Zeyu Wu

Synthesis and Evaluation of Paeonol Derivatives as Potential Multifunctional Agents for the Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative brain disorder characterized by memory loss, language impairment, personality changes and intellectual decline. Taking into account the key pathological features of AD, such as low levels of acetylcholine, beta-amyloid (Aβ) aggregation, oxidative stress and dyshomeostasis of biometals, a new series of paeonol derivatives 5a–5d merging three different functions, i.e., antioxidant, anti-acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity, metal chelating agents for AD treatment have been synthesized and characterized. Biological assays revealed that compared with paeonol (309.7 μM), 5a–5d had a lower DPPH IC50 value (142.8–191.6 μM). 5a–5d could significantly inhibit hydrogen peroxide-induced neuronal PC12 cell death assessed by MTT assay in the concentration range of 5–40 μM. AChE activity was effectively inhibited by 5a–5d, with IC50 values in the range of 0.61–7.04 μM. 5a–5d also exhibited good metal-chelating ability. All the above results suggested that paeonol derivatives may be promising multifunctional agents for AD treatment.

Combined 3D-QSAR, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics study of tacrine derivatives as potential acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors of Alzheimer’s disease

AbstractAcetylcholinesterase (AChE) is one of the key targets of drugs for treating Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Tacrine is an approved drug with AChE-inhibitory activity. In this paper, 3D-QSAR, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics were carried out in order to study 60 tacrine derivatives and their AChE-inhibitory activities. 3D-QSAR modeling resulted in an optimal CoMFA model with q2 = 0.552 and r2 = 0.983 and an optimal CoMSIA model with q2 = 0.581 and r2 = 0.989. These QSAR models also showed that the steric and H-bond fields of these compounds are important influences on their activities. The interactions between these inhibitors and AChE were further explored through molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation. A few key residues (Tyr70, Trp84, Tyr121, Trp279, and Phe330) at the binding site of AChE were identified. The results of this study improve our understanding of the mechanisms of AChE inhibitors and afford valuable information that should aid the design of novel potential AChE inhibitors. Graphical AbstractSuperposition of backbone atoms of the lowest-energy structure obtained from MD simulation (magenta) onto those of the structure of the initial molecular docking model (green).

Validated LC–MS-MS Method for the Determination of Prodrug of Ginkgolide B in Rat Plasma and Brain: Application to Pharmacokinetic Study

A sensitive, simple and rapid liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of ginkgolide B (GB) and the prodrug of ginkgolide B (PGB) in rat plasma and brain tissue. Detection was performed on a triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry in multiple reaction monitoring mode using the electrospray ionization technique in negative ionization mode. The total run time was only 2.0 min. Good linearity was found between 1-200 ng/mL (r > 0.9993) for plasma samples and 0.5-50 ng/mL (r = 0.9995) for the brain tissue samples. The lower limits of quantification of PGB and GB were 1 ng/mL for plasma and 0.5 ng/mL for brain tissue. Intra-day and inter-day precision was less than 11.67%. Intra-day accuracy was in the range of -2.61-10.67%, inter-day accuracy was in the range of -2.36-8.98%. The mean recovery for PGB and GB was between 82.5 and 97.0%. The validated method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study of PGB and GB in rats after intravenous administration.

Brain-targeting research of 10-O-nicotinate ginkgolide B: a new prodrug of ginkgolide B

This study was carried out to design and synthesize 10-O-nicotinate ginkgolide B (PGB) as a new prodrug of ginkgolide B (GB). The lipophilicity of PGB and GB was evaluated through the partition coefficient in 1-octanol–water system. The concentrations of PGB and GB in plasma and brain tissue were determined by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) after intravenous administration of PGB or GB. After calculation and analysis, the drug-targeting index (DTI) of PGB was 7.45 and area under curve (AUC) value of GB decomposed from PGB was 2.45-fold higher than that of GB (parent drug) in brain. All the above results indicated that the brain targeting of GB was improved by prodrug strategy.

Two macamide extracts relieve physical fatigue by attenuating muscle damage in mice: Anti-fatigue activity of two macamide extracts

BACKGROUND Macamides, the main active components contained in maca, have attracted increasing attention due to their various bioactivities. In this study, crude macamide extract (CME) and purified macamide extract (PME) were prepared by enzyme-assisted extraction and macroporous resin separation, and the anti-fatigue effects of CME and PME were evaluated in a forced swimming model. RESULTS The composition analysis results revealed that both CME and PME mainly contain eight kinds of macamide. Based on the results of a weight-loaded forced swimming test, compared with a control group, CME and and PME groups could prolong exhaustive swimming time, increase levels of liver glycogen (LG) and muscle glycogen (MG), accelerate fatty acid oxidation in serum to provide energy, eliminate the accumulation of blood lactic acid (BLA) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and decrease the serum biomarkers for muscle damage, such as lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and creatine kinase (CK). Histological analysis also indicated that CME and PME attenuated damage to skeletal muscle and the myocardium in mice during exercise. CONCLUSION Two macamide extracts have a beneficial effect on relieving physical fatigue by attenuating the damage of skeletal muscle and myocardium during exercise, and a better effect was observed in the PME group.

Optimization on conditions of podophyllotoxin-loaded liposomes using response surface methodology and its activity on PC3 cells

Abstract The purpose of this study was to optimize the preparation conditions of podophyllotoxin liposomes (PPT-Lips), and to investigate their effects on PC3 cells. PPT-Lips were prepared by using a thin-film dispersion method. In order to achieve maximum drug encapsulation efficiency (EE), the process and formulation variables were optimized by response surface methodology (RSM). The optimum preparation conditions were cholesterol to lecithin ratio of 3.6:40 (w/w), lipid to drug ratio of 15.8:1 (w/w), and the ultrasonic intensity of 35% (total power of 400 W). The experimental EE of PPT-Lips was 90.425%, which was consistent with the theoretically predicted value. The characterization studies showed that PPT-Lips were well-dispersible spherical particles with an average size of 106 nm and a zeta potential of –10.1 mV. A gradual and time-dependent pattern of PPT from liposomes was found in in vitro drug release with a cumulative release amount up to 70.3% in 24 h. Results of cell viability experiments on PC3 cells demonstrated that PPT-Lips exhibited more effective anticancer activity in comparison with free PPT. Therefore, PPT-Lips represent an efficient and promising drug delivery system for PPT.

Enhancement of brain-targeting delivery of danshensu in rat through conjugation with pyrazine moiety to form danshensu-pyrazine ester

Tetramethylpyrazine was introduced to the structure of danshensu (DSS) as P-glycoprotein (P-gp)-inhibiting carrier, designing some novel brain-targeting DSS-pyrazine derivatives via prodrug delivery strategy. Following the virtual screening, three DSS-pyrazine esters (DT1, DT2, DT3) were selected because of their better prediction parameters related to brain-targeting. Among them, DT3 was thought to be a promising candidate due to its appropriate bioreversible property in vitro release assay. Further investigation with regard to DT3’s brain-targeting effects in vivo was also reported in this study. High-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) method was established for the quantitative determination of DT3 and DSS in rat plasma, brain homogenate after intravenous injection. In vivo metabolism of DT3 indicated that it was first converted into DT1, DT2, then the generation of DSS, which could be the result of carboxylesterase activity in rat blood and brain tissue. Moreover, the brain pharmacokinetics of DT3 was significantly altered with 2.16 times increase in half-life compared with that of DSS, and its drug targeting index (DTI) was up to 16.95. Above these data demonstrated that DT3 had better tendency of brain-targeting delivery, which would be positive for the treatment of brain-related disorders.