Publications by authors named "Xiaowen Zou"

In this work, pyrrole-2-carboxamides were designed with a structure-guided strategy based on the crystal structure of MmpL3 and a pharmacophore model. The structure-activity relationship studies revealed that attaching phenyl and pyridyl groups with electron-withdrawing substituents to the pyrrole ring and attaching bulky substituents to the carboxamide greatly improved anti-TB activity. Most compounds showed potent anti-TB activity (MIC < 0.

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IMMH-010 is a prodrug of YPD-29B, which is a novel PD-L1 inhibitor. A specific and sensitive LC-MS/MS method with polarity switching was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of IMMH-010 and YPD-29B in rat plasma, liver, brain, urine and fecal samples. Method validation was investigated to demonstrate the lower limit of quantification linearity, precision and accuracy, matrix effect and recovery, stability and dilution reliability for IMMH-010 and YPD-29B.

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IMMH-010 is an ester prodrug of YPD-29B, a potent programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitor. The metabolism of IMMH-010 was investigated and compared in various species. Four metabolites of IMMH-010 were identified, and the major metabolite was the parent compound, YPD-29B, which was mainly catalyzed by carboxylesterase 1 (CES1).

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With the continuous progress of virtual simulation technology, medical surgery visualization system has been developed from two-dimensional to three-dimensional, from digital to network and intelligentization. The visualization system with mixed reality technology will also be used in all stage of medical surgery, such as case discussion, surgical planning, intraoperative guidance, post-operative evaluation, rehabilitation, so as to further promote high intelligence, high precision of medical surgery, and consequently improve effectiveness of treatment and quality of medical service. This paper discusses the composition and technical characteristics of medical operation visualization system based on mixed reality technology, and introduces some typical applications of mixed reality technology in medical operation visualization, which provides a new perspective for the application of mixed technology in medical surgery.

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IMM-H004, a derivative of coumarin, is a promising candidate for the treatment of cerebral ischemia. The pharmacodynamic mechanisms of IMM-H004 are still under exploration. The present study was conducted to explore the pharmacoactive substances of IMM-H004 from the perspective of drug metabolism.

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Polypharmacology is a promising paradigm in modern drug discovery. Herein, we have discovered a series of novel PI3K and HDAC dual inhibitors in which the hydroxamic acid moiety as the zinc binding functional group was introduced to a quinazoline-based PI3K pharmacophore through an appropriate linker. Systematic structure-activity relationship studies resulted in lead compounds and that simultaneously inhibited PI3K and HDAC with nanomolar potencies and demonstrated favorable antiproliferative activities.

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Flavonoids are a class of polyphenol antioxygen, despite various known biological activities and therapeutic potential, scattered but not much is known about their interactions with drug transporters. P-glycoprotein (P-gp) as a cellular defense mechanism by effluxing its substrates has been widely investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate the inhibitory effects of 75 flavonoids on P-gp in vitro and in vivo and to illuminate the structure-activity relationships of flavonoids with P-gp.

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Optochin, a cinchona alkaloid derivative discovered over 100 years ago, possesses highly selective antibacterial activity toward Streptococcus pneumoniae. Pneumococcal disease remains the leading source of bacterial pneumonia and meningitis worldwide. The structure-activity relationships of optochin were examined through modification to both the quinoline and quinuclidine subunits, which led to the identification of analogue 48 with substantially improved activity.

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IMM-H004 is a novel neuroprotective agent and its glucuronide metabolite IMM-H004G has similar protective effects against cerebral ischemic injury in vivo and in vitro. A specific and sensitive ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method was established and validated for determination of IMM-H004 and IMM-H004G simultaneously in rat plasma and Ringer's solution. Plasma samples containing IMM-H004, IMM-H004G and internal standard propranolol were prepared by direct protein precipitation in a sample-to-solvent ratio of 1:2:6 (plasma: water: acetonitrile), whereas no protein precipitation was required for Ringer's solution samples.

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Background/aims: In recent years the diagnosis and management of renal cancer has changed greatly, although the mechanism is still elusive. TMEM106a is a conserved type II transmembrane protein which is a key factor to regulate macrophage activation. Its inactivation in gastric cancer is frequently observed to be associated with poor prognosis.

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Dysifragilone A, a sesquiterpene aminoquinone based on a rearranged avarone skeleton, has been previously isolated and identified from the South China Sea sponge Dysidea fragilis. In the present study, anti‑inflammatory activity and the underlying molecular mechanism of dysifragilone A were studied using the classical inflammation model of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‑activated RAW264.7 macrophage cells and an MTT assay, Griess method, ELISA and western blotting were used.

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Stromal antigen 2 (STAG2) is a subunit of the cohesion complex that plays an important role in the normal segregation of sister chromatids during mitosis or meiosis. However, the effect of STAG2 on the bladder cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion has not yet been fully clarified. In this study, we aimed to characterize STAG2 expression and functional significance in BC and adjacent normal tissue.

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Cancer/testis (CT) antigens are promising targets for immunotherapy due to their restricted expression in the germ cells of the testis in healthy tissue and high immunogenicity. The aim of the present study was to determine whether transmembrane protein 31 (TMEM31) is a CT antigen and to investigate the pattern of TMEM31 expression during the progression of melanoma. The pattern of expression of human TMEM31 mRNA in multiple human tissues was determined through reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis.

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Background: Chemical toxicity is an important reason for late-stage failure in drug R&D. However, it is time-consuming and expensive to identify the multiple toxicities of compounds using the traditional experiments. Thus, it is attractive to build an accurate prediction model for the toxicity profile of compounds.

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Platinum group elements (PGEs) can be naturally found only at very low concentration in the earth crust. However, the increasing usage of PGEs in vehicle exhaust catalysts, and some other applications cause their anthropogenic emission and spread in the environment. Currently,the accumulation of PGEs in the environment has increased over the time.

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Bladder cancer exhibits high mortality as a result of limited therapeutic options and a high recurrence rate. Accordingly, novel treatments such as immunotherapy have emerged as promising therapeutic modalities to prolong overall patient survival and effect a disease cure, which has renewed enthusiasm for the identification of tumor-specific target antigens. Cancer-testis (CT) antigens are recognized as ideal targets for immunotherapy because of their expression features and high immunogenicity profiles.

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MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been demonstrated to exhibit abnormal expression patterns in various types of human cancer. The aim of the present study was to identify a novel tumor suppressor microRNA (miR) and investigate its physiological function and mechanism in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The expression levels of miRNA (miR)‑362‑3p expres were measured in 47 pairs of RCC and adjacent normal tissue samples, using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis.

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The phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT) pathway has been identified as an important pathway in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). We have reported a nonsense mutation in PIK3R1, which encodes the regulatory subunit of PI3K, in a metastatic RCC (mRCC), while the mutation was absent in the corresponding primary RCC (pRCC). To identify the function of PIK3R1 in RCC, we examined its expression in normal kidney, pRCC and mRCC by immunohistochemistry and real-time polymerase chain reaction.

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The six heavy metal concentrations (Cr, Cr, As, Cd, Cu, Zn and Pb) in water samples collected from five reservoirs of Liao River Basin were studied. The health risk assessment for heavy metals pollution in reservoirs was conducted based on the environmental health risk assessment model recommended by U. S.

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Numerous attempts for detection of circulating tumor cells (CTC) have been made to develop reliable assays for early diagnosis of cancers. In this study, we validated the application of folate receptor α (FRα) as the tumor marker to detect CTC through tumor-specific ligand PCR (LT-PCR) and assessed its utility for diagnosis of bladder transitional cell carcinoma (TCC). Immunohistochemistry for FRα was performed on ten bladder TCC tissues.

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