Quantitative Characterization of Ginsenoside Biotransformation in Inflorescences and Leaves by Online Two-Dimensional Liquid Chromatography Coupled to Mass Spectrometry.

inflorescences (PNI) and leaves (PNL) are commonly used as folk medicine and food supplements. In this study, an online two-dimensional hydrophilic interaction × reversed-phase liquid chromatography coupled to linear trap quadropole mass spectrometry method was developed to determine 24 ginsenosides, including two novel compounds, in PNI and PNL extracted by water and methanol. Our data demonstrated that ginsenosides Rd, Rc, Rb2, Rb3, Rb1, Ra2, Ra1, and Ra3 in both PNI and PNL extracted by water rather than methanol can be transformed to ginsenoside F2, notoginsenoside Fe, ginsenoside Rd2, notoginsenoside Fd, gypenoside XVII, PN02, PN01, and PN03, respectively, by selectively cleaving the β-(1→2)-glucosidic linkage at the C-3 position.

BRCA1 Deficiency Impairs Mitophagy and Promotes Inflammasome Activation and Mammary Tumor Metastasis.

The breast cancer susceptibility gene 1 () is a major tumor suppressor gene and is most frequently mutated in hereditary breast cancer. BRCA1 plays a critical role in many biological processes, especially maintaining genomic stability in the nucleus, yet its role in the cytoplasm remains elusive. Here, it is revealed that BRCA1 maintains a healthy mitochondrial network through regulating mitochondrial dynamics, including fission and fusion.

Characterization of chemical composition and prebiotic effect of a dietary medicinal plant Penthorum chinense Pursh.

Penthorum chinense Pursh is a dietary medicinal plant widely distributed in Asia-Pacific countries. The present study aims to profile the chemical constituents of P. chinense and investigate its prebiotic role in modulating gut microbiota.

SIRT3 Acts as a Positive Autophagy Regulator to Promote Lipid Mobilization in Adipocytes via Activating AMPK.

Obesity is increasing at an alarming rate worldwide, which is characterized by the excessive accumulation of triglycerides in adipocytes. Emerging evidence has demonstrated that macroautophagy and chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA) regulate lipid mobilization and play a key role in energy balance. Sirtuin 3 (SIRT3) is an NAD-dependent deacetylase, which is important in regulating macroautophagy and lipid metabolism.

A review of Penthorum chinense Pursh for hepatoprotection: Traditional use, phytochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology and clinical trials.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: In China, Penthorum chinense Pursh (P. chinense) has been used for hundreds of years traditionally for alleviating symptoms by excessive intake of alcohol as well as in the treatment of traumatic injury, edema and liver diseases. Recently, P.

Comprehensive comparison on the anti-inflammatory effects of three species of Sigesbeckia plants based on NF-κB and MAPKs signal pathways in vitro.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Sigesbeckiae Herba (SH), a traditional anti-inflammatory Chinese herbal medicine, is originated from the plants of Sigesbeckia pubescens Makino (SP), S. orientalis L. (SO) and S.

Artificial intelligence in cancer diagnosis and prognosis: Opportunities and challenges.

Cancer is an aggressive disease with a low median survival rate. Ironically, the treatment process is long and very costly due to its high recurrence and mortality rates. Accurate early diagnosis and prognosis prediction of cancer are essential to enhance the patient's survival rate.

A Novel Sensor Data Pre-Processing Methodology for the Internet of Things Using Anomaly Detection and Transfer-By-Subspace-Similarity Transformation.

The Internet of Things (IoT) and sensors are becoming increasingly popular, especially in monitoring large and ambient environments. Applications that embrace IoT and sensors often require mining the data feeds that are collected at frequent intervals for intelligence. Despite the fact that such sensor data are massive, most of the data contents are identical and repetitive; for example, human traffic in a park at night.

Perspectives of adolescent and young adults on poverty-related stressors: a qualitative study in Ghana, Malawi and Tanzania.

Objectives: To define key stressors experienced and coping behaviours within poor agrarian communities in sub-Saharan Africa.

Design: Descriptive qualitative study incorporating inductive thematic analysis.

Participants: 81 participants purposely sampled, stratified by age (adolescents and young adults) and sex SETTING: The study was conducted in villages in Ghana, Malawi, and Tanzania.

Mining Prognosis Index of Brain Metastases Using Artificial Intelligence.

This study is to identify the optimum prognosis index for brain metastases by machine learning. Seven hundred cancer patients with brain metastases were enrolled and divided into 446 training and 254 testing cohorts. Seven features and seven prediction methods were selected to evaluate the performance of cancer prognosis for each patient.

Comprehensively qualitative and quantitative analysis of ginsenosides in Panax notoginseng leaves by online two-dimensional liquid chromatography coupled to hybrid linear ion trap Orbitrap mass spectrometry with deeply optimized dilution and modulation system.

Panax notoginseng leaves (PNL) was considered as a potential medicinal part with abundant protopanaxdiol type ginsenosides. In this study, an integrated system was developed for simultaneously qualitative and quantitative analysis of ginsenosides in PNL using online comprehensive two-dimensional hydrophilic interaction chromatography and reversed-phase liquid chromatography coupled to a hybrid linear ion trap-Orbitrap mass spectrometry (online HILIC × RP-ESI/HRMS/MS). The system was configured based on the combination of a XBridge amide column (150 mm × 2.

A Danshensu-Tetramethylpyrazine Conjugate DT-010 Overcomes Multidrug Resistance in Human Breast Cancer.

We previously demonstrated that a Danshensu-Tetramethylpyrazine conjugate DT-010 enhanced anticancer effect of doxorubicin (Dox) in Dox-sensitive human breast cancer cells, and protected against Dox-induced cardiotoxicity. This work was designed to see whether DT-010 overcomes Dox resistance in resistant human breast cancer cells. The effects of DT-010, Dox or their combination on cell viability of Dox-resistant human breast cancer MCF-7/ADR cells were conducted using 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay.

Novel drug delivery systems of Chinese medicine for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an idiopathic intestinal inflammatory disease that comprises ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD). IBD involves the ileum, rectum, and colon, and common clinical manifestations of IBD are diarrhea, abdominal pain, and even bloody stools. Currently, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, glucocorticoids, and immunosuppressive agents are used for the treatment of IBD, while their clinical application is severely limited due to unwanted side effects.

Mixed Two-Dimensional Organic-Inorganic Halide Perovskites for Highly Efficient and Stable Photovoltaic Application.

Solar cells made of hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite (HOIP) materials have attracted ever-increasing attention due to their high efficiency and easy fabrication. However, issues regarding their poor stability remain a challenge for practical applications. Engineering the composition and structure of HOIP can effectively enhance the thermal stability and improve the power conversion efficiency (PCE).

Platycodin D triggers the extracellular release of programed death Ligand-1 in lung cancer cells.

Programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) is an important immune checkpoint for cancer immunotherapy in clinic. In this study, we reported that platycodin D, a natural product isolated from an edible and medicinal plant Platycodon grandiflorus (Jacq.) A.

High-resolution MS/MS metabolomics by data-independent acquisition reveals urinary metabolic alteration in experimental colitis.

Introduction: Traditional high-resolution MS1 based untargeted metabolomics suffers from low sensitivity, while low-resolution MS/MS based multiple reaction monitoring increases sensitivity at the cost of metabolite coverage and the mass accuracy.

Objectives: To evaluate and apply the high-resolution MS/MS level untargeted metabolomics.

Methods: SWATH based data-independent acquisition (DIA) was optimized to obtain MS/MS of all precursor ions.

Glycine tabacina ethanol extract ameliorates collagen-induced arthritis in rats via inhibiting pro-inflammatory cytokines and oxidation.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: The whole plant of Glycine tabacina (Labill.) Benth has been used as a traditional herbal medicine to treat rheumatism, ostealgia and nephritis in China. It is also one of the sources of the renowned native herbal medicine 'I-Tiao-Gung' in Taiwan.

Myricanol rescues dexamethasone-induced muscle dysfunction via a sirtuin 1-dependent mechanism.

Background: Muscle atrophy and weakness are adverse effects of high dose or the sustained usage of glucocorticoids. Loss of mitochondria and degradation of protein are highly correlated with muscle dysfunction. The deacetylase sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) plays a vital role in muscle remodelling.

Preparative separation of minor saponins from leaves using biotransformation, macroporous resins, and preparative high-performance liquid chromatography.

Background: Ginsenosides with less sugar moieties may exhibit the better adsorptive capacity and more pharmacological activities.

Methods: An efficient method for the separation of four minor saponins, including gypenoside XVII, notoginsenoside Fe, ginsenoside Rd2, and notoginsenoside Fd, from leaves (PNL) was established using biotransformation, macroporous resins, and subsequent preparative high-performance liquid chromatography.

Results: The dried PNL powder was immersed in the distilled water at 50°C for 30 min for converting the major saponins, ginsenosides Rb1, Rc, Rb2, and Rb3, to minor saponins, gypenoside XVII, notoginsenoside Fe, ginsenoside Rd2, and notoginsenoside Fd, respectively, by the enzymes present in PNL.

Characteristics and molecular determinants of a highly selective and efficient glycyrrhizin-hydrolyzing β-glucuronidase from Staphylococcus pasteuri 3I10.

Glycyrrhizin (GL), the principal sweet-tasting bioactive ingredient of licorice (root of Glycyrrhiza glabra), shows poor oral absorption and gut microbial transformation of GL to glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) plays a major role for its multiple pharmacological effects. Co-administration of GL-hydrolyzing bacteria appears to be a feasible strategy to enhance GA exposure. This study reported a gut bacterial strain Staphylococcus pasteuri 3I10 which exhibited moderate p-nitrophenyl-β-D-glucuronide (PNPG)-hydrolyzing activity but low GL deglucuronidation activity in its crude lysate.

Berberine Protects Human Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells from Hydrogen Peroxide-Induced Oxidative Damage through Activation of AMPK.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of central vision loss in the elderly with less effective treatment, especially for dry AMD (90% of AMD). Although the etiology of this disease is not well elucidated, increasing evidences indicate that excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) impairing the physiological functions of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells may be one of the main causes. Therefore, it could be a great strategy to find some drugs that can effectively protect RPE cells from oxidative damage which is desired to treat and slow the process of AMD.

Pharmacokinetics of Chinese medicines: strategies and perspectives.

The modernization and internationalization of Chinese medicines (CMs) are hampered by increasing concerns on the safety and the efficacy. Pharmacokinetic (PK) study is indispensable to establish concentration-activity/toxicity relationship and facilitate target identification and new drug discovery from CMs. To cope with tremendous challenges rooted from chemical complexity of CMs, the classic PK strategies have evolved rapidly from PK study focusing on marker/main drug components to PK-PD correlation study adopting metabolomics approaches to characterize associations between disposition of global drug-related components and host metabolic network shifts.

Fecal Microbiota Transplantation in Experimental Ulcerative Colitis Reveals Associated Gut Microbial and Host Metabolic Reprogramming.

Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is gaining attention for the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC). Data from individual case studies have suggested that FMT may be beneficial for UC, but the detailed microbial and molecular basis remains unknown. Here, we employ 16S rRNA gene sequencing and metabolomics to investigate the influence of FMT on gut microbial community composition and host metabolism in the dextran sulfate sodium-induced UC rat model.

Exploring the Potential of Data-Independent Acquisition Proteomics Using Untargeted All-Ion Quantitation: Application to Tumor Subtype Diagnosis.

Maximizing the recovery of meaningful biological information can facilitate proteomics-guided early detection and precise treatment of diseases. However, the conventional protein and peptide level targeted quantification of untargeted data independent acquisition (DIA) such as sequential window acquisition of all theoretical spectra (SWATH) is not necessarily descriptive of all information. Untargeted all-ion quantification theoretically could retrieve more features in SWATH digital maps by circumventing the initial identification process but is intrinsically susceptible to errors because of the extreme complexity of proteome samples and the poor selectivity of a single ion.

Bacterial Outer Membrane Vesicles from Dextran Sulfate Sodium-Induced Colitis Differentially Regulate Intestinal UDP-Glucuronosyltransferase 1A1 Partially Through Toll-Like Receptor 4/Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase/Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase Pathway.

UDP-glucuronosyltransferase 1A1 (UGT1A1) constitutes an important part of intestinal epithelial barrier and catalyzes glucuronidation of many endogenous compounds and drugs. Downregulation of UGT1A1 in inflammation has been reported, whereas the association with gut dysbiosis is poorly defined. This study verified the involvement of gut microbiota in intestinal UGT1A1 regulation using dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced rat colitis model plus fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT).