Combinatorial Chemistry & High Throughput Screening - Online First

Methotrexate (MTX) effectively eliminates cancerous cells but can also cause inflammation intestinal, known as mucositis. Forsythiaside A (FTA) from Forsythia suspensa has shown promise in relieving mucositis by targeting the NLRP3 pathways. Since NLRP3 inflammasome activation is negatively regulated by autophagy, this study explores how FTA-mediated autophagy affects NLRP3 inflammasome in treating MTX-induced intestinal inflammation.

Intestinal mucositis was induced in rats with MTX. FTA's impact was assessed using HE staining and ELISA. The mechanism was studied using immunofluorescence, western blot, and ELISA.

FTA treatment resulted in reduced levels of D-lactic acid and diamine oxidase (DAO) in MTX-treated rats. Western blot and immunofluorescence analyses revealed up-regulation of Beclin-1 and LC3II/I, accumulation of LC3, and down-regulation of p62 expression levels in MTX-treated rats following 40 or 80 mg/kg FTA intervention. However, when the autophagy inhibitor 3-MA was used, the intestinal pathology was exacerbated, the inflammatory scores increased, and serum levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-18 were elevated. Western blotting indicated decreased LC3II/I expression, while NLRP3, cleaved caspase 1, and cleaved IL-1β expressions were upregulated.

These findings suggested that FTA alleviated MTX-treated intestinal mucositis by activating autophagy, which in turn inhibits the NLRP3 inflammasome.

Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) has been a pivotal scientific technique since the twentieth century, and it is widely applied across various domains. Despite its ubiquity, challenges persist in efficiently amplifying specific DNA templates.

While PCR experimental procedures have garnered significant attention, the analysis of the DNA template, which is the experiment's focal point, has been notably overlooked. This study addresses the uncertainty surrounding the amplification of DNA fragments using conventional Taq DNA polymerase-based PCR protocols. The imperative need to characterize DNA templates and devise a reliable method for predicting PCR success is underscored.

In this study, we formulate a 72-dimensional feature vector representing a DNA template through the utilization of k-word order and modeling of physicochemical properties of double bases. Subsequently, a Support Vector Machine (SVM) model is employed to assess PCR results.

A jackknife cross-validation test is used to evaluate the anticipated success rates, resulting in an overall accuracy of 95.77%. Sensitivity, specificity, and Matthew's Correlation Coefficient (MCC) stand at 95.75%, 95.79%, and 0.915, respectively.

Magnoliae Flos (Chinese name: Xin-Yi) and Xanthii Fructus (Chinese name: Cang-Er-Zi) are Chinese herbal medicines and have been used to treat allergic rhinitis (AR). However, the therapeutic effect, active ingredients, and probable processes of a compound of Magnoliae Flos and Xanthii Fructus in the form of essential oils (CMFXFEO) in treating AR have not been reported. This study aims to determine the efficacy of the CMFXFEO on ovalbumin (OVA)-induced AR in a rat model and to use network pharmacology and molecular docking to reveal the hub genes, biological functions, and signaling pathways of CMFXFEO against AR.

Animal experiments were applied to validate the role of CMFXFEO in the treatment of AR. 20 rats were randomly divided into four groups: control group (CON, n=5), positive control group (AR, n=5), CMFXFEO-treated group (AR+CMFXFEO, n=5), and budesonide-treated group (AR+Budesonide, n=5). Rats were stimulated with OVA to induce AR. Symptom scores assessment and histo-pathomorphological evaluation was performed. The serum level of OVA-specific immunoglobulin (Ig) E was measured. Gas Chromatograph-Mass Spectrometer analysis (GC-MS) was used to identify the monomer chemical composition of CMFXFEO. The target genes of CMFXFEO were obtained by using PubChem and SwissTargetPrediction databases. The target genes of AR were screened using GeneCards, DisGeNET, and OMIM databases. The target genes were intersected using the venny2.1 website to obtain the potential therapeutic targets of CMFXFEO for treating AR and to construct the PPI network. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses were used to reveal associated signaling pathways. The Sybyl tool was used to dock the CMFXFEO with key therapeutic targets molecularly.

Intranasal CMFXFEO administration significantly suppressed the allergic symptoms, reduced the inflammatory cell infiltration, and the serum level of OVA-specific immunoglobulin (Ig) E. The main components of CMFXFEO obtained through the GC-MS analysis, listed as γ-terpinene (9.4908%), limonene (7.2693%), menthol (7.1821%), β-pinene (7.1190%), β-caryophyllene (7.0396%), eucalyptol (6.1367%), linalool(5.9686%), eugenol (5.0776%). A total of 398 CMFXFEO targets and 488 AR-related targets were screened, of which 42 were common targets. The GO and KEGG pathway analyses unveiled that CMFXFEO were strongly associated with several signaling pathways, including the AGE-RAGE signaling pathway, TNF signaling pathway, and Chemokine signaling pathway. PPI network construction screened six hub genes as therapeutic targets, including STAT3, IL1B, TLR4, PTGS2, ICAM1, and VCAM1. The molecular docking verification indicated that CMFXFEO have good binding activity with therapeutic targets, and β-Pinene’s docking ability with TLR4 is particularly prominent.

The anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic effects of CMFXFEO are to inhibit the infiltration of inflammatory cells in the OVA-induced AR rat model. The results of the network pharmacology and molecular docking deduced that the CMFXFEO may have the potential to treat AR by multiple pathways through relieving inflammatory, anti-oxidative stress response, and modulating the immune system.

Thermotoga maritima is an anaerobic hyperthermophilic eubacterium isolated from geothermally heated maritime surfaces. It can grow at temperatures up to 80 degrees Celsius.

A 2.3-L bioreactor was specifically designed to cultivate hyperthermophilic bacteria under carefully regulated pH, redox potential, temperature, and dissolved O2.

Using this bioreactor, which was adjusted at 80°C and pH 7.0, it was found that Thermotoga maritima demonstrated continued growth even after being exposed to oxygen for an extended period. Transcription studies revealed that following prolonged oxygen exposure, the genes encoding ROS-scavenging systems, alkyl hydroperoxide reductase (ahp), thioredoxin-dependent thiol peroxidase (bcp 2), and, to a lesser extent, neelaredoxin (nlr), were upregulated/overexpressed. When oxygen was available, the metabolism of glucose was diverted to make lactate rather than acetate.

Based on the O/R ratio of 1.0 in anaerobiosis and 1.67 in the presence of O2, we may conclude that Thermotoga maritima is capable of semi-oxidative metabolism.

Colorectal Cancer (CRC) has attracted much attention due to its high mortality and morbidity. Cordycepin, also known as 3'-deoxyadenosine (3'-dA), exhibits many biological functions, including antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, anti-tumor, and immunomodulatory effects. It has been proven to show anticancer activity in both laboratory research studies and living organisms. However, the molecular mechanism of the effect of cordycepin on CRC remains unclear.

The genes associated with cordycepin and colorectal cancer have been identified by comparing the toxicogenomics database (CTD) and GeneCards database. The common genes between cordycepin and CRC have been identified using the Venny tool. The Protein-protein Interaction (PPI) network has been drawn using the STRING database. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses of the intersecting genes have been followed by experimental validation, both in vitro and in vivo.

24 drug targets have been screened using the CTD database and 1490 disease targets have been obtained from the GeneCards database and GO and KEGG analyses. The effect of cordycepin on the proliferation of SW480 cells has been assessed using CCK-8. The related results have indicated cordycepin to inhibit the proliferation of SW480 cells, promote apoptosis, and activate the p53 signal pathway. The findings obtained from in vivo experiments have been found to be consistent with those obtained from in vitro studies.

Our findings have elucidated an effective way to search for cordycepin’s potential mechanism of effect on CRC therapy by employing the network pharmacology and experiment. We have predicted that cordycepin can inhibit tumor growth by regulating the apoptosis pathway. This study has offered valuable insights into the potential mechanism of the effect of cordycepin on CRC and provided a theoretical basis for further validation of its clinical application.

Male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to control, CNP, and BSDZG groups. CNP was induced using purified prostaglandin solution and Freund's complete adjuvant, after which the BSDZG group received 1.54 g/kg/d of BSDZG for 30 days. Prostate tissues were used to determine apoptosis and inflammatory cytokines. The herb-composition-target network and functional signaling pathways were built using a network pharmacology approach, which was also confirmed in vivo.

Treatment with BSDZG significantly alleviated the histopathological lesions, inflammation, and apoptosis in the prostate of CNP rats. The herb-composition-target network comprising 42 active compounds and 32 targets of 11 herbs was illustrated, and KEGG pathways analysis identified the Akt and MAPK pathways as related to the effects of BSDZG. Phosphorylation of p38 MAPK, NF-кB, and Bax expression was significantly enhanced and phosphorylated Akt and Bcl-2 levels were decreased in CNP rats, which could be reversed by BSDZG.

This study presented for the first time that BSDZG effectively alleviated CNP symptoms in rats and elucidated the underlying mechanisms mediated by the Akt and MAPK pathways, providing the theoretical basis for the clinical use and promotion of BSDZG.

Qilong capsule (QC) has been used clinically to treat ischemic stroke in China. This study evaluated the therapeutic effects of QC on myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI) and its potential mechanisms.

The components and candidate targets of QC against MIRI were predicted by network pharmacology via relevant databases such as TCMSP, BATMAN-TCM, GeneCards. The potential mechanisms were predicted by Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses and verified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Western blot.

Network pharmacology analysis indicated that the cardioprotective effect of QC against MIRI was associated with inflammatory pathways. We further confirmed that QC effectively decreased the levels of inflammatory factors, including hs-CRP and MCP-1, and suppressed the expression of TNF-α and the phosphorylation of STAT3.

This study provides evidence for further clinical applications of QC for MIRI therapy.

Observational studies have reported that arm fat, left leg fat, and trunk fat masses have different effects on polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). However, the causal relationship between them remains unknown.

A two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study was conducted by utilizing pooled data from the largest Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS). Random effect inverse variance weighted (IVW) method, weighted median (WM), and MR-Egger regression analysis were the main statistical methods utilized. Finally, a sensitivity assessment was conducted. Cochran’s Q test was used to analyze heterogeneity, whereas MR-Egger regression (intercept term) was used to analyze horizontal pleiotropy. The leave-one-out analysis was performed to assess if MR estimates were impacted by a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) exhibiting significant horizontal pleiotropy.

This study discovered a significant positive correlation between left leg fat mass, arm fat mass, and trunk fat mass and genetic factors of PCOS (odds ratio (OR): 4.452, confidence interval (CI): 2.740−7.232, p < 0.001, OR: 3.321, CI: 2.248−4.907, p < 0.001, and OR: 2.518, CI: 1.722−3.682, p < 0.001, respectively).

This study indicates that arm fat, left leg fat, and trunk fat masses may be genetically correlated with PCOS.