Professors and Graduates from Peking University School of Pharmaceutical Sciences Attending the 67th FIP Congress and CPA Centennial Anniversary

During the first week of September, 2007, the 67th world congress of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences,jointly hosted by the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) and the Chinese Pharmaceutical

Rapid Determination of Dopamine and Its Metabolites During in vivo Cerebral Microdialysis by Routine High Performance Liquid Chromatography With Electrochemical Detection

To determine dopamine and its metabolites during in vivo cerebral microdialysis by routine high performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. Methods Microdialysis probes were placed into the right striatum of Wistar rat brains and perfused with Ringer＇s solution at a rate of 1.5 pL/min. A reverse phase HPLC with electrochemistry was used to assay DA, DOPAC, and HVA after cerebral microdialysates were collected every 20 minutes from awake and freely moving rats. In order to identify the reliability of this method, its selectivity, linear range, precision and accuracy were tested and the contents of DA, DOPAC, and HVA in rat microdialysates were determined. Results The standard curve was in good linear at the concentration ranging from 74 nmol/L to 1.5 pmol/L for DOPAC （r^2= 0.9996）, from 66 nmol/L to 1.3 gmol/L for DA （r^2=l.0000） and from 69 nmol/L to 1.4 pmol/L for HVA （r^2=0.9992）. The recovery of DOPAC （0.30, 0.77, 1.49 gmol/L）, DA （0,26, 0.69, 1.32 gmol/L）, and HVA （0.27, 0.71, 1.37 gmol/L） was 82.00±1.70%, 104.00±4.00%, 98.70±3.10%; 92.30± 1.50%, 105.30±2.30%, 108.00±2.00%; 80.00±7.80%, 107.69±8.00%, and 108.66±3.10%, respectively at each concentration. Their intra-day RSD was 3.3%, 3.4%, and 2.5%, and inter-day RSD was 4.2%, 2.3%, and 5.6%, respectively. The mean extracellular concentrations of DOPAC, DA, and HVA in rat brain microdialysates were 10.7, 2.4, and 9.2 gmol/L （n=6）, respectively. Conclusion The findings of our study suggested that the simple, accurate and stable method can be applied to basic researches of diseases related to monoamines neurotransmitters by cerebral microdialysis in rats.

Sulforaphane enhances Nrf2-mediated antioxidant responses of skeletal muscle induced by exhaustive exercise in HIIT mice

Nuclear factor erythroid-derived 2-like 2(Nrf2)is the master regulator of antioxidant defenses.High-intensity interval training(HIIT)has been proposed as a time-efficient training program and has become a substantial component of modern training program In the present study,we evaluated the effects of sulforaphane(SFN),a dietary isothiocyanate derived from cruciferous vegetables and a potent Nrf2 activator,on Nrf2-mediated antioxidant defense responses of skeletal muscle induced by exhaustive exercise in HIIT mice.Male C57 BL/6 J mice were randomly allocated into control group,HIIT group,and HIIT pretreated with SFN(HIIT+SFN)group.On the third day after completion of a 6-weeks HIIT protocol,an exhaustive treadmill test was conducted in all mice.Mice were intraperitoneally injected with SFN(HIIT+SFN group)or PBS(HIIT and control mice)4 times in 3 days prior to the exhaustive treadmill test.The results indicated that the 6-weeks HIIT protocol did not increase the antioxidative capacity of skeletal muscle during exhaustive exercise.Importantly,SFN treatment improved anti oxidative capacity of skeletal muscle in response to the acute exhaustive exercise by increasing mRNA and nucleoprotein expression of Nrf2 and these genes involved in antioxidant generation and decreasing blood creatine kinase(CK)and 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal(4-HNE)-modified protein levels in the HIIT mice.

Quality Control for Traditional Medicines–Chinese Crude Drugs

Distinguished guests,ladies and gentlemen,I am very happy to meet many of my old friends today.I would also like to thank Chinese Pharmaceutical Association for providing me with such a good opportunity to communicate with Chinese and European friends.The topic of my report today is the quality standard of Chinese crude drugs and the development ideas.Director Ma introduced the relevant situation of the quality standards of Chinese patent medicines.

Cistanche Deserticola for Regulation of Bone Metabolism:Therapeutic Potential and Molecular Mechanisms on Postmenopausal Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a generalized disease of bone that leads to a loss of bone density and bone mass,destruction of bone microstructure,increased brittleness and therefore fracture.At present,the main treatment of Western medicine is drug therapy such as bisphosphonates,calcitriol,vitamin D,etc.However,long-term use of these drugs may bring some adverse reactions.Chinese herbal medicine Cistanche deserticola could regulate bone metabolism by promoting osteoblast activity and inhibiting osteoclast activity with low toxicity and adverse reactions.Therefore,Cistanche deserticola has attracted increasing attention for its efficacy in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis in recent years.Here we present a literature review of the molecular pathways involved in osteoporosis and the effects of Cistanche deserticola on bone metabolism.Our objective is to clarify the mechanism of Cistanche deserticola in the treatment of osteoporosis.

The fate of medications evaluated for ischemic stroke pharmacotherapy over the period 1995–2015

Stroke is a brain damage caused by a loss of blood supply to a portion of the brain, which requires prompt and effective treatment. The current pharmacotherapy for ischemic stroke primarily relies on thrombolysis using recombinant tissue plasminogen activators(rt-PAs) to breakdown blood clots. Neuroprotective agents that inhibit excitatory neurotransmitters are also used to treat ischemic stroke but have failed to translate into clinical benefits. This poses a major challenge in biomedical research to understand what causes the progressive brain cell death after stroke and how to develop an effective pharmacotherapy for stroke. This brief review analyzes the fate of about 430 potentially useful stroke medications over the period 1995–2015and describes in detail those that successfully reached the market. Hopefully, the information from this analysis will shed light on how future stroke research can improve stroke drug discovery.

Icariin suppresses bone resorption activity of rabbit osteoclasts in vitro

The effect of icariin on the bone resorption activity of rabbit osteoclasts is assessed in vitro. Osteoclasts were isolated from Japanese white rabbits and cultured on plates with a sterilized bone slice in each well. After treatment with icariin at various concentrations, the bone resorption activity of osteoclasts was evaluated by examining pit areas, superoxide anion (·O2-) generation, size and number of actin rings and intracellular calcium concentration [Ca2+]i. As revealed by these data, icariin elicited continuous decline of [Ca2+]i, making actin ring constricted and ·O2- generation decreased. These events resulted in smaller and fewer pits which indicate suppressed bone resorption activity of rabbit osteoclasts by icariin.

Studies on Absorption and Tansport of Limoninoids from Fructus Evodiae in Caco-2 Cell Monolayer Model

Objective To study the intestinal absorption and transepithelial transport of three limoninoids: evodol (EVO), limonin (LIM), and shihulimonin A (SHIA), isolated from Fructus Evodiae [the unripe fruit of Evodia rutaecarpa and Evodia rutaecarpa var. bodinieri] in the human intestine. Methods The in vitro cultured human colon carcinoma cell line, Caco-2 cell monolayer model, was applied to studying the absorption and transepithelial transport of the three limoninoids from apical (AP) to basolateral (BL) side and from BL to AP side. The three limoninoids were measured by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography coupled with ultraviolet absorption detector. Transport parameters and apparent permeability coefficients (Papp) were then calculated and compared with those of Propranolol as a control substance of high permeability and Atenolol as a control substance of poor permeability. Results The Papp value of EVO and LIM from AP to BL side for absorption and transport were 1.78 × 10-5 cm/s and 1.16 × 10-5 cm/s, respectively, which was comparable to that of Propranolol with Papp 2.18 × 10-5 cm/s. Conclusion The absorption and transport of both EVO and LIM are main passive diffusion as the dominating process in Caco-2 cell monolayer model, and they were estimated to be high absorbed compounds. SHIA in Caco-2 cell monolayer model may be involved in metabolism in the transport processes.

Response surface analysis of sevoflurane-remifentanil interactions on consciousness during anesthesia

Background Recently, the combination of sevoflurane and remifentanil has been widely used in general anesthesia. In this study, we investigated the sevoflurane-remifentanil pharmacodynamic interactions at clinical concentrations using the observer＇s assessment of alertness/sedation （OAA/S） and the bispectral index （BIS） by response surface analysis. Methods Totally 65 American Society of Anesthesiologists （ASA） I patients age 20 to 50 years old were included in this study. Patients were randomly assigned to be anesthetized with different target end-tidal sevoflurane concentrations that ranged from 0.2% to 3.4% in increments of 0.2%. The end-tidal sevoflurane concentration was maintained constant throughout the study. Remifentanil was infused with a target controlled infusion （TCI） system at increasing step-wise concentrations from 1 ng/ml to 10 ng/ml. The values of OAA/S and BIS at different sevoflurane-remifentanil concentration combinations were measured. The pharmacodynamic interactions between sevoflurane and remifentanil were analyzed by a response surface method. The three-dimensional response surfaces were constructed with Minitab Software. Model parameters were estimated with NONMEM program. Results Sevoflurane and remifentanil acted synergistically on OANS. Sevoflurane alone could produce OANS 〈1 at a minimal alveolar concentration （MAC） of 0.93%. When used in combination with remifentanil at 1, 3, 6, and 10 ng/ml, the corresponding sevoflurane MACs were reduced to 0.79%, 0.58%, 0.48%, and 0.38%, with reductions of 17.2%, 37.6%, 48.4%, and 62.0% from baseline, respectively. In patients administered remifentanil alone, the OANS score was 〉3 even when the remifentanil concentration reached 10 ng/ml. BIS was closely associated with the sevoflurane concentration and the remifentanil concentration did not noticeably influence the relationship between the sevoflurane concentration and BIS. A sevoflurane concentration of （1.04＋0.19）% to （1.81＋0.21）% could maintain a BIS between 60 and 40. Conclusions The response surface method can analyze the pharmacodynamic interactions between remifentanil and sevoflurane qualitatively and quantitatively. Within the range of our study （remifentanil 〈10 ng/ml, sevoflurane 〈3.4%）, the two drugs produced synergistic effects on OAA/S but had no interactive effect on BIS. A guideline of BIS between 40 and 60 may cause excessive anesthesia when opioids are used to maintain anesthesia.

Deficiency of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-4 leads to neural hyperexcitability and aggravates cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury

Systematic administration of anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin 4(IL-4)has been shown to improve recovery after cerebral ischemic stroke.However,whether IL-4 affects neuronal excitability and how IL-4 improves ischemic injury remain largely unknown.Here we report the neuroprotective role of endogenous IL-4 in focal cerebral ischemia-repertusion(I/R)injury.In multi-electrode array(MEA)recordings,IL-4 reduces spontaneous firings and network activities of mouse primary cortical neurons.IL-4 mRNA and protein expressions are upregulated after I/R injury.Genetic deletion of 11-4 gene aggravates I/R injury in vivo and exacerbates oxygen-glucose deprivation(OGD)injury in cortical neurons.Conversely,supplemental IL-4 protects 11-4-/-cortical neurons against OGD injury.Mechanistically,cortical pyramidal and stellate neurons common for ischemic penumbra after I/R injury exhibit intrinsic hyperexcitability and enhanced excitatory synaptic transmissions in Il-4-/-mice.Furthermore,upregulation of Nav1.1 channel,and downregulations of KCa3.1 channel and a6 subunit of GABAA receptors are detected in the cortical tissues and primary cortical neurons from Il-4-/-mice.Taken together,our findings demonstrate that IL-4 deficiency results in neural hyperexcitability and aggravates I/R injury,thus activation of IL-4 signaling may protect the brain against the development of permanent damage and help recover from ischemic injury after stroke.

Crystal structure of the N-terminal ankyrin repeat domain of TRPV3 reveals unique conformation of fi nger 3 loop critical for channel function

In all six members of TRPV channel subfamily,there is an ankyrin repeat domain(ARD)in their intracellular N-termini.Ankyrin(ANK)repeat,a common motif with typi-cally 33 residues in each repeat,is primarily involved in protein-protein interactions.Despite the sequence similarity among the ARDs of TRPV channels,the struc-ture of TRPV3-ARD,however,remains unknown.Here,we report the crystal structure of TRPV3-ARD solved at 1.95Åresolution,which reveals six-ankyrin repeats.While overall structure of TRPV3-ARD is similar to ARDs from other members of TRPV subfamily;it,however,features a noticeable fi nger 3 loop that bends over and is stabilized by a network of hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic pack-ing,instead of being fl exible as seen in known TRPV-ARD structures.Electrophysiological recordings demonstrated that mutating key residues R225,R226,Q255,and F249 of fi nger 3 loop altered the channel activities and pharmacol-ogy.Taken all together,our findings show that TRPV3-ARD with characteristic fi nger 3 loop likely plays an im-portant role in channel function and pharmacology.

Population pharmacokinetics of rocuronium delivered by target-controlled infusion in adult patients

Background Target-controlled infusion （TCI） has been recently developed and successfully implemented in clinical practice. The current study was to estimate the population pharmacokinetics of rocuronium TCI in adult patients using nonlinear mixed-effects model （NONMEM）, and to investigate the influence of relevant factors in adult patients. Methods Fourteen ASA Ⅰ-Ⅱ patients undergoing elective laparoscopy operation with general anesthesia were included. After induction, all patients received rocuronium by TCI system. The beginning target plasma concentration （Cpt） was 2.0 μg/ml, then increased Cpt according to the neuromuscular transmission monitoring. The endpoint of Cpt was determined when the T1 scale was blocked by 90%-95%. TCI rocuronium was stopped 30 minutes before the end of the operation. Arterial blood was drawn before anesthesia at 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 15, 20, 30, 45, 60, 120, 180, 240 and 360 minutes after the infusion of rocuronium was stopped for the analysis of plasma concentrations of rocuronium by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry （LC-MS/MS）. The population pharmacokinetics analysis was performed using NONMEM program. Results The pharmacokinetics of TCI rocuronium in adult patients was best described by a three-comparment model. Pharmacokintic parameters were clearance （CL）1=0.205 L/min, CL2=0.324 L/min, CL3=0.0292 L/min, volumes of distribution （V）1=4.00 L, V2=2.28 L, V3=4.26 L, Vdss=10.54 L. Both age and weight as covariates affected the pharmacokinetic parameters. V1 and CL1 were negatively correlated with patient age. CL1 was positively correlated with weight. Conclusions No pharmacokinetic change was noted when rocuronium was administered via TCI. Both age and weight as covariates affected the pharmacokinetic parameters.

Effect of La^(3+) on osteoblastic differentiation of rat bone marrow stromal cells

In the present work, the effect of La3+ on osteoblastic differentiation of primary rat bone mar- row stromal cells (MSCs) as well as the related mechanisms are studied. Differentiation is monitored by detection of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, osteocalcin secretion, the mRNA levels of Type I collagen and osteocalcin, and matrix mineralization. The results show that La3+ inhibits osteoblastic differentiation of MSCs in the early and middle stages of culture, as demonstrated by the decrease of ALP activity, osteocalcin secretion, and down-regulation of the mRNA level of osteocalcin. However, La3+ does not affect the matrix mineralization in advanced MSCs, because it up-regulates the mRNA levels of Type I collagen, and promotes ALP activity and os- teocalcin secretion in MSCs in the late stage of cul- ture. In addition, Western blot analysis exhibits that La3+ induces the phosphorylation and activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). Further- more, MAPK kinase inhibitor PD98059 completely blocks the inhibitory effect of La3+ on ALP activity of MSCs in the middle stage of culture. These results suggest that La3+ affects MSCs osteoblastic differen- tiation depending on differentiation stages. La3+ in- hibits osteoblastic differentiation of MSCs in the early and middle stages by a MAPK-dependent mecha- nism, but does not affect the matrix mineralization in advanced MSCs.

Lanthanides-Induced Cellular Signal Transduction: Implications in Pathogenesis of Fibrosis

With the extensive mining and application of lanthanides in China and worldwide, the potential impact of lanthanides on human health is gaining increasing attentions. The recent etiological association of gadolinium-based contrast agents with nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) evoked widespread concerns regarding the safety issue of lanthanides. The elucidation of the cellular biological effects of and the signalling cascade induced lanthanides is essential for proper evaluation of their health impacts.

Dose-response relationship between physical activity and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease:A prospective cohort study

To the Editor:Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)is one of the most common chronic liver diseases globally,and this systemic disease carries a substantial economic burden and will result in a greater disease burden in the future.[1]Mass screening of asymptomatic individuals using ultrasonography is not cost-effective.Therefore,simple,noninvasive tests are required to identify patients with NAFLD.The fatty liver index(FLI)and hepatic steatosis index(HSI)are accurate and easy to obtain.

How to make insulin-producing pancreatic β cells for diabetes treatment

Around 400 million people worldwide suffer from diabetes mellitus.The major pathological event for Type 1 diabetes and advanced Type 2 diabetes is loss or impairment of insulin-secreting β cells of the pancreas.For the past 100 years,daily insulin injection has served as a life-saving treatment for these patients.However,insulin injection often cannot achieve full glucose control,and over time poor glucose control leads to severe complications and mortality.As an alternative treatment,islet transplantation has been demonstrated to effectively maintain glucose homeostasis in diabetic patients,but its wide application is limited by the scarcity of donated islets.Therefore,it is important to define new strategies to obtain functional human β cells for transplantation therapies.Here,we summarize recent progress towards the production of β cells in vitro from pluripotent stem cells or somatic cell types including a cells,pancreatic exocrine cells,gastrointestinal stem cells,fibroblasts and hepatocytes.We also discuss novel methods for optimizing β cell transplantation and maintenance in vivo.From our perspective,the future of βcell replacement therapy is very promising although it is still challenging to control differentiation of β cells in vitro and to protect these cells from autoimmune attack in Type 1 diabetic patients.Overall,tremendous progress has been made in understanding βcell differentiation and producing functional β cells with different methods.In the coming years,we believe more clinical trials will be launched to move these technologies towards treatments to benefit diabetic patients.