Solid‐state 31P NMR investigation on the status of guanine nucleotides in paclitaxel‐stabilized microtubules

Microtubule dynamics is a target for many chemotherapeutic drugs. In order to understand the biochemical effects of paclitaxel on the GTPase activity of tubulin, the status of guanine nucleotides in microtubules was investigated by ³¹P cross‐polarization magic angle spinning (CPMAS) NMR. Microtubules were freshly prepared in vitro in the presence of paclitaxel and then lyophilized in sucrose buffer for solid‐state NMR experiments. A ³¹P CPMAS NMR spectrum with the SNR of 25 was successfully acquired from the lyophilized microtubule sample. The broadness of the ³¹P spectral lines in the spectrum indicates that the molecular environments around the guanine nucleotides inside tubulin may not be as crystalline as reported by many diffraction studies. Deconvolution of the spectrum into four spectral components was carried out in comparison with the ³¹P NMR spectra obtained from five control samples. The spectral analysis suggested that about 13% of the nucleotides were present as GTP and 37% as GDP in the β‐tubulin (E‐site) of the microtubules. It was found that most of the GDPs were present as GDP‐P_i complex in the microtubules, which seems to be one of the effects of paclitaxel binding. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

In vitro evaluation of antiproliferative effect of ethyl gallate against human oral squamous carcinoma cell line KB

Although some polyphenols are known to possess anticancer activity against different cancer cell lines through induction of apoptosis, the mode of antiproliferative effect of ethyl gallate against human oral squamous carcinoma cell line KB was not studied until now. Therefore, the antiproliferative effect of ethyl gallate was evaluated by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay in comparison with the reference drug paclitaxel. Generation of reactive oxygen species, mitochondrial membrane potential loss, DNA damage and apoptosis were determined using 2,7-diacetyldichlorofluorescein fluorescence, uptake of rhodamine-123 by mitochondria, comet assay and acridine orange/ethidium bromide dual-dye staining method. Both ethyl gallate and paclitaxel exhibited cytotoxicity in a dose-dependent manner. The 50% inhibitory concentration for ethyl gallate was 30 and 20 μg/mL for paclitaxel. A volume of 50 μg/mL of ethyl gallate was found to be significantly effective (P < 0.05) in controlling the cancer cell proliferation leading to acute apoptosis.     

Omega‐3 Fatty Acid Grafted PAMAM‐Paclitaxel Conjugate Exhibits Enhanced Anticancer Activity in Upper Gastrointestinal Cancer Cells

Upper Gastrointestinal Cancers (UGCs) are a leading cause of cancer‐related deaths worldwide. Paclitaxel (PTX) is frequently used for the treatment of UGCs; however, low bioavailability, reduced solubility, and dose‐dependent toxicity impede its therapeutic use. PAMAMG_4.0‐NH₂‐DHA is synthesized by linking amine‐terminated fourth‐generation poly(amidoamine) (PAMAMG_4.0‐NH₂) dendrimers with omega‐3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Next, PAMAMG_4.0‐NH₂‐DHA‐PTX (DHATX) and PAMAMG_4.0‐NH₂‐PTX (PAX) conjugates are synthesized by subsequent covalent binding of PTX with PAMAMG_4.0‐NH₂‐DHA and PAMAMG_4.0‐NH₂, respectively. ¹H‐NMR and MALDI‐TOF analyses are performed to confirm conjugation of DHA to PAMAMG_4.0‐NH₂ and PTX to PAMAMG_4.0‐NH₂‐DHA. The cell viability, clonogenic cell survival, and flow cytometry analyses are used to determine the anticancer activity of PTX, PAX, and DHATX in UGC cell lines. The in vitro data indicate that treatment with DHATX is significantly more potent than PTX or PAX at inhibiting cellular proliferation, suppressing long‐term survival, and inducing cell death in UGC cells.

     

脱氢枞酸酯键合硅胶色谱固定相的制备及应用

将天然可再生资源脱氢枞酸与甲基丙烯酸缩水甘油酯反应制得脱氢枞酸酯（DAGME）,并将其通过“巯-烯”点击反应接枝到巯基功能化硅胶表面,制备得到一种疏水型脱氢枞酸酯键合硅胶色谱固定相（SilDAGME）。利用傅里叶变换红外光谱（FT-IR）、热失重分析（TGA）和元素分析（EA）对固定相进行表征,结果表明Sil-DAGME固定相成功制备。以烷基苯、Tanaka测试混合物、多环芳烃、酚类化合物和黄酮类化合物作为分离对象对Sil-DAGME的分离性能及保留机制进行评价。研究发现Sil-DAGME除疏水作用保留机制外,还具有氢键和π-π相互作用。基于多种保留机制的协同作用,Sil-DAGME对上述分析物均表现出良好的分离性能。此外,Sil-DAGME不仅具有良好的重现性（RSD为0.050%～0.19%,n=10）、稳定性（RSD为0.25%～1.0%,n=7）和可重复制备性（RSD为0.78%～2.1%,n=3）,还对红豆杉树皮粗提物表现出良好的分离效果。将脱氢枞酸用于制备新型的色谱填料不仅为紫杉醇的分离和检测提供了一种新途径,也为以天然产物松香作为功能配体设计和制备新型固定相提供了参考。     

Preparation of Catechin Nanoemulsion from Oolong Tea Leaf Waste and Its Inhibition of Prostate Cancer Cells DU-145 and Tumors in Mice

Anti-cancer activity of catechin nanoemulsions prepared from Oolong tea leaf waste was studied on prostate cancer cells DU-145 and DU-145-induced tumors in mice. Catechin nanoemulsions composed of lecithin, Tween-80 and water in an appropriate proportion was prepared with high stability, particle size of 11.3 nm, zeta potential of −67.2 mV and encapsulation efficiency of 83.4%. Catechin nanoemulsions were more effective than extracts in inhibiting DU-145 cell growth, with the IC₅₀ being 13.52 and 214.6 μg/mL, respectively, after 48 h incubation. Furthermore, both catechin nanoemulsions and extracts could raise caspase-8, caspase-9 and caspase-3 activities for DU-145 cell apoptosis, arresting the cell cycle at S and G2/M phases. Compared to control, catechin nanoemulsion at 20 μg/mL and paclitaxel at 10 μg/mL were the most effective in reducing tumor volume by 41.3% and 52.5% and tumor weight by 77.5% and 90.6% in mice, respectively, through a decrease in EGF and VEGF levels in serum.     

Determination of the transplacental transfer of paclitaxel and antipyrine by high performance liquid chromatography coupled with photodiode array detector

Ex vivo placental perfusion experiments are important in understanding the quantity and mechanisms of xenobiotic transport to the fetus during pregnancy. Our study demonstrates that paclitaxel and antipyrine concentrations in placental perfusion medium containing physiological concentrations of human serum albumin during pregnancy (30?mg/mL) can be quantified by RP-HPLC and UV detection. A liquid-liquid extraction method was developed for the quantification of paclitaxel and celecoxib (internal standard) from perfusion medium. Antipyrine, which is a necessary marker in placental perfusions for determining the validity of experiments and calculating the clearance index of xenobiotics, was also analyzed by HPLC and UV detection. Antipyrine concentrations were determined by HPLC after precipitating the perfusion medium in acetonitrile and separating the precipitated proteins by centrifugation. Concentrations were fitted to linear regressions with R² values approaching 1. Lower limits of detection for paclitaxel and antipyrine were 100?ng/mL and 200?ng/mL, respectively. Both methods demonstrated high intra-day and inter-day precision and trueness. Additionally, the use of these methods was demonstrated in a placental perfusion experiment using Taxol^® (paclitaxel dissolved in Cremophor-EL). The fetal transfer rate of Taxol was 6.6% after 1 hour.     

Synthesis of 14-Bromo and 14-Hydroxy Baccatin III Derviatives

Numerous efforts towards synthesis of anticancer drug paclitaxel (Taxol(r), 1a) with improved activities led to the modification at 13-phenylisoserine side chain and different positions of its core structure-baccatin III 1c1. At the same time, the activities of searching new taxoids for starting materials of new semi-synthetic paclitaxel analogs from Taxus spp. plant have not ever been stopped. Among these taxoids, 14?-hydroxy-10-deacetylbaccatin III 22 and 13-acetyl-9-dihydrobaccatin III …     

Quantitative analysis of docetaxel in human plasma using liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry

An assay for the quantitative determination of docetaxel in human plasma is described. Docetaxel was extracted from the matrix using liquid-liquid extraction with ter-butylmethylether, followed by high-performance liquid chromatographic analysis using an alkaline eluent. Paclitaxel was used as internal standard. Positive ionization electrospray tandem mass spectrometry was performed for selective and sensitive detection. The method was validated according to the FDA guidelines on bioanalytical method validation. The validated range for docetaxel was from 0.25--1000 ng/mL using 200 microL plasma aliquots. The method requires only a limited volume (200 microL) of human plasma and the method can be applied in studies requiring a low lower limit of quantitation of 0.25 ng/mL. The assay was applied successfully in several clinical and pharmacological studies with docetaxel.