Zhiping Wang

Human coronaviruses are a group of viruses that continue to threaten human health. In this study, we investigated the antiviral activity of 4-hydroxychalcone (4HCH), a chalcone derivative, against human coronavirus HCoV-OC43. We found that 4HCH significantly inhibited the cytopathic effect, reduced viral protein and RNA levels in infected cells, and increased the survival rate of HCoV-OC43-infected suckling mice. Mechanistically, 4HCH targets the early stages of viral infection by binding to the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and inhibiting the EGFR/AKT/ERK1/2 signaling pathway, thereby suppressing viral replication. Additionally, 4HCH significantly reduced the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines in both HCoV-OC43-infected RD cells and a suckling mouse model. Our findings demonstrate that 4HCH exhibits potent antiviral activity both in vitro and in vivo, suggesting its potential as a therapeutic agent against human coronaviruses. This study highlights EGFR as a promising host target for antiviral drug development and positions 4HCH as a candidate for further investigation in the treatment of coronavirus infections.

Objective: Our study aimed to investigate the underlying molecular mechanisms of selin-11-en-4α-ol purified from Artemisia vulgaris against anti-inflammation through network pharmacology, molecular docking, and in vitro experiments. Methods: Potential targets for selin-11-en-4α-ol and inflammation were obtained using Swiss Target Prediction, Pharm Mapper, and GeneCards databases. Venn diagrams were used to obtain the targets of selin-11-en-4α-ol for the treatment of inflammation, and the intersecting targets were uploaded to the STRING database to construct a protein–protein interaction (PPI) network of selin-11-en-4α-ol anti-inflammatory target proteins for further screening of the core targets. The Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were conducted using the DAVID database. In addition, molecular docking validation of core target binding to selin-11-en-4α-ol was performed. The anti-inflammatory effects were verified by in vitro experiments of lipopolysaccharide-induced RAW264.7 cells. Results: PPI network analysis showed that mitogen-activated protein kinase 14 (MAPK14), SRC, and HSP90AA1 were predicted as potential anti-inflammatory targets, and KEGG enrichment analysis revealed that the MAPK signaling pathway presented the highest gene enrichment counts. Molecular docking and western blot results suggested that selin-11-en-4α-ol regulated MAPK and nuclear transcription factor-κB (NF-κB) signaling pathways to alleviate inflammation. In addition, selin-11-en-4α-ol inhibited the production of inflammatory factors, chemokines, and reactive oxygen species and exhibited anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Conclusion: Selin-11-en-4α-ol treats inflammation by targeting the MAPK and NF-κB signaling pathway, demonstrating that network pharmacology and molecular docking are effective tools for studying traditional Chinese medicine and providing a theoretical basis for developing anti-inflammatory drugs.

Two pairs of new bisabolane‐type sesquiterpenoids, (+)‐aspersydowin A (7S) [(+)‐1], (−)‐aspersydowin A (7R) [(−)‐1], (+)‐aspersydowin B (7S,11S) [(+)‐2], (−)‐aspersydowin B (7R,11R) [(−)‐2], along with six known compounds (1–8) were isolated from the fungus Aspergillus sydowii. Compounds 1 and 2 are enantiomers resolved by the Chiralpak IC, using a hexane‐ propan‐2‐ol mobile phase. The structure of 1 and 2 with absolute configuration were assigned tentatively by 1D (¹H, ¹³C, and DEPT) & 2D (HSQC, ¹H–¹H COSY, HMBC, and NOESY) NMR data analyses and ECD calculations. Compounds 1–8 were screened for the biological activities in vitro. The results showed that compounds 3, 4 and 8 exhibited immunosuppressive activities with IC₅₀ values of 10.9, 17.6 and 13.4 μM, respectively.

Artemisia argyi essence liquid (AL) is an aqueous solution extracted from A. argyi using CO₂ supercritical fluid extraction. There have been few investigations on the aqueous solution of A. argyi extracted via CO₂ supercritical fluid extraction. This study aimed to explore the moisturizing and antioxidant effects of AL and to clarify the potential mechanism underlying those effects. Expression levels of skin moisture-related components and the H₂O₂-induced oxidative stress responses in human keratinocyte cells were measured via quantitative RT-qPCR, Western blot, and immunofluorescence. Our results showed that AL enhanced the expression of AQP3 and HAS2 by activating the EGFR-mediated STAT3 and MAPK signaling pathways. In addition, AL can play an antioxidant role by inhibiting the NF-κB signaling pathway and activating the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway, consequently increasing the expression of antioxidant enzymes (GPX1, SOD2) and decreasing the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). This study revealed that AL could be used as a potential moisturizing and antioxidant cosmetic ingredient.

There is a growing demand for the identification of alternative sources of collagen not derived from land-dwelling animals. The present study explored the use of pepsin- and acid-based extraction protocols to isolate collagen from the swim bladders of Megalonibea fusca. After extraction, these acid-soluble collagen (ASC) and pepsin-soluble collagen (PSC) samples respectively were subjected to spectral analyses and sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) characterization, revealing both to be comprised of type I collagen with a triple-helical structure. The imino acid content of these ASC and PSC samples was 195 and 199 residues per 1000 residues, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy demonstrated that samples of freeze-dried collagen exhibited a compact lamellar structure, while transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy confirmed the ability of these collagens to undergo self-assembly into fibers. ASC samples exhibited a larger fiber diameter than the PSC samples. The solubility of both ASC and PSC was highest under acidic pH conditions. Neither ASC nor PSC caused any cytotoxicity when tested in vitro, which met one of the requirements for the biological evaluation of medical devices. Thus, collagen isolated from the swim bladders of Megalonibea fusca holds great promise as a potential alternative to mammalian collagen.

Aim: This study focuses on constructing of an anti-inflammatory drug delivery system by encapsulation of berberine in the β-glucan nanoparticles and evaluates its effect on treating ulcerative colitis. Methods: β-Glucan and the anti-inflammatory drug berberine (BER) are self-assembled into nanoparticles to construct a drug delivery system (GLC/BER). The interaction between the drug and the carrier was characterized by circular dichroism, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, and dynamic light scattering. The anti-inflammatory effect of the GLC/BER was evaluated through a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW264.7 macrophage inflammation model and a sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced C57BL/6 mouse ulcerative colitis model. Results: The GLC/BER nanoparticles have a particle size of 80– 120 nm and a high encapsulation efficiency of 37.8± 4.21%. In the LPS-induced RAW264.7 macrophage inflammation model, GLC/BER significantly promoted the uptake of BER by RAW264.7 cells. RT-PCR and ELISA assay showed that it could significantly inhibit the inflammatory factors including IL-1β, IL-6 and COX-2. Furthermore, GLC/BER shows inhibiting effect on the secretion of pro-inflammatory factors such as IL-1β and IL-6, down-regulating the production of nitrite oxide; in animal studies, GLC/BER was found to exert a relieving effect on mice colitis. Conclusion: The study found that GLC/BER has an anti-inflammatory effect in vitro and in vivo, and the GLC carrier improves the potency and bioavailability of BER, providing a new type of nanomedicine for the treatment of colitis.

The Chinese herbal medicine, Huzhen Tongfeng Formula (HZTF), derived from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practice, has recognized therapeutic benefits for gouty arthritis (GA). HZTF is currently in the late stage of approval process as a new anti-GA drug application. However, the underlying mechanism of HZTF as an antigout medication is unclear. In this study, we combined network pharmacology and experimental validation approaches to elucidate the mechanism of action of HZTF. First, the relative drug-disease target networks were constructed and analyzed for pathway enrichment. Potential pathways were then validated by in vitro and in vivo experiments. We found that 34 compounds from HZTF matched 181 potential drug targets. Topology analysis revealed 77 core targets of HZTF, which were highly related to gout, following screening of KEGG pathway enrichment. Further analysis demonstrated that the arachidonic acid metabolic pathway was the most relevant pathway involved in the mechanism of HZTF. Validation experiments showed that HZTF significantly inhibited the inflammatory cell infiltration into gouty joints, improved the swelling of affected joints, and increased the pain threshold. HZTF significantly reduced the transcription and production of various cytokines and inflammatory mediators in vitro. In particular, cyclooxygenase (COX)-1, COX-2, and 5-lipoxygenase were simultaneously downregulated. In conclusion, our study suggests that the antigout mechanism of HZTF is associated with the inhibition of the arachidonic acid pathway, resulting in the suppression of inflammatory cytokines and mediators. These findings extend our understanding of the pharmacological action of HZTF, rationalizing the application HZTF as an effective herbal therapy for GA.