Objective To explore and verify the protective and therapeutic effects and possible mechanisms of Zukamu granules on hypoxia alone and hypoxia+Su5416-induced hypoxic pulmonary hypertension(HPH)in mice.Methods Multiple databases and related literature were used to collect the active ingredients data in Zukamu granules and the HPH-related targets were predicted and obtained.The network construction and enrichment analysis were performed.The HPH mouse models were es-tablished by two-week hypoxia and four-week hypoxia+Su5416 induction,and the relevant indicators and the main pharmacodyna-mic indexes such as right ventricular pressure were tested.Masson staining was used to observe the pathological changes in lung tissues,and Western blotting was used to detect the expression levels of bax,bcl-2,PI3K,p-PI3K,eNOS,and HIF-1α in lung tis-sues.Results A total of 167 active ingredients of Zukamu granules were screened,with 179 intersecting targets with HPH,in-cluding targets like PIK3CA and HIF-1.The validation experimental results showed that Zukamu granules could significantly re-duce right ventricular systolic pressure and right ventricular hypertrophy in HPH mice,and down-regulate the expression of bcl-2 and HIF-1α and up-regulate the expression of bax,PI3K,p-PI3K and eNOS in mice lung tissues.Conclusion Zukamu gran-ules may act against HPH by modulating bax/bcl and PI3K-eNOS/HIF-1α signaling pathways.

A mangiferin aglycon derivative J99745 has been identified as a potent xanthine oxidase (XOD) inhibitor by previous study. This study aimed to evaluate the hypouricemic effects of J99745 in experimental hyperuricemia mice, and explore the underlying mechanisms. Mice were orally administered 600 mg/kg xanthine once daily for 7 days and intraperitoneally injected 250 mg/kg oxonic acid on the 7th day to induce hyperuricemia. Meanwhile, J99745 (3, 10, and 30 mg/kg), allopurinol (20 mg/kg) or benzbromarone (20 mg/kg) were orally administered to mice for 7 days. On the 7th day, uric acid and creatinine in serum and urine, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), malondialdehyde (MDA) content and XOD activities in serum and liver were determined. Morphological changes in kidney were observed using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. Hepatic XOD, renal urate transporter 1 (URAT1), glucose transporter type 9 (GLUT9), organic anion transporter 1 (OAT1) and ATP-binding cassette transporter G2 (ABCG2) were detected by Western blot and real time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The results showed that J99745 at doses of 10 and 30 mg/kg significantly reduced serum urate, and enhanced fractional excretion of uric acid (FEUA). H&E staining confirmed that J99745 provided greater nephroprotective effects than allopurinol and benzbromarone. Moreover, serum and hepatic XOD activities and renal URAT1 expression declined in J99745-treated hyperuricemia mice. In consistence with the ability to inhibit XOD, J99745 lowered serum MDA content in hyperuricemia mice. Our results suggest that J99745 exerts urate-lowering effect by inhibiting XOD activity and URAT1 expression, thus representing a promising candidate as an anti-hyperuricemia agent.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of salvianolic acid A (SAA) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) induced by pristane in BALB/c mice. Lupus mice were established by confirming elevated levels of autoantibodies and IL-6 after intraperitoneal injection of pristane. Mice were then treated with daily oral doses of SAA for 5 months in parallel with mice treated with prednisone and aspirin as positive controls. The levels of autoantibodies were monitored at monthly intervals and nephritic symptoms observed by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) staining. Western blot analysis of renal tissue was also employed. SAA treatment caused a significant reduction in the levels of anti-Sm autoantibodies and reduced renal histopathological changes and pathological effects. SAA treatment also significantly inhibited the phosphorylation of IKK, IB and NFB in renal tissues of lupus mice. In conclusion, the results suggest that SAA alleviates renal injury in pristane-induced SLE in BALB/c mice through inhibition of phosphorylation of IKK, IB and NFB.

This study is to investigate the effect of total flavonoids of Uygur medicine bugloss (BTF) on rats with myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury, and to explore the mechanisms by which it acts. Left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery in rats was occluded for 30 min followed by 4 h reperfusion. Meanwhile, BTF dissolved in saline was administered intraperitoneally at dosage of 10, 30 and 50 mg x kg(-1). Electrocardiograph, infarction index, serum myocardial enzymes and heart function were determined to evaluate the effect of BTF. Some other observations were carried out to explore whether inhibiting inflammation and apoptosis is involved in the mechanisms underlying BTF. Our results showed that in ischemia/reperfusion injured rats BTF could dose-dependently reduce myocardial infarction index and myocardial enzyme leakage, and enhance heart function, indicating that it possesses significant cardio protection. ELISA analysis showed that BTF could decrease the content of myocardial inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1beta, IL-6 and TNF-alpha. Western-blotting confirmed that BTF could increase the expression of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 and reduce the expression of proapoptosis protein Bax. Further more, the phosphorylation level of PI3K and Akt was upregulated by BTF treatment. BTF can protect rat against myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury. Anti-inflammation and inhibition of apoptosis through upregulating PI3K/Akt signal pathway may contribute to the protective effect of BTF.

CardiovascuIar disease is the number one cause for morbidity and mortaIity worIdwide. Possi-biIities for new therapies in the emerging fieId of cardiac signaIIing prompted extensive research on myocardiaI re-modeIIing over the past decades. In this review,we as-sembIe an overview of the recent findings on the muIti-functionaI enzyme,p21-activated kinase 1( Pak1),a member of a serine/ threonine protein kinase famiIy in the heart,particuIarIy its cardiac protective effects. We pres-ent a modeI for Pak1 signaIing that provides a mecha-nism for specificaIIy affecting cardiac ceIIuIar processes. We discuss its cardiac protective effects such as anti-hy-pertrophy,anti-ischaemic injury and roIe in maintaining ventricuIar Ca2+ homeostasis and eIectrophysioIogicaI stabiIity under physioIogicaI, β-adrenergic and hyper-trophic stress conditions.We aIso discuss the potentiaIs of Pak1 activation by naturaIIy occurring sphingosine and its anaIogues FTY720,and bioactive peptides designed to diminish Pak1 auto-inhibition as noveI thera-peutics for major cardiovascuIar diseases.

Composite tissue allotransplantation is a new option in reconstruction surgery,but the immunological rejection is accepted as an public medical problem after surgery.As the number of composite tissue allotransplantation increases,postoperative immunosuppression becomes the new hot.This article will illustrate and summarize the progess of postoperative immunesuppression.

To screen potential hamster chymase 2 inhibitors, a high-throughput screening (HTS) model was established. Recombinant hamster chymase 2 with active form was cloned and expressed in E. coli. The HTS model with total volume of 50 microL in 384-well microplate was based on fluorescence analysis and was proved sensitive as well as specific (Z' = 0.84). A total of 40 080 samples (including 28 060 compounds and 12 020 natural products) were screened, and 613 samples with inhibition greater than 90% were selected for further rescreening. Finally, compounds J16647 and J16648 were identified with high inhibitory activity on chymase 2, and whose IC50 values were 0.823 and 0.690 micromol x L(-1), respectively.

Objective To develop and validate a simple,rapid,sensitive,and reproducible HPLC method for simultaneous determination of baicalein and its metabolite baicalin in dog plasma and for the subsequent pharmacokinetic study after iv administration to dogs.Methods An accurate and reproducible HPLC-UV method was developed and validated for simultaneous determination of baicalein and baicalin in dog plasma,using luteolin as internal standard.The analytes were separated by an Agilent Zorbax SB-C<,18> column(250 mm×4.6 mm,5μm)and the column temperature was maintained at 40 ℃.The mobile phase was a binary mixture of acetonitrile and water(27:73),containing 0.05% phosphoric acid in water,with a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min.The UV detector was set al 276 nm.Results Linear relationships were validated over the range of 0.05-25 μg/mL for baicalein and 0.05-20 μg/mL for baicalin.The intra-and inter-day precision values for all samples were within 8.0%,using relative standard deviation.This method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic studies in dogs after iv administration of baicalein.Baicalein was converted to baicalin quickly.Cmax values were 21.13 μg/mL at 0.05 h for baicalein and 1.57 μg/mL at 0.5 h for baicalin,areas under the plasma concentration-time curve were 4.97 h.μg/mL for baicalein and 0.63 h.μtg/mL for baicalin,and the elimination half-life is 0.50 h for baicalein and 0.75 h for baicalin,respectively.Conclusion The method is able and sufficient to be used in drug metabolism and pharmacoklnetic studies of baicalein.

Salvianolic acid A is a water-soluble component from Danshen, which is frequently used in traditional Chinese medicine. High performance liquid chromatography was often used to analyze content of salvianolic acid A. The yield of salvianolic acid A increased by the technological improvement of extraction and separation. Salvianolic acid A possessed multiple pharmacological activities, including antioxidants, myocardial ischemic protection, antithrombatic, neuroprotection, anti fibrosis, prevention of diabetes and complications. Recently, preliminary pharmacokinetics characteristics of salvianolic acid A were clarified. Based on the research literature and study work from author's laboratory, this review will focus on recent developments concerning the chemistry, pharmacology and pharmacokinetic of salvianolic acid A, and prospect further research.
Animals ; Biomedical Research ; Caffeic Acids ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Drug Therapy ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Lactates ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Molecular Structure ; Salvia miltiorrhiza ; chemistry

To screen potential human soluble protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) inhibitors, a high-throughput screening (HTS) model in 384-well microplate with total volume of 50 microL was established. Recombinant PTP1B was cloned and expressed in E. coli. with its specific substrate 4-nitrophenyl phosphate disodium salt hexahydrate (PNPP). The HTS model was based on enzyme reaction rate with enhanced sensitivity and specificity (Z' = 0.78). A total of 24,240 samples were screened, among them 80 samples with inhibition greater than 70% were selected for further rescreening. Finally, six compounds with high inhibitory activity were identified, whose IC50 values were 21.58, 18.39, 15.37, 11.92, 37.27, and 36.61 microg x mL(-1), separately. The results indicated that the method was stable, sensitive, reproducible and also suitable for high-throughput screening.