Improvement of Skin Barrier Dysfunction by Phenolic-containing Extracts of Lycium barbarum via Nrf2/HO-1 Regulation.

Lycium barbarum have received an increasing popularity due to its powerful biological activity and medicinal use. However, the effect of Lycium barbarum on skin remains largely uncharacterized. The general purpose of this paper was to characterize the phenolic compounds in Lycium barbarum extract (LBE) using LC-HRMS/QTOF method and to investigate whether topical administration of LBE can repair skin barrier dysfunction in mice. Our data demonstrated that LBE could not only decrease ROS level and matrix metalloproteinase expression, but also strengthen intrinsic antioxidant defense system including SOD, GSH-Px and CAT, thereby resulting in increased skin collagen content and an improvement of UV-induced skin erythema, thickness and wrinkles. Improved skin barrier functions were highly correlated with increased expression of filaggrin, involucrin and loricrin as well as antioxidant proteins such as Nrf2 and HO-1 in UV-irradiated mice, suggesting that LBE may be promising natural products at a lower cost for the topical application in the treatment of skin diseases with defective barrier function.

Aromatic-turmerone ameliorates imiquimod-induced psoriasis-like inflammation of BALB/c mice.

Psoriasis is a usual immune-mediated inflammatory skin disease with undefined pathogenesis. Aromatic-turmerone (ATM) is a mainly constituent of essential oil from Curcuma longa L. It has been shown to exhibit strong anti-oxidant, anti-tumor activities and anti-inflammatory effects. In this study, we investigated the effects of ATM on imiquimod (IMQ)-induced psoriasis-like BALB/c mice and its molecular mechanisms for anti-inflammatory effect. ATM showed inhibition of the transfer of CD8+ T cells in epidermis, and reduced expression of NF-κB and COX-2 as well as phosphorylation of p38 MAPK. It also decreased the level of TNF-α and IL-6, and down-regulates IL-17 IL-22 and IL-23 mRNA synthesis. Notably, we demonstrated that topically applied ATM alleviated skin inflammation in IMQ-induced mice. These results indicate that ATM, a natural active compound exhibits anti-inflammatory activity and is a promising candidate molecule to treat inflammatory skin diseases, such as psoriasis.

[Docking-based virtual screening of MEK1 inhibitors from Chinese herbs].

The hyperphosphorylation of MEK1(mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 1) is one of the causesfor melanoma. It is important to discover a potential medicine for melanoma through virtual screening of chemical composition of Chinese material medica on MEK1. In this study, a docking pocket model and Flex Search model were built by using a MEK1 crystal structure, the similarity between connector conformation and gametophyte conformation in the crystal structure was 0.784.There was a linear relationship between total score and pIC50on MEK1 inhibitors, with R²=0.937, which further indicated the reliability of the virtual screening model.The search library of traditional Chinese medicine database on the Lipinski's rule was docked with the pocket model, and then 50 compounds with a totalscore of more than 7.0 were obtained by the Flex model. In this paper, top 10 active ingredients in screening results showed atotal score of more than that of positive medicines. It is expected to further research the inhibition of MEK1 and melanoma.

[Chinese medicine prevention and treatment of AIDS in terms of constitution theory].

The significant effects of constitutional factor on AIDS were addressed. Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), caused by HIV, is mainly characterized as decreased immune function or immune deficiency. It has strong infectiousness and higher mortality, so it is one of the diseases that attract great attention to clinical prevention and treatment. The constitution not only exerts significant effect on the immune function of patients with AIDS, but also plays important roles in the development, prognosis, and outcomes of AIDS. Therefore, it is of great referential significance in both clinical and scientific studies of AIDS by exploring Chinese medicine prevention and treatment of AIDS from the angle of constitution.