Magnetic Ligand Fishing Using Immobilized Cyclooxygenase-2 for Identification and Screening of Anticoronary Heart Disease Ligands From Choerospondias axillaris

Noval Selective Ligand-Extraction of Bioactive Components in Complex Natural Products Applying Immobilized Multi-Target Magnetic Beads

Choerospondias axillaris is a medicinal plant used for treating coronary heart disease (CHD) due to its broad spectrum of anti-inflammatory activities. Cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) and lipoxygenase 5 (5-LOX) were immobilized on magnetic nanoparticles for selective ligand-extraction of these two enzymes present in C. axillaris. Sixteen extracted components were identified and analyzed using ultraperformance liquid chromatography plus Q-Exactive Orbitrap tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-ExactiveOrbitrap-MS/MS), including flavonoids Curcumin and Epicatechin. The metabolization of the aforementioned 16 components in rats with acute blood stasis indicated a solid pharmacodynamic foundation. This method offers an effective approach for conducting basic research on the enrichment, analysis, and efficacy evaluation of active components in complex natural products.

Astemizole Exacerbates 5-Fluorouracil-Triggered Cardiotoxicity by Enhancing Ptgs2

5-fluorouracil (5-FU), a commonly utilized antitumor agent for the treatment of colon cancer, is linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. Antihistamines including astemizole (AST) have been reported to present cardiovascular toxicity; however, it remains unclear how 5-FU-mediated cardiotoxicity is affected by AST during the treatment of colon cancer. This study explored the role of AST in 5-FU-induced cardiotoxicity in colon cancer. 5-FU was used to induce cardiotoxicity in cardiomyocytes (HL-1 cells) and BALBc mice, creating in vitro and in vivo models of chemotherapeutic drug-induced cardiotoxicity. In the mice model, we found that the blocking of histamine signal by AST aggravated 5-FU-induced cardiac function injury and cardiac fibrosis. In HL-1 cardiomyocyte cells, the increases of apoptosis and generation of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mtROS) were evaluated after the combination treatment of AST and 5-FU. Proinflammatory M1-like-type macrophages were dominant in the AST and 5-FU combination group compared to control groups. The protein expression of prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (Ptgs2) was assessed both in vitro and in vivo using Western blot analysis. Clinically, altered Ptgs2 was closely associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes. Overall, the combination of AST and 5-FU significantly enhanced cardiotoxicity by inducing cardiomyocyte apoptosis, inflammation, and the expression of Ptgs2.

Exploring the Potential Mechanisms of Guanxinshutong Capsules in Treating Pathological Cardiac Hypertrophy based on Network Pharmacology, Computer-Aided Drug Design, and Animal Experiments

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are significant causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and pathological cardiac hypertrophy (PCH) is an essential predictor of many heart diseases. Guanxinshutong capsule (GXST) is a Chinese patent medicine widely used in the clinical treatment of CVD, In our previous research, we identified 111 compounds of GXST. In order to reveal the potential molecular mechanisms by which GXST treats PCH, this study employed network pharmacology methods to screen for the active ingredients of GXST in treating PCH and predicted the potential targets. The results identified 26 active ingredients of GXST and 110 potential targets for PCH. Through a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, gene ontology (GO), and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis, we confirmed AKT1, MAPK1, and MAPK3 as the core proteins in GXST treatment of PCH, thus establishing the PI3K/AKT and MAPK signaling pathways as the significant mechanisms of GXST in treating PCH. The results of molecular docking (MD) demonstrate that flavonoid naringenin and diterpenoid tanshinone iia have the highest binding affinity with the core protein. Before performing molecular dynamics simulations (MDSs), the geometric structure of naringenin and tanshinone iia was optimized using density functional theory (DFT) at the B97-3c level, and RESP2 atomic charge calculations were carried out at the B3LYP-D3(BJ)/def2-TZVP level. Further MDS results demonstrated that in the human body environment, the complex of naringenin and tanshinone iii with core proteins exhibited high stability, flexibility, and low binding free energy. Additionally, naringenin and tanshinone iia showed favorable absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity (ADMET) characteristics and passed the drug similarity (DS) assessment. Ultrasound cardiograms and cardiac morphometric measurements in animal experiments demonstrate that GXST can improve the PCH induced by isoproterenol (ISO). Protein immunoblotting results indicate that GXST increases the expression of P-eNOS and eNOS by activating the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway and the MAPK signaling pathway, further elucidating the mechanism of action of GXST in treating PCH. This study contributes to the elucidation of the key ingredients and molecular mechanisms of GXST in treating PCH.

Surface Functionalized Magnetic Nanoparticles as a Selective Sorbent for Affinity Fishing of PPAR-γ Ligands from Choerospondias axillaris

Coronary heart disease (CHD), which has developed into one of the major diseases, was reported to be treated by the target of peroxisome proliferators-activate receptor γ (PPAR-γ). As a natural medicine long used in the treatment of CHD, there are few studies on how to screen the target active compounds with high specific activity from Choerospondias axillaris. To advance the pace of research on target-specific active compounds in natural medicines, we have combined magnetic ligand fishing and functionalized nano-microspheres to investigate the active ingredients of PPAR-γ targets in Choerospondias axillaris. The PPAR-γ functionalized magnetic nano-microspheres have been successfully synthesized and characterized by vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The specificity, reusability, and reproducibility of the nano-microspheres were investigated with the help of the specific binding of rosiglitazone to PPAR-γ. In addition, the incubation temperature and the pH of the buffer solution in the magnetic ligand fishing were optimized to improve the specific adsorption efficiency of the analytes. Finally, with the aid of ultraperformance liquid chromatography plus Q-Exactive Orbitrap tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap-MS/MS), the 16 active ligands including 9 organic acids, 5 flavonoids, and 2 phenols were found in the ethanolic extracts of Choerospondias axillaris. Therefore, the study can provide a successful precedent for realizing the designated extraction and rapid isolation of target-specific active ingredient groups in the complex mixtures.