Synthesis and evaluation on triglyceride inhibitory activities of novel indole alkaloids / 药学学报

Three tricyclic [6,5,7] and six tetracyclic [6,5,5,5] novel indole alkaloids were synthesized and evaluated on triglyceride inhibitory activities for the first time. Among them, compound 4c showed the most potent activity with IC50 value of 6.35 μmol·L-1. Meanwhile, compound 4c also exhibited a good safety profile at the cellular level. Preliminary mechanism study indicated that 4c might increase intracellular lipid metabolism by activating AMPK. These results provide a novel family of lead compounds for the discovery of anti-NAFLD candidates.

Advances in small molecular inhibitors of IL-6/STAT3 signaling pathway / 药学学报

As a pleiotropic cytokine, interleukin-6 (IL-6) participates in many physiological activities in vivo. IL-6 plays an important role in the physiology and pathology of chronic inflammation, autoimmune diseases, tumors and other diseases through diverse mechanisms. At present, inhibitors targeting IL-6/IL-6R have been shown to improve treatments for some inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis. IL-6 binds to a specific receptor to activate the downstream JAK/STAT3 signaling pathway. However abnormally activated STAT3 often appears in various types of malignant tumors and participates in the occurrence and development of tumors. In addition, studies have shown that IL-6 is a key factor in the cytokine storm associated with COVID-19 patients. The physiological participation of IL-6/STAT3 pathway in complex diseases makes this pathway become a research hotspot for drug discovery. Therefore, we summarize the latest research progress of small molecular inhibitors on IL-6/STAT3 signaling pathway, in order to provide a reference for the development of IL-6/STAT3 related drug in the future.

Anti-MRSA activities of cycloberberine derivatives with a novel chemical scaffold / 药学学报

Using CBBR as the parent core constructed in our lab, we designed and synthesized 15 novel compounds with diverse structures for evaluation of anti-bacterial activities. Structure activity relationship studies revealed that ① ring C was essential for the activity; ② 7,8- or 8,13-disubstituted CBBR derivatives showed ideal activities, weaker or similar to those corresponding to 7-, 8-, or 13-monosubstituted CBBR derivatives. Among those, compound 9a showed the most potential activity against MRSA/VISA isolates with MIC values of 1-2 μg·mL-1, much better than Lev. 9a also displayed higher stability in the plasma and liver microsomes. Molecular docking indicated that 9a might target bacterial DNA Topo IV ParE subunit, indicating a mode of action distinct from current antibacterial drugs on market. The results provided key scientific evidence for developing such compounds into a new family of anti-MRSA drugs.

Design, synthesis and anti-MRSA activities of cycloberberine derivatives with a novel chemical scaffold / 药学学报

9-Acetoxycycloberberine (1) with a unique skeleton was first identified to display a potent antimicrobial profile against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) with MIC values of 1-16 μg·mL-1. Taking the compound as a lead, 14 target cycloberberine analogues with diverse structures, such as berberine and chelerythrine derivatives, were synthesized and evaluated for their anti-bacterial activities. Analysis of the structure-activity relationship revealed that:① ring E was essential for the activity; ② the removing of ring B decreased the activity against MRSA. However, the antimicrobial activity against vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE) was improved; ③ the introduction of a suitable rigid substituent at the 9-position was beneficial for the activity. Among them, compound 9a showed the most potential activity against methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) and MRSA isolates with MIC values of 0.5-1 μg·mL-1, suggesting a different mechanism from clinical drugs. It displayed higher stability in blood. Therefore, we consider 9a worthy of further investigation. The results provide key scientific evidence for development of such compounds into a new type of anti-MRSA candidates.

Design, synthesis and evaluation of cytisinic derivatives for hypoglycemic activity / 药学学报

Taking cytosine, an unique natural product alkaloid as the lead, we designed thirty cytisinic derivatives with different types of 12N-substituents, which were synthesized and evaluated for their activity in the regulation of glucose metabolism in vitro. The compounds 3d, 3g and 6h exhibited the potential hypoglycemic activity and compound 3d had a good pharmacokinetics profile. In terms of mechanism of glucose consumption, the compounds 3d and 6h increased cellular glucose consumption. which might be associated with up-regulation of glucose transporter Glut4 expression and activation of AMPK. The results revealed important roles of these new skeleton compounds as potential new drug candidates for control of blood glucose.

Design, synthesis and evaluation of anti-inflammatory effect of novel berberine derivatives on IL-6/STAT signaling pathway / 药学学报

Interleukin-6 (IL-6)/signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT) signaling pathway is closely related to the development and progression of atherosclerosis (AS). Taking Chinese natural product berberine (BBR) as the leading compound, a series of novel BBR analogues defined on different types of substituents on position 3 or/and 9 were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their inhibitory activities on phosphorylation of STAT-1 and STAT-3 induced by IL-6. The structure-activity relationship indicated that introduction of rigid fragment on position 3 or 9 was beneficial for enhancing their activities. Among them, compounds 2b and 9 exhibited the most satisfactory potency. The study revealed that the compounds 2b and 9 exhibit anti-inflammatory potencies via activating AMPK, and down-regulation of phosphorylation of STAT1 and STAT3 induced by IL-6 in HUVEC cells. These results suggest that BBR derivatives may inhibit the inflammatory response mediated by the IL-6/STAT signaling pathway through regulation of AMPK, which provides useful insight into the development of BBR derivatives for treatment of atherosclerosis.

Screening of natural small molecule IDO-1 inhibitors with anti-tumor role / 药学学报

Fragments of the human indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) gene 5'-UTR (untranslated 1 245 bp region) promoters were amplified by PCR and cloned into pGL4.20 vector in the construction of reporter vector pGL4-IDO1-luc. A549 cells were transfected with the constructed plasmid and IDO1 inhibitor screening model was established with dual-luciferase reporter assay. Based on the model, we screened natural small molecules which could down-regulate the expression of IDO1 on tumor cells. The anti-tumor activities were examined by MTT, Western blotting and lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) release assays. Toosendanin (NS-180) down regulated the IDO1 expression and inhibited IFN-γ-induced STAT1 and STAT3 phosphorylation in A549 cells. Moreover, NS-180 significantly increased the cytotoxicity of co-cultured NK cells on A549 cells in LDH release assays. In summary, NS-180 is a novel and potent IDO1 inhibitor, which has an antitumor activity for cancer immunotherapies.

Study on hypoglycemic activity of 9-substituted berberine derivatives in vitro / 药学学报

The glucose consumption activity of 9-substitued analogues of berberine was evaluated in L6 myotubes. It was found that the introduction of an ethoxy group on the 9-position of berberine was beneficial for the activity. 9-Ethoxy berberine analogue 2a exhibited superior activity to berberine in multiple dose levels, and the activity of 2a was 5.4 times as high as that of berberine at the dose of 1.25 μmol·L-1. At the meantime, the potency on AMPK activation of 2a was 2.8 times of that of berberine at the dose of 10 μmol·L-1. Therefore, the compound 2a is a promising scaffold for further modification.

In vitro metabolism and drug-drug interaction potential of IG-105, a novel antimicrotubule agent / 药学学报

IG-105, N-(2,6-dimethoxypyridine-3-yl)-9-methylcarbazole-3-sulfonamide, a novel antimicrotubule agent, showed potent anticancer activity in a variety of human tumor cells in vitro and in vivo. In order to characterize the metabolism and the possible drug-drug interaction of IG-105, we carried out a series of experiments. Drug metabolizing enzymes involved in IG-105 metabolism were investigated by using pooled human liver microsomes (HLMs) and recombinant cytochrome P450 isoforms (rP450s) respectively. The possible metabolites were analyzed by liquid chromatography-orbitrap-mass spectrometry (LC-Orbitrap-MS). The inhibitory effect of IG-105 on main P450 enzymes was also evaluated. The results showed that IG-105 can be metabolized by a series of rP450s, including CYP1A2, CYP2B6, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2D6, CYP3A4 and CYP3A5, with the major contribution enzymes being CYP1A2, CYP2B6, CYP2C19, and CYP3A. Three metabolites (M1-M3) were identified and demethylation was the major phase I metabolic reaction for IG-105. IG-105 moderately inhibited CYP1A2, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2D6, and CYP3A enzyme activities with IC50 values of 6.42, 23.64, 0.39, 1.4, and 3.14 μmol·L-1, respectively. Since the biotransformation of IG-105 involves multiple enzymatic pathways, the compound is less likely to be a victim of a concomitantly used medicine which inhibits activity of one of the CYPs. However, as IG-105 showed medium to strong inhibition on CYP1A2, CYP2D6, CYP3A, and CYP2C19, caution is particularly needed when IG-105 is co-administrated with other anticancer drugs which are mainly metabolized by the above enzymes.

Combination chemotherapy of L-proline-m-bis (2-chloroethyl) amino-L-phenylalanyl-L-norvaline ethyl ester hydrochloride with anti-cancer drugs in human hepatocellular carcinoma / 药学学报

L-Proline-m-bis (2-chloroethyl) amino-L-phenylalanyl-L-norvaline ethyl ester hydrochloride (MF13) is a new anticancer tripeptide. Our previous study in vitro and in vivo showed that MF13 had anti-proliferative activities in a panel of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell lines from different origin. In the present study, we focused on the inhibition effect on HCC of MF13 combined with other anti-cancer drugs. The results of combination chemotherapy in vitro indicated that the combination of MF13 with mitomycin C (MMC) at appropriate concentrations led to a synergistic effect; however, the combination of MF13 with vincristine (VCR) showed no synergistic effect. In the Bel-7402 tumor bearing nude mice, the antitumor effect of the groups of 2 mg·kg-1 MF13 + 2 mg·kg-1 MMC or 2 mg·kg-1 MF13 + 50 mg·kg-1 cyclophosphamide (CTX) exhibited synergistic anticancer efficacies while the group of 2 mg·kg-1 MF13 + 0.3 mg·kg-1 VCR did not have the same effect. Based on our data, we believe that MF13 can be considered as a potential agent against human hepatocellular carcinoma no matter how treated, alone or combined with other drugs.

The effect of zinc on inflammatory reaction in rats with focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion / 药学学报

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of N, N-diethyldithiocarbamate (DEDTC) on the changes of inflammatory cytokines after focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats and to explore the potential mechanism. Two hundred Sprague Dawley male rats were randomly divided into sham group, middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) group and DEDTC (Zn chelator) treated group. MCAO model was established by the suture method. Rats were sacrificed at 6, 12 and 24 h after reperfusion. 2, 3, 5-Triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) was conducted to measure the brain infarct volume. Newport Green was adopted to detect the chelatable zinc in the cerebral penumbra. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed to determine the release of TNF-α and IL-6. Furthermore Western blot was used to analyze the expression of the PI3K/Akt/NF-κB signaling pathway. The results showed that DEDTC resulted in a significant reduction of brain infarct volume and an obvious improvement of neurological function compared to the model group. DEDTC also decreased the release of inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α and IL-6. The activation of PI3K/Akt/NF-κB signaling pathway induced by I/R injury was drastically inhibited by the treatment with DEDTC. In conclusion, DEDTC could protect the brain against ischemic injury induced by MCAO, which might be relevant to the inhibition of PI3K/Akt/NF-κB signaling pathway, and the decreased release of inflammatory cytokines.

Construction of anti-CVB3 active molecule probe of matrinic derivatives / 药学学报

12-N-Benzenesulfonyl-11-matrinic acid derivatives are a new class of anti-CVB3 compounds, but the mechanism of action is still unknown. Therein, two kinds of molecule probes were designed and constructed in this study, including matrinic amines that might be applied to the BIAcore fishing technique and biotin-tagged matrinic derivatives, which could be applied in the biotin affinity chromatography. Moreover, their anti-CVB3 activities were evaluated. Among them, 10a displayed a good activity with an IC50 value of 0.8 μmol·L-1. This active molecule probe provides a key chemical tool for exploration of the anti-CVB3 mechanism of this type of compounds.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of 12-N-benzenesulfonyl matrinic ether derivatives as anti-coxsackievirus B3 agents / 药学学报

12-N-m-Cyanobenzenesulfonyl matrinic butyl methyl ether is a potent anti-coxsackievirus B3(CVB3) agent bearing a novel structure skeleton. Taking this compound as a lead, totally 15 novel target compounds have been synthesized and evaluated for the anti-CVB3 activities using CPE method. Structureactivity relationship (SAR) demonstrated that the shorten-length of 11-side chain was not helpful for keeping the good anti-virus activity. Among the newly synthesized compounds, compound c1 displayed a good anti-CVB3 activity with the IC50 of 7.1 μmol·L-1 and SI of 35.5, similar to that of the lead. The SAR results provided useful information for further optimization of these compounds in the molecular structure.

Establish and use of an epilepsy model in larval zebrafish / 药学学报

Epilepsy is a kind of neurogenic diseases with high prevalence and characterized by seizure, brain paradoxical discharge and convulsion in spontaneous, transient, recurrent and uncontrolled manner. Development of new anti-epilepsy drugs requires a new reliable and high-performance animal models in screening of leading compounds. In this study, an epilepsy model in larval zebrafish was established using pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) compound. The results show that PTZ induced epilepsy-like seizure behavior such as irregular circular swimming, exciting locomotion, high swim velocity and convulsion in zebrafish. Expression patterns of two epilepsy-related gene c-fos and lgi1 were analyzed using RT-PCR and in situ hybridization; c-fos was enhanced and extended and lgi1 expression was reduced in PTZ concentration-dependent in the larval brain. When the model larvae exposed to anticonvulsant valproate (VPA), the epilepsy-like symptom decreased or disappeared, the marker genes c-fos and lgi1, as well as NeuN protein recovered to the normal levels. These responses to PTZ and to antiepileptic drug VPA are consistent with the observations in clinical studies and mouse models. Using this model, we evaluated anti-epilepsy activity of compounds Y53 and BMT, two homolog of berberine. The results show that the model larvae seizure triggered by lighting was partly remedied by Y53; and the larval exciting locomotion under the condition of no stimulation was suppressed by BMT. The findings indicate that the zebrafish larval epilepsy model is able to distinguish compounds with different activities in eleptiform seizure. We conclude that the zebrafish epilepsy model may be as a reliable and useful platform in screening of new anti-epilepsy candidates, which is suitable for basic research in epilepsy pathogenesis.

S632A3 promotes LPS-induced IFN-beta production through inhibiting the activation of GSK-3beta / 药学学报

LPS stimulation of macrophages production of IFN-beta plays a key role in innate immunity defending the microbial invasion. In this study, the effect of S632A3 promoting LPS-induced IFN-beta production and the underlying mechanism were investigated, mRNA level was measured by real-time PCR, cytokine production was determined by ELISA, GSK-3beta activity was investigated by kinase assay, protein phosphorylation and expression were evaluated by Western blotting. The results revealed that S632A3 significantly augmented IFN-beta production by LPS-stimulated macrophages. S632A3 inhibition of the activation of GSK-3beta, reduced the threonine 239 phosphorylation of transcription factor c-Jun but increased the total level of c-Jun in LPS-stimulated macrophages. Moreover, small interfering RNA-mediated knockdown of c-Jun level abrogated the ability of S632A3 to augment IFN-beta. The study thus demonstrates S632A3 being a new anti-inflammation lead compound and provides a molecular mechanism by which S632A3 promoted LPS-induced IFN-beta production in macrophages through inhibiting the activation of GSK-3beta.

Synthesis and structure-activity relationship of cycloberberine as anti-cancer agent / 药学学报

A series of cycloberberine derivatives were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their anti-cancer activities in vitro. Among these analogs, compounds 6c, 6e and 6g showed strong inhibition on human HepG2 cells. They afforded a potent effect against DOX-resistant MCF-7 breast cells as well. The primary mechanism showed that cell cycle was blocked at G2/M phase of HepG2 cells treated with 6g using flow cytometry assay. It significantly inhibited the activity of DNA Top I at the concentration of 0.1 mg mL-1. Our results provided a basis for the development of this kind of compounds as novel anti-cancer agents.

Synthesis and structure-activity relationship of N-(2-arylethyl) isoquinoline derivatives as anti-cancer agents / 药学学报

A series of novel N-(2-arylethyl) isoquinoline derivatives were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their anti-cancer activities. Among these analogs, compound 9a exhibited the potential anti-cancer activities on HepG2 and HCT116 cells with IC50 values of 2.52 and 1.99 microg x mL(-1), respectively. Cell cycle was blocked at S phase of HepG2 cells treated with 9a by flow cytometry detection. Our results provided a basis for the development of a new series of anti-cancer candidates.

Overexpression of synuclein-gamma confers resistance to antimicrotubule drugs against human hepatoma cells / 药学学报

Liver cancer is one of the most common neoplastic diseases with high mortality in China. Currently, antimicrotubule drugs such as paclitaxel (PTX) and vincristine (VCR), are used as the common agents in the clinical chemotherapy for liver cancer. However, the responses of patients to these drugs vary markedly. Successful identification of intracellular factors influencing liver cancer's sensitivity to antimicrotubule drugs would be of great clinical importance. In this study, by engineering human hepatoma cell HepG2 to overexpress synuclein-gamma (SNCG), we investigated if SNCG is a molecular factor associated with the sensitivity to antimicrotubule drug treatment. Real-time RT-PCR and Western blotting assays showed SNCG was successfully overexpressed in HepG2/ SNCG cells compared with HepG2/Neo cells. The overexpressed SNCG altered the proliferation activity in HepG2 cells, which was 66% higher than that of HepG2/Neo cells through MTT method. The overexpressed SNCG also reduced sensitivity of HepG2 cells to antimicrotubule drugs: after PTX or VCR treatment, the proportion of HepG2/SNCG cells in G2/M arrest was significantly lower than that in HepG2/Neo cells. Correspondingly, HepG2/SNCG cells showed significantly lower mitotic index than HepG2/Neo cells. Meanwhile, HepG2/SNCG cells showed higher resistance to PTX and VCR than HepG2/Neo cells, with resistance index 21 and 15 respectively. Our studies suggested that the overexpression of SNCG could confer resistance to antimicrotubule drugs in hepatoma cells; and it indicated that SNCG may be as a potential response marker for antimicrotubule drugs in liver cancer chemotherapy.

Synthesis and structure-activity relationship of 13-hexylberberine analogues as CD36 antagonists / 药学学报

Scavenger receptor CD36 could bind and endocytose oxLDL into macrophages which were then differentiated into foam cells that constitute the atherosclerotic lesion core, and was considered to be a potential target to treat atherosclerosis. In the establishment of the compound library of berberine (BBR, 1) analogues, we discovered that 13-hexylberberine (2) showed an antagonistic activity against CD36. Taking 2 as the lead compound, 21 derivatives were synthesized and their antagonistic activities were evaluated via an ELISA-like high-throughput screening (HTS) model. The primary structure-activity relationships were studied. It was indicated that the introduction of suitable groups at the 2- and 3-position of the aromatic ring A or at the 9-position of the aromatic ring D could enhance the activity. Among the 21 studied compounds, 7g bearing a benzyloxyl group at the 9-position provided a highest CD36 antagonistic activity with the IC50 value of 7.7 micromol L(-1). Besides, its antagonistic activity was further verified with Sf9 insect cell HTS model. So berberine analogues are a new family of CD36 receptor antagonists and worthy to be studied further.

Construction and application of pharmacophore model of benzoylurea derivatives as beta-tubulin inhibitors / 药学学报

Ten pharmacophore models of beta-tubulin inhibitors were established from the training set of seventeen beta-tubulin inhibitors (two categories) with comformer analysis by using the Catalyst software. The optimal pharmacophore model with two hydrophobic units and two hydrogen bond acceptor units were confirmed (RMS = 0.43, Correl = 0.98, Weight = 2.06, Config = 15.97). This pharmacophore model is able to predict the activity of known beta-tubulin inhibitors and can be further used to identify structurally diverse compounds with higher activity.