竹红菌素类光动力药物*

天然竹红菌素（包括竹红菌甲素和乙素）作为一种新型的光动力抗肿瘤药物,与血卟啉衍生物(HpD)相比,具有单一和确定的化学组成、易纯化、暗毒性低、兼具Type I和Type II双重敏化机制等优点。本文综述了竹红菌素类光敏剂在光动力疗法领域中近五年来的最新研究进展,包括竹红菌素的化学修饰、物理包裹、与生物大分子的相互作用以及动物细胞的体外和体内光动力性质研究,并对竹红菌素类光敏剂未来的研究方向作了展望。     

Synthesis and characterization of three novel amphiphilic aminated hypocrellins as photodynamic therapeutic agents

To improve the amphiphilicities and red absorption of the hypocrellins, three novel 2-amino-2-demethoxy-hypocrellins were synthesized by the mild reactions of hypocrellin B with 4-(2-amino-ethyl)morpholine, N,N-dimethylethylenediamine and 1-(2-amino-ethyl)piperazine, respectively. The structures of these derivatives were characterized with proton nuclear magnetic resonance, infrared and mass spectra (MS). The ultraviolet-visible absorption and fluorescence spectra of the derivatives were measured and the new amino-substituted hypocrellins showed strong absorption in the domain of the phototherapeutic window (600-900 nm). Their amphiphilicities evaluated via the partition coefficients between n-octanol and phosphate-buffered saline buffer improved remarkably. Electron paramagnetic resonance spin-trapping measurements were used to investigate the photodynamic action of the three compounds in the presence of oxygen. Singlet oxygen (1O2) and superoxide anion radical (O2.-) generated by illuminating the hypocrellin derivatives in aerobic solution were observed.     

Biophysical evaluation of two red-shifted hypocrellin B derivatives as novel PDT agents

Two novel cyclohexane-1,2-diamino and N,N dimethyl amino-propyl substituted hypocrellin B derivatives, abbreviated as CHA2HB and DMAHB, respectively were synthesized. These derivatives exhibited enhanced absorption in phototherapeutic window. Photodynamic action of these derivatives, investigated using optical and electron spin resonance methods, depended on both Type I and Type II mechanisms. Gel electrophoresis indicated 1O2/O2(.-) mediated DNA damage. CHA2HB displayed 20 fold increase in light dependent cytotoxicity on colon cancer cell line (HCT 116) than the well-known hypocrellin B (HB). The light induced, LD(50) values for CHA2HB and DMAHB were found to be 0.1 microM and 1.5 microM, respectively. The singlet oxygen generating efficiency followed the order HB>CHA(2)HB>DMAHB. But, the enhanced red absorption as well as the hydrophilicity renders the CHA2HB a better photodynamic therapeutic agent.     

Preclinical Assessment of Hypocrellin B and Hypocrellin B Derivatives as Sensitizers for Photodynamic Therapy of Cancer: Progress Update

Abstract— Hypocrellins are perylenequinone pigments with substantial absorption in the red spectral region and high singlet oxygen yield. They are available in pure monomelic form and may be derivatized to optimize properties of red light absorption, tissue biodistribution and toxicity. In vitro screening of synthetic derivatives of the naturally occurring compound, hypocrellin B (HB), for optimal properties of cyto-(dark) toxicity and phototoxicity resulted in selection of three compounds for preclinical evaluation: HBEA-R1 (ethanolaminated HB), HBBA-R2 (butylaminated HB) and HBDP-R1 [2-( N,N -dimethylami-no)-propylamine-HB]. Extinction coefficients at 630 nm (φ₆₃₀) are 6230, 6190 and 4800, respectively; and ¹O₂ quantum yields, φ, 0.60, 0.32 and 0.42. Intracellular uptake is essentially complete within 2 h (HBEA-R1, HBBA-R2) and 20 h (HBDP-R1). Greatest uptake is associated with lysosomes and Golgi. The HBEA-R1 and HBBA-R2 elicit phototoxicity in vitro primarily via the type II mechanism, with some type I activity under stringently hypoxic conditions. Transcutaneous phototherapy with HBEA-R1 permanently ablates EMToVEd tumors growing in the flanks of Balb/c mice, with minimal cutaneous effects. The HBBA-R2 does not elicit mutagenic activity in strains TA98 and TA100 of Salmonella typhi-murium. Further development of selected hypocrellin derivatives as photosensitizers for photodynamic therapy is warranted.     

First synthesis of methylated hypocrellin and its fluorescent excited state: a cautionary tale

Methylated hypocrellins were obtained and characterized by satisfactory 1HNMR, UV-vis, IR, and mass data, and their absorption and fluorescence emission spectra were studied. A previous report of methylated hypocrellin (J. Phys. Chem. A 1999, 103, 7949) appears to be in error.     

Synthesis, characterization and photodynamic activity of phenmethylamino-demethoxy-hypocrellin B

Two phenmethylamino hypocrellin B derivatives are novel photodynamic agents synthesized by a mild reaction between hypocrellin B and phenmethylamine. The red absorption of the photosensitizers is enlarged distinctly and the peri-hydroxylated perylenequinone structure of the parent HB is preserved. 9,10-diphenyl-anthracene (DPA) bleaching and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spin trapping techniques were used to study the photodynamic activities of the phenmethylamino hypocrellin B derivatives in the presence of oxygen. Singlet oxygen (1O2) and superoxide anion radical (O2*-) generated in the process of illumination of the phenmethylamino hypocrellin B in aerobic solution were observed. The photodamage of PMAHBs to MGC803 cancer cells was investigated in vitro. The results in vitro reveal that the phenmethylamino hypocrellin B derivatives show a much less significant decrease in cytotoxicity than that of their parent HB. It exhibits higher selectivity of light-orientation, which can decrease the damage to normal tissues by irradiating the tumor tissues, and so increases the drug safety.     

Studies on the synthesis of two hydrophilic hypocrellin derivatives with enhanced absorption in the red spectral region and on their photogeneration of O2*- and O2(1(delta)g)

To improve hydrophilicity and photoactivity of the new type of photosensitizer, hypocrellin, two new derivatives were synthesized through a mild reaction method between hypocrellion B (HB) and ethanolamine in tetrahydrofuran (THF) and their molecular structures were characterized by IR, NMR, MS and UV-Vis spectrometry. In the molecular structures of the two derivatives, the peri-hydroxylated perylenquinone structure of the parent HB is preserved and their photoresponses at 600-900 nm (the red spectral region) are enhanced markedly (the molar absorption coefficients at 650 nm for the two new derivatives are EAHB1 log epsilon = 3.72 and EAHB2 log epsilon = 3.91, respectively. In contrast, the parent compound HB exhibits little absorption at 650 nm). Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spin trapping measurement and a 9,10-diphenylanthracene (DPA) bleaching method were employed to investigate the photodynamic action of two chemicals in the presence of oxygen. The quantum yields of O2(1(delta)g) generation of EAHB1 and EAHB2 are 0.08 and 0.45, respectively; the relative quantum yields of (O2*-) generation of EAHB1 and EAHB2 are 0.15 and 0.76, respectively, with the parent compound HB as the standard.     

PHOTOCHEMISTRY OF HYPOCRELLIN A (Ⅶ)——PHOTO-INDUCED ONE-ELECTRON REDUCTION OF HYPOCRELLIN PIGMENTS

The photo-induced one-electron reduction of hypocrellin A (abbreviated as HA) and hy-pocrellin B (abbreviated as HB) in the presence of cysteine or ascorbic acid has been studied in this paper. The semiquinone radical anions of HA and HB obtained from the photo-reduction of HA and HB respectively, and the following protonation and disproportionation of these radical anions were detected via the ESR and UV-Vis spectra. Through comparison of their UV-Vis spectra with those of the chemically synthesized compounds of similar structures, it has been suggested that the metastable products formed after the acceptance of net two electrons and two protons in the photoreduction of HA and HB were tetrahydroxyl-per-ylene derivatives.     

Two-photon excitation studies of hypocrellins for photodynamic therapy

The photophysical and photochemical properties of hypocrellins (HA and HB) are examined with two-photon excitations at 800 nm using femtosecond pulses from a Ti:sapphire laser. The two-photon excited fluorescence spectra of HA and HB are very similar to those obtained by one-photon excitation, which may indicate that the two-photon induced photodynamic processes of hypocrellins are similar to one-photon induced photodynamic processes. The two-photon excitation cross sections of HA and HB are measured at 800 nm as about 34.8 x 10(-50) cm(4) s/photon and 21.3 x 10(-50) cm(4) s/photon, respectively. The large two-photon cross sections of both HA and HB, suggest that the hypocrellins can be potential two-photon phototherapeutic agents. As an example for two-photon photodynamic therapy of hypocrellins, we also further examine the cell-damaging effects of HA upon two-photon illumination. Our preliminary results of cell viability test indicate hypocrellins can effectively damage the Hela cells under two-photon illumination.     

Interaction of Hypocrellin B or Mono-cysteine Substituted Hypocrellin B with CT-DNA by Spectral Methods

The interaction of the anticancer drug hypocrellin B (FIB) or the mono-cysteine substituted hypocrellin B (MCHB) and calf thymus deoxyribonucleic acid (CT-DNA) has been investigated using spectral methods. The results of UV-visible spectra show that the HB and MCHB could intercalate into the base-stacking domain of the CT-DNA double helix. The studies of fluorescence spectra and circular dichroism(CD) spectra also support the interacalation mechanism.     

Novel Surfactant-like Hypocrellin Derivatives to Achieve Simultaneous Drug Delivery in Blood Plasma and Cell Uptake

Water-soluble derivatives of hypocrellins can be safely delivered in blood plasma but lose their photodynamic activity in vivo due to poor cell uptake, while hydrophobic derivatives retaining their activity may aggregate in the blood plasma and block vascular networks. Considering both drug delivery and biological activity, surfactant-like hypocrellin B (HB) derivatives, sodium 12-2-HB-aminododecanoate (SAHB) and sodium 11,11′-5,8-HB-dimercaptoundecanoate (DMHB), were first designed and then synthesized in the current work. Both SAHB and DMHB were photoactive, generating free radicals and reactive oxygen species, as confirmed by EPR and chemical measurements. Most importantly, DMHB was not only readily soluble, allowing preparation of an intravenous injection solution at a clinically acceptable concentration, but it was also more photodynamic therapy (PDT) active to human breast carcinoma MCF-7 cells than its parent HB under irradiation. The photodynamic activity was exactly identical to the ¹O₂ quantum yield and was not reduced by the improved water solubility, suggesting an independent hydrophilicity or lipophilicity. To our knowledge, this is a new strategy that possesses general significance for converting hydrophobic photosensitizers into clinically usable PDT drugs.     

Multidimensional reaction coordinate for the excited-state H-atom transfer in perylene quinones: importance of the 7-membered ring in hypocrellins A and B

The excited-state intramolecular H-atom transfer reactions of hypocrellins B and A are compared by using time-resolved absorption and fluorescence upconversion techniques. The hypocrellin B photophysics are well described by a simple model involving one ground-state species and excited-state forward and reverse H-atom transfer with a nonfluorescent excited state. We suggest that excited-state conformational changes are coupled to the H-atom transfer in hypocrellin B just as gauche/anti changes are coupled to the H-atom transfer in hypocrellin A.     

The radicals formed by photoinduced electron transfer from hypocrellins to electron acceptors

The photoinduced electron transfer from excited singlet and triplet states of hypocrellins to three electron acceptors, namely, methyl viologen chloride (MV), tetrachloro-p-benzoquinone (TCQ) and 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyan-p-benzoquinone (DDQ), has been investigated by fluorescence and time-resolved transient absorption spectra. In acetonitrile solution, DDQ and TCQ quenched the fluorescence and T-T absorption of hypocrellins (HA and HB) efficiently, while neither fluorescence nor T-T absorption of them could be quenched by MV. The quenching resulted from the electron transfer between excited hypocrellins and the electron acceptors was controlled by diffusion. The rate constants of electron transfer from excited singlet and triplet of HA to DDQ are 9.20×10¹⁰ dm³ mol^?1 s^?1 and 1.28×10⁹ dm³ mol^?1 s^?1, respectively. The transient absorption spectra of the formed radical cations of hypocrellins are reported.     

Chiral derivatization coupled with liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry for determining ketone metabolites of hydroxybutyrate enantiomers

With PMP chiral derivatization, the D/L-2HB and D/L-3HB enantiomers can be distinctly determined by reversed-phase chromatographic separation. In addition, the detection sensitivities were greatly enhanced by LC-ESI-MS analysis due to the introduction of easily ionizable tertiary amino group from PMP.     

Studies on the photoinduced sulfonation of hypocrellins

Hypocrellin A (HA) and hypocrellin B (HB) are efficient phototherapeutic agents. Irradiation of HB with visible light in the presence of sodium sulfite in water-pyridine or water-N,N-dimethylformamide (1:1, v/v) solution gives hypocrellin B-5-sulfonic acid and hypocrellin B-5,8-disulfonic acid. HA reacts similarly under the same conditions. Electron spin resonance and 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline-N-oxide (DMPO) spin trapping studies indicate that this photoreaction is initiated by the photoinduced electron transfer between HB and sodium sulfite to produce the semiquinone radical anion of HB (HB^.−) and the sulfur trioxide radical anion (·SO₃^-). The intermediates (HB^.− and 5-SO₃⁻-HB^.−) produced from the photolysis process have also been observed in absorption spectra. The attack of ·SO₃⁻ on HB at the 5 and/or 8 positions to form the sulfonated products has been verified by quenching experiments. The effects of air and pH on the sulfonation reaction have been investigated. On the basis of the experimental evidence, the reaction pathway for the photoreaction is proposed.     

Photodynamic properties of dipeptide-modified hypocrellin B derivatives: the role of tyrosine and tryptophan groups

Three long-wavelength absorbing dipeptide-modified hypocrellin B (HB) derivatives, Gly-HB, Tyr-HB, and Trp-HB, were prepared for application in photodynamic therapy (PDT). Their abilities to produce free radicals and singlet oxygen were compared in detail with EPR technique, and their binding interactions with calf thymus DNA (CT DNA) were studied by absorption spectra and DNA melting temperature measurements. Tyr-HB and Trp-HB distinguish themselves from Gly-HB and HB remarkably by their significantly improved efficiencies to generate semiquinone anion radicals, superoxide anion radicals, and hydroxyl radicals, as well as their affinity to CT DNA, as the result of the electron-donating properties and intercalating abilities of tyrosine and tryptophan groups. Tyr-HB and Trp-HB show remarkably enhanced photodamage capabilities on CT DNA than their parent HB in aerobic conditions. Moreover, they possess moderate photodamage abilities on CT DNA even in anaerobic conditions, indicating the role of Type I mechanism in their photodynamic behaviors.     

Amino acid derivatives of pyropheophorbide-α ethers as photosensitizer: Synthesis and photodynamic activity

Ten new water-soluble amino acid conjugates of pyropheophorbide-α ethers 4a-4j were synthesized and investigated for their in vitro photodynamic antitumor activity. The results showed that all compounds exhibited higher phototoxicity and lower dark toxicity against three kinds of tumor cell lines than BPD-MA. In particular, themost phototoxic compound 4d and 4j individually showed IC₅₀ values of 41 nmol/L and 33 nmol/L against HCT116 cell, which represented 7.8- and 9.7-fold increase of antitumor potency compared to BPD-MA, respectively, suggesting that they were promising photosensitizers for PDT applications because of their strong absorption at long wavelength (λ_max>650 nm), high phototoxicity, low dark cytotoxicity and good water-solubility.     

Hypericin and hypocrellin induced apoptosis in human mucosal carcinoma cells.

Potent photosensitizers hypocrellin A (HA), hypocrellin B (HB) and hypericin (HY) are lipid-soluble perylquinone derivatives of the genus Hypericum and have a strong photodynamic effect on tumors and viruses. However, the mechanisms of tumor cell death induced by HA, HB and HY are still unclear. Moreover, no reports have mentioned cell apoptosis induced by HA, HB and HY in human nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and other mucosal cells. In this study, we attempt to clarify the photodynamic effects of HA, HB and HY compounds in poorly differentiated (CNE2) and moderately differentiated (TW0-1) human NPC cells as well as human mucosal colon and bladder cells. Using these cell lines we investigated few hallmarks of apoptotic commitments in a drug dose dependent manner. Tumor cells photo-activated with HA, HB and HY showed cell size shrinkage and an increase in the sub-diploid DNA content. A loss of membrane phospholipid asymmetry associated with apoptosis was induced by all tumor cell lines as evidenced by the externalization of phosphatidylserine. Under apoptotic conditions, Western blot analysis of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase, a caspases substrate, showed the classical cleavage pattern (116 to 85 kDa) associated with apoptosis in HA, HB and HY-treated cell lysates. In addition, 85 kDa cleaved product was blocked by the tetrapepdide caspase inhibitors such as DEVD-CHO or z-VAD-fmk. Both inhibitors protect tumor cells from apoptosis. These results demonstrate that tumor cell death induced by HA, HB and HY is mediated by caspase proteases. This study also identifies HB as a more potent and promising photosensitizer for the treatment of mucosal cancer cells.     

Electronic spectra of hypocrellin A, B and their derivatives

In this paper, the electronic spectra of hypocrellin A and B (HA and HB) are studied in detail. It has been proved that their three visible absorption bands come respectively from the pi pi transition of their conjugated systems and intramolecular proton transfer. In dilute solutions, their fluorescence spectra consist of the fluorescence peak of the neutral monomolecule and that of the zwitter-ions that are formed through proton transfer of excited states. In concentrated solution, the longer wavelength emission band is composed of the overlapped fluorescence peaks of zwitter-ions and excimers. The fluorescence spectra of the crystalline hypocrellin A and B consist of the fluorescence peaks of zwitter-ions and excimers and the fluorescence of neutral monomolecules could could not be observed. Their relative intensities are closely related to the excitation wave-length.     

大黄素衍生物的合成及细胞毒性研究

以天然大黄素为母体, 经化学修饰得到一系列新的含氮衍生物6～14. 通过¹H NMR, IR, MS和元素分析确定了结构. 选择口腔底癌(KB)和乳腺癌(MFC-7)两种人癌细胞株, 采用标准MTT法测定了这类大黄素衍生物的细胞毒性. 研究表明大多数衍生物都有较强的抗癌活性, 其中位置异构体7a和7b的混合物表现出最强的活性, 与母体大黄素相比较, 活性分别提高了174倍(KB)和133倍(MFC-7).