Preparation and characterization of biomimetic liposomes coated with erythrocyte membrane co-loading triptolide and celastrol / 药学学报

Drug combination can effectively enhance the anti-tumor effect, reduce the drug dose, and improve medication safety. The use of nano-carrier for drug co-delivery can effectively avoid the differences in drug delivery behavior in vivo. Triptolide and celastrol are the main anti-tumor active components of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook f. Modern studies have shown that the combination of triptolide and celastrol can significantly enhance the antitumor effect, but they are limited by poor water solubility and low tumor tissue delivery rate. In this study, a biomimetic erythrocyte membrane liposome co-loaded with triptolide and celastrol was prepared to characterize the morphology, particle size, potential, drug release, serum stability, and other properties. The immunogenicity, uptake behavior, and anti-cell proliferation ability of the biomimetic liposome was compared. All the animal experiments were carried out in accordance with protocol evaluated and approved by the Ethics Committee of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (Chengdu, China). The results showed that the biomimetic erythrocyte membrane liposome co-loaded with triptolide and celastrol (C+T/RBCm@Lip) in this study had an average particle size of 119.12 ± 2.78 nm and a spherical "core-shell" structure. The zeta potential value was -16.9 ± 1.2 mV, and the drug release behavior in vitro was slow. In addition, the process of coating the cell membrane maintained the characteristics of erythrocyte membrane protein, had good stability in serum, and could effectively avoid the recognition and clearance of macrophages, without causing immunogenicity in vivo. The uptake effect of co-loaded biomimetic liposomes on HepG2 hepatocellular carcinoma cells was enhanced compared with that of uncoated cell membrane liposomes, and the inhibitory effect on proliferation of HepG2 cells was enhanced. In conclusion, the biomimetic liposomes coated with erythrocyte membrane prepared in this study is beneficial to the anti-tumor delivery of triptolide and celastrol, and could enhance the inhibitory effect on the growth of HepG2 liver cancer cells, providing a new idea for the anti-tumor application of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook f.

Prescription compatibility connotation and action mechanism of Siwu Decoction in treating primary dysmenorrhea / 中国中药杂志

The aim of this paper was to study the prescription compatibility connotation in the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea(PD) and verify the mechanism as predicted by network pharmacology of Siwu Decoction(SWD). Mice PD model was constructed by using estradiol benzoate-oxytocin. PD mice were randomly divided into 8 groups, namely normal group, model group, positive group, complete formula group, Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata-free group, Paeoniae Radix Alba-free group, volatile oil-free group, Chuan-xiong Rhizoma and Angelicae Sinensis Radix-free group. Latent time, writhing times, inhibition rate, prostaglandin F_2_α(PGF_2_α) and prostaglandin E_2(PGE_2) levels in serum, endothelin-1, Ca~(2+), expression levels of prostaglandin synthase 2 G/H(PTGS2), estrogen receptor(ESR1), glucocorticoid receptor gene(NR3 C1) mRNA and protein expression levels in the uterus homogenate and pathological changes of uterine tissue were index to explore the prescription compatibility connotation and verify the mechanism of SWD in the treatment of PD. Compared with the extraction liquid of the whole recipe, the effect of Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata-free group and Paeoniae Radix Alba-free group with volatile oil were slightly lower, the effect of essential oil-free group was significantly lower, and the effect of Chuanxiong Rhizoma and Angelicae Sinensis Radix-free group was worse than that of the whole recipe. The relative expression levels of PTGS2 protein and mRNA were significantly reduced by the SWD. The relative expressions of protein and mRNA of ESR1, NR3 C1 were significantly increased. SWD treats PD by regulating the expression of key proteins PTGS2, ESR1 and NR3 C1.Its main medicinal herbs were Angelicae Sinensis Radix and Chuanxiong Rhizoma. Active components were mainly in volatile oil, but Paeo-niae Radix Alba and Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata also had some contributions.

Research progress on anti-tumor effects and mechanisms of triptolide and its combined application / 中国中药杂志

Tumors are major chronic diseases and seriously threaten human health all over the world. How to effectively control and cure tumors is one of the most pivotal problems in the medical field. At present,surgery,radiotherapy and chemotherapy are still the main treatment methods. However,the side effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy cannot be underestimated. Therefore,it is of great practical significance to find new anti-cancer drugs with low toxicity,high efficiency and targeting to cancer cells. With the increasing incidence of tumor,the anti-tumor effect of traditional Chinese medicine has increasingly become a research hotspot. Triptolide,which is a natural diterpenoid active ingredient derived from of Tripterygium wilfordii,as one of the highly active components,has anti-inflammatory,immunosuppressive,anti-tumor and other multiple effects. A large number of studies have confirmed that it has good anti-tumor activity against various tumors in vivo and in vitro. It can play an anti-tumor role by inhibiting the proliferation of cancer cells,inducing apoptosis of cancer cells,inducing autophagy of cancer cells,blocking the cell cycle,inhibiting the migration,invasion and metastasis of cancer cells,reversing multidrug resistance,mediating tumor immunity and inhibiting angiogenesis. On the basis of literatures,this paper reviews the anti-tumor effect and mechanism of triptolide,and analyzes the current situation of triptolide combined with other chemotherapy drugs,in order to promote deep research and better clinical application about triptolide.

Network pharmacology-based study on mechanism of Siwu Decoction in treatment of primary dysmenorrhea / 中国中药杂志

This paper aimed to predict and explore the mechanism of multiple components, targets and pathways of Siwu decoction for treatment of primary dysmenorrhea, and to establish a network pharmacological model of "compound-target-pathway-disease". According to the active ingredients in Siwu Decoction, Swiss Target Prediction server was used to predict the active component targets based on the reverse pharmacodynamic group matching method, and the primary dysmenorrhea targets approved by FDA were selected by database including DrugBank, OMIM and TTD. According to the enrichment analysis of the target pathways by using KEGG, the Cytoscape software was used to construct the network of "compound-target-pathway-disease" of Siwu Decoction. Network analysis showed that there were 20 active components involved in 114 pathways. And 16 components, 16 target proteins and 24 pathways were related to primary dysmenorrhea. Siwu Decoction may play a role in treating primary dysmenorrhea by acting on protein targets and pathways related to hormone regulation, central analgesia, spasmolysis,inflammation and immunity. This study revealed the potential active compounds and possible mechanism of Siwu Decoction for treatment of primary dysmenorrhea, providing theoretical references for further systematic laboratory experiments on effective compounds and action mechanism of Siwu Decoction.

Antitumor status analysis on the co-delivery systems regarding the active ingredients of Chinese herbs combined with chemotherapeutic drugs / 药学学报

Anti-tumor intervention using a combination of drugs shows unique advantages in research and clinical practice. Active ingredients of Chinese herbal medicines can offer many advantages, such as high efficiency, low toxicity, wide effect and multiple targets. At present, the combination active ingredients of Chinese herbal and chemotherapy drugs have attracted increased attention. Nano-drug delivery system provides a good carrier platform for anti-tumor drugs. Nano-carrier-mediated drug combination is a promising strategy. In this paper, we review the mechanisms of the anti-tumor effects of active ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine combined with chemotherapeutic drugs and consider the advantages of drug-loaded nanoparticles, the types and characteristics of carriers. The aim is to provide a reference for the research of effective regimen for anti-tumor therapy.

Analysis on dosage form theory and current application situation of traditional Chinese medicine pill / 中国中药杂志

Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) pill, the most representative and successive dosage form, is called as one of the four classical TCM dosage forms. "Pills could keep the lasting and lenitive therapeutic efficacy for a long period" is the most classical dosage form theory, showing a guidance significance in making recipe, preparations and clinic application. In this article, we would elucidate the inheritance and development significance of TCM pills in three key points, including dosage form theory, pharmaceutical preparation technology and clinic usage based on the pharmaceutics connotation of this theory. From this, it can provide the basis for researches on pills mechanism, material basis and mode of action in clinical application.

Protective effect of musk extract on rat's cerebral cortical neurons with inflammatory injury / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the protective effects of musk extract (ME) and its possible mechanism on rat's cerebral cortical neurons with inflammatory injury induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Neurons and astrocytes from newborn rat cerebral cortex were cultured in vitro respectively, and the astrocyte conditioned medium (ACM), obtained by treating astrocytes with 10 mg/L LPS and different concentrations of ME for 24 h, was added in the culture fluid of neurons. The survival rate and apoptotic rate of neurons were measured by MTT method and AO/EB stain; and the changes of inflammatory factors in the ACM were determined by ELISA.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The survival rate (%) of neurons treated by ACM with ME in concentrations of 18 mg/L, 36 mg/L, 72 mg/L and 144 mg/L was 52.55 +/- 3.52, 55.77 +/- 2.36, 64.89 +/- 3.45 and 73.67 +/- 1.80, respectively, significantly higher than that in the model neurons (43.62 +/- 4. 51, P < 0.05), while the apoptotic rate (%) in them, 68.11 +/- 2.16, 44.27 +/- 3.68, 32.56 +/- 2.14 and 21.89 +/- 2.46, respectively, was significantly lower than that in model neurons (71.33 +/- 3.25, P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). Level of IL-6 was decreasing along with the raising of ME concentration in the ACM, showing a concentration-dependent state.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>ME shows apparent protective effect on neurons against inflammatory injury, especially in a high concentration (144 mg/L), which may be associated with the reduction of IL-6 secreted by astrocytes.</p>