Dexborneol Amplifies Pregabalin's Analgesic Effect in Mouse Models of Peripheral Nerve Injury and Incisional Pain.

Pregabalin is a medication primarily used in the treatment of neuropathic pain and anxiety disorders, owing to its gabapentinoid properties. Pregabalin monotherapy faces limitations due to its variable efficacy and dose-dependent adverse reactions. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive investigation into the potentiation of pregabalin's analgesic effects by dexborneol, a neuroprotective bicyclic monoterpenoid compound.

The role of inflammation in silicosis.

Silicosis is a chronic illness marked by diffuse fibrosis in lung tissue resulting from continuous exposure to SiO-rich dust in the workplace. The onset and progression of silicosis is a complicated and poorly understood pathological process involving numerous cells and molecules. However, silicosis poses a severe threat to public health in developing countries, where it is the most prevalent occupational disease.

Alleviation of allergic asthma by rosmarinic acid via gut-lung axis.

Background: Asthma affects 3% of the global population, leading to over 0.25 million deaths. Due to its complexity, asthma is difficult to cure or prevent, and current therapies have limitations.

Microbiota-derived short-chain fatty acids mediate the effects of dengzhan shengmai in ameliorating cerebral ischemia via the gut-brain axis.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Dengzhan shengmai (DZSM) formula, composed of four herbal medicines (Erigeron breviscapus, Panax ginseng, Schisandra chinensis, and Ophiopogon japonicus), is widely used in the recovery period of ischemic cerebrovascular diseases; however, the associated molecular mechanism remains unclear.

Aim Of The Study: The purpose of this study was to uncover the links between the microbiota-gut-brain axis and the efficacy of DZSM in ameliorating cerebral ischemic diseases.

Materials And Methods: The effects of DZSM on the gut microbiota community and bacteria-derived short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production were evaluated in vivo using a rat model of cerebral ischemia and in vitro through the anaerobic incubation with fresh feces derived from model animals.

Berberine inhibits carcinogenesis through antagonizing the ATX-LPA-LPAR2-p38-leptin axis in a mouse hepatoma model.

Chemoprevention of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is highly desirable in clinic. Berberine (BBR) is reported to play potential roles in cancer treatment and prevention. We studied the chemopreventive effect of BBR on hepatocellular carcinogenesis in an inflammation-driven mouse model, as it was enriched in liver after oral administration.

Chlorogenic acid effectively treats cancers through induction of cancer cell differentiation.

Rationale: Inducing cancer differentiation is a promising approach to treat cancer. Here, we identified chlorogenic acid (CA), a potential differentiation inducer, for cancer therapy, and elucidated the molecular mechanisms underlying its differentiation-inducing effects on cancer cells.

Methods: Cancer cell differentiation was investigated by measuring malignant behavior, including growth rate, invasion/migration, morphological change, maturation, and ATP production.

Liver-target nanotechnology facilitates berberine to ameliorate cardio-metabolic diseases.

Cardiovascular and metabolic disease (CMD) remains a main cause of premature death worldwide. Berberine (BBR), a lipid-lowering botanic compound with diversified potency against metabolic disorders, is a promising candidate for ameliorating CMD. The liver is the target of BBR so that liver-site accumulation could be important for fulfilling its therapeutic effect.

Self-assembling HA/PEI/dsRNA-p21 ternary complexes for CD44 mediated small active RNA delivery to colorectal cancer.

Our previous work proved that sequence specific double strand RNA (dsRNA-p21) effectively activated p21 gene expression of colorectal cancer (CRC) cells and consequently suppressed CRC growth. However, efficient delivery system is a significant challenge to achieve sufficient therapy. In this study, a self-assembled HA/PEI/dsRNA-p21 ternary complex (TC-dsRNA-p21) was developed for the tumor-target delivery of dsRNA-p21 into CRC cells.

Tumor-selective lipopolyplex encapsulated small active RNA hampers colorectal cancer growth in vitro and in orthotopic murine.

Small active RNA (saRNA)-induced gene activation (RNAa) is a novel strategy to treat cancer. Our previous work proved that the p21-saRNA-322 successfully hindered colorectal cancer growth by activating p21 gene. However, the barrier for successful saRNA therapy is lack of efficient drug delivery.

Comprehensive evaluation of SCFA production in the intestinal bacteria regulated by berberine using gas-chromatography combined with polymerase chain reaction.

Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) of intestine microbial have caught accumulating attention for their beneficial effects on human health. Botanic compounds with low bioavailability such as berberine (BBR) and resveratrol might interact with intestinal microbial ecosystem and promote gut bacteria to produce SCFA, which contribute to their biological effects. In the present study, a comprehensive assay system was built to detect SCFAs production in intestinal bacteria, in which stringent anaerobic culture was applied for in vitro bacterial fermentation, followed by direct-injection GC detection (chemical detection) in combination with real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR, biological detection).

Specific up-regulation of p21 by a small active RNA sequence suppresses human colorectal cancer growth.

The double stranded small active RNA (saRNA)- p21-saRNA-322 inhibits tumor growth by stimulating the p21 gene expression. We focused our research of p21-saRNA-322 on colorectal cancer because 1) p21 down-regulation is a signature abnormality of the cancer, and 2) colorectal cancer might be a suitable target for in situ p21-saRNA-322 delivery. The goal of the present study is to learn the activity of p21-saRNA-322 in colorectal cancer.

Berberine-induced bioactive metabolites of the gut microbiota improve energy metabolism.

Objective: Berberine (BBR) clinically lowers blood lipid and glucose levels via multi-target mechanisms. One of the possible mechanisms is related to its effect on the short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) of the gut microbiota. The goal of this study is to investigate the therapeutic effect and mode of action of BBR working through SCFAs of the gut microbiota (especially, butyrate).

Polydatin protects the respiratory system from PM exposure.

Atmospheric particle is one of the risk factors for respiratory disease; however, their injury mechanisms are poorly understood, and prevention methods are highly desirable. We constructed artificial PM (aPM) particles according to the size and composition of actual PM collected in Beijing. Using these artificial particles, we created an inhalation-injury animal model.

In situ delivery of thermosensitive gel-mediated 5-fluorouracil microemulsion for the treatment of colorectal cancer.

In situ administration of 5-fluorouracil (5FU) "thermosensitive" gel effectively reduced systemic side effects in treating colon rectal cancer; however, the penetration efficacy of the formulation was considerably low due to the poor lipid solubility of 5FU. The aim of this study was to develop thermosensitive gel-mediated 5FU water-in-oil microemulsion (TG-5FU-ME) for improving the infiltration of 5FU. An in vitro release test showed that TG-5FU-ME sustained the drug's release up to 10 hours.

CD36 is a co-receptor for hepatitis C virus E1 protein attachment.

The cluster of differentiation 36 (CD36) is a membrane protein related to lipid metabolism. We show that HCV infection in vitro increased CD36 expression in either surface or soluble form. HCV attachment was facilitated through a direct interaction between CD36 and HCV E1 protein, causing enhanced entry and replication.

Development of rectal delivered thermo-reversible gelling film encapsulating a 5-fluorouracil hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin complex.

We have developed a novel 5-Fluorouracil (5FU) formulation for rectal application to improve its therapeutic efficiency in colorectal cancer. The results indicated that 5FU formed an inclusion complex with Hydroxypropyl-β-Cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD). The stoichiometry of the complex was 1:1, with apparent stability constant of 100.

Synthesis and antitumor activity of novel 3,4-diaryl squaric acid analogs.

A series of novel 3,4-diaryl squaric acid analogs 4a-r related to combretastatin A-4 (CA4) using squaric acid as the cis-restricted linker were prepared and studied for their anticancer activity against selected human cancer cell lines. New compounds 4g, 4k, 4m, 4n, 4p, 4q and 4r exhibit strong activities against human leukemia cells with IC50 values of ≤20 nM and compounds 4k, 4n, 4p, 4q and 4r showed potent activities against a panel of human tumor cell lines. Compounds 4n and 4p arrest tumor cell cycle in G2-M phase.

The antiviral effect of 7-hydroxyisoflavone against Enterovirus 71 in vitro.

Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is the major causative agent of hand foot and mouth disease. And EV71 causes epidemics worldwide, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. Unfortunately, currently there is no approved vaccine or antiviral drug for EV71-induced disease prevention and therapy.

Host apolipoprotein B messenger RNA-editing enzyme catalytic polypeptide-like 3G is an innate defensive factor and drug target against hepatitis C virus.

Unlabelled: Host cellular factor apolipoprotein B messenger RNA (mRNA)-editing enzyme catalytic polypeptide-like 3G (hA3G) is a cytidine deaminase that inhibits a group of viruses including human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1). In the continuation of our research on hA3G, we found that hA3G stabilizing compounds significantly inhibited hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication. Therefore, this study investigated the role of hA3G in HCV replication.

Oxymatrine inhibits hepatitis B infection with an advantage of overcoming drug-resistance.

Oxymatrine (OMTR) is an anti-hepatitis drug used in China. Its mechanism of action is unknown. Recently, we found that OMTR inhibits hepatitis B virus (HBV) via down-regulating the expression of heat-stress cognate 70 (Hsc70), a host protein required for HBV DNA replication.

Design and synthesis of oxymatrine analogues overcoming drug resistance in hepatitis B virus through targeting host heat stress cognate 70.

Heat-stress cognate 70 (Hsc70) is a host protein required for hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication, and oxymatrine (1) suppresses Hsc70 expression. Taking Hsc70 as a target against HBV, 22 analogues of 1 defined with substituents at position 1, 13, or 14 were synthesized and evaluated for their activity on Hsc70 mRNA expression. The SAR revealed that (i) the oxygen atom at the 1-position was not essential, (ii) increasing electron density on the ring D reduced the activity, and (iii) introducing a proper substituent at the 13- and/or 14-position(s), especially electron-withdrawing groups, might enhance the activity.