5-HT_3受体拮抗剂药物甲磺酸多拉司琼的分子光谱研究

甲磺酸多拉司琼是5-羟色胺受体拮抗剂药物,属于肿瘤化放治疗的辅助药物,本文采用傅里叶变换红外光谱仪和激光拉曼光谱仪进行光谱检测,对甲磺酸多拉司琼的拉曼光谱与红外光谱的差异进行分析,对其分子振动光谱与结构特征相关进行分析和探讨,从而为药物合成及质量控制提供了重要的参考价值。     

电针对脑卒中后抑郁大鼠谷氨酸类神经递质及其受体的表达影响

观察电针对脑卒中后抑郁(PSD)大鼠的脑部氨基酸类神经递质表达的影响, 探讨电针治疗脑卒中后抑郁的分子机理. 将Wistar大鼠随机分为正常组、假手术组、模型组和电针治疗组, 采用夹闭颈总动脉和再通方法建立脑卒中模型. 7d后根据文献[1]方法建立PSD模型, 电针“百会”“大椎”穴, 留针20min, 1次·d-1共持续15d. 旷场试验观察其行为学表现, 免疫组织化学技术检测大鼠脑谷氨酸类神经递质的表达变化结果. 与模型组相比, 行为学实验发现电针治疗组大鼠旷场穿线抬壁次数明显增多, 差异具有统计学意义(P<0.05); 免疫组化检测发现谷氨酸及其受体NMDA/AMPA积分光密度值明显下降, 差异具有统计学意义(P<0.01). 表明电针可抑制脑卒中后抑郁大鼠脑NMDA/AMPA的表达, 这可能是电针治疗脑卒中后抑郁的分子机理之一.     

Theoretical studies on opioid receptors and ligands. I. Molecular modeling and QSAR studies on the interaction mechanism of fentanyl analogs binding to μ‐opioid receptor

Based on our previous result of the three‐dimensional model of the μ‐opioid receptor, binding conformations of 13 fentanyl analogs and three‐dimensional structures for the complexs of these analogs with μ‐opioid receptor were constructed employing the molecular modeling method and our binding conformation search program for ligands (BCSPL). Energetic calculation and quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) analysis indicated a good correlation between the calculated binding energies of fentanyl analogs and their binding affinities, pK_i's and pK's, and analgesic activities, − log ED₅₀'s. Based on the three‐dimensional models, the possible interaction mechanism of fentanyl analogs with μ‐opioid receptor can be illustrated and the available structure–activity relationship of these analgesic agents can be explained reasonably. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quant Chem 78: 285–293, 2000     

A Comprehensive Computational Screening of Phytochemicals Derived from Saudi Medicinal Plants against Human CC Chemokine Receptor 7 to Identify Potential Anti-Cancer Therapeutics

Homeostatic trafficking of immune cells by CC chemokine receptor 7 (CCR7) keeps immune responses and tolerance in a balance. The involvement of this protein in lymph node metastasis in cancer marks CCR7 as a penitential drug target. Using the crystal structure of CCR7, herein, a comprehensive virtual screening study is presented to filter novel strong CCR7 binding phytochemicals from Saudi medicinal plants that have a higher binding affinity for the intracellular allosteric binding pocket. By doing so, three small natural molecules named as Hit-1 (1,8,10-trihydroxy-3-methoxy-6-methylanthracen-9(4H)-one), Hit-2 (4-(3,4-dimethoxybenzyl)-3-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzyl)dihydrofuran-2(3H)-one), and Hit-3 (10-methyl-12,13-dihydro-[1,2]dioxolo[3,4,5-de]furo[3,2-g]isochromeno[4,3-b]chromen-8-ol) are predicted showing strong binding potential for the CC chemokine receptor 7 allosteric pocket. During molecular dynamics simulations, the compounds were observed in the formation of several chemical bonding of short bond distances. Additionally, the molecules remained in strong contact with the active pocket residues and experienced small conformation changes that seemed to be mediated by the CCR7 loops to properly engage the ligands. Two types of binding energy methods (MM/GBPBSA and WaterSwap) were additionally applied to further validate docking and simulation findings. Both analyses complement the good affinity of compounds for CCR7, the electrostatic and van der Waals energies being the most dominant in intermolecular interactions. The active pocket residue’s role in compounds binding was further evaluated via alanine scanning, which highlighted their importance in natural compounds binding. Additionally, the compounds fulfilled all drug-like rules: Lipinski, Ghose, Veber, Egan, and Muegge passed many safety parameters, making them excellent anti-cancer candidates for experimental testing.     

The Peripheral Cannabinoid Receptor Type 1 (CB1) as a Molecular Target for Modulating Body Weight in Man

The cannabinoid 1 (CB₁) receptor regulates appetite and body weight; however, unwanted central side effects of both agonists (in wasting disorders) or antagonists (in obesity and diabetes) have limited their therapeutic utility. At the peripheral level, CB₁ receptor activation impacts the energy balance of mammals in a number of different ways: inhibiting satiety and emesis, increasing food intake, altering adipokine and satiety hormone levels, altering taste sensation, decreasing lipolysis (fat break down), and increasing lipogenesis (fat generation). The CB₁ receptor also plays an important role in the gut–brain axis control of appetite and satiety. The combined effect of peripheral CB₁ activation is to promote appetite, energy storage, and energy preservation (and the opposite is true for CB₁ antagonists). Therefore, the next generation of CB₁ receptor medicines (agonists and antagonists, and indirect modulators of the endocannabinoid system) have been peripherally restricted to mitigate these issues, and some of these are already in clinical stage development. These compounds also have demonstrated potential in other conditions such as alcoholic steatohepatitis and diabetic nephropathy (peripherally restricted CB₁ antagonists) and pain conditions (peripherally restricted CB₁ agonists and FAAH inhibitors). This review will discuss the mechanisms by which peripheral CB₁ receptors regulate body weight, and the therapeutic utility of peripherally restricted drugs in the management of body weight and beyond.     

Subsynaptic Distribution,Lipid Raft Targeting and G Protein-Dependent Signalling of the Type 1 Cannabinoid Receptor in Synaptosomes from the Mouse Hippocampus and Frontal Cortex

Numerous studies have investigated the roles of the type 1 cannabinoid receptor (CB1) in glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons. Here, we used the cell-type-specific CB1 rescue model in mice to gain insight into the organizational principles of plasma membrane targeting and Gαi/o protein signalling of the CB1 receptor at excitatory and inhibitory terminals of the frontal cortex and hippocampus. By applying biochemical fractionation techniques and Western blot analyses to synaptosomal membranes, we explored the subsynaptic distribution (pre-, post-, and extra-synaptic) and CB1 receptor compartmentalization into lipid and non-lipid raft plasma membrane microdomains and the signalling properties. These data infer that the plasma membrane partitioning of the CB1 receptor and its functional coupling to Gαi/o proteins are not biased towards the cell type of CB1 receptor rescue. The extent of the canonical Gαi/o protein-dependent CB1 receptor signalling correlated with the abundance of CB1 receptor in the respective cell type (glutamatergic versus GABAergic neurons) both in frontal cortical and hippocampal synaptosomes. In summary, our results provide an updated view of the functional coupling of the CB1 receptor to Gαi/o proteins at excitatory and inhibitory terminals and substantiate the utility of the CB1 rescue model in studying endocannabinoid physiology at the subcellular level.     

The Novel Function of Unsymmetrical Chiral CCN Pincer Nickel Complexes as Chemotherapeutic Agents Targeting Prostate Cancer Cells

We report that the pincer nickel complexes display prostate cancer antitumor properties through inhibition of cell proliferation. Notably, they display better antitumor properties than cisplatin. Mechanistic studies reveal that these pincer nickel complexes trigger cell apoptosis, most likely due to cell cycle arrest. Interestingly, these complexes also inhibit androgen receptor (AR) and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) signaling, which are critical for prostate cancer survival and progression. Our study reveals a novel function of pincer nickel complexes as potential therapeutic drugs in prostate cancer.     

非洲爪蟾卵母细胞内源性ATP激活电流ID2成分的分析

在带有滤泡膜的非洲爪蟾卵母细胞标本上,应用双电极电压钳及胞内透析方法进行记录,外加ATP所激活的内源性膜电源包括3个成分依次为：快内向电流（early fast depolarizing current,ID1),慢内向电流（lateslow depolarizing current,ID2)和慢外向电流(slow hygerpolarrizing current,IH),本文主要分析ID2成分的特征及其产生的机制,结果如下：（1）胞内透析500μmol/L GDP-β－S,500min后被完全阻断;（2）外液中[Cl^-]从100mmol/L下降到5mmol/L时,在ATP（100μmol/L）作用下,ID2幅值随[Cl^-]的下降明显增大;（3）外液中无Na^ 时ID2幅值增高（P＜0．05）。结果表明,ID2是由P2Y受体所介导,通过G蛋白耦联及胞内信号转导而引起胸内Ca^2 依赖性Cl^-外流所致。     

In Silico Prediction and Validation of CB2 Allosteric Binding Sites to Aid the Design of Allosteric Modulators

Although the 3D structures of active and inactive cannabinoid receptors type 2 (CB2) are available, neither the X-ray crystal nor the cryo-EM structure of CB2-orthosteric ligand-modulator has been resolved, prohibiting the drug discovery and development of CB2 allosteric modulators (AMs). In the present work, we mainly focused on investigating the potential allosteric binding site(s) of CB2. We applied different algorithms or tools to predict the potential allosteric binding sites of CB2 with the existing agonists. Seven potential allosteric sites can be observed for either CB2-CP55940 or CB2-WIN 55,212-2 complex, among which sites B, C, G and K are supported by the reported 3D structures of Class A GPCRs coupled with AMs. Applying our novel algorithm toolset-MCCS, we docked three known AMs of CB2 including Ec2la (C-2), trans-β-caryophyllene (TBC) and cannabidiol (CBD) to each site for further comparisons and quantified the potential binding residues in each allosteric binding site. Sequentially, we selected the most promising binding pose of C-2 in five allosteric sites to conduct the molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Based on the results of docking studies and MD simulations, we suggest that site H is the most promising allosteric binding site. We plan to conduct bio-assay validations in the future.