Rapid identification of urokinase plasminogen activator inhibitors from Traditional Chinese Medicines based on ultrafiltration, LC–MS and in silico docking

Abstract The urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) is regarded as the crucial trigger for plasmin generation, which is involved in several diseases especially for neoplasm metastasis. In this study, an efficient approach integrating ultrafiltration, LC/MS, bioassay and in silico docking, was proposed for rapidly detecting uPA ligands from Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCMs). Forty-two TCMs were initially assessed, and as illustrative case studies, Galla Chinensis and Sanguisorbae Radix, which appeared significant inhibitory activities on uPA, were chosen to develpe and verify the strategy. A total of seven uPA ligands were successfully detected and identified. Two of them, pentagalloylglucose and 28- O - β - d -glucopyranosyl pomolic acid, were demonstrated to be potential inhibitors, with IC 50 at 1.639 μM and 37.82 μM repectively. Furthermore, a combinatorial compound library screening combined with in silico docking assay, was revealed that ursolic acid (IC 50  = 2.623 μM) was also speculated to be a potent parent structure for inhibition of uPA. This approach offers a multidimensional perspective to discover uPA-binding leading compounds from TCMs or other complex mixtures, which would provide an efficient route for drug discovery.