Interactions of drug-metabolizing enzymes with the Chinese herb Psoraleae Fructus

Psoraleae Fructus(the dried fruits of Psoralea corylifolia), one of the most frequently used Chinese herbs in Asian countries, has a variety of biological activities. In clinical settings, Psoraleae Fructus or Psoraleae Fructus-related herbal medicines frequently have been used in combination with a number of therapeutic drugs for the treatment of various human diseases, such as leukoderma, rheumatism and dysentery. The use of Psoraleae Fructus in combination with drugs has aroused concern of the potential risks of herb-drug interactions(HDI) or herb-endobiotic interactions(HEI). This article reviews the interactions between human drug-metabolizing enzymes and the constituents of Psoraleae Fructus;the major constituents in Psoraleae Fructus, along with their chemical structures and metabolic pathways are summarized, and the inhibitory and inductive effects of the constituents in Psoraleae Fructus on human drug-metabolizing enzymes(DMEs), including target enzyme(s), its modulatory potency, and mechanisms of action are presented. Collectively, this review summarizes current knowledge of the interactions between the Chinese herb Psoraleae Fructus and therapeutic drugs in an effort to facilitate its rational use in clinical settings, and especially to avoid the potential risks of HDI or HEI through human DMEs.

人羧酸酯酶2抑制剂药效团模型的构建及应用

该文通过收集文献中已报道的人羧酸酯酶2(human carboxylesterase 2,hCE2)小分子抑制剂,选择其中活性较强的化合物作为训练集,利用HipHop方法建立hCE2抑制剂的三维药效团模型。结果表明最优药效团具有2个疏水中心、1个氢键受体和1个芳环中心。利用测试集对其进行验证,准确率达95%以上。在此基础上,将该预测模型用于hCE2天然抑制剂的虚拟筛选,从赤芍化学成分中发现了5个hCE2的天然抑制剂,并对其hCE2抑制能力进行了实验验证。结果显示5个赤芍化学成分(CS-1,CS-2,CS-3,CS-6和CS-8)对hCE2的IC50分别5.04,5.21,5.95,6.64,7.94μmol·L-1,提示该研究构建的药效团模型具有较好的预测能力,有助于发现新型的hCE2抑制剂。