Homo- or heterodimeric compounds that affect dimeric protein function through interaction between monomeric moieties and protein subunits can serve as valuable sources of potent and selective drug candidates. Here, we screened an in-house dimeric natural product collection, and panepocyclinol A (PecA) emerged as a selective and potent STAT3 inhibitor with profound anti-tumor efficacy. Through cross-linking C712/C718 residues in separate STAT3 monomers with two distinct Michael receptors, PecA inhibits STAT3 DNA binding affinity and transcription activity. Molecular dynamics simulation reveals the key conformation changes of STAT3 dimers upon the di-covalent binding with PecA that abolishes its DNA interactions. Furthermore, PecA exhibits high efficacy against anaplastic large T cell lymphoma in vitro and in vivo, especially those with constitutively activated STAT3 or STAT3^Y640F. In summary, our study describes a distinct and effective di-covalent modification for the dimeric compound PecA to disrupt STAT3 function.

AIM:To establish a physiologically-based pharmacokinetic(PBPK)model for vitamin D in adults,aiming to provide guidance for the ratio-nal clinical use of vitamin D in individuals with vita-min D deficiency.METHODS:Relevant literature and databases were reviewed to obtain the physi-cochemical properties and pharmacokinetic param-eters of vitamin D3.The PBPK model for adult whole-body vitamin D was constructed,optimized,and predicted using PK-Sim? software.The model's predictive performance was evaluated using confi-dence intervals,goodness of fit,and fold error(FE).The effectiveness of commonly used clinical dosing regimens was assessed based on the final opti-mized model,and personalized dosing recommen-dations were provided.RESULTS:The established adult whole-body PBPK model for vitamin D had a goodness of fit R2 of 0.961,approaching 1,and the FE values for AUC0-∞ and Cmax were both within the range of 0.5 and 2,indicating that the constructed PBPK model possesses good data predictive capa-bility.CONCLUSION:A successful PBPK model for oral vitamin D3 in adults has been established,showing good predictive performance for single oral doses of vitamin D3.Single oral doses of vita-min D3(7 500 μg and 15 000 μg)are safe and effec-tive dosing regimens for improving vitamin D insuf-ficiency or deficiency in Asian adults.Regular moni-toring of vitamin D levels before and during treat-ment is recommended to achieve the optimal out-comes of personalized therapy.

AIM:To establish a physiologically-based pharmacokinetic(PBPK)model for vitamin D in adults,aiming to provide guidance for the ratio-nal clinical use of vitamin D in individuals with vita-min D deficiency.METHODS:Relevant literature and databases were reviewed to obtain the physi-cochemical properties and pharmacokinetic param-eters of vitamin D3.The PBPK model for adult whole-body vitamin D was constructed,optimized,and predicted using PK-Sim? software.The model's predictive performance was evaluated using confi-dence intervals,goodness of fit,and fold error(FE).The effectiveness of commonly used clinical dosing regimens was assessed based on the final opti-mized model,and personalized dosing recommen-dations were provided.RESULTS:The established adult whole-body PBPK model for vitamin D had a goodness of fit R2 of 0.961,approaching 1,and the FE values for AUC0-∞ and Cmax were both within the range of 0.5 and 2,indicating that the constructed PBPK model possesses good data predictive capa-bility.CONCLUSION:A successful PBPK model for oral vitamin D3 in adults has been established,showing good predictive performance for single oral doses of vitamin D3.Single oral doses of vita-min D3(7 500 μg and 15 000 μg)are safe and effec-tive dosing regimens for improving vitamin D insuf-ficiency or deficiency in Asian adults.Regular moni-toring of vitamin D levels before and during treat-ment is recommended to achieve the optimal out-comes of personalized therapy.

Female ; Infant, Newborn ; Humans ; Pregnancy ; Premature Birth ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Cerclage, Cervical ; Cervix Uteri

As a non-invasive approach, sonogenetics is applied to control neuronal activity. The mechanosensitive channel(MSC), which has low threshold of responding to ultrasound, may be the alternative solution. Sonogenetics is the technique that activates the MSC expressed in targeted neurons by low intensity ultrasound, thus achieve the neuromodulation. In this review, we introduce the mechanosensitive channel of large conductance, transient receptor potential, channels of the two-pore-domain potassium family, Piezo and the recent progress on their application in sonogenetics.
Biomechanical Phenomena ; Ion Channels ; metabolism ; Neurons ; Ultrasonic Waves

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the mechanism of congenital paramyotonia caused by human skeletal muscle voltage-gated sodium channel hNav1.4 mutant I1363T. METHODS: The conservation of the mutant site were detecled by using amino acid sequence alignment; the C-terminal mCherry fusion hNav1.4 was constructed, and the expression and distribution of wild type and hNav1.4 mutant I1363T were determined by confocal microscopy; the steady-state activation, fast inactivation and window current of wild type and hNav1.4 mutant I1363T were examined by whole-cell patch clamp. RESULTS: Alignment of the amino acid sequences revealed that Ile1363 is highly conserved in human sodium channels. There was no significant difference in expression level and distribution between wild type and I1363T. Although no significant differences were observed between I1363T mutant and wild type in the activation upon channel gating, the of voltage-dependence of fast inactivation of I1363T mutant[(-59.01±0.26) mV] shifted 9 mV towards depolarization as compared with wild type[(-68.03±0.34) mV], and the slope factor of voltage-dependence curve increased to (5.24±0.23) mV, compared with (4.55±0.21) mV of the wild type. Moreover, I1363T showed the larger window current than that of the wild type. CONCLUSIONS I1363T causes the defect in fast inactivation of hNav1.4, which may increase the excitability of muscle cells and be responsible for myotonia. The increased window current of I1363T may result in an increase of inward Na+ current, could subsequently inactivate the channels and lead to loss of excitability and paralysis.
Gene Expression Profiling ; Humans ; Ion Channel Gating ; genetics ; Muscle, Skeletal ; physiopathology ; Mutation ; NAV1.4 Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel ; genetics ; Sequence Analysis, Protein