He Yufei, Wei Zihong, Xie Ying, Yi Xiulin, Zeng Yong, Li Yazhuo, Liu Changxiao
Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, China.
State Key Laboratory of Drug Delivery Technologies and Pharmacokinetics, Tianjin Institute of Pharmaceutical Research, China.
J Pharm Anal. 2020 Apr;10(2):178-186. doi: 10.1016/j.jpha.2019.09.004. Epub 2019 Sep 26.
Wutou-Gancao herb-pair is extensively used to attenuate the toxicity and enhance the efficacy of aconite. In this study, potential synergic mechanism of the herb pair was investigated by utilizing multiple approaches. In silico and in vitro Caco-2 cell models were applied to study the potential binding mode of bioactive ingredients existing in liquorice with P-glycoprotein (P-gp), as well as the inhibition effects on P-gp. Additionally, anti-inflammatory activity of aconitine (AC) combined with active ingredients of liquorice, as well as pharmacokinetic patterns of AC after co-administration was investigated. Anti-inflammatory effect of AC (1 mg/kg) in rats was enhanced in combination with bioactive ingredients of liquorice (10 mg/kg). In the meanwhile, the exposure of AC in vivo was altered, in terms of Cmax and AUC. For instance, the Cmax and AUC were increased to 1.9 and 1.3 folds, respectively, when used in combination with liquiritigenin. The in silico study revealed the potential binding mode with outward facing conformation of P-gp. The resulting data obtained from transport of rhodamine-123 (Rh-123) across Caco-2 cell monolayer further indicated that the function of P-gp was inhibited by chemicals in liquorice. The synergic effect was therefore proposed to be attributed to inhibition of P-gp by liquorice since AC has been demonstrated to be the substrate of P-gp. The resuls revealed that potential synergic mechanism of Wutou-Gancao herb-pair by inhibiting function of key efflux transporter P-gp to enhance the exposure of AC in systematic circulation, and further the anti-inflammatory effect, which helps clarify the compatibility rationale of these two herbs.
乌头-甘草药对广泛用于降低附子毒性并增强其疗效。在本研究中,采用多种方法探究了该药对的潜在协同作用机制。运用计算机模拟和体外Caco-2细胞模型,研究甘草中生物活性成分与P-糖蛋白(P-gp)的潜在结合模式以及对P-gp的抑制作用。此外,还研究了乌头碱(AC)与甘草活性成分联合使用时的抗炎活性以及联合给药后AC的药代动力学模式。AC(1mg/kg)与甘草生物活性成分(10mg/kg)联合使用时,大鼠的抗炎作用增强。同时,AC在体内的暴露量在Cmax和AUC方面发生了改变。例如,与甘草苷联合使用时,Cmax和AUC分别增加到1.9倍和1.3倍。计算机模拟研究揭示了与P-gp外向构象的潜在结合模式。从罗丹明-123(Rh-123)跨Caco-2细胞单层转运获得的结果进一步表明,甘草中的化学物质抑制了P-gp的功能。由于AC已被证明是P-gp的底物,因此推测协同作用归因于甘草对P-gp的抑制。结果表明,乌头-甘草药对的潜在协同作用机制是通过抑制关键外排转运蛋白P-gp的功能,增强AC在体循环中的暴露量,进而增强抗炎作用,这有助于阐明这两味药的配伍原理。