Novel cytotoxic steroidal glycosides from the roots of Liriope muscari / 中国天然药物

The present study was designed to investigate the chemical constituents and bioactivities of the roots of Liriope muscari (Decne.) L.H. Bailey. The compounds were isolated through various chromatography techniques, including silica gel, Sephadex LH-20, and semi-preparative HPLC. The structures were elucidated by infrared (IR), mass spectrometric (MS), 1D- and 2D-NMR analyses in comparison with reference data. In addition, the cytotoxicity of these compounds against human breast cancer MDA-MB-435 cells was evaluated by the MTT assay. Two new steroidal glycosides, 25(R, S)-ruscogenin-1-O-[β-D-fucopyranosyl (1→2)]-[β-D-xylopyranosyl(1→3)]β-D-glucopyranoside (Liriopem I, 1) and 25(R, S)- ruscogenin-1-O-[β-D-fucopyranosyl (1→2)]-[β-D-xylopyranosyl(1→4)]-β-D-fucopyranoside (Liriopem II, 2 and two known compounds LM-S6 (3) and DT-13 (4) were isolated and identified. Liriopem I(1), liriopem II(2) and DT-13 (4) showed remarkable cytotoxicity with IC50 values being (0.58 ± 0.08), (0.05 ± 0.10), and (0.15 ± 0.09) μg·mL(-1), respectively. In summary, compounds 1 and 2 identified in the present study exerted cytotoxicity against breast cancer cells, providing a basis for future development of these compounds as novel anticancer agents.

The saponin DT-13 inhibits gastric cancer cell migration through down-regulation of CCR5-CCL5 axis / 中国天然药物

AIM@#To investigate the effect of DT-13 on gastric cancer cell migration, and to explore the possible mechanisms underlying the anti-metastasis activity of DT-13.@*METHODS@#Growth inhibition of DT-13 was analyzed by the MTT assay. Cell migration was measured by the scratch-wound assay and transwell double chamber assay. To investigate the possible mechanisms underlying the anti-metastasis activity of DT-13, chemokine receptors that are involved in cancer metastasis (CCR2, CCR5, CCR7, CXCR4, and CXCR6) were detected by conventional PCR. The effect of DT-13 on CCR5 and CXCR4 expression was further evaluated by quantitative PCR and Western blot, respectively. The secretion of CCL5 (ligand of CCR5) and SDF-1 (ligand of CXCR4) were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).@*RESULTS@#DT-13 inhibited BGC-823 and HGC-27 cell growth in a dose dependent manner, and the estimated IC50 value for 24 h treatment was 23.5 ± 5.1 μmol·L(-1) for BGC-823 cells and 35.6 ± 7.6 μmol·L(-1) for HGC-27 cells. DT-13 also significantly decreased gastric cancer cell migration. DT-13 significantly decreased the gene expression of CCR5 in both BGC-823 and HGC-27 gastric cancer cells, and moderately reduced the expression of CXCR4. Similar to the results of gene expression, significant down-regulation of CCR5 protein was observed, but CXCR4 protein levels were much less affected. CCL5 secretion, but not SDF-1 production, was inhibited by DT-13.@*CONCLUSION@#DT-13 inhibited gastric cancer cell migration by down-regulation of the CCR5-CCL5 axis.

Genetic diversity of Liriope muscari using SRAP markers / 中草药

Objective: To study the genetic diversity of Liriope muscari. Methods: The genetic diversity of 47 populations was analyzed by SRAP marker technique. Results: Fifteen primers amplified 323 polymorphic bands, and the average percentage of polymorphic bands reached to 88.47%. The average of polymorphism information content (PIC) was 0.90. Nei's gene diversity index (H) was 0.197 7 and Shannon's information index (I) was 0.319 0. Gene differentiation index (Gst) was 0.252 8. Cluster analysis using UPGMA method showed that genetic similarity coefficient ranged in 0.59-0.99. Conclusion: L. muscari shows higher genetic diversity and the majority of genetic variation occurs in populations.