[Research progress on Huangqi Guizhi Wuwu Decoction and predictive analysis of quality markers].

Huangqi Guizhi Wuwu Decoction is a classic prescription in traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) and is known for its effects of tonifying Qi, warming the meridians, and promoting blood circulation to alleviate obstruction. It is primarily used to treat conditions characterized by Qi stagnation, Yang deficiency, and obstruction, and it exhibits pharmacological effects such as immune regulation, anti-inflammation, analgesia, protection of the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular systems, itch relief, reduction of frostbite symptoms, antioxidative stress, promotion of cell apoptosis, and kidney protection. In modern clinical practice, it is commonly used to treat acute myocardial infarction, sequelae of cerebral infarction, cervical spondylosis, frozen shoulder, lower limb arteriosclerosis, lower limb vascular disorders, peripheral neuropathy in diabetes, and lupus nephritis. Recent research has focused on the chemical components, pharmacological effects, and clinical applications of Huangqi Guizhi Wuwu Decoction. Based on the "five principles" of quality markers(Q-markers) in TCM, this study predicted and analyzed the Q-markers of Huangqi Guizhi Wuwu Decoction. It suggested that astragaloside Ⅳ, formononetin, kaempferol, quercetin, cinnamic acid, cinnamaldehyde, 6-gingerol, paeoniflorin, albiflorin, and gallic acid could serve as Q-markers for Huangqi Guizhi Wuwu Decoction. The findings of this study can provide references for quality control of Huangqi Guizhi Wuwu Decoction and the development of new Chinese medicinal formulations.

[Research progress of Shenling Baizhu San and predictive analysis on its quality markers].

Shenling Baizhu San is a classic prescription for replenishing Qi to invigorate the spleen and dispelling dampness to check diarrhea, which mainly treats the syndrome of spleen deficiency and heavy dampness. With the pharmacological effects of regulating immune system, improving lung function and gastrointestinal function, and resisting oxygen, tumor, and inflammation, Shenling Baizhu San is commonly used in modern clinical practice to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulmonary fibrosis, bronchial asthma, irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis, chronic diarrhea, and diabetic, etc. This paper summarized the chemical constituents, pharmacological effects, and clinical application of Shenling Baizhu San in recent years, and predictively analyzed the quality markers of Shenling Baizhu San according to the "five principles" of Q-marker. The Q-markers of Shenling Baizhu San involved ginsenoside Rg_1, ginsenoside Re, ginsenoside Rb_1, pachymic acid, dehydrotumulosic acid, batatasin Ⅰ, batatasin Ⅲ, diosgenin, liensinine, neferine, luteolin, quercetin, glycerol trioleate, ß-sitosterol, platycodin D, glycyrrhizic acid, glycyrrhetinic acid, liquiritin, pipecolinic acid, atractylenolide Ⅰ, atractylenolide Ⅲ, and bornyl acetate, which provided references for the quality control and follow-up research of Shenling Baizhu San.

Trace levels of mitomycin C disrupt genomic integrity and lead to DNA damage response defect in long-term-cultured human embryonic stem cells.

How to maintain the genetic integrity of cultured human embryonic stem (hES) cells is raising crucial concerns for future clinical use in regenerative medicine. Mitomycin C(MMC), a DNA damage agent, is widely used for preparation of feeder cells in many laboratories. However, to what extent MMC affects the karyotypic stability of hES cells is not clear. Here, we measured residual MMC using High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry/Mass Spectrometry following each step of feeder preparation and found that 2.26 ± 0.77 and 3.50 ± 0.92 ng/ml remained in mouse feeder cells and human feeder cells, respectively. In addition, different amounts of MMC caused different chromosomal aberrations in hES cells. In particular, one abnormality, dup(1)(p32p36), was the same identical to one we previously reported in another hES cell line. Using Affymetrix SNP 6.0 arrays, the copy number variation changes of the hES cells maintained on MMC-inactivated feeders (MMC-feeder) were significantly more than those cultured on γ-inactivated feeder (IR-feeder) cells. Furthermore, DNA damage response (DDR) genes were down-regulated during long-term culture in the MMC-containing system, leading to DDR defect and shortened telomeres of hES cells, a sign of genomic instability. Therefore, MMC-feeder and MMC-induced genomic variation present an important safety problem that would limit such hES from being applied for future clinic use and drug screening.

Sequence-specific assignments of proton NMR resonance peaks and analysis of secondary structural elements of LC1, a novel antibacterial polypeptide.

LC1 is a type of novel antibacterial polypeptide secreted by a Bacillus subtilis strain. It consists of 47 residues. Using bioengineering, LC1 was expressed in E.coli DH5alpha by using recombinant plasmid PBVAB16. By means of two-dimensional DQF-COSY, TOCSY and NOESY spectroscopies, protons of all 47 residues are identified. The studies show that the secondary structures of LC1 are principally anti-parallel beta sheets and extended conformations. It was speculated that there may be a hydrophobic core around Trp(23) in its three-dimensional structure.

Tetragonal Crystal Structure of Mung Bean Inhibitor-porcine Trypsin Complex.

Crystal structure of the mung bean inhibitor-porcine trypsin (1:2) ternary complex in the tetragonal crystal with space group I422 was determined at 0.25nm resolution. 56 residues of the mung bean inhibitor were resolved among which one more residue Pro11 was determined than the previously reported structure in the trigonal crystal of the same complex. The structure of the inhibitor in the tetragonal crystal is similar to that in the trigonal crystal and the complexes in tetragonal crystal is also in packing disorder as in trigonal crystal, i.e., the complexes pack in two orientations Ta : MaMb : Tb and Tb : MbMa : Ta(Ta, Tb=trypsin, Ma, Mb=loop I and loop II of mung bean inhibitor respectively). But there are some differences in the two crystal forms. First, the inhibitor in the tetragonal crystal has no pseudo- beta-sheet structure which the trigonal crystal has. Second, its conformation is somewhat different from that in the trigonal crystal.Analysis showed that the linkage peptides between the two regid domains of the inhibitor were flexible, which also accounted for the formation of different crystal forms of this complex. Moreover, comparing mung bean inhibitor to other Bowman-Birk inhibitors showed that the two double-stranded antiparallel beta-sheets and the reactive binding loops were highly conservative.