An Integrated Mass Spectrometry-Based Glycomics-Driven Glycoproteomics Analytical Platform to Functionally Characterize Glycosylation Inhibitors

Cancer progression is linked to aberrant protein glycosylation due to the overexpression of several glycosylation enzymes. These enzymes are underexploited as potential anticancer drug targets and the development of rapid-screening methods and identification of glycosylation inhibitors are highly sought. An integrated bioinformatics and mass spectrometry-based glycomics-driven glycoproteomics analysis pipeline was performed to identify an N-glycan inhibitor against lung cancer cells. Combined network pharmacology and in silico screening approaches were used to identify a potential inhibitor, pictilisib, against several glycosylation-related proteins, such as Alpha1-6FucT, GlcNAcT-V, and Alpha2,6-ST-I. A glycomics assay of lung cancer cells treated with pictilisib showed a significant reduction in the fucosylation and sialylation of N-glycans, with an increase in high mannose-type glycans. Proteomics analysis and in vitro assays also showed significant upregulation of the proteins involved in apoptosis and cell adhesion, and the downregulation of proteins involved in cell cycle regulation, mRNA processing, and protein translation. Site-specific glycoproteomics analysis further showed that glycoproteins with reduced fucosylation and sialylation were involved in apoptosis, cell adhesion, DNA damage repair, and chemical response processes. To determine how the alterations in N-glycosylation impact glycoprotein dynamics, modeling of changes in glycan interactions of the ITGA5–ITGB1 (Integrin alpha 5-Integrin beta-1) complex revealed specific glycosites at the interface of these proteins that, when highly fucosylated and sialylated, such as in untreated A549 cells, form greater hydrogen bonding interactions compared to the high mannose-types in pictilisib-treated A549 cells. This study highlights the use of mass spectrometry to identify a potential glycosylation inhibitor and assessment of its impact on cell surface glycoprotein abundance and protein–protein interaction.     

Green Tea (Camellia sinensis): A Review of Its Phytochemistry,Pharmacology, and Toxicology

Objectives Green tea (Camellia sinensis) is a kind of unfermented tea that retains the natural substance in fresh leaves to a great extent. It is regarded as the second most popular drink in the world besides water. In this paper, the phytochemistry, pharmacology, and toxicology of green tea are reviewed systematically and comprehensively. Key findings Green tea has been demonstrated to be good for human health. Nowadays, multiple pharmacologically active components have been isolated and identified from green tea, including tea polyphenols, alkaloids, amino acids, polysaccharides, and volatile components. Recent studies have demonstrated that green tea shows versatile pharmacological activities, such as antioxidant, anticancer, hypoglycemic, antibacterial, antiviral, and neuroprotective. Studies on the toxic effects of green tea extract and its main ingredients have also raised concerns including hepatotoxicity and DNA damage. Summary Green tea can be used to assist the treatment of diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, oral cancer, and dermatitis. Consequently, green tea has shown promising practical prospects in health care and disease prevention.     

Identification of Human Dihydroorotate Dehydrogenase Inhibitor by a Pharmacophore-Based Virtual Screening Study

Human dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (hDHODH) is an enzyme belonging to a flavin mononucleotide (FMN)-dependent family involved in de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis, a key biological pathway for highly proliferating cancer cells and pathogens. In fact, hDHODH proved to be a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of acute myelogenous leukemia, multiple myeloma, and viral and bacterial infections; therefore, the identification of novel hDHODH ligands represents a hot topic in medicinal chemistry. In this work, we reported a virtual screening study for the identification of new promising hDHODH inhibitors. A pharmacophore-based approach combined with a consensus docking analysis and molecular dynamics simulations was applied to screen a large database of commercial compounds. The whole virtual screening protocol allowed for the identification of a novel compound that is endowed with promising inhibitory activity against hDHODH and is structurally different from known ligands. These results validated the reliability of the in silico workflow and provided a valuable starting point for hit-to-lead and future lead optimization studies aimed at the development of new potent hDHODH inhibitors.     

Drugs Targeting the A3 Adenosine Receptor: Human Clinical Study Data

The A3 adenosine receptor (A3AR) is overexpressed in pathological human cells. Piclidenoson and namodenoson are A3AR agonists with high affinity and selectivity to A3AR. Both induce apoptosis of cancer and inflammatory cells via a molecular mechanism entailing deregulation of the Wnt and the NF-κB signaling pathways. Our company conducted phase I studies showing the safety of these 2 molecules. In the phase II studies in psoriasis patients, piclidenoson was safe and demonstrated efficacy manifested in significant improvements in skin lesions. Namodenoson is currently being developed to treat liver cancer, where prolonged overall survival was observed in patients with advanced liver disease and a Child–Pugh B score of 7. A pivotal phase III study in this patient population has been approved by the FDA and the EMA and is currently underway. Namodenoson is also being developed to treat non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). A Phase IIa study has been successfully concluded and showed that namodenoson has anti-inflammatory, anti-fibrosis, and anti-steatosis effects. A phase IIb study in NASH is currently enrolling patients. In conclusion, A3AR agonists are promising drug candidates in advanced stages of clinical development and demonstrate safety and efficacy in their targeted indications.     

Effect of Ion and Binding Site on the Conformation of Chosen Glycosaminoglycans at the Albumin Surface

Albumin is one of the major components of synovial fluid. Due to its negative surface charge, it plays an essential role in many physiological processes, including the ability to form molecular complexes. In addition, glycosaminoglycans such as hyaluronic acid and chondroitin sulfate are crucial components of synovial fluid involved in the boundary lubrication regime. This study presents the influence of Na+, Mg2+ and Ca2+ ions on human serum albumin–hyaluronan/chondroitin-6-sulfate interactions examined using molecular docking followed by molecular dynamics simulations. We analyze chosen glycosaminoglycans binding by employing a conformational entropy approach. In addition, several protein–polymer complexes have been studied to check how the binding site and presence of ions influence affinity. The presence of divalent cations contributes to the decrease of conformational entropy near carboxyl and sulfate groups. This observation can indicate the higher affinity between glycosaminoglycans and albumin. Moreover, domains IIIA and IIIB of albumin have the highest affinity as those are two domains that show a positive net charge that allows for binding with negatively charged glycosaminoglycans. Finally, in discussion, we suggest some research path to find particular features that would carry information about the dynamics of the particular type of polymers or ions.     

Activation of Stimulation of Interferon Genes (STING) Signal and Cancer Immunotherapy

Stimulator of interferon gene (STING), an intracellular receptor in the endoplasmic reticulum, could induce the production of cytokines such as type I interferon (IFN) by activating the cGAS-STING signal pathway. In recent years, activation of STING has shown great potential to enhance anti-tumor immunity and reshape the tumor microenvironment, which is expected to be used in tumor immunotherapy. A number of STING agonists have demonstrated promising biological activity and showed excellent synergistic anti-tumor effects in combination with other cancer therapies in preclinical studies and some clinical trials. The combination of STING agonists and ICI also showed a potent effect in improving anti-tumor immunity. In this review, we introduce the cGAS-STING signaling pathway and its effect in tumor immunity and discuss the recent strategies of activation of the STING signaling pathway and its research progress in tumor immunotherapy.     

Functional Mechanism of Resveratrol in Inhabiting Growth of Cells ls174t and Its Mechanism in Subcutaneously Transplanted Tumor of Nude Mice

To explore the functional mechanism of Resveratrol against colon cancer cells Is174t and the growth of colon cancer tissue of tumor-bearing mice,MTT method was used to observe the functions of resveratrol for inhibition against cells ls174t in vitro.Transmission electron microscope was used to observe the cell apoptosis.FCM assay was performed to measure the change of the cell apoptosis rate and of cell cycle,RT-PCR method was used to detect the expressions of bc1-2 and bax mRNA.Western blot method was used to detect the expressions of bc1-2 and bax protein.Cells isi74t were transplanted subcutaneously to nude mice to observe the effect of resveratrol on the growth of subcutaneously transplanted tumor.RT-PCR method was used to detect the expressions of bc1-2 and bax mRNA in the tumor tissue.Western blot method was used to detect the expressions of bc1-2 and bax protein in the tumor tissue.Resveratrol has an effect of inhibiting proliferation of cells ls174t in vitro(P<0.01).It is able to induce the apoptosis of cells Is174t,causing the decrease in the expression of bc1-2 and the increase in the expression of bax.Resveratrol could inhibit the growth of subcutaneously transplanted tumor of nude mice(P<0.05),causing the decrease in the expression of bc1-2 and the increase in the expression of bax.Resveratrol can inhibit the growth of cells 174t and the growth of subcutaneously transplanted tumor.The mechanism is possibly related to the induction of the cell apoptosis and the regulation of bc1-2/bax expression.     

Electrochemical Immunoassay for Tumor Marker CA19-9 Detection Based on Self-Assembled Monolayer

A CA19-9 electrochemical immunosensor was constructed using a hybrid self-assembled membrane modified with a gold electrode and applied to detect real samples. Hybrid self-assembled membranes were selected for electrode modification and used to detect antigens. First, the pretreated working electrodes were placed in a 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA)/β-mercaptoethanol (ME) mixture for 24 h for self-assembly. The electrodes were then placed in an EDC/NHS mixture for 1 h. Layer modification was performed by stepwise dropwise addition of CA19-9 antibody, BSA, and antigen. Differential pulse voltammetry was used to characterize this immunosensor preparation process. The assembled electrochemical immunosensor enables linear detection in the concentration range of 0.05–500 U/mL of CA19-9, and the detection limit was calculated as 0.01 U/mL. The results of the specificity measurement test showed that the signal change of the interfering substance was much lower than the response value of the detected antigen, indicating that the sensor has good specificity and strong anti-interference ability. The repeatability test results showed that the relative standard deviations were less than 5%, showing good accuracy and precision. The CA19-9 electrochemical immunosensor was used for the actual sample detection, and the experimental results of the standard serum addition method showed that the RSD values of the test concentrations were all less than 10%. The recoveries were 102.4–115.0%, indicating that the assay has high precision, good accuracy, and high potential application value.     

碘、氟、硅与人体健康的关系

碘、氟、硅是人体必需微量元素,它们的摄入量对人体健康起着重要作用。对碘、氟、硅的缺乏与疾病之间的关系进行了讨论,并对其治疗和防治方法作了介绍。     

Automated data processing of [1H-decoupled] 13C MR spectra acquired from human brain in vivo

In clinical 13C infusion studies, broadband excitation of 200 ppm of the human brain yields 13C MR spectra with a time resolution of 2-5 min and generates up to 2000 metabolite peaks over 2h. We describe a fast, automated, observer-independent technique for processing [1H-decoupled] 13C spectra. Quantified 13C spectroscopic signals, before and after the administration of [1-13C]glucose and/or [1-13C]acetate in human subjects are determined. Stepwise improvements of data processing are illustrated by examples of normal and pathological results. Variation in analysis of individual 13C resonances ranged between 2 and 14%. Using this method it is possible to reliably identify subtle metabolic effects of brain disease including Alzheimer's disease and epilepsy.