Novel Compound-Target Interactions Prediction for the Herbal Formula Hua-Yu-Qiang-Shen-Tong-Bi-Fang

TCMM: A unified database for traditional Chinese medicine modernization and therapeutic innovations

Mining the potential of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in treating modern diseases requires a profound understanding of its action mechanism and a comprehensive knowledge system that seamlessly bridges modern medical insights with traditional theories. However, existing databases for modernizing TCM are plagued by varying degrees of information loss, which impede the multidimensional dissection of pharmacological effects. To address this challenge, we introduce traditional Chinese medicine modernization (TCMM), the currently largest modernized TCM database that integrates pioneering intelligent pipelines. By aligning high-quality TCM and modern medicine data, TCMM boasts the most extensive TCM modernization knowledge, including 20 types of modernized TCM concepts such as prescription, ingredient, target and 46 biological relations among them, totaling 3,447,023 records. We demonstrate the efficacy and reliability of TCMM with two features, prescription generation and knowledge discovery, the outcomes show consistency with biological experimental results. A publicly available web interface is at https://www.tcmm.net.cn/.

Targeting Therapeutic Windows for Rheumatoid Arthritis Prevention

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a worldwide public health problem. Interventions to delay or prevent the onset of RA have attracted much attention in recent years, and researchers are now exploring various prevention strategies. At present, there is still no unified consensus for RA prevention, but targeting therapeutic windows and implementing interventions for at-risk individuals are extremely important. Due to the limited number of clinical trials on pharmacologic interventions, further studies are needed to explore and establish optimal intervention regimens and effective measures to prevent progression to RA. In this review, we introduce the RA disease process and risk factors, and present research on the use of both Western and Chinese medicine from clinical perspectives regarding RA prevention. Furthermore, we describe several complete and ongoing clinical studies on the use of Chinese herbal formulae for the prevention of RA.

Development of radiation countermeasure agents for acute radiation syndromes

The risk of internal and external exposure to ionizing radiation (IR) has increased alongside the development and implementation of nuclear technology. Therefore, serious security issues have emerged globally, and there has been an increase in the number of studies focusing on radiological prevention and medical countermeasures. Radioprotective drugs are particularly important components of emergency medical preparedness strategies for the clinical management of IR-induced injuries. However, a few drugs have been approved to date to treat such injuries, and the related mechanisms are not entirely understood. Thus, the aim of the present review was to provide a brief overview of the World Health Organization's updated list of essential medicines for 2023 for the proper management of national stockpiles and the treatment of radiological emergencies. This review also discusses the types of radiation-induced health injuries and the related mechanisms, as well as the development of various radioprotective agents, including Chinese herbal medicines, for which significant survival benefits have been demonstrated in animal models of acute radiation syndrome.

Triptolide and l-ascorbate palmitate co-loaded micelles for combination therapy of rheumatoid arthritis and side effect attenuation

Triptolide (TP) has its unique curative effect in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but its application is limited by the poor water solubility and multi-organ toxicity. We herein developed a novel nanoparticle platform composed of L-ascorbate palmitate (VP, vitamin C derivative) that can deliver TP to synergistically treat arthritis and inhibit the occurrence of oxidative stress. The TP-loaded nanoparticles (termed TP-VP NPs) showed the suitable particle size (about 145 nm) and good physical stability. TP-VP NPs effectively down-regulated IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α levels to inhibit the erosion of synovitis and bone tissue, and alleviate the swelling and deformation of CIA mice’s feet. Compared to the TP, TP-VP NPs could inhibit effectively the oxidative stress in liver, and alleviate significantly the triptolide-induced toxicity injury in liver, kidney and testicle. The results demonstrated that TP-VP NPs is a promising triptolide delivery system for the treatment of RA, which enhances the water solubility of TP and reduces the toxicity of TP in vivo.

Review of the Efficacy and Mechanisms of Traditional Chinese Medicines as a Therapeutic Option for Ionizing Radiation Induced Damage

Ionizing radiation damage refers to acute, delayed, or chronic tissue damage associated with ionizing radiation. Specific or effective therapeutic options for systemic injuries induced by ionizing radiation have not been developed. Studies have shown that Chinese herbal Medicine or Chinese Herbal Prescription exhibit preventive properties against radiation damage. These medicines inhibit tissue injuries and promote repair with very minimal side effects. This study reviews traditional Chinese herbal medicines and prescriptions with radiation protective effects as well as their mechanisms of action. The information obtained will guide the development of alternative radioprotectants.

Chinese Herbal Formula Huayu-Qiangshen-Tongbi Decoction Compared With Leflunomide in Combination With Methotrexate in Patients With Active Rheumatoid Arthritis: An Open-Label, Randomized, Controlled, Pilot Study

Background: Traditional Chinese Medicine is complementary and an alternative to modern medicine. The combination therapies of herbal products with disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs are gradually and widely adopted in the management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in China. Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Huayu-Qiangshen-Tongbi (HQT) decoction, a Chinese medicine formula, combined with methotrexate (MTX) in the treatment of patients with active RA, in comparison with the combination therapy of MTX with leflunomide (LEF). Methods: This pilot study was a monocenter, open-label, randomized controlled trial with two parallel arms. Ninety patients with active RA were randomly allocated to receive either HQT at a dose of 250 ml twice daily or LEF at a dose of 20 mg once daily, and all participants received MTX at a dose of 10-15 mg once weekly. The primary efficacy endpoint was the proportion of patients who achieved a 20% improvement in the American College of Rheumatology criteria (ACR20) after a 24-week treatment. Results: 84.4% (76/90) patients completed the 24-week observation. In the intention-to-treat analysis, the percentage values of patients achieving the ACR20 response criteria were 72.1% (31/43) in MTX + HQT group and 74.4% (32/43) in MTX + LEF group (p = 0.808). No significant difference was observed in other parameters, including ACR50, ACR70, clinical disease activity index good responses, European League Against Rheumatism good response, remission rate, and low disease activity rate. The results of the per-protocol analysis showed consistency with those of the intention-to-treat analysis. The mean change from baseline at week 24 for the van der Heijde modified total sharp score had no significant difference between two groups (3.59 ± 4.75 and 1.34 ± 8.67 in the MTX + HQT group and MTX + LEF group, respectively, p = 0.613). The frequency of adverse events was similar in both groups (11 cases in the MTX + HQT and 17 cases in the MTX + LEF, p > 0.05). Conclusions: In patients with active RA, treatment with the combination of HQT and MTX was associated with improvement in signs, symptoms, and physical function. With a beneficial clinical response and acceptable tolerability, HQT or other Chinese medicine formula may be a good therapeutic option in combination with MTX for RA treatment. Trial registration: Chinese Clinical Trails Registry, ChiCTR-INR-16009031, Registered on 15th August 2016, http://www.chictr.org.cn/enindex.aspx.

Novel Carboxylated Chitosan-Based Triptolide Conjugate for the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis

A new platform for triptolide (TP) delivery was prepared by conjugating TP to a carboxylmethyl chitosan (CMCS). Compared with the natural TP, the TP-conjugate (TP-CMCS) containing TP of ~5 wt% exhibited excellent aqueous solubility (>5 mg/mL). Results of in vitro experiments showed that TP-CMCS could relieve TP-induced inhibition on RAW264.7 cells and apoptosis, respectively. Compared with the TP group, TP-CMCS could effectively alleviate the toxicity injury of TP and decreased the mortality rate of the mice (p < 0.05). TP-CMCS did not cause much damage to the liver (AST and ALT) and kidney (BUN and CRE) (p < 0.05). After administration, the levels of IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α decreased, and the arthritis detumescence percentages increased significantly, and the bony erosion degree was distinctly decreased in the TP-CMCS groups and TP group. Our results suggested that TP-CMCS was a useful carrier for the treatment of RA, which enhanced aqueous solubility of free TP and reduced drug toxicity in vitro and in vivo.