ETCM v2.0: An update with comprehensive resource and rich annotations for traditional Chinese medicine

Existing traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)-related databases are still insufficient in data standardization, integrity and precision, and need to be updated urgently. Herein, an Encyclopedia of Traditional Chinese Medicine version 2.0 (ETCM v2.0, http://www.tcmip.cn/ETCM2/front/#/) was constructed as the latest curated database hosting 48,442 TCM formulas recorded by ancient Chinese medical books, 9872 Chinese patent drugs, 2079 Chinese medicinal materials and 38,298 ingredients. To facilitate the mechanistic research and new drug discovery, we improved the target identification method based on a two-dimensional ligand similarity search module, which provides the confirmed and/or potential targets of each ingredient, as well as their binding activities. Importantly, five TCM formulas/Chinese patent drugs/herbs/ingredients with the highest Jaccard similarity scores to the submitted drugs are offered in ETCM v2.0, which may be of significance to identify prescriptions/herbs/ingredients with similar clinical efficacy, to summarize the rules of prescription use, and to find alternative drugs for endangered Chinese medicinal materials. Moreover, ETCM v2.0 provides an enhanced JavaScript-based network visualization tool for creating, modifying and exploring multi-scale biological networks. ETCM v2.0 may be a major data warehouse for the quality marker identification of TCMs, the TCM-derived drug discovery and repurposing, and the pharmacological mechanism investigation of TCMs against various human diseases.

Mechanism of Zhizi Prescription in Protection of CCl4-induced Acute and Subacute Liver Injury in Mice / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo investigate the protective effect of Zhizi prescription （ZZP） on carbon tetrachloride （CCl4）-induced acute and subacute liver injury and its mechanism. MethodAcute and subacute liver injury animal models were induced. C57 mice were randomly divided into a normal group， model group， obeccholic acid group， ZZP high-dose （0.5 g·kg-1） group， and ZZP low-dose （0.25 g·kg-1） group. According to the experiment design， the serum and liver tissue of mice were collected after the last administration. Hematoxylin-eosin （HE） and Sirius staining was used to observe the liver pathological changes. Serum alanine aminotransferase （ALT）， aspartate aminotransferase （AST）， total bilirubin （TBIL）， liver homogenate hydroxyproline （Hyp）， malondialdehyde （MDA）， and superoxide dismutase （SOD） levels were determined by kit. The levels of tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α） and interleukin-6 （IL-6） in the liver tissue were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR） was used to detect the mRNA expressions of collagen 1A1 （Col1a1）， collagen 3A1 （Col3a1）， fibronectin （FN）， transforming growth factor β receptor Ⅱ （Tgfbr2） and α-smooth muscle actin （α-SMA） in the liver tissue. ResultIn terms of the acute liver injury， as compared with the normal group， the levels of ALT， AST， TBIL and MDA in the model group were significantly increased （P<0.01）， while the activity of liver SOD was significantly decreased （P<0.01）. Compared with model group， the ZZP high-dose and low-dose groups both significantly reduced the degree of liver cell injury， and protected the acute liver injury induced by CCl4. The ZZP high-dose group had a better effect than the ZZP low-dose group. In terms of the subacute liver injury， the levels of ALT， AST， MDA，TNF-α and IL-6 in the model group were significantly increased （P<0.01）， while the activity of liver SOD was significantly decreased （P<0.01）. As compared with the model group， liver Hyp content in the ZZP high-dose and low-dose groups was significantly decreased （P<0.01）， and the collagen deposition in liver of both groups was significantly reduced. The ZZP high-dose group also significantly down-regulated the mRNA expressions of α-SMA， Col1a1， Col3a1， FN， and Tgfbr2 in the liver of mice （P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionZZP effectively protects the acute and subacute liver injury induced by CCl4， and the protective effect is proportional to its concentration. The mechanism may be related to the increase of the activity of antioxidant enzymes in the liver tissue， the decrease of the level of lipid peroxidation， and the inhibition of inflammatory response， thus reducing collagen deposition and improving early liver fibrosis.

Mechanism of Zhizi Prescription in Protection of CCl4-induced Acute and Subacute Liver Injury in Mice / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo investigate the protective effect of Zhizi prescription （ZZP） on carbon tetrachloride （CCl4）-induced acute and subacute liver injury and its mechanism. MethodAcute and subacute liver injury animal models were induced. C57 mice were randomly divided into a normal group， model group， obeccholic acid group， ZZP high-dose （0.5 g·kg-1） group， and ZZP low-dose （0.25 g·kg-1） group. According to the experiment design， the serum and liver tissue of mice were collected after the last administration. Hematoxylin-eosin （HE） and Sirius staining was used to observe the liver pathological changes. Serum alanine aminotransferase （ALT）， aspartate aminotransferase （AST）， total bilirubin （TBIL）， liver homogenate hydroxyproline （Hyp）， malondialdehyde （MDA）， and superoxide dismutase （SOD） levels were determined by kit. The levels of tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α） and interleukin-6 （IL-6） in the liver tissue were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR） was used to detect the mRNA expressions of collagen 1A1 （Col1a1）， collagen 3A1 （Col3a1）， fibronectin （FN）， transforming growth factor β receptor Ⅱ （Tgfbr2） and α-smooth muscle actin （α-SMA） in the liver tissue. ResultIn terms of the acute liver injury， as compared with the normal group， the levels of ALT， AST， TBIL and MDA in the model group were significantly increased （P<0.01）， while the activity of liver SOD was significantly decreased （P<0.01）. Compared with model group， the ZZP high-dose and low-dose groups both significantly reduced the degree of liver cell injury， and protected the acute liver injury induced by CCl4. The ZZP high-dose group had a better effect than the ZZP low-dose group. In terms of the subacute liver injury， the levels of ALT， AST， MDA，TNF-α and IL-6 in the model group were significantly increased （P<0.01）， while the activity of liver SOD was significantly decreased （P<0.01）. As compared with the model group， liver Hyp content in the ZZP high-dose and low-dose groups was significantly decreased （P<0.01）， and the collagen deposition in liver of both groups was significantly reduced. The ZZP high-dose group also significantly down-regulated the mRNA expressions of α-SMA， Col1a1， Col3a1， FN， and Tgfbr2 in the liver of mice （P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionZZP effectively protects the acute and subacute liver injury induced by CCl4， and the protective effect is proportional to its concentration. The mechanism may be related to the increase of the activity of antioxidant enzymes in the liver tissue， the decrease of the level of lipid peroxidation， and the inhibition of inflammatory response， thus reducing collagen deposition and improving early liver fibrosis.

CoVac501, a self-adjuvanting peptide vaccine conjugated with TLR7 agonists, against SARS-CoV-2 induces protective immunity

Safe, economical and effective vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are needed to achieve adequate herd immunity and halt the pandemic. We have constructed a novel SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, CoVac501, which is a self-adjuvanting peptide vaccine conjugated with Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) agonists. The vaccine contains two immunodominant peptides screened from receptor-binding domain (RBD) and is fully chemically synthesized. And the vaccine has optimized nanoemulsion formulation, outstanding stability and safety. In non-human primates (NHPs), CoVac501 elicited high and persistent titers of RBD-specific and protective neutralizing antibodies (NAbs), which were also effective to RBD mutations. CoVac501 was found to elicit the increase of memory T cells, antigen-specific CD8+ T cell responses and Th1-biased CD4+ T cell immune responses in NHPs. More importantly, the sera from the immunized NHPs can prevent infection of live SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. One-Sentence SummaryA novel SARS-CoV-2 vaccine we developed, CoVac501, which is a fully chemically synthesized and self-adjuvanting peptides conjugated with TLR7 agonists, can induce high-efficient humoral and cellular immune responses against SARS-CoV-2.

Nelfinavir was predicted to be a potential inhibitor of 2019 nCov main protease by an integrative approach combining homology modelling, molecular docking and binding free energy calculation

2019-nCov has caused more than 80 deaths as of 27 January 2020 in China, and infection cases have been reported in more than 10 countries. However, there is no approved drug to treat the disease. 2019-nCov Mpro is a potential drug target to combat the virus. We built homology models based on SARS Mpro structures, and docked 1903 small molecule drugs to the models. Based on the docking score and the 3D similarity of the binding mode to the known Mpro ligands, 4 drugs were selected for binding free energy calculations. Both MM/GBSA and SIE methods voted for nelfinavir, with the binding free energy of -24.69{+/-}0.52 kcal/mol and -9.42{+/-}0.04 kcal/mol, respectively. Therefore, we suggested that nelfinavir might be a potential inhibitor against 2019-nCov Mpro.

D3Targets-2019-nCoV: a webserver for predicting drug targets and for multi-target and multi-site based virtual screening against COVID-19

A highly effective medicine is urgently required to cure coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). For the purpose, we developed a molecular docking based webserver, namely D3Targets-2019-nCoV, with two functions, one is for predicting drug targets for drugs or active compounds observed from clinic or / studies, the other is for identifying lead compounds against potential drug targets docking. This server has its unique features, (1) the potential target proteins and their different conformations involving in the whole process from virus infection to replication and release were included as many as possible; (2) all the potential ligand-binding sites with volume larger than 200 Å on a protein structure were identified for docking; (3) correlation information among some conformations or binding sites was annotated; (4) it is easy to be updated, and is accessible freely to public (https://www.d3pharma.com/D3Targets-2019-nCoV/index.php). Currently, the webserver contains 42 proteins [20 severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) encoded proteins and 22 human proteins involved in virus infection, replication and release] with 69 different conformations/structures and 557 potential ligand-binding pockets in total. With 6 examples, we demonstrated that the webserver should be useful to medicinal chemists, pharmacologists and clinicians for efficiently discovering or developing effective drugs against the SARS-CoV-2 to cure COVID-19.

Two new sulfated sesquiterpenoids from Petasites tricholobus / 药学学报

Two new sulfated sesquiterpenoids, megastigman-7-ene-3, 5, 6, 9-tetrol-3-O-β-D-6'-sulfonated-glucopyranoside (1) and 3-O-β-D-6'-sulfonated-glucopyranosyl-6-(3-oxo-2-butenylidenyl)-1, 1, 5-trimethylcyclohexan-5-ol (2), along with one known sesquitepenoid compound icariside B1 (3) were isolated from the whole herb of Petasites tricholobus Franch. Their structures were identified by their chemical and spectroscopic characters. All obtained compounds were tested for their cytotoxicity against four cancer cell lines.

Phenolic constituents from Lysimachia patungensis / 药学学报

To study the chemical constituents of Lysimachia patungensis Hand.-Mazz., silica gel column chromatography, reverse phase ODS column chromatography, MCI and Sephadex LH-20, were used to separate the 95% EtOH extract of the whole plant of Lysimachia patungensis Hand.-Mazz.. The structures of the isolated compounds have been established on the basis of chemical and NMR spectroscopic evidence as well as ESI-MS in some cases. Twelve phenolic compounds were obtained and identified as quercetin-3, 3'-di- O-alpha-L-rhamnoside (1), myricetrin (2), quercitrin (3), rutin (4), 2-hydroxynaringenin-4'-O-glucopyranoside (5), naringenin 7-O-glucopyranoside (6), liquiritin apioside (7), licochalcone B (8), tetrahydroxymethoxy chalcone (9), methyl-p-coumarate (10), 2, 4, 6-trihydroxy acetophenone-2-O-glucopyranoside (11) and vaccihein A (12). Among them, compound 1 is a new compound, and compounds 5, 11 and 12 are isolated from the genus Lysimachia L. for the first time, and the others are isolated from the plant for the first time.

Phenolic components from Petasites tricholobus / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of Petasites tricholobus and its phenolic components.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Phenolic compounds were separated purified by column chromatographic methods such as macroporous resin D-101, silica gel, ODS, MCI GEL CHP 20P, Sephadex LH-20. Their structures were identified on the basis of physicochemical property and multiple spectral data.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Nineteen phenolic compounds were separated from 95% ethanol extracts from P. tricholobus Franch. and identified as sulfonated benzyl glucoside (1), 3-(4beta-D-glucopyranosyloxy-3, 5-dimethoxy) -phenyl-2E-propenol (2), dihydrosyringin (3), tangshenosides II (4), 4-hydroxy-2,6-dimethoxyphenol-1-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (5), 4-hydroxymethyl-2, 6-dimethoxyphenyl-1-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (6), arbutin (7), rutin (8), kaempferol-3-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 --> 6)-beta-D-glucopyranoside (9), quercetin-3-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (10), kaempferol-3-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (11), afzelin (12), petasiphenol (13), caffeic acid (14), chlorogenic acid (15), 2-hydroxy-5-acetylbenzoic acid (16), p-hydroxy-benzoic acid (17), protocatechuic aldehyde (18) , and p-hydroxy-phenylpropionic acid (19).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Above result shows that phenolic compounds contained in P. tricholobus mainly include simple phenols, phenolic glycosides, coffee acid and flavonoid glycosides. Among them, compound 1 was separated from the composite family for the first time; compounds 2-7, 9, 11, 12, 16, 19 were separated from the genus Petasites for the first time, and the others were separated from the plant for the first time. These compounds have been proved to have pharmacological effects such as anti-inflammation, antibiosis, antioxidantion.</p>

Progress of anti-tumor study based on BRAF / 药学学报

BRAF is one of the most important pro-oncogenes, which is mutated in approximately 8% of human tumors. The most common BRAF mutation is a valine-to-glutamate transition (V600E) that is expressed primarily in melanoma, colorectal cancer and thyroid carcinoma. MEK/ERK is constitutively activated in the cells expressing BRAFV600E, leading to tumor development, invasion, and metastasis. Therefore, BRAFV600E is a therapeutic target for melanoma and some other BRAFV600E tumors. Vemurafenib, a BRAFV600E inhibitor, which was approved by FDA for the treatment of late-stage melanoma in 2011, produces improved rates of overall and progression-free survival in patients with the BRAFV600E mutation, making a dramatic breakthrough in melanoma treatment. Vemurafenib is also an individual target drug based on genetic diagnosis. However, its therapeutic success is limited by the emergence of drug resistance. Therefore, it is important to explore the mechanisms underlying the resistance for developing new inhibitor drugs and for preventing or delaying the resistance evolution to BRAF inhibitor drugs. In this review, we described the role of BRAFV600E as an anti-tumor drug target and the development of BRAF inhibitors. We also discussed the mechanisms leading to resistance of BRAFV600E inhibitors. Furthermore, therapeutic strategies that might be employed to overcome acquired resistance were proposed.

Histidine kinase (YycG) protein of Streptococcus pneumoniae: homology modeling and analysis / 生物工程学报

To construct a three-dimensional (3D) model of histidine kinase (HK) YycG protein in Streptococcus pneumoniae and to investigate the interaction between YycG and its substrate ADP for the purpose of providing a theoretical basis for YycG selective inhibitor discovery, we constructed a 3D model of YycG protein by homology modeling, and assessed the reliability of the model using ProCheck and Profile_3D software. Besides, the active-site cavity of YycG and the residues key for substrate interaction were analyzed by Autodock4.0. Sequence alignment indicated that the YycG of S. pneumoniae was homologous to that of Thermotoga maritima. The constructed 3D model of YycG adopted a similar folding pattern to the template and the two matched well. The conservative amino acids in the substrate-binding pocket, such as Asn145, Asn149 and Lys152, as well as the hydrophobic residues at the bottom of the pocket played important role in binding and hydrolyzing substrate ADP. We have successfully constructed a reliable model of YycG protein. The model can be used as a starting point for designing antibacterial drugs.

Experimental study of rat sciatic coagulation with a novel microwave antenna / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

Objective To observe the sequential ultrastroctural and electrophysiological changes in the sciatic nerve coagulated by a newly-designed microwave antenna. Methods A total of 75 Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into groups A,B and C and irradiated with microwaves at 10,20 or 30 Watts,for 6 seconds to coagulate the left sciatic nerve.Electrophysiological effects and sequential uhrastructural changes were observed on the 0th,2nd,7th,30th and 60th days after coagulation.A static sciatic index was calculated based on measurements of the footprint on the 7th,30thand 60th days after coagulation.Results On the Oth,2nd,7th and 30th days after cpagulation,the static sciatic index,the nerve conduction velocity and the amplitude of the action potentials in groups B and C had decreased significantly compared with those before coagulation.On the 60th day after coagulation.significant recovery was observed in groups A and B,but not in group C.Only mild alteration in uhrastructure was found,and only in group A.The prominent changes in uhrastructure in group B included broken Schwann cell membranes and myelin disintegration.There were severe injuries in group C,including myelin disintegration,cell deformity,coagulative necrosis,axon necrosis,basement membrane necrosis and demyelination.The structure of the sciatic nerve in group B had partially recovered after 60 days,but group C showed no recovery at all. Conclusion Microwave coagulation of a nerve can block its conduction.and even destroy the nerve.Percutaneous microwave coagulation is clinically feasible and call be an alternative treatment for pain.

Cryotherapy combining with ethanol injection therapy in the treatment of irresec table hepatic cancer / 中国癌症杂志

Purpose:To observe the effect and safety of c om bination therapy with Percutaneous Local Cryotherapy(PLCT)and Percutaneous Etha nol Injection Therapy( PEIT)in patients with irresectable hepatic cancer Methods:43 patients with irresectable hepatic carcinoma were enrolled 29 tumors of 14 patients were treated by PLCT,23 tumors of 16 patients were treated by PEIT,and 23 tumors of 13 patients were treated by combination therapy Results :The tumor size decreased by more than 50% 1 month later in 51 7%(15/29 )of tumors treated by PLCT alone, in 43 5%(10/23)of tumors treated by PEIT alone, 78 3%(18/23)tumors treated by combination therapy The 1-year surv ival rates were 64 3%(9/14) in PLCT group?43 8%(7/16) in PEIT group?8 4 6%(11/13)in combination therapy group The blood levels of AFP decreased by various extents Conclusions:Combination therapy with PLCT a nd PEIT is more effective than PLCT or PEIT alone

Investigation on Clinical Effect of Ciwujia Injection and Jiangxianmei Combination for Acute Cerebral Infarction / 中成药

Objective:To investigate the effect of ciwujia Injection and Jiangxianmei combination for acute cerebral infarction. Methods:86 patients with cerebral infarction were divided into 2 groups. 43 cases in the treatment group were dripped intravenously with 60ml ciwujia Injection and 250ml physiological saline. 43 cases in the control group were treated only with Jiangxianmei. Both of groups were also treated with other therapeutic method. The hemorheology and blood fat of patients in two groups before and after treatment were determined. Results:The cure rate of the treatment groups in two weeks was 41.86%, which is superior to the control group (20.93%) ( x 2=4.37,P0.05). The treatment group was superior to the control group in improving hemorheological index and blood fat metabolism ( P