Interrelated Mechanism by Which the Methide Quinone Celastrol,Obtained from the Roots of Tripterygium wilfordii,Inhibits Main Protease 3CLpro of COVID-19 and Acts as Superoxide Radical Scavenger

We describe the potential anti coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) action of the methide quinone inhibitor, celastrol. The related methide quinone dexamethasone is, so far, among COVID-19 medications perhaps the most effective drug for patients with severe symptoms. We observe a parallel redox biology behavior between the antioxidant action of celastrol when scavenging the superoxide radical, and the adduct formation of celastrol with the main COVID-19 protease. The related molecular mechanism is envisioned using molecular mechanics and dynamics calculations. It proposes a covalent bond between the S(Cys145) amino acid thiolate and the celastrol A ring, assisted by proton transfers by His164 and His41 amino acids, and a π interaction from Met49 to the celastrol B ring. Specifically, celastrol possesses two moieties that are able to independently scavenge the superoxide radical: the carboxylic framework located at ring E, and the methide-quinone ring A. The latter captures the superoxide electron, releasing molecular oxygen, and is the feature of interest that correlates with the mechanism of COVID-19 inhibition. This unusual scavenging of the superoxide radical is described using density functional theory (DFT) methods, and is supported experimentally by cyclic voltammetry and X-ray diffraction.     

雷公藤红素对人肝癌细胞Hep3B中HIF-1α表达的影响

为探讨雷公藤红素对人体肝癌细胞Hep3B中缺氧诱导因子（HIF-1a）活化的影响,利用氯化钴（CoCl2）模拟肝癌细胞缺氧模式,采用双荧光素酶报告基因法检测雷公藤红素对HIF-1α的转录活性,蛋白免疫印迹实验检测雷公藤红素对HIF-1α蛋白质的表达水平,RT-PCR检测雷公藤红素对HIF-1α下游靶基因血管内皮生长因子（VEGF）mRNA的表达水平,电泳泳动度移动分析（EMSA）检测雷公藤红素对HIF-1αDNA的结合能力.结果显示：雷公藤红素呈剂量依赖性抑制了HIF-1α蛋白质的表达水平,降低了肝癌细胞中VEGFmRNA的表达水平并有效抑制了HIF-1α蛋白的DNA结合能力.这表明,雷公藤红素可以抑制肝癌细胞中HIF-1α的活性,这可能是其抗肿瘤的机理之一.     

植物雷公藤主要抗癌抗炎活性成分研究进展

我国传统医学成功应用雷公藤治疗免疫系统疾病及炎性疾病已有数百年历史。目前为止,超过46种二萜类化合物,20种新型三萜类化合物,21种生物碱类化合物及其他小分子化合物已从雷公藤植物中分离鉴定出来。其中环氧化二萜类化合物雷公藤甲素、三萜烯类化合物雷公藤红素及雷公藤甲素衍生物-雷公藤氯内酯醇具有强大的抗炎抗癌活性。现针对上述三种成分的抗炎、抗癌作用及机制,以及其在癌症及炎性疾病治疗方面潜在的临床应用价值作一综述。     

Celastrol Attenuates Inflammatory and Neuropathic Pain Mediated by Cannabinoid Receptor Type 2

Celastrol, a major active ingredient of Chinese herb Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. f. (thunder god vine), has exhibited a broad spectrum of pharmacological activities, including anti-inflammation, anti-cancer and immunosuppression. In the present study, we used animal models of inflammatory pain and neuropathic pain, generated by carrageenan injection and spared nerve injury (SNI), respectively, to evaluate the effect of celastrol and to address the mechanisms underlying pain processing. Intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of celastrol produced a dose-dependent inhibition of carrageenan-induced edema and allodynia. Real-time PCR analysis showed that celastrol (0.3 mg/kg, i.p.) significantly reduced mRNA expressions of inflammatory cytokines, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β, in carrageenan-injected mice. In SNI mice, pain behavior studies showed that celastrol (1 mg/kg, i.p.) effectively prevented the hypersensitivity of mechanical nociceptive response on the third day post-surgery and the seventh day post-surgery. Furthermore, the anti-hyperalgesic effects of celastrol in carrageenan-injected mice and SNI mice were reversed by SR144528 (1 mg/kg, i.p.), a specific cannabinoid receptor-2 (CB₂) receptor antagonist, but not by SR141716 (1 mg/kg, i.p.), a specific cannabinoid receptor-1 (CB₁) receptor antagonist. Taken together, our results demonstrate the analgesia effects of celastrol through CB₂ signaling and propose the potential of exploiting celastrol as a novel candidate for pain relief.     

Neuropeptidergic Control of Feeding: Focus on the Galanin Family of Peptides

Obesity/overweight are important health problems due to metabolic complications. Dysregulation of peptides exerting orexigenic/anorexigenic effects must be investigated in-depth to understand the mechanisms involved in feeding behaviour. One of the most important and studied orexigenic peptides is galanin (GAL). The aim of this review is to update the mechanisms of action and physiological roles played by the GAL family of peptides (GAL, GAL-like peptide, GAL message-associated peptide, alarin) in the control of food intake and to review the involvement of these peptides in metabolic diseases and food intake disorders in experimental animal models and humans. The interaction between GAL and NPY in feeding and energy metabolism, the relationships between GAL and other substances involved in food intake mechanisms, the potential pharmacological strategies to treat food intake disorders and obesity and the possible clinical applications will be mentioned and discussed. Some research lines are suggested to be developed in the future, such as studies focused on GAL receptor/neuropeptide Y Y₁ receptor interactions in hypothalamic and extra-hypothalamic nuclei and sexual differences regarding the expression of GAL in feeding behaviour. It is also important to study the possible GAL resistance in obese individuals to better understand the molecular mechanisms by which GAL regulates insulin/glucose metabolism. GAL does not exert a pivotal role in weight regulation and food intake, but this role is crucial in fat intake and also exerts an important action by regulating the activity of other key compounds under conditions of stress/altered diet.     

Celastrol Prevents Oxidative Stress Effects on FSHR,PAPP, and CYP19A1 Gene Expression in Cultured Human Granulosa-Lutein Cells

Regulation of oxidative stress (OS) is important to prevent damage to female reproductive physiology. While normal OS levels may have a regulatory role, high OS levels may negatively affect vital processes such as folliculogenesis or embryogenesis. The aim of this work was to study OS induced by glucose, a reactive oxygen species generator, or peroxynitrite, a reactive nitrogen species generator, in cultured human granulosa-lutein (hGL) cells from oocyte donors, analyzing expression of genes involved in oocyte maturation (FSHR, PAPP, and CYP19A1) and OS damage response (ALDH3A2). We also evaluated the effect of celastrol as an antioxidant. Our results showed that although both glucose and peroxynitrite produce OS increments in hGL cells, only peroxynitrite treatment increases ALDH3A2 and PAPP gene expression levels and decreases FSHR gene expression levels. Celastrol pre-treatment prevents this effect of peroxynitrite. Interestingly, when celastrol alone was added, we observed a reduction of the expression of all genes studied, which was independent of both OS inductors. In conclusion, regulation of OS imbalance by antioxidant substances such as celastrol may prevent negative effects of OS in female fertility. In addition to the antioxidant activity, celastrol may well have an independent role on regulation of gene expression in hGL cells.     

QuEChERS-超高效液相色谱-质谱联用法检测蜂蜜中雷公藤甲素和雷公藤红素及其热稳定性研究

目的 建立一种基于QuEChERS前处理技术改进的蜂蜜中雷公藤甲素和雷公藤红素的液相色谱-质谱联用检测方法,并基于此方法对两种物质储存和冲泡过程热稳定性进行考察,得出稳定性规律。方法 样品采用水溶解,乙腈提取,氯化钠和无水硫酸镁盐析脱水,N-丙基乙二胺、C18净化粉和磁性纳米粒子分散净化,超高效液相色谱-串联质谱进行分析。结果 雷公藤甲素和雷公藤红素定量限分别为0.5和0.16 μg/kg,在0.5~100 ng/mL浓度范围内线性及3个浓度加标回收的精密度和准确度良好。雷公藤红素和雷公藤甲素含量在冷藏条件下较稳定;长期贮存时,随温度的升高其含量会产生不同程度的降低。使用80℃以上水温冲泡蜂蜜,两种物质含量有部分下降,且高温保持3h后会有显著降低的趋势。雷公藤甲素热稳定性略好于雷公藤红素。结论 方法快速、灵敏,适用于蜂蜜中雷公藤甲素和雷公藤红素的批量筛查和痕量分析。两种物质在高温条件下热稳定性一般,通过高温冲泡等方式能够降低其部分含量,具有一定的实际意义。     

An Activatable Nano‐Prodrug for Treating Tyrosine‐Kinase‐Inhibitor‐Resistant Non‐Small Cell Lung Cancer and for Optoacoustic and Fluorescent Imaging

Non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common type of lung cancer and the cause of high rate of mortality. The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)‐targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitors are used to treat NSCLC, yet their curative effects are usually compromised by drug resistance. This study demonstrates a nanodrug for treating tyrosine‐kinase‐inhibitor‐resistant NSCLC through inhibiting upstream and downstream EGFR signaling pathways. The main molecule of the nanodrug is synthesized by linking a tyrosine kinase inhibitor gefitinib and a near‐infrared dye (NIR) on each side of a disulfide via carbonate bonds, and the nanodrug is then obtained through nanoparticle formation of the main molecule in aqueous medium and concomitant encapsulation of a serine threonine protein kinase (Akt) inhibitor celastrol. Upon administration, the nanodrug accumulates at the tumor region of NSCLC‐bearing mice and releases the drugs for tumor inhibition, and the dye for fluorescence and optoacoustic imaging. Through suppressing the phosphorylation of upstream EGFR and downstream Akt in the EGFR pathway by gefitinib and celastrol, respectively, the nanodrug exhibits high inhibition efficacy against orthotopic NSCLC in mouse models.     

雷公藤红素的肝肾毒性分析及其对高脂饮食小鼠肠道菌群的调节作用

研究高脂饮食和雷公藤红素处理对小鼠肠道菌群及肝肾毒性的影响。用普通鼠粮和高脂鼠粮喂养小鼠,雷公藤红素高、中、低剂量组干预。高通量测序分析小鼠的肠道菌群,检测血清中谷丙转氨酶(ALT)、谷草转氨酶(AST)活性及肌酐(Cr)、血尿素氮(Bun)含量。研究表明高脂饮食和雷公藤红素处理显著影响了小鼠肠道菌群构成,高脂饮食会显著降低小鼠肠道菌群的丰度和多样性,雷公藤红素处理可提高高脂饮食小鼠的肠道菌群的丰度和多样性,并且富集Ruminiclostridium和Anaerotruncus属菌,与对照组相比低、中、高剂量组Ruminiclostridium菌和Anaerotruncus菌含量分别增加51.26%、-44.62%、69.98%和62.45%、28.73%、17.86%。在100μg/kg～400μg/kg的雷公藤红素处理剂量下,AST、ALT活力值及Cr、Bun含量没有显著变化。说明高脂饮食和雷公藤红素处理显著影响了小鼠的肠道菌群结构,并且雷公藤红素在100μg/kg～400μg/kg的处理剂量下未见显著毒性。