Study on the Binding Effect between Cordycepin and Calf Thymus DNA by Circular Dichroism

DNA works as hereditary material and plays vital role in life science. The study of the binding of small molecules complex to DNA has been the focus of intense investigation, owning to their stereo and sequence specific interaction with the double helix1-…     

Preparation and Adsorption Characteristics of Cordycepin Molecularly Imprinted Polymers

The separation of a molecularly imprinted polymer for cordycepin was investigated. The synthesis employed cordycepin as the molecular template, alpha-methylacrylic acid as the functional monomer, glycol dimethyl acrylate as the cross-linking agent, azobisisobutyronitrile as the initiator, and tetrahydrofuran as the solvent and pore-foaming agent. The interaction between cordycepin and the functional monomer was investigated by ultraviolet-visible and infrared spectroscopy. The properties of the molecularly imprinted polymer were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, equilibrium adsorption experiments, and the Scatchard equation. Static adsorption, solid phase extraction, and high-performance liquid chromatography experiments were employed to evaluate the adsorption properties and selective recognition characteristics. The results showed that the molecularly imprinted polymer had specific adsorption with cordycepin, and the maximum absorption capacity was 1920 µg/g. Scatchard analysis suggested that high affinity and low affinity binding sites were present. For the high affinity case, the dissociation constant and apparent maximum numbers of the binding sites were 0.0089 mmol/L and 4.78 µmol/g, respectively. The dissociation constant and apparent numbers of binding sites were 0.035 mmol/L and 6.047 µmol/g for the low affinity sites. Compared with the corresponding nonimprinted polymer, the cordycepin molecularly imprinted polymer exhibited higher adsorption and selectivity for cordycepin than structural analogs.     

蛹虫草及其培养残基中腺苷和虫草素含量的快速测定

建立了以氰基正相色谱柱反相条件下快速分析腺苷和虫草素的方法。以微波辅助提取蛹虫草及其培养残基样品,每次提取1.5 min,共提取2次。采用Eclipse XDB-CN色谱柱测定提取液中腺苷和虫草素的含量,以甲醇-水(7:93, v/v)为流动相进行等度洗脱,检测波长260 nm,并考察和分析了影响分离性能的流动相组成和pH值。结果腺苷和虫草素在4.5 min内实现完全分离且无基质干扰。腺苷和虫草素在线性范围内线性关系良好,线性相关系数r2分别为0.9998和0.9995,定量限(以10倍信噪比计)分别为0.21 mg/L(腺苷)和0.083 mg/L(虫草素)。该方法日内和日间精密度的相对标准偏差(RSD)小于2%;腺苷和虫草素的平均加标回收率为93.8%～102.9%, RSD值不大于3.62%(n=5)。本方法简便、快速、准确、成本低,可用于冬虫夏草、蛹虫草子实体、虫草培养残基及虫草制剂中腺苷和虫草素含量的快速测定。     

Simultaneous determination of cordycepin and its metabolite 3′-deoxyinosine in rat whole blood by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with Q Exactive hybrid quadrupole orbitrap high-resolution accurate mass spectrometry and its application to accurate pharmacokinetic studies

Cordycepin from Cordyceps possesses excellent pharmacological properties, including anti-inflammation and anti-tumor effects, therefore representing a potential alternative medicine. However, doubts about the pharmacokinetic results of cordycepin had been raised in the previous study due to its rapid deamination. The organic solvent methanol was immediately added to terminate the degradation of cordycepin in anticoagulated blood samples and enable the accurate evaluation of pharmacokinetics in vivo. A sensitive and selective ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with Q Exactive hybrid quadrupole orbitrap high-resolution accurate mass spectrometry method was developed and validated to simultaneously determine cordycepin and its deamination metabolite 3′-deoxyinosine using 2-chloroadenosine as an internal standard in rat whole blood. The calibration curves of cordycepin and 3′-deoxyinosine showed excellent linearity within the concentration range of 1.05–10 000.00 ng/ml with acceptable accuracy, precision, selectivity, recovery, matrix effect, and stability. This method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study of cordycepin and its metabolite in rat blood. The effect of the adenosine deaminase inhibitor erythro-9-(2-hydroxy-3-nonyl) adenine hydrochloride on the pharmacokinetics of cordycepin was investigated. In summary, the reliable pharmacokinetic parameters of cordycepin and its deamination metabolite 3′-deoxyinosine in rat blood were successfully elucidated. Erythro-9-(2-hydroxy-3-nonyl) adenine hydrochloride considerably prolonged the half-life of cordycepin in vivo.     

Functional Analysis of Ribonucleotide Reductase from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cordyceps militaris</Emphasis> Expressed in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Escherichia coli</Emphasis>

Cordyceps militaris produces cordycepin (3′-deoxyadenosine), which has various activities, including anti-oxidant, anti-tumoral, anti-viral, and anti-inflammatory. Ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) seems to be a candidate to produce cordycepin in C. militaris because RNR catalyzes the reduction of nucleotides to 2′-deoxynucleotides, whose structures are similar to that of cordycepin. However, the role of RNR has not been confirmed yet. In this study, complementary DNAs (cDNAs) of C. militaris RNR (CmRNR) large and small subunits (CmR1 and CmR2) were cloned from C. militaris NBRC9787 to investigate the function of CmRNR for its cordycepin production. C. militaris NBRC9787 began to produce cordycepin when grown in a liquid surface culture in medium composed of glucose and yeast extract for 15 days. CmR1 cDNA and CmR2 cDNA were obtained from its genomic DNA and from total RNA extracted from its mycelia after cultivation for 21 days, respectively. Recombinant CmR1 and CmR2 were expressed individually in Escherichia coli and purified. Purified recombinant CmR1 and CmR2 showed RNR activity toward adenosine diphosphate (ADP) only when two subunits were mixed but only show the reduction of ADP to 2′-deoxyADP. These results indicate that the pathway from ADP to 3′deoxyADP via CmRNR does not exist in C. militaris and cordycepin production in C. militaris may be mediated by other enzymes.     

The Role of Autophagy in Anti-Cancer and Health Promoting Effects of Cordycepin

Cordycepin is an adenosine derivative isolated from Cordyceps sinensis, which has been used as an herbal complementary and alternative medicine with various biological activities. The general anti-cancer mechanisms of cordycepin are regulated by the adenosine A3 receptor, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), and glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)-3β, leading to cell cycle arrest or apoptosis. Notably, cordycepin also induces autophagy to trigger cell death, inhibits tumor metastasis, and modulates the immune system. Since the dysregulation of autophagy is associated with cancers and neuron, immune, and kidney diseases, cordycepin is considered an alternative treatment because of the involvement of cordycepin in autophagic signaling. However, the profound mechanism of autophagy induction by cordycepin has never been reviewed in detail. Therefore, in this article, we reviewed the anti-cancer and health-promoting effects of cordycepin in the neurons, kidneys, and the immune system through diverse mechanisms, including autophagy induction. We also suggest that formulation changes for cordycepin could enhance its bioactivity and bioavailability and lower its toxicity for future applications. A comprehensive understanding of the autophagy mechanism would provide novel mechanistic insight into the anti-cancer and health-promoting effects of cordycepin.     

Cordycepin Sensitizes Cholangiocarcinoma Cells to Be Killed by Natural Killer-92 (NK-92) Cells

Immunotherapy harnessing immune functions is a promising strategy for cancer treatment. Tumor sensitization is one approach to enhance tumor cell susceptibility to immune cell cytotoxicity that can be used in combination with immunotherapy to achieve therapeutic efficiency. Cordycepin, a bioactive compound that can be extracted from some Cordyceps spp. has been reported to effectively inhibit tumor growth, however, the mechanism of its tumor sensitization activity that enhances immune cell cytotoxicity is unknown. In the present study, we investigated the potency of cordycepin to sensitize a lethal cancer, cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), to natural killer (NK) cells. Treatment with cordycepin prior to and during co-culturing with NK-92 cells significantly increased cell death of KKU-213A as compared to solitary cordycepin or NK treatment. Moreover, sensitization activity was also observed in the combination of NK-92 cells and Cordyceps militaris extract that contained cordycepin as a major component. The cordycepin treatment remarkably caused an increase in TRAIL receptor (DR4 and DR5) expression in KKU-213A, suggesting the possible involvement of TRAIL signaling in KKU-213A sensitization to NK-92 cells. In conclusion, this is the first report on the sensitization activity of cordycepin on CCA cells to NK cytotoxicity, which supports that cordycepin can be further developed as an alternate immunomodulating agent.     

Cordycepin inhibits UVB-induced matrix metalloproteinase expression by suppressing the NF-��B pathway in human dermal fibroblasts

Cordycepin (3''-deoxyadenosine) has been shown to exhibit many pharmacological activities, including anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, and anti-infection activities. However, the anti-skin photoaging effects of cordycepin have not yet been reported. In the present study, we investigated the inhibitory effects of cordycepin on matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) and -3 expressions of the human dermal fibroblast cells. Western blot analysis and real-time PCR revealed cordycepin inhibited UVB-induced MMP-1 and -3 expressions in a dose-dependent manner. UVB strongly activated NF-κB activity, which was determined by IκBα degradation, nuclear localization of p50 and p65 subunit, and NF-κB binding activity. However, UVB-induced NF-κB activation and MMP expression were completely blocked by cordycepin pretreatment. These findings suggest that cordycepin could prevent UVB-induced MMPs expressions through inhibition of NF-κB activation. In conclusion, cordycepin might be used as a potential agent for the prevention and treatment of skin photoaging.     

Determination of Cordycepin in Cordyceps kyushuensis by Capillary Electrophoresis and its Antitumour Activity

~~Determination of Cordycepin in Cordyceps kyushuensis by Capillary Electrophoresis and its Antitumour Activity~~     

Simple and Rapid Determination of Cordycepin in Cordyceps militaris Fruiting Bodies by Quantitative Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

The major compound in Cordyceps militaris (C. militaris), cordycepin, has been known to have a variety of pharmacological properties. The cordycepin concentration in artificially cultivated fruiting bodies of C. militaris was determined using quantitative ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). The results were compared with a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. There were no statistically significant differences in the cordycepin concentration by the two methods. Validation of each method was performed in terms of linearity, limit of detection, limit of quantification, intra- and inter-day precision, repeatability, stability, and accuracy. Better inter-day precision, repeatability, stability, and accuracy were obtained by NMR than by HPLC. These results show that NMR is an alternative to HPLC for the determination of cordycepin in C. militaris fruiting bodies.     

Layered Double Hydroxide as Cordycepin Delivery Nanocarrier

Layered double hydroxides (LDHs), also called “anionic clays”, have received considerable attention due to their technological importance in catalysis, adsorption, optics, nanocomposite engineering materials and medical science1-5. LDHs are layered mate…     

Simple HPLC-UV determination of nucleosides and its application to the authentication of Cordyceps and its allies

A simple HPLC-UV method combined with a simple extraction procedure of nucleosides (adenosine, cordycepin, 2'-deoxyadenosine, guanosine and uridine) was developed and applied to the authentication of Cordyceps and its allies. The separation was performed on a C(18) column by isocratic elution with acetonitrile-water, and UV detection at 260 nm. The amounts of adenosine, cordycepin, 2'-deoxyadenosine, guanosine and uridine in Cordyceps were 0.28-14.15, 0.006-6.36, 0.01-0.14, 0.68-14.79 and 0.19-20.29 mg/g, respectively. Among the nucleosides studied, cordycepin was characteristically included in Cordyceps militaris (L.) Link. (CM), which is one of key Cordyceps allies, and might be a good marker for authenticating CM. The ratio of nucleosides to adenosine contents in Cordyceps seemed to be a useful marker for authentication and quality control of Cordyceps.     

Nucleotides. Part XLVI. The synthesis of phospholipid conjugates of antivirally active nucleosides by the improved phosphoramidite methodology

The application of the improved phosphoramidite strategy for the synthese of oligonucleotides using β-eliminating protecting groups to phospholipid chemistry offers the possibility to synthesize phospholipid conjugates of AZT ( 6 ) and cordycepin. The synthesis of 3′-azido-3′-deoxythymidine ( 6 ) was achieved by a new isolation procedure without chromatographic purification steps in an overall yield of 50%. Protected cordycepin ( = 3′-de-oxyadenosine) derivatives, the N⁶,2′-bis[2-(4-nitrophenyl)ethoxycarbonyl]cordycepin ( 12 ) and the N⁶,5′-bis[2-(4-nitrophenyl)ethoxycarbonyl]cordycepin ( 13 ) wre prepared by known methods and direct acylation of N⁶-[2-(4-nitrophenyl)ethoxycarbonyl]cordycepin ( 9 ), respectively. These protected nucleosides and the 3′-azido-3′-de-oxythymidine ( 6 ) reacted with newly synthesized and properly characterized lipid-phosphoramidites 21–25 , catalyzed by 1H-tetrazole, to the corresponding nucleoside-phospholipid conjugates 26–38 in high yield. The deprotection was accomplished via β-elimination with 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene (DBU) in aprotic solvents to give analytically pure nucleoside-phospholipid diesters 39–51 as triethylammonium or sodium salts. The newly synthesized compounds were characterized by elemental analyses and UV and ¹H-NMR spectra.     

Cordycepin Inhibits Virus Replication in Dengue Virus-Infected Vero Cells

Dengue virus (DENV) infection causes mild to severe illness in humans that can lead to fatality in severe cases. Currently, no specific drug is available for the treatment of DENV infection. Thus, the development of an anti-DENV drug is urgently required. Cordycepin (3′-deoxyadenosine), which is a major bioactive compound in Cordyceps (ascomycete) fungus that has been used for centuries in Chinese traditional medicine, was reported to exhibit antiviral activity. However, the anti-DENV activity of cordycepin is unknown. We hypothesized that cordycepin exerts anti-DENV activity and that, as an adenosine derivative, it inhibits DENV replication. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the anti-DENV activity of cordycepin in DENV-infected Vero cells. Cordycepin treatment significantly decreased DENV protein at a half-maximal effective concentration (EC50) of 26.94 μM. Moreover, DENV RNA was dramatically decreased in cordycepin-treated Vero cells, indicating its effectiveness in inhibiting viral RNA replication. Via in silico molecular docking, the binding of cordycepin to DENV non-structural protein 5 (NS5), which is an important enzyme for RNA synthesis, at both the methyltransferase (MTase) and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) domains, was predicted. The results of this study demonstrate that cordycepin is able to inhibit DENV replication, which portends its potential as an anti-dengue therapy.     

Production of Cordycepin and Mycelia by Submerged Fermentation of Cordyceps militaris in Mixture Natural Culture

The submerged fermentation of Cordyceps militaris for cordycepin production and mycelial growth was investigated in this study. Three natural materials of brown rice paste (BRP), beerwort (B), and soybean meal juice (SMJ) were used for fermentation of C. militaris in shaking flasks. The effects of the ratio of three natural materials on dry mycelium weight (DMW) and on cordycepin yield (CY) were analyzed. D-Optional mixture design was used to optimize the ratio of these materials. Compared with the signal culture, the higher mycelial growth and cordycepin production were obtained in mixture. The analysis of Design Expert 6.0 indicated that BRP, B, and SMJ very significantly influenced (P < 0.001) DMW and CY of C. militaris, respectively. The highest DMW (18.96 g/l) and CY (2.17 mg/g) were both obtained at a ratio of 53:6:42. The experiments’ results indicated that the above mixture of these natural materials by D-optional mixture design can be used as a proper medium for the growth of mycelium and the production of cordycepin.     

Voltammetric determination of boron by using Alizarin Red S

Cordycepin is the main active metabolite of Cordyceps militaris extracts; according to recent studies it has interesting therapeutic activities. A new capillary electrophoresis (CE) procedure with UV detection at 254 nm for determination of cordycepin was developed and optimized. Optimal conditions found were 20 mM sodium borate buffer with 28.6% methanol, pH 9.5, separation voltage 20 kV, hydrodynamic injection time 10 s and temperature 25 °C. Linearity was found over the 20-100 μg/mL concentration ranges of cordycepin. The developed method has been applied for determination of cordycepin in various pharmaceutical products. A comparison was made between CE and a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. Both of these methods gave comparable results. The shorter analysis time and low running cost are the main advantages of CE method.     

Quality evaluation of Cordyceps through simultaneous determination of eleven nucleosides and bases by RP-HPLC

A new RP-HPLC method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of 11 nucleosides and bases, including adenosine, cordycepin, cytidine, guanosine, inosine, thymidine, uridine, cytosine, guanine, thymine, and uracil in Cordyceps. Determination was achieved on a Zorbax 300SB C18 analytical column (4.6 x 250 mm id, 5 mm) using gradient elution with diode-array detection. All calibration curves showed good linearity (r2 > 0.9995) within the test ranges. The developed method was simple, rapid, and accurate, and showed good reproducibility for the quantification of 11 nucleosides and bases in natural and cultured Cordyceps with both intra- and inter-day variations of less than 1.8%. Furthermore, hierarchical clustering analysis based on the typical peaks of adenosine, cordycepin, and inosine in HPLC profiles from the 11 tested samples showed that natural and cultured Cordyceps were in different clusters, which could provide a means of discriminating between Cordyceps of different origins. Thus, adenosine, cordycepin, and inosine could be used as markers for quality control of Cordyceps.     

Nucleosides. Part LX. Synthesis and Characterization of Monomeric Cordycepin-Vitamin and Cordycepin-Lipid Conjugates Model Substances for Biodegradable Ester and Carbonate Linkages in Conjugates and Potential Inhibitors of HIV-1 Replication

Monomeric 3′-deoxyadenosine (cordycepin) was modified at the 2′-O- ( 13–18 ) and 5′-O-position ( 25–29 ) by the vitamins E, D₂, and A and by the two lipids 1,2-di-O-palmitoylglycerol and 1,2-di-O-hexadecylglycerol via succinate or carbonate linkages. The base-labile conjugates afforded protection groups like the 2-(4-nitro-phenyl)ethoxycarbonyl (npeoc) and monomethoxytrityl group (MeOTr) that are cleavable without harming the ester and carbonate bonds, respectively. Monomeric conjugates of cordycepin and vitamin E, vitamin D₂, 1,2-di-O-palmitoylglycerol, and 1,2-di-O-hexadecylglycerol (see 13, 14, 17, 18, 25, 26, 28 , and 29 ) inhibited HIV-1-induced syncytia formation 1.7 to 6.2 fold compared to 1.5-fold for cordycepin (see Table); IC₅₀ values for 25 and 28 were 257 and 267 m?M , respectively. In addition, the monomeric cordycepin-vitamin and -lipid conjugates inhibited HIV-1 RT activity 28–49% which compares with a 13% inhibition of HIV-1 RT observed for cordycepin. The minimal inhibition of HIV-1-induced syncytia formation and HIV-1 RT activity did not proceed by the activation of RNase L. The monomeric conjugates tested ( 13, 14 ) increased PKR expression.     

Effects of Selenium and Light Wavelengths on Liquid Culture of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cordyceps militaris</Emphasis> Link

To investigate the effects of selenium and light wavelengths on the growth of liquid-cultured Cordyceps militaris and the main active components’ accumulation, culture conditions as selenium selenite concentrations and light of different wavelengths were studied. The results are: adenosine accumulation proved to be significantly selenium dependent (R ² = 0.9403) and cordycepin contents were determined to be not significantly selenium dependent (R ² = 0.3845) but significantly enhanced by selenium except for 20 ppm; there were significant differences in cordycepin contents, adenosine contents, and mycelium growth caused by light wavelengths: cordycepin, blue light > pink light > daylight, darkness, red light; adenosine, red light > pink light, darkness, daylight, blue light; and mycelium growth, red light > pink light, darkness, daylight > blue light. In conclusion, light wavelength had a significant influence on production of mycelia, adenosine, and cordycepin, so lightening wavelength should be changed according to target products in the liquid culture of C. militaris.     

An effective and convenient synthesis of cordycepin from adenosine

Cordycepin is a purine nucleoside analog with potent and diverse biological activities. Herein, we designed two methods to synthesize cordycepin. One method mainly converted the 3′-OH group into an iodide group and further dehalogenation to yield the final product. Although this method presented a short synthetic procedure, the synthesis had a low overall yield, resulting in only 13.5% overall yield. To improve the overall yield of cordycepin, another synthetic route was studied, which consisted of four individual steps: (1) 5′-OH protection (2) esterification (3) -O-tosyl (-OTs) group removal (4) deprotection. The key step in the synthetic method involved the conversion of 5′-O-triphenylmethyladenosine to 3′-O-tosyl-5′-O-triphenylmethyladenosine, using LiAlH₄ as reducing agent. The main advantages of this route were an acceptable total product yield and the commercial availability of all starting materials. The optimal reaction conditions for each step of the route were identified. The overall yield of cordycepin obtained from adenosine as the starting material was 36%.