platform for discovering key anti-Notum constituents from HMs, while 5-MP emerges as a promising anti-GIOP agent.
2.Simultaneous determination of bepotastine and hydroxychloroquine concentrations in human breast milk by LC-MS/MS
Mengru BAI ; Qian SHEN ; Zhiyuan MA ; Gang WANG
China Pharmacy 2024;35(11):1363-1368
OBJECTIVE To establish a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for the simultaneous determination of bepotastine and hydroxychloroquine concentrations in human breast milk and apply it in clinical practice. METHODS The milk samples (50 μL) were precipitated with 200 μL methanol containing the internal standard (100 ng/mL chloroquine), and the supernatant was taken for analysis after vortexing and centrifugation. The separation was performed on a Waters ACQUITY UPLC HSS T3 column with mobile phase consisted of 0.1% formic acid-10 mmol/L ammonium acetate solution (phase A) and methanol (phase B) at gradient elution of 0.35 mL/min. The injection volume was 2 μL, and the analysis time was 4 min. The detection of the analytes was performed by electrospray ionization in positive mode by multiple reaction monitoring with the transition of m/z 388.9→201.9 (bepotastine), m/z 336.3→247.1 (hydroxychloroquine), and m/z 320.2→247.2 (chloroquine). The established LC-MS/MS method was researched in methodology and used to determine the drug concentrations in the breast milk of 1 case of lactating patient. RESULTS The linear range of bepotastine was 2-200 ng/mL( r=0.999), and hydroxychloroquine was 50-1 000 ng/mL (r=0.998). The intra-assay and inter-assay precisions were both ≤15%, and the accuracy, extraction recovery, matrix effect, and stability all met the acceptance criteria for bioanalytical method validation. The concentration result of bepotastine and hydroxychloroquine in the breast milk of the lactating patient showed, after 2 h and 14 h, the concentrations of bepotastine in the breast milk of the patient were 34.95 ng/mL and 5.72 ng/mL; those of hydroxychloroquine were 211.92 ng/mL and 104.18 ng/mL, respectively. The relative infant doses were 1.83% and 0.56%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS The established method is simple, rapid, and sensitive. It is suitable for simultaneous determination of bepotastine and hydroxychloroquine concentrations in human milk and can provide reference for safe drug use during lactation.
3.Simultaneous determination of bepotastine and hydroxychloroquine concentrations in human breast milk by LC-MS/MS
Mengru BAI ; Qian SHEN ; Zhiyuan MA ; Gang WANG
China Pharmacy 2024;35(11):1363-1368
OBJECTIVE To establish a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for the simultaneous determination of bepotastine and hydroxychloroquine concentrations in human breast milk and apply it in clinical practice. METHODS The milk samples (50 μL) were precipitated with 200 μL methanol containing the internal standard (100 ng/mL chloroquine), and the supernatant was taken for analysis after vortexing and centrifugation. The separation was performed on a Waters ACQUITY UPLC HSS T3 column with mobile phase consisted of 0.1% formic acid-10 mmol/L ammonium acetate solution (phase A) and methanol (phase B) at gradient elution of 0.35 mL/min. The injection volume was 2 μL, and the analysis time was 4 min. The detection of the analytes was performed by electrospray ionization in positive mode by multiple reaction monitoring with the transition of m/z 388.9→201.9 (bepotastine), m/z 336.3→247.1 (hydroxychloroquine), and m/z 320.2→247.2 (chloroquine). The established LC-MS/MS method was researched in methodology and used to determine the drug concentrations in the breast milk of 1 case of lactating patient. RESULTS The linear range of bepotastine was 2-200 ng/mL( r=0.999), and hydroxychloroquine was 50-1 000 ng/mL (r=0.998). The intra-assay and inter-assay precisions were both ≤15%, and the accuracy, extraction recovery, matrix effect, and stability all met the acceptance criteria for bioanalytical method validation. The concentration result of bepotastine and hydroxychloroquine in the breast milk of the lactating patient showed, after 2 h and 14 h, the concentrations of bepotastine in the breast milk of the patient were 34.95 ng/mL and 5.72 ng/mL; those of hydroxychloroquine were 211.92 ng/mL and 104.18 ng/mL, respectively. The relative infant doses were 1.83% and 0.56%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS The established method is simple, rapid, and sensitive. It is suitable for simultaneous determination of bepotastine and hydroxychloroquine concentrations in human milk and can provide reference for safe drug use during lactation.
4.Optimization of Prescription of Flaxseed Lignans Sustained-release Tablets by Central Composite Design-response Surface Methodology
Xiaoshuan LIU ; Jiwen LI ; Xiaoqin WU ; Jin SHU ; Zhenghua JIAO ; Mengru QIAN ; Yingyan BI
Chinese Journal of Information on Traditional Chinese Medicine 2016;23(4):87-90
Objective To optimize the prescription of flaxseed lignans sustained release tables by central composite design-response surface methodology.MethodsWith HPMC, EC and starch dosage as factors, and flaxseed lignans in 2, 6 and 12 h of cumulative release as evaluation indexes, central composite design-response surface optimization method was used to conduct prescription optimization experiments, and optimized prescription analysis was carried out.Results The optimal prescription of flaxseed lignans sustained release tables was as following: HPMC dosage was 43%; EC was 26%; starch content was 17%. Optimized index forecast values were very close to the observed values. In vitro release test of three selected optimal formulations indicated that there existed high approximation between the observed and estimated values.Conclusion It shows that the established model is suitable for flaxseed lignans sustained release tables, which can be used in the optimization of the prescription of flaxseed lignans sustained release tables.

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