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In this work, a sensitive and selective UPLC-MS/MS method for determination of ardisiacrispin A in rat plasma was developed. Cyasterone used as an internal standard (IS) and protein precipitation by acetonitrile-methanol (9:1, v/v) was used to prepare samples. Chromatographic separation was achieved on a UPLC BEH C18 column (2.1 × 100 mm, 1.7 μm) with 0.1% formic acid and acetonitrile as the mobile phase with gradient elution. An electrospray ionization source was applied and operated in positive ion mode; multiple reaction monitoring mode was used for quantification using target fragment ions m/ z 1083.5 → 407.1 for ardisiacrispin A and m/ z 521.3 → 485.2 for IS. Calibration plots were linear throughout the range 5-2000 ng/mL for ardisiacrispin A in rat plasma. Mean recoveries of ardisiacrispin A in rat plasma ranged from 80.4 to 92.6%. The values of RSD of intra- and inter-day precision were both <11%. The accuracy of the method was between 97.3 and 105.6%. The method was successfully applied to pharmacokinetic study of ardisiacrispin A after intravenous administration in rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dendrobine, considered as the major active alkaloid compound, has been used for the quality control and discrimination of Dendrobium which is documented in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. In this work, a sensitive and simple ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method for determination of dendrobine in rat plasma is developed. After addition of caulophyline as an internal standard (IS), protein precipitation by acetonitrile-methanol (9:1, v/v) was used to prepare samples. Chromatographic separation was achieved on a UPLC BEH C18 (2.1 ×100 mm, 1.7 µm) column with acetonitrile and 0.1% formic acid as the mobile phase with gradient elution. An electrospray ionization source was applied and operated in positive ion mode; multiple reaction monitoring mode was used for quantification using target fragment ions m/ z 264.2 → 70.0 for dendrobine and m/ z 205.1 → 58.0 for IS. Calibration plots were linear throughout the range 2-1000 ng/mL for dendrobine in rat plasma. The RSDs of intra-day and inter-day precision were both <13%. The accuracy of the method was between 95.4 and 103.9%. The method was successfully applied to pharmacokinetic study of dendrobine after intravenous administration. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gelsenicine is an indole alkaloid isolated from Gelsemium elegans Benth. In recent years, the role of G. elegans Benth preparations in anti‐tumor, analgesic, dilatation and dermatological treatment has attracted attention, and it has been applied clinically, but it is easy to cause poisoning with its use. An UPLC–MS/MS method was established to determine the gelsenicine in mouse blood, and the pharmacokinetics of gelsenicine after intravenous (0.1 mg/kg) and intragastric (0.5 and 1 mg/kg) administration was studied. Deltalin was used as internal standard; a UPLC BEH C18 column was used for chromatographic separation. The mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile and 10 mmol/L ammonium acetate (0.1% formic acid) with a gradient elution flow rate of 0.4 mL/min. Multiple reaction monitoring mode was used for quantitative analysis of gelsenicine in electrospray ionization positive interface. Proteins from mouse blood were removed by acetonitrile precipitation. A validation of this method was performed in accordance with the US Food and Drug Administration guidelines. In the concentration range of 0.05–100 ng/mL, the gelsenicine in the mouse blood was linear (r > 0.995), and the lower limit of quantification was 0.05 ng/mL. In the mouse blood, the intra‐day precision RSD was <12%, the inter‐day precision RSD was <15%, the accuracy ranged from 89.8 to 112.3%, the average recovery was >76.8%, and the matrix effect was between 103.7 and 108.4%, which meet the pharmacokinetic research requirements of gelsenicine. The UPLC–MS/MS method is sensitive, rapid and selective, and has been successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study of gelsenicine in mice. The absolute bioavailability of gelsenicine is 1.13%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work aimed to explore the mechanisms underlying the interaction of the active furanocoumarins in P. corylifolia on tofacitinib both in vivo and in vitro . The concentration of tofacitinib and its metabolite M8 was determined using UPLC-MS/MS. The peak area ratio of M8 to tofacitinib was calculated to compare the inhibitory ability of furanocoumarin contained in the traditional Chinese medicine P. corylifolia in rat liver microsomes (RLMs), human liver microsomes (HLMs) and recombinant human CYP3A4 (rCYP3A4). We found that bergapten and isopsoralen exhibited more significant inhibitory activity in RLMs than other furanocoumarins. Bergapten and isopsoralen were selected to investigate tofacitinib drug interactions in vitro and in vivo . Thirty rats were randomly allocated into 5 groups ( n = 6): control (0.5% CMC-Na), low-dose bergapten (20 mg/kg), high-dose bergapten (50 mg/kg), low-dose isopsoralen (20 mg/kg) and ketoconazole. 10 mg/kg of tofacitinib was orally intervented to each rat and the concentration level of tofacitinib in the rats were determined by UPLC-MS/MS. More imporrantly, the results showed that bergapten and isopsoralen significantly inhibited the metabolism of tofacitinib metabolism. The AUC (0-t) , AUC (0-∞) , MRT (0-t) , MRT (0-∞) and Cmax of tofacitinib increased in varying degrees compared with the control group (all p < 0.05), but CLz/F decreased in varying degrees ( p < 0.05) in the different dose bergapten group and isopsoralen group. Bergapten, isopsoralen and tofacitinib exhibit similar binding capacities with CYP3A4 by AutoDock 4.2 software, confirming that they compete for tofacitinib metabolism. P. corylifolia may considerably impact the metabolism of tofacitinib, which can provide essential information for the accurate therapeutic application of tofacitinib., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Wang, Zhou, Wang, Song, Wang, Mamun, Geng, Zhou and Wang.)

Macitentan was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2013 for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Bergapten is a furanocoumarin that is abundant in Umbelliferae and Rutaceae plants and is widely used in many Chinese medicine prescriptions. Considering the possible combination of these two compounds, this study is aimed to investigate the effects of bergapten on the pharmacokinetics of macitentan both in vitro and in vivo . Rat liver microsomes (RLMs), human liver microsomes (HLMs), and recombinant human CYP3A4 (rCYP3A4) were used to investigate the inhibitory effects and mechanisms of bergapten on macitentan in vitro . In addition, pharmacokinetic parameters were also studied in vivo . Rats were randomly divided into two groups (six rats per group), with or without bergapten (10 mg/kg), and pretreated for 7 days. An oral dose of 20 mg/kg macitentan was administered to each group 30 min after bergapten or 0.5% CMC-Na administration on day 7. Blood was collected from the tail veins, and the plasma concentrations of macitentan and its metabolites were assessed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography - tandem mass spectrometer (UPLC-MS/MS). Finally, we analyzed the binding force of the enzyme and two small ligands by in silico molecular docking to verify the inhibitory effects of bergapten on macitentan. The in vitro results revealed that the IC 50 values for RLMs, HLMs, and rCYP3A4 were 3.84, 17.82 and 12.81 μM, respectively. In vivo pharmacokinetic experiments showed that the AUC (0-t) , AUC (0-∞) , and C max of macitentan in the experimental group (20,263.67 μg/L*h, 20,378.31 μg/L*h and 2,999.69 μg/L, respectively) increased significantly compared with the control group (7,873.97 μg/L*h, 7,897.83 μg/L*h and 1,339.44 μg/L, respectively), while the CL z /F (1.07 L/h/kg) of macitentan and the metabolite-parent ratio (MR) displayed a significant decrease. Bergapten competitively inhibited macitentan metabolism in vitro and altered its pharmacokinetic characteristics in vivo . Further molecular docking analysis was also consistent with the experimental results. This study provides a reference for the combined use of bergapten and macitentan in clinical practice., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Xu, Zhou, Hou, Wang, Geng, Lu, Zhou, Dai and Wang.)

Objective: To analyze clinical manifestations and genetic mutation in a child with severe short stature and other malformations., Methods: The child has undergone history taking and physical examination. Genome DNA was extracted from peripheral blood samples of the proband and her family members. Candidate genes were captured with Agilent SureSelect and sequenced on an Illumina platform. Suspected mutation was verified by Sanger sequencing., Results: The patient, a six-year-and-10-month old girl, presented with non-symmetrical short stature, dysmorphism, abnormalities of limbs and spine, amblyopia of left eye, and cataract of right eye, in addition with frequent respiratory infection and micturition. Laboratory testing suggested 25-hydroxy vitamin D deficiency (18.9 ng/mL). Spine X-ray showed multiple malformations with centrums. Her mother also featured short stature (138 cm). Her aunt had short stature (130 cm) and limb-length discrepancy. Her little brother was 2.5 years old, and his height was 81 cm (-3.4 SD). Exome sequencing revealed a heterozygous mutation c.184C to T (p.Arg62Trp) in the proband and her mother. The same mutation was not found in her father and brother., Conclusion: The patient was diagnosed with X-linked chondrodysplasia punctata 2. Mutation of the EBP gene probably underlied the disease in this family.

Flos Daturae, known as "baimantuoluo" or "yangjinhua" in China, has been used for centuries in Traditional Chinese Medicine for the treatment of asthma, convulsions, pain, and rheumatism. To investigate the influences of Flos Daturae on the activities of rat CYP450 enzymes (CYP1A2, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2B6, CYP2D6 and CYP3A4) using cocktail probe drugs in vivo. A cocktail solution at a dose of 5 mL/kg, which contained phenacetin (10 mg/kg), tolbutamide (1 mg/kg), omeprazole (10 mg/kg), bupropion (10 mg/kg), metoprolol (10 mg/kg) and testosterone (10 mg/kg), was intragastric administered to rats treated with a single low or high dose of Flos Daturae decotion for 7days. Blood samples collected at a series of time-points in plasma were determined by UPLC-MS/MS. The corresponding pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by the software of DAS 3.0. The results from the present in vivo study showed that Flos Daturae induce the activity of CYP2D6 enzyme with the decreased Cmax, AUC(0-∞) (P < 0.05) and the increased CL (P < 0.05). However, there were no significant differences of other probe drugs in plasma concentration and pharmacokinetic parameters. There were no significant effects on rat CYP1A2, CYP3A4, CYP2B6, CYP2C9 and CYP2C19 by Flos Daturae. Therefore, the resulting data suggested that caution was needed when Flos Daturae was co-administered with CYP2D6 substrates, which may result in treatment failure and herb-drug interactions.

Magnoflorine is one of the most widespread aporphine alkaloids. In this work, a sensitive and selective ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method for the determination of magnoflorine in rat plasma and mouse tissue have been developed and validated. After addition of nuciferine as an internal standard (IS), protein precipitation by acetonitrile-methanol (9:1, v/v) was used for samples treatment. Chromatographic separation was achieved on a UPLC BEH C18 column (2.1 mm×100 mm, 1.7 μm) with 0.1% formic acid and acetonitrile as the mobile phase with gradient elution. An electrospray ionization source was applied and operated in positive ion mode; multiple reactions monitoring (MRM) mode was used for quantification using target fragment ions m/z 342.8→298.2 for magnoflorine and m/z 296.0→265.1 for IS. Calibration plots were linear throughout the range 2-2000 ng/mL for magnoflorine in rat plasma and tissue. Mean recoveries of magnoflorine in rat plasma were better than 83.0%. RSD of intra-day and inter-day precision were both less than 9%. The accuracy of the method was between 95.5% and 107.5%. The method was successfully applied to pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution study of magnoflorine. The absolute bioavailability of magnoflorine was reported as 22.6%. The magnoflorine underwent a rapid and wide distribution to tissues; the level of magnoflorine in liver is highest, then followed by heart, spleen and lung. Based on tissue distribution data, a back-propagation artificial neural network (BP-ANN) method was developed and it could be used to predict the concentrations of magnoflorine in tissues.

In order to investigate the effects of diphenoxylate on the metabolic capacity of cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes, a cocktail method was employed to evaluate the activities of CYP2B6, CYP2D6, CYP2C19, CYP1A2, CYP3A4, CYP2C9. The rats were randomly divided into diphenoxylate group (Low, Medium, High) and control group. The diphenoxylate group rats were given 12, 24, 48 mg/kg (Low, Medium, High) diphenoxylate by continuous intragastric administration for 7 days. Six probe drugs bupropion, metroprolol omeprazole, phenacetin, testosterone and tolbutamide were given to rats through intragastric administration, and the plasma concentrations were determined by UPLC-MS/MS. Statistical pharmacokinetics difference for omeprazole, phenacetin and tolbutamide in rats were observed by comparing diphenoxylate group with control group. Continuous 7 days-intragastric administration of diphenoxylate induces the activities of CYP2C19, CYP1A2 and CYP2C9 of rats. Induction of drug metabolizing enzyme by diphenoxylate would reduce the efficacy of other drug. Additionally, high dosage diphenoxylate may cause hepatotoxicity.

Objective: To explore the roles of ribavirin aerosol in the prevention and treatment of hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD)., Methods: For this prospective, multicenter, randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled trial, a total of 300 HFMD outpatients from 3 class 3A hospitals from July 2011 to June 2013 were divided into treatment (ribavirin aerosol) and control (placebo) groups (n = 150 each). The age range was 6 months to 6 years. The proportion of male and female was 1.5: 1. Temperature, herpes of mouth and skin rash were observed before and after treatments. Before treatment and 6-7 days after, their specimens of throat swab were collected and the levels of EV71 and CA16 detected with reverse transcription (RT)-PCR. The software SAS 9.2 was used for statistic data analyses., Results: Before treatment, no significant statistical difference existed in parameters between treatment and control groups (all P > 0.05). After treatment, the degree of herpes of mouth and papulovesicle of skin in treatment group was better than that in control group (100.0% (147/147) vs 83.9% (120/143), χ(2) = 109.21, P < 0.01); (100.0% (147/147) vs 95.9% (139/145) , χ(2) = 6.38, P < 0.05) . The virus negative conversion rates had significant inter-group difference (80.0% (102/110) vs 41.8% (41/98) , χ(2) = 37.06, P < 0.01). The temperature, compliance and differences were not significant (all P > 0.05). The effective rate of comprehensive efficacy in treatment group was higher than that in control group (93.9% (122/130) vs 52.0% (64/123), χ(2) = 111.08, P < 0.01). No obvious adverse drug reaction was observed., Conclusions: Ribavirin aerosol has multiple advantages of lower dose, quicker onset, higher local concentration, better clinical efficacy and fewer side-effects. Its therapeutic effect for local lesion is better than that for systemic lesion. Thus it may shorten the duration of oropharyngeal and skin lesions and lower the number and time of viral release.

The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of thymectomy during open heart surgery on immunological function of T lymphocytes in the treatment of children with congenital heart disease (CHD). No significant difference was found in the sjTREC level between pre-thymectomy and post- thymectomy in the non-thymectomy group and the small partial resection group (P>0.05) However, the sjTREC level decreased from the pre-surgical level at 1 month (P<0.01) and 12 months (P<0.01) in the sub-total resection group. No differences were found in proportions of CD3, CD4 and CD8 lymphocytes, proliferative ability of lymphocytes and expression of IL-2, IL-4 and IFN-γ after surgery between controls and three groups of patients (P>0.05). In the sub-total resection group, respiratory infection frequency (4.7±1.7 times) did not differ significantly from control group one year after surgery (P>0.05); however, mean days of anti-infection were significantly increased (P less than 0.01). In conclusion, sub-total thymectomy leads to a decrease in the sjTREC level in CHD children, whereas the function of peripheral mature T lymphocytes is normal.