Exploring the material basis and molecular targets of Changma Xifeng tablet in treating Tourette syndrome: an integrative approach of network pharmacology and miRNA analysis.

This study was to investigate the mechanism of Changma Xifeng tablet, a traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of Tourette syndrome. Network pharmacology was utilized to pinpoint blood-entering constituents of Changma Xifeng and explore their potential targets. Additionally, differential microRNA expression analysis was conducted to predict Tourette syndrome-associated targets, complemented by molecular docking and dynamics simulations to support the interactions of the active compounds with these targets. The study identified 98 common targets between Changma Xifeng and Tourette syndrome, which may be involved in the treatment process. A protein-protein interaction network and a drug-active ingredient-disease target network highlighted the formulation's multi-component, multi-target therapeutic approach. Eight pivotal targets-AR, GRM5, MET, RORA, HTR2A, CNR1, PDE4B, and TOP1-were identified at the intersection of microRNA and drug targets. Molecular docking revealed 12 complexes with favorable binding energies below - 7 kcal/mol, specifically: AR with Alfacalcidol, TOP1 with Albiflorin, GRM5 with Arachidic Acid, GRM5 with Palmitic Acid, AR with Arachidic Acid, AR with 2-Hydroxyoctadecanoic Acid, RORA with Pinellic Acid, RORA with Palmitic Acid, AR with Acoronene, AR with Epiacoronene, AR with 4,4'-Methylenediphenol, and HTR2A with Calycosin. Our molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations suggest potential stable interactions between the formulation's active components and target proteins. These computational methods provide a preliminary theoretical framework that will guide our future experimental work. The study provides a scientific rationale for the use of traditional Chinese medicine in Tourette syndrome management and offers new insights for drug development.

Skeletal Muscle-Derived Exosomal miR-146a-5p Inhibits Adipogenesis by Mediating Muscle-Fat Axis and Targeting GDF5-PPARγ Signaling.

Skeletal muscle-fat interaction is essential for maintaining organismal energy homeostasis and managing obesity by secreting cytokines and exosomes, but the role of the latter as a new mediator in inter-tissue communication remains unclear. Recently, we discovered that miR-146a-5p was mainly enriched in skeletal muscle-derived exosomes (SKM-Exos), 50-fold higher than in fat exosomes. Here, we investigated the role of skeletal muscle-derived exosomes regulating lipid metabolism in adipose tissue by delivering miR-146a-5p. The results showed that skeletal muscle cell-derived exosomes significantly inhibited the differentiation of preadipocytes and their adipogenesis. When the skeletal muscle-derived exosomes co-treated adipocytes with miR-146a-5p inhibitor, this inhibition was reversed. Additionally, skeletal muscle-specific knockout miR-146a-5p (mKO) mice significantly increased body weight gain and decreased oxidative metabolism. On the other hand, the internalization of this miRNA into the mKO mice by injecting skeletal muscle-derived exosomes from the Flox mice (Flox-Exos) resulted in significant phenotypic reversion, including down-regulation of genes and proteins involved in adipogenesis. Mechanistically, miR-146a-5p has also been demonstrated to function as a negative regulator of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) signaling by directly targeting growth and differentiation factor 5 (GDF5) gene to mediate adipogenesis and fatty acid absorption. Taken together, these data provide new insights into the role of miR-146a-5p as a novel myokine involved in the regulation of adipogenesis and obesity via mediating the skeletal muscle-fat signaling axis, which may serve as a target for the development of therapies against metabolic diseases, such as obesity.

miR-146a-5p promotes epithelium regeneration against LPS-induced inflammatory injury via targeting TAB1/TAK1/NF-κB signaling pathway.

Intestinal inflammation often restricts the health and production of animals. MiR-146a has been proved to be an anti-inflammatory molecule in inflammatory disorders, but its role in the intestinal injury and regeneration remains unclear. The study aimed to explore the inflammatory response of intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) in intestinal tissue-specific miR-146a-5p knockout mouse models. We identified the role of miR-146a-5p in inhibiting inflammatory response and promoting proliferation under lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation in vitro and vivo. LPS stimulation significantly increased the expression of TNF-α, IL6 and inhibited IPEC-J2 cell proliferation. Overexpression of miR-146a-5p can reverse the effect of LPS stimulation, and promote the proliferation of intestinal epithelial cells. In the LPS challenge experiment in intestine-specific miR-146a knock-out mice (CKO) and Floxp+/+ mice (CON), CKO mice were more sensitive to LPS stimulation, with more weight loss and more severe intestinal morphological damage than CON mice. Also, miR-146a-5p regulated LPS-induced intestinal injury, inflammation by targeting TAB1. Taken together, miR-146a may function as an anti-inflammatory factor in IECs by targeting TAB1/TAK1-IKK-NF-κB signaling pathway. miR-146a-5p may represent a promising biomarker for inflammatory disorders, and may provide an effective therapeutic method to alleviate weaning stress in piglets and some experimental basis to improve the intestinal health of livestock.

Population Pharmacokinetics of Caspofungin and Dosing Optimization in Children With Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation.

Caspofungin is the first echinocandin antifungal agent that licented for pediatric use in invasive candidiasis and aspergillosis. In this study, we evaluated the population pharmacokinetics of caspofungin and investigate appropriate dosing optimization against Candida spp. in children with allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) in order to improve therapeutic efficacy. All participants received a recommended caspofungin 70 mg/m2 loading dose followed by 50 mg/m2 maintenance dose. A one-compartment model with first-order elimination was best fitted the data from 48 pediatric patients. Body surface area and aspartate aminotransferase had significant influence on caspofungin clearance from covariate analysis. Our results reviewed that dose adjustment is not necessary in patients with mild liver dysfunction. Monte Carlo simulations were performed using pharmacokinetic data from our study to evaluate the probability of target attainment (PTA) of caspofungin regimen in terms of AUC24/MIC targets against Candida spp. The results of simulations predicted that a caspofungin 70 mg/m2 at first dose, 50 mg/m2 of daily dose may have a high probability of successful outcome against C. albicans and C. glabrata whilst 60 mg/m2 maintenance dose was required for fungistatic target against C. parapsilosis but may be not sufficient to achieve optimal fungicidal activity. Caspofungin standard regimen had high probability of successful outcome against C. albicans (MIC ⩽ 0.25 mg/L) and C. glabrata (MIC ⩽ 0.5 mg/L) but insufficient for C. parapsilosis with MIC > 0.25 mg/L. That may provide an evidence based support to caspofungin individualized administration and decrease the risk of therapeutic failure in allo-HSCT pediatric patients.