[Qualitative and quantitative analysis of quassinoid diterpenoids from Eurycoma longifolia by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS combined with UPLC-QQQ-MS/MS].

In this work, a sensitive and efficient method was established and validated for qualitative and quantitative analysis of major quassinoid diterpenoids constituents from the extract of Eurycoma longifolia by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry(UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) and ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with a triple quadrupole mass spectrometry(UPLC-QQQ-MS/MS). The UPLC-Q-TOF-MS analysis was performed on an Agilent Eclipse Plus C_(18) RRHD(2.1 mm×100 mm,1.8 µm) column with acetonitrile and 0.1% formic acid water as mobile phase by gradient elution. The UPLC-QQQ-MS/MS analysis was performed on an Agilent Eclipse Plus C_(18) RRHD(2.1 mm×50 mm, 1.8 µm)column with acetonitrile and 0.1% formic acid water as mobile phase by gradient elution. The data was collected by electrospray ionization in positive mode. According to the contrast of the reference standards and the accurate masses of molecules, a total of 32 quassinoid diterpenoids in E. longifolia extract were identified by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS. For quantitative the linear range of 4 detected quassinoid diterpenoids were good(r≥0.999 6), and the overall recoveries ranged from 90.35% to 106.4%, with the RSD ranging from 1.8% to 3.6%. The method was accurate, reliable and efficient, and could comprehensively reflect the chemical constituents and content of E. longifolia, and could provide a reference for further elucidating its pharmacological basis and quality control.

Identification of biomarkers to response of Tripterygium Glycosides Tablets acting on rheumatoid arthritis by integrating transcriptional data mining and biomolecular network analysis / 中国中药杂志

Growing clinical evidence shows that a partial rheumatoid arthritis( RA) patient treated with Tripterygium Glycosides Tablets( TGT) may fail to achieve clinical improvement. It is of great clinical significance to predict the therapeutic effect of TGT in RA. Therefore,the aim of the current study was to identify potential biomarkers for TGT treatment in RA. Affymetrix EG1.0 arrays were applied to detect gene expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells obtained from 6 RA patients( 3 responders and 3 non-responders) treated with TGT. By integrating differential expression data analysis and biomolecular network analysis,360 mRNAs( 185 up-regulated and 175 down-regulated) and 24 miRNAs( 7 up-regulated and 17 down-regulated) which were differentially expressed between TGT responder and non-responder groups were identified. A total of 206 candidate target genes for the differentially expressed miRNAs were obtained based on miRanada and Target Scan databases,and then the miRNA target gene coexpression network and miRNA-mediated gene signal transduction network were constructed. Following the network analyses,three candidate miRNAs biomarkers( hsa-miR-4720-5 p,hsa-miR-374 b-5 p,hsa-miR-185-3 p) were identified as candidate biomarkers predicting individual response to TGT. Partialleast-squares( PLS) was applied to construct a model for predicting response to TGT based on the expression levels of the candidate gene biomarkers in RA patients. The five-fold cross-validation showed that the prediction accuracy( ACC) of this PLS-based model efficacy was 100.00%,100.00%,100.00%,66.67% and 66.67% respectively,and all the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve( AUC) were 1.00,indicating the highly predictive efficiency of this PLS-based model. In conclusion,the integrating transcription data mining and biomolecular network investigation show that hsa-mir-4720-5 p,hsa-mir-374 b-5 p and hsa-mir-185-3 p may be candidate biomarkers predicting individual response to TGT. In addition,the PLS model based on the expression levels of these candidate biomarkers may be helpful for the clinical screen of RA patients,which potentially benefit individualized therapy of RA in a daily clinical setting.

Clinical effect analysis of ankylosing spondylitis treated by Chinese medical syndrome differentiation / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the curative effect and safety of Bushen Qiangji Decoction (BQD) and Qingre Qiangji Decoction (QQD) in treating ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients, and to verify the clinical utility of AS syndrome differentiation and treatment scheme [Shen-deficiency induced stasis obstruction syndrome (SDISOS) and dampness-heat obstruction syndrome (DHOS) being two basic syndrome types, Shen invigorating blood activating method (SIBAM) and heat clearing dampness resolving method (HCDRM) being two basic treatment methods].</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Totally 354 AS patients of SDISOS and DHOS were randomly assigned to the treatment group and the control group using a multi-center randomized, positive drug parallel-controlled clinical trail. Patients in treatment group were treated by BQD or QQD according to syndrome typing, while those in the control group took Sulfasalazine enteric-coated tablet (SECT), 24 weeks as one therapeutic course. After treatment, the clinical efficacy was evaluated by using ASAS20 standard (set by Asessment in Ankylosing Spondylitis working group), Chinese medical efficacy evaluation standards, and BASDAI, BASFI, BASMI, night-pain index, spinal pain index, PGA, C-reactive protein (CRP), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>After 24 weeks of treatment by BQD or QQD, ASAS20 standard rate was 86.75% in the treatment group, and the total effective rate of Chinese medical syndrome was 85.47%. They could significantly reduce patients' integrals of Chinese medical syndrome, BASDAI, BASFI, BASMI, night-pain index, spinal pain index, and PGA (all P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>QQD and BQD got confirmable clinical effects in treating AS, providing strong evidence of evidence-based medicine for syndrome differentiation and treatment of AS.</p>