1.Mechanism of Qizhu Kang'ai Prescription for Inhibiting Proliferation of Hepatocellular Carcinoma by Regulating Tumor Metabolic Reprogramming via PCK1/Akt/p21 Signal Axis
Xin ZHONG ; Rui HU ; Jing LI ; Lanfen PENG ; Xingning LIU ; Qi HUANG ; Jialing SUN ; Xinfeng SUN ; Jianping CHEN ; Benqiang CAI ; Xiaozhou ZHOU
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2024;30(3):26-36
ObjectiveTo study the effect of Qizhu Kang'ai prescription (QZAP) on the gluconeogenesis enzyme phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase 1 (PCK1) in the liver of mouse model of liver cancer induced by diethylnitrosamine (DEN) combined with carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) and Huh7 cells of human liver cancer, so as to explore the mechanism on regulating metabolic reprogramming and inhibiting cell proliferation of liver cancer cells. MethodDEN combined with CCl4 was used to construct a mouse model of liver cancer via intraperitoneal injection. A normal group, a model group, and a QZAP group were set up, in which QZAP (3.51 g·kg-1) or an equal volume of normal saline was administered daily by gavage, respectively. Serum and liver samples were collected after eight weeks of intervention. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), γ-glutamyltransferase (γ-GT), and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in mice were detected to evaluate liver function changes of mice in each group. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining and Sirius red staining were used to observe pathological changes in liver tissue. In the cell experiment, Huh7 cells were divided into blank group, QZAP low, medium, and high dose groups and/or PCK1 inhibitor (SKF-34288 hydrochloride) group, and Sorafenib group. The corresponding drug-containing serum and drug treatment were given, respectively. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) method, colony formation experiment, Edu fluorescent labeling detection, intracellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP) content detection, and cell cycle flow cytometry detection were used to evaluate the proliferation ability, energy metabolism changes, and change in the cell cycle of Huh7 cells in each group. Western blot was used to detect the protein expression levels of PCK1, serine/threonine kinase (Akt), phosphorylated Akt (p-Akt), and cell cycle-dependent protein kinase inhibitor 1A (p21). ResultCompared with the model group, the pathological changes such as cell atypia, necrosis, and collagen fiber deposition in liver cancer tissue of mice in the QZAP group were alleviated, and the number of liver tumors was reduced (P<0.01). The serum ALT, AST, γ-GT, and AFP levels were reduced (P<0.01). At the cell level, compared with the blank group, low, medium, and high-dose groups of QZAP-containing serum and the Sorafenib group could significantly reduce the survival rate of Huh7 cells (P<0.01) and the number of positive cells with Edu labeling (P<0.01) and inhibit clonal proliferation ability (P<0.01). The QZAP groups could also reduce the intracellular ATP content (P<0.05) and increase the distribution ratio of the G0/G1 phase of the cell cycle (P<0.05) in a dose-dependent manner. Compared with the model group and blank group, PCK1 and p21 protein levels of mouse liver cancer tissue and Huh7 cells in the QZAP groups were significantly reduced (P<0.05,P<0.01), and the p-Akt protein level was significantly increased (P<0.01). Compared with the blank group, the ATP content and cell survival rate of Huh7 cells in the SKF-34288 hydrochloride group were significantly increased (P<0.05), but there was no statistical difference in the ratio of Edu-positive cells and the proportion of G0/G1 phase distribution. Compared with the SKF-34288 hydrochloride group, the QZAP combined with the SKF-34288 hydrochloride group significantly reduced the ATP content, cell survival rate, and Edu-positive cell ratio of Huh7 cells (P<0.05) and significantly increased the G0/G1 phase distribution proportion (P<0.05). ConclusionQZAP may induce the metabolic reprogramming of liver cancer cells by activating PCK1 to promote Akt/p21-mediated tumor suppression, thereby exerting an anti-hepatocellular carcinoma proliferation mechanism.
2.BMI1/NF-κB axis remodeling TAMs phenotype promotes the malignant biological behavior of oral squa-mous cell carcinoma
Yahui LI ; Huan LI ; Yaodong HE ; Rong LIU ; Junhong HUANG ; Yating HU ; Jing LI ; Yanbing YAO ; Xin-Jie YANG ; Jianhua WEI
Journal of Practical Stomatology 2024;40(2):233-240
Objective:To investigate the impact of BMI1 expression in OSCC on the recruitment and differentiation of tumor-associat-ed macrophages(TAMs).Methods:BMI1 expression in 519 cases of OSCC tissues and 44 normal controls was analyzed using online datasets of GEPIA 2.0,and validated in 3 cases of OSCC samples and controls by qRT-PCR and western blotting.The function of BMI1/NF-κB axis during OSCC carcinogenesis was investigated by CCK8 assays,wound healing test and transwell assays.Macrophage phenotypes and recruitment were determined using qRT-PCR and western blotting following coculture of the cells with human monocyte cells(THP-1)by OSCC conditioned medium.Moreover,a cell line-derived xenograft(CDX)model was used to detect the effect of BMI1 on tumor growth in vivo.Results:Compared with the normal tissues and cells,the expression level of BMI1 in OSCC tissues and cells was significantly upregulated.BMI1 knockdown impaired the proliferation,migration,and invasion abilities of OSCC cell lines in NF-κB-dependent manner.Furthermore,OSCC cells with high BMI1 expression inhibited the migration of THP-1 cells,promoted M2-like macrophage polarization through NF-κB pathway in vitro.Xenograft experiments further confirmed the inhibitory effect of BMI1 knockdown on the tumorigenesis ability of OSCC cells in vivo.Conclusion:BMI1 promotes M2-like polarization by regulating NF-κB and may be used as a potential therapeutic target for antitumor immunity.
3.Comprehensive analysis of insulin products complex disulfide bonds structure by high resolution mass spectrum
Xin-yue HU ; Xiao-li DING ; Yue SUN ; Hui ZHANG ; Jing LI ; Cheng-gang LINAG
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica 2024;59(1):188-197
The correct pairing of disulfide bonds maintains the correct folding mode and high-level structure formation of peptides and protein drugs, which is crucial for the quality control of products. In order to ensure that the disulfide bonds are correctly paired, disulfide bond analysis is an essential part of peptides and protein drug characterization. Mass spectrometry can be used to analyze disulfide bonds. However, insulin and its analogues have two pairs of disulfide bonds without restriction enzyme cutting site. Conventional collision-induced dissociation (CID) and high-energy induced cleavage (HCD) cannot accurately locate the complex disulfide bond. In our study, three methods were used to localize the complex disulfide, including enzyme digestion combined with key peptide fragment in source decay (ISD) fragmentation method, enzyme digestion combined with partial reduction alkylation method, intact protein source ISD and electron transfer dissociation (ETD) cleavage method, The applicability of insulin aspart, insulin lispro and insulin glargine were also investigated. This study provides a new way for the quality control of disulfide bonding mode of insulin and its analogues, and also provides a reference for the disulfide bond localization of peptides or proteins containing this complex disulfide bond.
4.A new pyrazine from Hypecoum erectum L.
Yun LIU ; Meng-ya HU ; Wen-jing ZHANG ; Yu-xin FAN ; Rui-wen XU ; Deng-hui ZHU ; Yan-jun SUN ; Wei-sheng FENG ; Hui CHEN
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica 2024;59(1):183-187
Four pyrazines were isolated from the
5.Quantitative determination of capsular polysaccharide,C-polysaccharide,phosphorus of carbohydrate antigens from Streptococcus pneumoniae by quantitative NMR using a single internal standard
Jiru GUO ; Chunjun QIN ; Jing HU ; Xin CAO ; Yongxue XU ; Jiankai LIU ; Jian YIN
Journal of China Pharmaceutical University 2024;55(4):472-477
Pneumococcal vaccine plays a key role in preventing diseases such as pneumonia and meningitis caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae(S.pneumoniae).Capsular polysaccharide,C-polysaccharide and phosphorus content are important indicators for quality control of polysaccharide antigens in vaccine development and production.In this study,a quantitative 1H NMR and 31P NMR method based on a single internal standard hexamethylphosphoramide(HMPA)was developed to achieve simultaneous determination of capsular polysaccharide,C-polysaccharide and phosphorus content in 6A,6B,18C,19A,19F and 23F S.pneumoniae polysaccharide antigens.Using the internal reference comparison method,the effect of solubility of polysaccharide on quantitative 1H NMR determination was investigated.It was found that the determination results of quantitative 1H NMR were affected by the viscosity and concentration of polysaccharide solution.It was found that high viscosity polysaccharides at 3-15 mg/mL and low viscosity polysaccharides at 5-25 mg/mL were the optimal detection solution concentration range.This"one internal standard three quantitative"NMR method has good precision,specificity and accuracy,and provides a valuable new strategy for the quality control of pneumococcal vaccine.
6.Synthesis and antitumor activity of heteroatom-substituted azulenes derivatives of 1,2-benzothiazine
Xiaomei ZHAO ; Xin WANG ; Xia JI ; Jing ZHANG ; Hua ZHANG ; Guoqiang HU
Journal of China Pharmaceutical University 2024;55(5):634-638
Using methylated pyrroloxicam as a starting material and following the principles of drug design such as bioisosterism and active site binding,we designed and synthesized ten structurally novel target compounds,whose structures were characterized by 1H NMR and MS analysis.The in vitro antitumor activity of these title compounds was evaluated by measuring their inhibitory activity against pancreatic cancer cells Capan-1,leukemia cells L1210,and human liver cancer cells SMMC-7721.The results showed that compound 6f(IC50=4.8±0.5 μmol/L)exhibited good inhibitory activity against Capan-1 pancreatic cancer cells,that compound 6b(IC50=2.6±0.3 μmol/L)showed good inhibitory activity against L1210 leukemia cells,and that compound 6c(IC50=2.1±0.2 μmol/L)displayed good inhibitory activity against SMMC-7721 human liver cancer cells.These preliminary results from the antitumor activity experiments suggest that the introduction of benzothiazine derivatives plays a certain role in enhancing the antitumor activity of this class of compounds.
7.Research on species identification of commercial medicinal and food homology scented herbal tea
Jing SUN ; Zi-yi HUANG ; Si-qi LI ; Yu-fang LI ; Yan HU ; Shi-wen GUO ; Ge HU ; Chuan-pu SHEN ; Fu-rong YANG ; Yu-lin LIN ; Tian-yi XIN ; Xiang-dong PU
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica 2024;59(9):2612-2624
The adulteration and counterfeiting of herbal ingredients in medicinal and food homology (MFH) have a serious impact on the quality of herbal materials, thereby endangering human health. Compared to pharmaceutical drugs, health products derived from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) are more easily accessible and closely integrated into consumers' daily life. However, the authentication of the authenticity of TCM ingredients in MFH has not received sufficient attention. The lack of clear standards emphasizes the necessity of conducting systematic research in this area. This study utilized DNA barcoding technology, combining ITS2,
8.Construction and characterization of lpxC deletion strain based on CRISPR/Cas9 in Acinetobacter baumannii
Zong-ti SUN ; You-wen ZHANG ; Hai-bin LI ; Xiu-kun WANG ; Jie YU ; Jin-ru XIE ; Peng-bo PANG ; Xin-xin HU ; Tong-ying NIE ; Xi LU ; Jing PANG ; Lei HOU ; Xin-yi YANG ; Cong-ran LI ; Lang SUN ; Xue-fu YOU
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica 2024;59(5):1286-1294
Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are major outer membrane components of Gram-negative bacteria. Unlike most Gram-negative bacteria,
9.The underlying logic, innovative thinking and research paradigm of antiviral medicinal chemistry
Shuo WANG ; Bao-hu LI ; Shu-jing XU ; Yang ZHOU ; Jin-fei YANG ; Xin-yong LIU ; Peng ZHAN
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica 2024;59(7):1916-1931
Antiviral drug research and development is an important research direction in the current and future biomedical field. The research and development of antiviral drugs not only requires the application of new strategies and new technologies, but also requires the complementary advantages and close cooperation of project teams. Based on the latest progress in this field and the author's drug research practice, this paper summarizes the underlying logic, innovative thinking and research paradigm of antiviral medicinal chemistry.
10.Exploration of the Application of Blockchain Technology in the Future Medical Service System
Huan WANG ; Tao LIU ; Jing WANG ; Yanan GAO ; Xin LI ; Liyuan HU ; Zihang FENG ; Zhiyong ZHAO ; Qingyang HUANG ; Quanyu MENG ; Xiaojuan ZHANG ; Hexuan CUI ; Tianming CHEN
Journal of Medical Informatics 2024;45(11):91-94,103
Purpose/Significance To explore the feasibility of applying blockchain technology to the current healthcare system of hos-pitals,and to achieve the purpose of protecting patients'privacy to the greatest extent possible at a lower cost.Method/Process 505 questionnaires are randomly distributed and collected from people of different age groups in Beijing,Tianjin,Shanghai and Shenzhen who have a certain degree of understanding of blockchain technology,and the results are analyzed.Result/Conclusion Different age groups are highly concerned about personal privacy and privacy protection,and are willing to accept blockchain as an emerging technology.There is a greater demand and acceptance for the application of blockchain technology in the primary health care systems.

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