Network pharmacology and bioinformatics to identify molecular mechanisms and therapeutic targets of Ruyi Jinhuang Powder in the treatment of monkeypox.

Monkeypox outbreaks across the globe has aroused widespread concern. Ruyi Jinhuang Powder (RJP), a common formula in Chinese medicine, is used to treat pox-like illnesses. This study aimed to identify the molecular mechanisms and therapeutic targets of RJP for the treatment of monkeypox using network pharmacology and bioinformatics techniques. The bioactive substances and potential targets of each component of RJP were retrieved from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP). The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of the monkeypox virus (MPXV) were identified from the GSE24125 by GEO2R. Key signaling pathways, bioactive components, and potential targets were obtained by bioinformatics analysis, including gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), disease ontology (DO), and protein-protein interactions (PPI) analyses. Finally, molecular docking was used to predict the interaction between active compounds and core targets. A total of 158 active ingredients and 17 drug-disease-shared targets of RJP were screened. Bioinformatics indicated that wogonin and quercetin might be potential drug candidates. Potential therapeutic targets were identified. Immune-related mechanisms that exerted antiviral effects included signaling pathways like TNF, age-rage, and c-type lectin receptor pathways. Our results illustrated the good therapeutic effect of RJP on monkeypox in terms of biological activity, potential targets, and molecular mechanism. This also offered a promising strategy to reveal the scientific basis and therapeutic mechanism of herbal formulas used to treat the disease.

A new epigallocatechin gallate derivative isolated from Anhua dark tea sensitizes the chemosensitivity of gefitinib via the suppression of PI3K/mTOR and epithelial-mesenchymal transition.

The acquired resistance to gefitinib limits its clinical application. Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) has been found to enhance the efficacy of gefitinib against resistant. However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms have not been completely illuminated in NSCLC. In this study, a new epigallocatechin gallate derivative (2R,3R-6-methoxycarbonylgallocatechin-3-O-gallate, the following referred to as EGCGD) (1) and three known epigallocatechin gallate compounds including epicatechin-3-O-gallate (2), gallocatechin-3-O-gallate (3) and epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate (4, EGCG) were isolated and identified from Anhua dark tea. The pharmacological studies showed EGCGD was more effective against gefitinib-resistant HCC827-Gef cells compared to that of other three epigallocatechin gallate compounds including EGCG, suggesting that introduction of 6-methoxycarbonyl to EGCG might enhance its antitumor activities. Further study on molecular mechanism showed EGCGD increased the potency of gefitinib against HCC827-Gef cells via suppression of epithelial-Mesenchymal transition (EMT) and dual inhibition of PI3K/mTOR.

Neuroprotective effect of catechins derivatives isolated from Anhua dark tea on NMDA-induced excitotoxicity in SH-SY5Y cells.

Anhua dark tea known as the earliest produced Chinese dark tea, has been commercially available and famous for its unique flavor and health care effect. NMDA receptors are glutamate-coupled ion channels that critically involved in survival of neuronal cells and neurodegenerative diseases. Thus, it is considered a promising target for the therapy of neurodegenerative disease. In this study, four catechins including two new catechins derivatives (1-2), together with thirteen known flavonoids were isolated from Anhua dark tea. The structures of compounds 1-2 [2S,3R-6-methoxycarbonylgallocatechin (1) and 2R,3R-6-methoxycarbonylgallocatechin (2)] were determined on the basis of their spectroscopic data. The preliminary bioassay indicated that compound 1 showed the best neuroprotective effects via N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors inhibition. Compound 1 protected SH-SY5Y cells against NMDA-induced injury and cell apoptosis via the modulation of NR2B expression, the activation of PI3K/Akt signaling and caspase-dependent pathway. The results suggested compound 1 would be a potent dietary therapy reagent for prevention of excitable brain injury.

Antiproliferative ent-kaurane diterpenoids isolated from the roots of Zea mays L.

Four new ent-kaurane diterpenoid maizediterpenes A-D (1-4), along with fourteen known compounds were isolated from the roots of Zea mays (maize). Compounds 7, 15, 16 were isolated from this genus for the first time. The planar structures of the new compounds were determined by extensive analysis of their NMR and HR-ESI-MS spectra, and the absolute configurations were established on the basis of specific rotation in association with calculated ECD spectra. Compounds 2, 6 and 18 showed significant antiproliferative effects against five human cancer cell lines (A549, MDA-MB-231, SK-Hep-1, SNU638, HCT116) with IC50 values ranging from 1.99 ±â€¯0.41 µM to 15.18 ±â€¯1.17 µM.

The protective effects of vernicilignan A, a new flavonolignan isolated from Toxicodendron vernicifluum on SH-SY5Y cells against oxidative stress-induced injury.

In this study, a new flavonolignan vernicilignan A was isolated from Toxicodendron vernicifluum. The neuroprotective effects of this compound against H2O2 induced cell injury in SH-SY5Y cells were evaluated by MTT assay and LDH release assay. Vernicilignan A dose-dependently attenuated the cell injury and LDH release induced by H2O2 in SH-SY5Y cells. Further study indicated that vernicilignan A reduced cell apoptosis caused by H2O2 treatment via regulation of some apoptotic related proteins including Bax, Bcl-2, caspase 3 and caspase 9. Also, vernicilignan A increase the cell viability of H2O2 treated cells via the activation of Akt and GSK3ß. Base on the findings, vernicilignan A exhibited neuroprotective effects through the activation of PI3K/Akt signaling and inhibition of mitochondria apoptosis pathway. Vernicilignan A might be a promising therapeutic agent for oxidative stress induced neurodegenerative diseases.

A Framework on Optimization Strategy for EEG Motor Imagery Recognition.

At present, in the process of encephalogram motor imagery decoding, facing the background of big data analysis, it has the necessity to design an effective system which is subject-independent. Pre-training is common to carry out before each experiment, which affects the practicability of the EEG system. In order to solve this problem, the most feasible method is to design a unified framework for deep learning optimization, which could capture the spatial and spectral dependence of original motor imagery EEG signals according to the features extracted by CNN and the temporal dependence extracted by RNN-LSTM. The framework is superimposed from both end-to-end and time-frequency domains so as to retain and learn interpretable motor imagery features. In addition, artificial EEG signals can be automatically generated by training the generated adversarial network, which can generate the feature distribution similar to the original EEG signals, increase the capacity of EEG samples, and ultimately improve the classification performance and robustness of EEG motor imagery recognition. This deep learning framework can improve the classification accuracy of motor imagery for different subjects. In addition, the network can learn from the original data with the least amount of preprocessing, thus eliminating the time-consuming data preparation process.

[Variation of endogenous hormones in formation of microtubers of Pinellia ternata in vitro].

OBJECTIVE: Through analysis of variation and function of five endogenous hormones (IAA, GA3, ABA, ZR and JA) in the formation of microtubers of Pinellia ternata in vitro to explore the physiological and biochemical mechanism of tubers' development. METHOD: The endogenous hormones of microtubers were isolated in different stages of tubers expansion when the leaf stalks of P. ternata were cultured on MS + 6-BA 0.5 mg x L(-1) + NAA 0.1 mg x L(-1) + sucrose 5% medium to induce the formation of microtubers, then them and stems were detected with Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assays (ELISA). RESULT: The results showed that the content of IAA, ABA, JA and ZR in the intumescentia period of microtubers were rapidly rising. The curve of GA3 appeared the type of anti-S. CONCLUSION: IAA, ABA, JA, ZR and GA3 played an important role in controlling formation of microtubers in P. ternata.