The triptolide anti arthritis project of Hong Kong Baptist University won the national "major new drug creation" special project in 2013

The research project of "Tripterygium wilfordii modified by aptamer against arthritis" jointly carried out by the Institute of bone and joint disease transformation medicine of Hong Kong Baptist University and the Institute of traditional Chinese medicine clinical basic medicine of the Chinese Academy of traditional Chinese medicine has recently been selected as the "major new drug creation" project in 2013 by the major national science and technology program, and a start-up fund of 1.5 million yuan has been obtained to carry out the three-year program Year of research "Tripterygium wilfordii" is a kind of traditional Chinese medicine which has the effect of treating arthritis but also has toxicity Triptolide is one of the medicinal components of Tripterygium wilfordii, which can effectively treat rheumatoid arthritis However, its toxicity will seriously damage the liver, which also makes Tripterygium wilfordii into a drug for rheumatoid arthritis a big challenge Professor Lv Aiping, Dean of the school of traditional Chinese medicine of Baptist University, in charge of the research project, compared the innovative research with the concept of "smart missile" The research team uses the sensitive "chemical bond" of acid environment to combine the nucleic acid aptamer with triptolide The nucleic acid aptamer that can recognize the inflammatory cells of joints is like a missile "warhead", triptolide is the "ammunition" placed in the missile The whole missile has the function of automatic "targeting" and "attacking" On the one hand, it can make triptolide evade the liver and reduce the toxicity to the liver, on the other hand, it can identify the inflammatory cells of rheumatoid arthritis; when the adapter "guides" triptolide to the inflammatory cells of rheumatoid arthritis, it will automatically break in the acidic environment of the inflammatory cells, leaving behind“ "Ammunition" means that the drug-resistant components play a therapeutic role Professor Lu said that this study will provide effective and safe clinical treatment of rheumatoid arthritis new drugs, but also can be used as a reference for future related research, help to develop appropriate drugs from traditional Chinese medicine and other natural products.