Drier Climatic Conditions Increase Withanolide Content of Withania coagulans Enhancing Its Inhibitory Potential Against Human Prostate Cancer Cells

Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology - Prostate cancer is one of the major causes of cancer-related deaths in men and there is a growing interest in identifying natural compounds for its...     

HDAC Inhibitory and Anti-Cancer Activities of Curcumin and Curcumin Derivative CU17 against Human Lung Cancer A549 Cells

Previous research reported that the curcumin derivative (CU17) inhibited several cancer cell growths in vitro. However, its anticancer potential against human lung cancer cells (A549 cell lines) has not yet been evaluated. The purpose of this research was to examine the HDAC inhibitory and anti-cancer activities of CU17 compared to curcumin (CU) in A549 cells. An in vitro study showed that CU17 had greater HDAC inhibitory activity than CU. CU17 inhibited HDAC activity in a dose dependent manner with the half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) value of 0.30 ± 0.086 µg/mL against HDAC enzymes from HeLa nuclear extract. In addition, CU17 could bind at the active pockets of both human class I HDACs (HDAC1, 2, 3, and 8) and class II HDACs (HDAC4, 6, and 7) demonstrated by molecular docking studies, and caused hyperacetylation of histone H3 (Ac-H3) in A549 cells shown by Western blot analysis. MTT assay indicated that both CU and CU17 suppressed A549 cell growth in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Besides, CU and CU17 induced G2/M phase cell cycle arrest and p53-independent apoptosis in A549 cells. Both CU and CU17 down-regulated the expression of p53, p21, Bcl-2, and pERK1/2, but up-regulated Bax expression in this cell line. Although CU17 inhibited the growth of lung cancer cells less effectively than CU, it showed less toxicity than CU for non-cancer cells. Accordingly, CU17 is a promising agent for lung cancer treatment. Additionally, CU17 synergized the antiproliferative activity of Gem in A549 cells, indicating the possibility of employing CU17 as an adjuvant treatment to enhance the chemotherapeutic effect of Gem in lung cancer.     

Total Synthesis of Fontanesine B and Its Isomer: Their Antiproliferative Activity against Human Colorectal Cancer Cells

A concise synthesis of pyrano[3,2‐e]indole alkaloid fontanesine B by a Fischer indolization is described. This key Fischer indolization starts with the pyran‐ring and alkene intact, facilitating potential synthetic applications. Furthermore, fontanesine B and its isomer were evaluated for in vitro antiproliferative activity against human colorectal cancer cells. The isomer of fontanesine B showed higher antiproliferative activity than the natural product, fontanesine B ( 2 ).     

Actinolactomycin,a New 2-Oxonanonoidal Antitumor Antibiotic Produced by Streptomyces flavoretus 18522,and its Inhibitory Effect on the Proliferation of Human Cancer Cells

In the course of our screening for new anticancer agents from microbial resources usingmammalian cancer tsFT210 cells1-3, we found that the fermentation broth of anactinomycete strain 18522 significantly inhibited the cell cycle of tsFT210 cells at theG0/G1 phase. From the fermentation broth of this strain, we have now isolated a new2-oxonanonoidal anitumor antibiotic, named actinolactomycin 1, through a bioassay-guided separation procedure. In this communication, the isolation, structure de…