The structure of a new cardenolide diglycoside and the biological activities of eleven cardenolide diglycosides from Nerium oleander

A new cardenolide diglycoside (1) was isolated from Nerium oleander together with ten known cardenolide diglycosides 2-11. The structure of compound 1 was established on the basis of their spectroscopic data. The in vitro anti-inflammatory activity of compounds 1-11 was examined on the basis of inhibitory activity against the induction of the intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1). Compounds 2-5 were active at an IC(50) value of less than 0.8 μM. The cytotoxicity of compounds 1-11 was evaluated against three human cell lines normal human fibroblast cells (WI-38), malignant tumor cells induced from WI-38 (VA-13), and human liver tumor cells (HepG2). Compound 3 was active toward VA-13 cells, and compounds 2-5 were active toward HepG2 cells at IC(50) values of less than 1.3 μM. The multidrug resistance (MDR)-reversal activity of compounds 1-11 was evaluated on the basis of the amount of calcein in MDR human ovarian cancer 2780AD cells in the presence of each compound. Compounds 1 and 8 showed moderate effects on calcein accumulation.     

Antioxidant, antitubercular and cytotoxic activities of Piper imperiale

Phenolic compounds are widely distributed in Nature and act as pharmacologically active constituents in many herbal medicines. They have multiple biological properties, most notably antioxidant, antibacterial and cytotoxic activities. In the present study an attempt to correlate the phenolic composition of leaf, flower and wood extracts of Piper imperiale, with antioxidant, antitubercular and cytotoxic activities was undertaken. The total phenol content ranged from 1.98 to 6.94 mg GAE/gDW among ethanolic extracts, and gallic acid, catechin, epicatechin, ferulic acid, resveratrol and quercetin were identified and quantified by HPLC. DPPH and ABTS assays showed high antioxidant activity of the leaf extract (EC(50ABTS) = 15.6 μg/mL, EC(50DPPH) = 27.3 μg/mL) with EC?? in the same order of magnitude as the hydroxyquinone (EC(50ABTS) = 10.2 μg/mL, EC(50DPPH) = 15.7 μg/mL). The flower extract showed strong antimicrobial activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H??Rv. All the extracts exhibited dose-dependent cytotoxic effects against MCF-7 cancer cells. This is the first time that a Piper extract has been found to be highly active against M. tuberculosis. This study shows the biological potential of Piper imperiale extracts and gives way to bio-guided studies with well-defined biological activities.     

Isolation of Phlorotannins from Eisenia bicyclis and Their Hepatoprotective Effect against Oxidative Stress Induced by tert-Butyl Hyperoxide

Eisenia bicyclis (Kjellman) Setchell is a common brown alga that inhabits the middle Pacific coast around Korea and Japan. In this study, the ethanol extract and its serial solvent fractions were prepared from fresh E. bicyclis, and their hepatoprotective effects were investigated against hepatotoxicity in tert-butyl hyperoxide(t-BHP)-injured HepG2 cells. When these samples were used at a dose of 10-40 μg/mL?1, they significantly protected the t-BHP-induced cell death in HepG2 cells. Among fractions, ethyl acetate fraction (EF) and n-butanol extract (BF) exhibited potent hepatoprotective activities (62.60% for EF and 64.86% for BF) in t-BHP-injured HepG2 cells at a concentration of 10 μg/mL?1. To find the potential factors for this activity, the samples were characterized on total phenolics, chlorophylls, carotenoids, and radical scavenging activity. Among them, EF showed the highest content of total phenolics and the strongest antioxidant activity both in on- and offline assays. Five phlorotannin compounds, oligomers of phloroglucinol, were isolated chromatographically from this fraction and structurally identified by (1)H-NMR and liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry analyses as eckol(1), 6,6'-bieckol(2), 8,8'-bieckol(3), dieckol(4), and phlorofucofuroeckol A(5). Compound 5 among five purified compounds showed the strongest protective activity (45.54%) at a concentration of 10 μM. At the high dose (40 μM), the protective activities of three compounds (compound 2, 4, and 5) were higher than that of quercetin treated with 10 μM concentration. Therefore, we can speculate that they can be developed as potential candidates for natural hepatoprotective agents.     

Synthesis and cytotoxic activity of some novel N-pyridinyl-2-(6-phenylimidazo[2,1-b]thiazol-3-yl)acetamide derivatives

A series of novel compounds bearing imidazo[2,1-b]thiazole scaffolds were designed and synthesized based on the optimization of the virtual screening hit compound N-(6-morpholinopyridin-3-yl)-2-(6-phenylimidazo[2,1-b]thiazol-3-yl)acetamide (5a), and tested for their cytotoxicity against human cancer cell lines, including HepG2 and MDA-MB-231. The results indicated that the compound 2-(6-(4-chlorophenyl)imidazo[2,1-b]thiazol-3-yl)-N-(6-(4-(4-methoxybenzyl)piperazin-1-yl)pyridin-3-yl)acetamide (5l), with slightly higher inhibition on VEGFR2 than 5a (5.72% and 3.76% inhibitory rate at 20 μM, respectively), was a potential inhibitor against MDA-MB-231 (IC(50) = 1.4 μM) compared with sorafenib (IC(50) = 5.2 μM), and showed more selectivity against MDA-MB-231 than HepG2 cell line (IC(50) = 22.6 μM).     

Design,synthesis, and antilung adenocarcinoma activity research of novel paeonol Schiff base derivatives containing a 1,2,3-triazole moiety

A new series of paeonol Schiff base derivatives containing a 1,2,3-triazole moiety were synthesized using the copper(I) catalyzed azide-alkynecycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction and evaluated for their cytotoxicity in vitro against human cervical carcinoma HeLa cells, human lung cancer A549 cells, and human liver cancer HepG2 cells. Unfortunately, all the tested compounds showed poor activities toward the human cervical carcinoma HeLa cells and human liver cancer HepG2 cells. However, compounds (E)-2-(1-(((1-[2-fluorophenyl]-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)methyl)imino)ethyl)-5-methoxyphenol ( 4c ) and (E)-2-(1-(((1-[3- chlorophenyl]-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)methyl)imino)ethyl)-5-methoxyphenol ( 4i ) exhibited inhibitory activities toward human lung cancer A549 cells (IC₅₀ = 45.1 μM for 4c and 78.9 μM for 4i ) compared with that of paeonol, which indicated that such paeonol Schiff base derivatives containing a 1,2,3-triazole moiety could be further modified to obtain good cytotoxicity in vitro against human lung cancer A549 cells.     

Revealing the Potential Application of EC-Synthetic Retinoid Analogues in Anticancer Therapy

(1) Background and Aim: All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) induces differentiation and inhibits growth of many cancer cells. However, resistance develops rapidly prompting the urgent need for new synthetic and potent derivatives. EC19 and EC23 are two synthetic retinoids with potent stem cell neuro-differentiation activity. Here, these compounds were screened for their in vitro antiproliferative and cytotoxic activity using an array of different cancer cell lines. (2) Methods: MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay, AV/PI (annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)/propidium iodide (PI)), cell cycle analysis, immunocytochemistry, gene expression analysis, Western blotting, measurement of glutamate and total antioxidant concentrations were recruited. (3) Results: HepG2, Caco-2, and MCF-7 were the most sensitive cell lines; HepG2 (ATRA; 36.2, EC19; 42.2 and EC23; 0.74 µM), Caco-2 (ATRA; 58.0, EC19; 10.8 and EC23; 14.7 µM) and MCF-7 (ATRA; 99.0, EC19; 9.4 and EC23; 5.56 µM). Caco-2 cells were selected for further biochemical investigations. Isobologram analysis revealed the combined synergistic effects with 5-fluorouracil with substantial reduction in IC₅₀. All retinoids induced apoptosis but EC19 had higher potency, with significant cell cycle arrest at subG₀-G₁, -S and G₂/M phases, than ATRA and EC23. Moreover, EC19 reduced cellular metastasis in a transwell invasion assay due to overexpression of E-cadherin, retinoic acid-induced 2 (RAI2) and Werner (WRN) genes. (4) Conclusion: The present study suggests that EC-synthetic retinoids, particularly EC19, can be effective, alone or in combinations, for potential anticancer activity to colorectal cancer. Further in vivo studies are recommended to pave the way for clinical applications.     

多功能芯片对合成样本中肝癌细胞HepG2的测试研究

设计并制作了一种集多孔流分离(Multi-orifice flow fractionation,MOFF)技术与磁捕获技术于一体的用于特异性分离和捕获合成样本中肝癌细胞HepG2的多功能微流控细胞芯片.此芯片由玻璃基片和PDMS微通道盖片组成,PDMS盖片上含有3条进样通道、MOFF分离区和六边形腔体的细胞富集检测区.其中,MOFF分离区总长20 mm,由80组长度为0.18 mm、深度为50μm、收缩区域宽度为0.06 mm、扩张区域宽度为0.20 mm的半菱形收缩/扩张重复单元组成,每组收缩/扩张重复单元间的夹角为103.0°.实验以肝癌细胞HepG2-血细胞混悬液为样本;根据磁珠表面修饰c-Met抗体能与肝癌细胞HepG2特异性结合的原理,通过表面羧基化的磁珠、EDC(1 mg/mL)、NHS(1 mg/mL)和c-Met抗体制备了浓度为50μg/mL的免疫磁珠(Anti-MNCs)悬浮液.在样本流速为50μL/min条件下,利用外加磁场实现了血细胞合成样本中微量肝癌细胞HepG2的有效捕获;采用微波加热法以柠檬酸、硫脲为原料制备了用于荧光标记HepG2的碳量子点,在芯片上实现了血液中肝癌细胞HepG2的原位荧光可视化观测.对芯片检测区捕获到的HepG2进行了显微计数分析,对500μL血细胞(107 cell/mL)中含10个HepG2细胞的合成样本,捕获效率达到88.5%±6.7%(n=20).结果表明,所设计的多模式多功能的微流控芯片具有良好的肿瘤细胞分离和检测功能.     

Inhibition of urease activity by dipeptidyl hydroxamic acids.

A series of dipeptidyl hydroxamic acids (H-X-Gly-NHOH: X = amino acid residues) was synthesized, and the inhibitory activity against Jack bean and Proteus mirabilis ureases [EC 3.5.1.5] was examined. A number of H-X-Gly-NHOH inhibited Jack bean urease with an I50 of the order of 10(-6) M and inhibited Proteus mirabilis urease with an I50 of the order of 10(-5) M. The inhibition against Jack bean urease was more potent than that with the corresponding aminoacyl hydroxamic acids (H-X-NHOH).     

Anti-AIDS agents 88. Anti-HIV conjugates of betulin and betulinic acid with AZT prepared via click chemistry

In the present study, a new strategy to link AZT with betulin/betulinic acid (BA) by click chemistry was designed and achieved. This conjugation via a triazole linkage offers a new direction for modification of anti-HIV triterpenes. Click chemistry provides an easy and productive way for linking two molecules, even when one of them is a large natural product. Among the newly synthesized conjugates, compounds 15 and 16 showed potent anti-HIV activity with EC(50) values of 0.067 and 0.10 μM, respectively, which are comparable to that of AZT (EC(50): 0.10 μM) in the same assay.     

3-O-(E)-p-coumaroyl tormentic acid from Eriobotrya japonica leaves induces caspase-dependent apoptotic cell death in human leukemia cell line

Eleven triterpene acids, 1-11, isolated from the leaves of Eriobotrya japonica, were evaluated for inhibition of DNA topoisomerase (Topo) I and cytotoxicity against human leukemia (HL60) and melanoma cell lines (CRL1579). Among the compounds tested, four compounds, δ-oleanolic acid (4), ursolic acid (5), 3-O-(E)-p-coumaroyl tormentic acid (8), and betulinic acid (10), exhibited potent Topo I inhibitory activity (IC(50) 20.3-36.5 μM) and cytotoxicity against HL60 (EC(50) 5.0-8.1 μM). Upon assessing the apoptosis-inducing activity in HL60 cells, compound 8 exhibited induction of apoptosis detected by the observation of DNA fragmentation and membrane phospholipid exposure in flow cytometry. Western blot analysis showed that compound 8 markedly reduced the levels of procaspases-3 and 9, while being increased the levels of cleaved caspases-3 and 9. On the other hand, compound 8 exerted almost no influence on the expression of caspase-8. In addition, compound 8 increased significantly Bax/Bcl-2 ratio and activated caspase-2. These results suggested that compound 8 induced apoptotic cell death in HL60 via mainly mitochondrial pathway by, at least in part, Topo I inhibition. Therefore, compound 8 may be promising lead compound for developing an effective drug for treatment of leukemia.     

Design, synthesis and cytotoxicity of novel 2-arylvinyl-4-aminoquinoline derivatives

With an aim to develop promising anti-tumor agents, a novel series of 2-arylvinyl-4-aminoquinoline derivatives were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their cytotoxicity against H-460, HT-29, HepG2 and SGC-7901 cell lines in vitro. The pharmacological results indicated that most compounds were more potent than the positive controls, especially compounds 8, 14 and 16 with IC(50) values ranging from 0.05 to 0.85 μM against all tested cell lines respectively, which were 5.7- to 112-fold better than Iressa. The most active compound 14 (IC(50) values of 0.05, 0.25, 0.16, 0.68 μM), bearing 4-fluorostyryl at C-2 position and 3-(dimethylamino)-1-propylamino at C-4 position, showed great promise as a lead for the development of more effective quinoline analogues.     

Facile synthesis of pegylated zinc(II) phthalocyanines via transesterification and their in vitro photodynamic activities

Treatment of 4,5-bis[4-(methoxycarbonyl)phenoxy]phthalonitrile and 4,5-bis[3,5-bis(methoxycarbonyl)phenoxy]phthalonitrile with an excess of 1,3-diiminoisoindoline in the presence of Zn(OAc)(2)·2H(2)O and 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene in triethylene glycol monomethyl ether or polyethylene glycol monomethyl ether (with an average molecular weight of 550) led to "3 + 1" mixed cyclisation and transesterification in one pot, affording the corresponding di-β-substituted zinc(II) phthalocyanines in 7-23% yield. As shown by absorption spectroscopy, these compounds were essentially non-aggregated in N,N-dimethylformamide and could generate singlet oxygen effectively. The singlet oxygen quantum yields (Φ(Δ) = 0.53-0.57) were comparable with that of the unsubstituted zinc(II) phthalocyanine (Φ(Δ) = 0.56). These compounds in Cremophor EL emulsions also exhibited photocytotoxicity against HT29 human colorectal adenocarcinoma and HepG2 human hepatocarcinoma cells with IC(50) values in the range of 0.25-3.72 μM. The analogue with four triethylene glycol chains was the most potent photosensitiser and localised preferentially in the mitochondria of HT29 cells. The bis(polyethylene glycol)-counterpart could form surfactant-free nanoparticles both in water and in the culture medium. The hydrodynamic radii, as determined by dynamic laser light scattering, ranged from 6.3 to 79.8 nm depending on the preparation methods and conditions. The photocytotoxicity of these nanoparticles (IC(50) = 0.43-0.56 μM) was comparable with that of the Cremophor EL-formulated system (IC(50) = 0.34 μM).     

New Cytotoxic Laurene‐, Cuparene‐, and Laurokamurene‐Type Sesquiterpenes from the Red Alga Laurencia obtusa

Three new sesquiterpene alcohols, laur‐2‐ene‐3,12‐diol ( 1 ), cuparene‐3,12‐diol ( 2 ), and 8,11‐dihydro‐1‐methoxylaurokamuren‐12‐ol ( 3 ), along with one known diterpene, kahukuen‐10‐ol ( 4 ) have been isolated from the organic extract of the red alga Laurencia obtusa. The chemical structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analysis. The cytotoxicity of the isolated compounds were evaluated against three cancer cell lines, i.e., KB, HepG2, and MCF‐7. Compound 4 exhibited a wide range of cytotoxic activity against KB, HepG2, and MCF‐7 cell lines with IC₅₀ of 0.100, 0.057, and 0.054 μm, respectively. In addition, 1 showed moderate activities towards KB and MCF‐7 cell lines with IC₅₀ values of 0.171 and 0.184 μM , respectively and 2 exhibited a moderate activity against KB cell line at a concentration of 0.213 μg/ml. On the other hand, compound 3 exhibited no cytotoxic activity against any of the three cell lines.     

纳米Eu2O3和Eu3+抑制人肝癌细胞HepG2增殖的作用

稀土纳米氧化物和稀土化合物的生物效应已引起人们的广泛关注.利用3-(4,5-二甲基噻唑-2)-2,5-二苯基四氮唑溴盐(MTT),流式细胞术法和激光共聚焦显微镜初步探讨了纳米Eu2O3和Eu3+对体外培养的人肝癌细胞HepG2生长的影响.结果发现,较低浓度的纳米Eu2O3对细胞生长没有明显影响,浓度达到600μg mL-1作用癌细胞仅24 h,细胞就停止分裂,表现为细胞被阻滞在S期,大量细胞坏死.利用激光共聚焦显微镜观察到纳米Eu2O3能进入活的HepG2细胞中.而Eu3+则在较低含量,即≤100μmol L-1时能较弱地抑制癌细胞的生长,细胞被阻滞在G0/G1期,并诱导细胞发生凋亡.     

间接糖基化马蹄金素衍生物的合成及抗乙肝病毒活性研究

以二缩三乙二醇或三缩四乙二醇为连接臂, 通过间接引入具有肝靶向性的D-半乳糖配基的方法, 设计合成了6个半乳糖糖基化修饰的肝靶向马蹄金素(MTS)衍生物; 通过¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, ¹H-¹H COSY, HMQC和ESI-MS对其结构进行了表征; 并以HepG2 2.2.15为细胞模型初步评价了目标化合物的抗乙肝病毒(HBV)活性. 结果表明, 所有目标化合物对HBV DNA的复制均有抑制作用, 且具有一定的量效关系. 化合物15b的体外抗HBV活性最好, 后期研究将选用其进行小鼠体内组织分布实验, 并与原型化合物以及Y101体内组织分布情况进行比较研究, 以验证半乳糖基的引入能否提高MTS衍生物的肝靶向性.     

Synthesis and bioactivity evaluation of eugenol hybrids obtained by Mannich and 1,3 dipolar cycloaddition reactions

Design, synthesis, and bioactivity evaluation of novel mannich bases ( 2a-2j ) and triazole-chalcone derivatives ( 7a-7k ) of Eugenol 1 were reported. Among all the derivatives tested for antiproliferative activity, di-amine manich derivative 2b (32.92 μM), and 4-methoxy chalcone triazole derivative 7d (33.05 μM) significantly inhibited HepG2 cell lines when compared to the standard doxorubicin (37.29 μM). Whereas most of the compounds such as diethylamine 2a (17.75 μM), (aminomethyl) methane diamine 2b (17.02 μM), and bis (chloromethyl) amine 2c (20.12 μM) showed moderate to better inhibition towards MCF-7 cell lines. The synthesized analogues were also tested for antidiabetic and antiobesity potentials. Compounds 2f (55.50%), 2c (54.34%), 7g (55.5%), and 2a (55.5%) have shown moderate inhibitory potentials toward intestinal α-glucosidase enzyme when compared to the standard Acarbose (72.86%). Likewise, compounds 7d (82.95%), 7f (76.19%), 7g (74.81%), 7e (74.81%), and 2g (72.50%) have shown significant to moderate inhibitory potentials toward Pancreatic lipase enzyme when compared to the standard orlistat (91.10%). ROS induces life-threatening diseases like diabetes, cancer, etc., and antioxidants play a major role in controlling their production. Compounds 2c (99.81%), 2i (99.80%), 2d (99.26%), 2g (98.79%), and 2f (98.42%) have shown significant antioxidant profiles in ABTS assay when compared to the standard Trolox (99.07%). Further, In silico Molecular docking and pharmacokinetic screening of the eugenol derivatives complemented the in vitro results indicating the drug likeness of the obtained active compounds.     

High Pressure Liquid Chromatographic Assay for Salicylic Acid and its Metabolites in Rat Urine

Abstract

An HPLC method for the determination of salicylic acid (SA), gentisic acid (GA), salicyluric acid (SU), and salicyl acyl glucuronide (SAG) in rat urine was developed. The method consisted of extracting SA, GA, and SU from acidified urine into 50:50 mixture of ethyl acetate and butyl chloride. Salicyl acyl glucuronide was extracted from neutral urine after conversion to salicyl hydroxamic acid with hydroxylamine. Salicyl phenolic glucuronide was estimated indirectly as the difference between total salicylate and sum of the four constituents mentioned above. Chromatographic separation was done on a C₁₈ column with U.V. detection at 310 nm using a mobile phase consisting of 5–10% acetonitrile in 3% glacial acetic acid. The extraction recovery of these compounds from spiked urine ranged from 90–108%. The detection limits were 10 μg/ml for GA, SU and SA, and 2.5 μg/ml for SHA. The method was applied to the study of salicylic acid metabolism in the rat.     

Phenolic glucosides and chromane analogs from the insect fungus Conoideocrella krungchingensis BCC53666

Six new compounds, named conoideoglucosides A − C and conoideochromanes A − C, together with eight known compounds, including eutypinic acid, 2,2-dimethyl-2H-1-chromene-6-carboxylic acid, (−)-luteoskyrin, (−)-4a-oxyluteoskyrin, chrysophanol, islandicin, catenarin, and (22E)-5α,8α-epidioxyergosta-6,22-dien-3β-ol were isolated from the insect fungus Conoideocrella krungchingensis BCC53666. (−)-Luteoskyrin exhibited a broad range of antimicrobial activity such as antimalarial (IC₅₀ 0.51 μg/mL), antitubercular (MIC 6.25 μg/mL), antibacterial (both Gram positive; MIC 0.39–1.56 μg/mL and Gram negative; MIC 3.13–12.50 μg/mL), and antifungal (against various plant pathogens; MIC 3.13–50.00 μg/mL) activities, while (−)-4a-oxyluteoskyrin and catenarin showed weaker antibacterial activity. Moreover, eutypinic acid, (−)-luteoskyrin, (−)-4a-oxyluteoskyrin, and catenarin showed cytotoxicity against NCI-H187 cells with IC₅₀ in a range of 0.16–17.99 μg/mL, while eutypinic acid and catenarin had no cytotoxicity against non-cancerous (Vero) cells at maximum tested concentration (50 μg/mL). The complete NMR spectral data and biological activity of the known (−)-4a-oxyluteoskyrin was also reported for the first time.     

Convenient method for the synthesis of some novel chiral methyl 2-(2-oxo-2H-benzo[e][1,3]oxazin-3(4H)-yl)propanoate derivatives and biological evaluation of their antioxidant,cytotoxic, and molecular docking properties

Ten chiral methyl 2-(2-oxo-2H-benzo[e][1,3]oxazin-3(4H)-yl)propanoate derivatives 6a-6j have been synthesized from optically pure amino methyl phenol 5 and 4-nitrophenyl chloroformate. These derivatives 6a-6j are characterized by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, FT-IR, and HRMS spectral techniques. Optical purity of these derivatives was confirmed by chiral HPLC method. Ten synthesized ester derivatives 6a-6j were screened for their in vitro antioxidant activity. Among the compounds 6b-d and 6h-j have exhibited comparable antioxidant activity with ascorbic acid as a standard. Compounds 6a and 6e-g have shown moderate antioxidant activity. Further, the in vitro cytotoxicity of these compounds were studied through MTT cell proliferation assay in addition the effect on LDH leakage and NO release. Among the derivatives, 6j showed extremely best activity and the IC₅₀ value (12.54 ± 0.71 μM) is very close to doxorubicin (7.2 ± 0.58 μM) as a standard. Compounds 6b , 6h , and 6i showed better inhibition next to compound 6j on the viability of HepG2 cells with an IC₅₀ value (μM) of 56.02 ± 1.4, 41.76 ± 0.58, and 38.17 ± 0.34, respectively. Also, molecular docking studies have been carried out with STAT-3 (PDB ID: 1BG1) and BCL-2 (PDB ID: 4AQ3) proteins against the four active compounds 6b , 6h , 6i , and 6j . The binding energies of the tested compounds were in the range of −7.76 to −8.41 kcal/mol, which is very close to doxorubicin (−8.53 kcal/mol) as a standard. These molecular docking results are in good agreement with the in vitro studies.