Ytterbium triflate hydrate catalyzed Michael addition and cyclocondensation of α,β-unsaturated ketones with active methylene compounds

Catalyzed by ytterbium（III） triflate hydrate [Yb（OTf）3.xH20], the Michael addition and cyclocondensation of α,β-unsaturated ketones with active methylene compounds to afford the 1,4-adducts and benzo[b]pyran derivatives, respectively were studied.     

反相高效液相色谱法测定雷公藤提取物中雷公藤甲素含量

应用反相高效液相色谱法检测了雷公藤提取物中雷公藤甲素的含量。样品经洗脱提取后,以Ｃ１８化学键合硅胶为固定相,乙腈－水（４０∶６０,Ｖ／Ｖ）为流动相,用２１０ｎｍ波长定量检测。测定结果表明,雷公藤甲素浓度在０．２５～４．００ｍｇ／Ｌ范围内线性良好,最低进样检测浓度为０．１ｍｇ／Ｌ。批内（ｎ＝５）及批间（ｎ＝５）测定相对标准偏差分别为１．９％～６．５％和２．７％～７．８％,回收率为８９．８％～９２．０％。     

高效液相色谱梯度法测定雷公藤制剂中雷公藤甲素的含量

采用高效液相色谱梯度法分离测定雷公藤制剂中雷公藤甲素的含量,用国产YWG色谱柱分离,二极管阵列检测器检测,所得三维光谱与空白光谱进行差减,取波长218nm处色谱图积分,定量。与等度法比较,梯度法具有更高的分离度、灵敏度,测定雷公藤口服液中雷公藤甲素的质量浓度为202．0μg／L,每片雷公藤片剂含甲素11．74μg,结果显著低于等度法和标示量（P<0．05）。     

Effect of CYP3A4 on liver injury induced by triptolide

Triptolide (TP), one of the main bioactive diterpenes of the herbal medicine Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F, is used for the treatment of autoimmune diseases in the clinic and is accompanied by severe hepatotoxicity. CYP3A4 has been reported to be responsible for TP metabolism, but the mechanism remains unclear. The present study applied a UPLC–QTOF–MS-based metabolomics analysis to characterize the effect of CYP3A4 on TP-induced hepatotoxicity. The metabolites carnitines, lysophosphatidylcholines (LPCs) and a serious of amino acids were found to be closely related to liver damage indexes in TP-treated female mice. Metabolomics analysis further revealed that the CYP3A4 inducer dexamethasone improved the level of LPCs and amino acids, and defended against oxidative stress. On the contrary, pretreatment with the CYP3A4 inhibitor ketoconazole increased liver damage with most metabolites being markedly altered, especially carnitines. Among these metabolites, except for LPC18:2, LPC20:1 and arginine, dexamethasone and ketoconazole both affected oxidative stress induced by TP. The current study provides new mechanistic insights into the metabolic alterations, leading to understanding of the role of CYP3A4 in hepatotoxicity induced by TP.     

Metabolic alterations in triptolide‐induced acute hepatotoxicity

Triptolide, a major active constitute of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. F, is prescribed for the treatment of autoimmune diseases in China. One of its most severe adverse effects observed in the clinical use is hepatotoxicity, but the mechanism is still unknown. Therefore, the present study applied an LC/MS‐based metabolomic analysis to characterize the metabolomic changes in serum and liver induced by triptolide in mice. Mice were administered triptolide by gavage to establish the acute liver injury model, and serum biochemical and liver histological analyses were applied to assess the degree of toxicity. Multivariate data analyses were performed to investigate the metabolic alterations. Potential metabolites were identified using variable importance in the projection values and Student's t‐test. A total of 30 metabolites were observed that were significantly changed by triptolide treatment and the abundance of 29 metabolites was correlated with the severity of toxicity. Pathway analysis indicated that the mechanism of triptolide‐induced hepatotoxicity was related to alterations in multiple metabolic pathways, including glutathione metabolism, tricarboxylic acid cycle, purine metabolism, glycerophospholipid metabolism, taurine and hypotaurine metabolism, pantothenate and CoA biosynthesis, pyrimidine metabolism and amino acid metabolism. The current study provides new mechanistic insights into the metabolic alterations that lead to triptolide‐induced hepatotoxicity.     

Simultaneous determination of triptolide, tripdiolide and tripterine in human urine by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with ion trap atmospheric-pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry

An accurate and selective method for the simultaneous determination of triptolide, tripdiolide and tripterine in human urine using hydrocortisone as an internal standard (IS) by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with atmospheric-pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry in negative ion mode has been developed. After triptolide, tripdiolide and tripterine in human urine were extracted with ethyl acetate and cleaned by solid-phase extraction with C(18) cartridges, a satisfactory separation was achieved on an XDB C(18) short column (30 x 2.1 mm i.d., 3 microm) using the mobile phase of acetic acid-ammonium acetate (5 mmol/L, pH = 4.5)-acetonitrile-methanol in gradient elution. Detection was operated by APCI in selected ion monitoring mode. The target ions m/z 359, m/z 375, m/z 449 and m/z 419 were selected for the quantification of triptolide, tripdiolide, tripterine and IS, respectively. The linear range was 1.0-100.0 ng mL(-1), and the limits of quantification in human urine were found to be 0.1-0.5 ng mL(-1) for the three compounds. The precisions (CV%) and accuracies were 6.6-12.9 and 85.1-97.0%, respectively. The developed method could be applied to the determination of triptolide, tripdiolide and tripterine in human urine for diagnosis of the intoxication and for forensic purposes.     

靶向iNOS的雷公藤甲素氨基酸前药的合成

雷公藤甲素(TL)是从卫矛科雷公藤中提取的环氧二萜内酯,具有显著的抗炎和免疫抑制活性,但TL本身毒性较大、水溶性差、治疗窗窄,极大地限制其在临床上的应用.以炎症部位过度表达的诱导型一氧化氮合酶(iNOS)为靶点,在TL结构中引入iNOS底物及其类似物设计合成系列雷公藤甲素氨基酸前药,提高其水溶性和靶向性.雷公藤甲素氨基...     

Triptolide inhibits ovarian cancer cell invasion by repression of matrix metalloproteinase 7 and 19 and upregulation of E-cadherin

Triptolide, a compound extracted from the traditional Chinese medicine preparation of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F., has been reported to have anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer activities. However, its effect on ovarian cancer invasion is unknown. We observed that MMP7 and MMP19 expression increased in ovarian cancer tissue. Triptolide treatment inhibited the migration and invasion of ovarian cancer cells SKOV3 and A2780 at the concentration of 15 nM. We also observed that triptolide suppressed MMP7 and MMP19 promoter activity in a dose-dependent manner, down-regulating the expressions of these promoters on mRNA and protein level. Moreover, triptolide enhanced E-cadherin expression in ovarian cancer cells. In vivo, triptolide inhibited tumor formation and metastasis in nude mice, and suppressed MMP7 and MMP19 expression; it also enhanced E-cadherin expression in tumor in a dose-dependent manner. Over expression of MMP7 and MMP19, or suppression of E-cadherin expression partially abolished the inhibitory effect of triptolide on invasion of ovarian cancer cells. To summarize, triptolide significantly inhibited the migration and invasion of ovarian cancer cells by suppression of MMP7 and MMP19 and up-regulation of E-cadherin expression. This study shows that triptolide is a good candidate for the treatment of ovarian cancer and reduction of metastasis.