Peripheral System Diseases Research Articles

Connecting the Dots: The Cerebral Lymphatic System as a Bridge Between the Central Nervous System and Peripheral System in Health and Disease.

As a recently discovered waste removal system in the brain, cerebral lymphatic system is thought to play an important role in regulating the homeostasis of the central nervous system. Currently, more and more attention is being focused on the cerebral lymphatic system. Further understanding of the structural and functional characteristics of cerebral lymphatic system is essential to better understand the pathogenesis of diseases and to explore therapeutic approaches. In this review, we summarize the structural components and functional characteristics of cerebral lymphatic system. More importantly, it is closely associated with peripheral system diseases in the gastrointestinal tract, liver, and kidney. However, there is still a gap in the study of the cerebral lymphatic system. However, we believe that it is a critical mediator of the interactions between the central nervous system and the peripheral system.

Mitochondrial therapy: a new strategy for treating mitochondrion-associated diseases

Mitochondrion is a multifunctional organelle in cells and responsible for energy production, cell apoptosis and various life processes. Dysfunctional mitochondria are associated with hundreds of diseases. Increasing evidences have shown that extracellular mitochondria can be endocytosed by cells, directly into cells, and then play roles in cells. Mitochondria are the organelles that are extremely sensitive to oxygen content and pH of microenvironment that induces the adverse effect based on the cellular environment: mitochondria will increase cell survival and viability when they arrive in cells of physiological environment, but mitochondria will cause cell death when they enter the hypoxic and acidic tumor tissues, because they can produce a large amounts of oxygen free radicals. The pharmacological feature of environmental responsiveness of mitochondria could make them as a potential biological drug to kill cancer cells and restore the function of damaged tissues. Currently, mitochondria are used in the treatment of central nervous system diseases (Parkinson's disease, depression, schizophrenia, etc.), peripheral system diseases (ischemic myocardial injury, fatty liver, emphysema, etc.) and tumor. In this review, we summarize the research progress, medical application and challenges of mitochondrial therapy.

Drug-likeness prediction of chemical constituents isolated from Chinese materia medica Ciwujia

Ethnopharmacological relevanceCiwujia (CWJ), one of the most commonly used Chinese materia medicas (CMMs), is derived from the roots, rhizomes, and stems of Acanthopanax senticosus harms (AS). CWJ has been used for the treatment of various central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral system diseases. Drug-likeness prediction can help to analyze the absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) processes of the compounds in CWJ, as well as their potential therapeutic and toxic effects, which is of significance in the confirmation of the active material bases of CWJ. Materials and methodsThe ADME properties of the compounds were calculated through web based PreADMET program and ACD/I-Lab 2.0. The potential therapeutic and toxicity targets of these compounds were screened by the ChemQuery tool in DrugBank and T3DB. Results14/39 compounds had moderate or good oral bioavailability (OB). 29/39 compounds bound weakly to the plasma proteins. 18/39 compounds might pass across the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Most of these compounds showed low renal excretion ability. 25/39 compounds had 99 structurally similar drugs and 158 potential therapeutic targets. Additionally, 17/39 compounds had 53 structurally similar toxins and 126 potential toxicity targets. ConclusionOur study suggests that these compounds have a certain drug-likeness potentials, which are also likely to be the material bases of CWJ. These results may provide a reference for the safe use of CWJ and the expansion of its application scope.

Metabonomic Study of the Effects of Acanthopanax senticosus on Peripheral System of Rats.

Acanthopanax senticosus is extensively used to treat various nervous and cerebrovascular diseases in traditional medicinal systems in China and Russia. Ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight-mass spectrometry coupled with pattern recognition methods was used to investigate the effects of A.senticosus on the peripheral system in rats. The analysis of possible pathways influenced by A.senticosus was performed with MetaboAnalyst and Cytoscape software. After treatment with A.senticosus, 21 modulated metabolites in heart tissue, 20 in liver tissue, 14 in spleen tissue, 17 in lung tissue, 16 in kidney tissue, and 12 in a serum sample were identified and considered potential biomarkers of A.senticosus treatments. The regulation of some endogenous metabolites by A. senticosus could be beneficial for the treatment of several peripheral system diseases, such as hypertension, cancer, and oxidative stress, etc. However, there were also some upregulated endogenous metabolites producing potential toxicity to the peripheral system. A metabonomic analysis revealed that protection and toxicity coexisted in the effects of A.senticosus on the peripheral system, which may be a practical guide for its safe use and beneficial to the expansion of its application.