9,9'-epoxylignans from Syringa pinnatifolia: A typical case of stereochemical assignment by a quantum chemical calculation with MAEΔΔδ parameter.

In the current study, twenty-two stereochemical 9,9'-epoxylignans including 19 undescribed ones were isolated from the ethanol extract of Syringa pinnatifolia in our continuing effort to understand the overall chemical spectrum of this species. These isolates were structurally elucidated by extensive spectroscopic data analysis, X-ray diffraction, modified Mosher's method, and quantum chemical calculations. Meanwhile, the utilization of 13C NMR calculation and the MAEΔΔδ parameter facilitated the stereochemical assignment of groups of lignan stereoisomers. The 13C NMR data were corrected by the averaged errors at each corresponding carbon position in groups of lignan stereoisomers, which improved the theoretic 13C NMR calculation. The finding of the stereochemical structures of 9,9'-epoxylignans is significant. It is helpful to determine the absolute configurations of molecules with the similar core. In addition, these lignans exhibited potential cardioprotective activities on H9c2 cardiomyocytes in vitro and presented significant antioxidant effect.

[Eleven new sesquiterpenoids from peeled stems of Syringa pinnatifolia].

The peeled stems of Syringa pinnatifolia(SP) is a representative Mongolian folk medicine with the effects of anti-depression, heat clearance, pain relief, and respiration improvement. It has been clinically used for the treatment of coronary heart disease, insomnia, asthma, and other cardiopulmonary diseases. As part of the systematic study on pharmacological substances of SP, 11 new sesquiterpenoids were isolated from the terpene-containing fractions of the ethanol extract of SP by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry(LC-MS) and proton nuclear magnetic resonance(~1H-NMR) guided isolation methods. The planar structures of the sesquiterpenoids were identified by MS, 1D NMR, and 2D NMR data analysis, and were named pinnatanoids C and D(1 and 2), and alashanoids T-ZI(3-11), respectively. The structure types of the sesquiterpenoids included pinnatane, humulane, seco-humulane, guaiane, carryophyllane, seco-erimolphane, isodaucane, and other types. However, limited to the low content of compounds, the existence of multiple chiral centers, the flexibility of the structure, or lack of ultraviolet absorption, the stereoscopic configuration remained unresolved. The discovery of various sesquiterpenoids enriches the understanding of the chemical composition of the genus and species and provides references for further analysis of pharmacological substances of SP.

The Ethanol Extract of Syringa oblata Heartwood, a Mongolian Folk Medicine Containing Major Lignans, Exerts Analgesic and Sedative Effects on Mice.

The heartwood of Syringa oblata Lindl. (SO) is one of Mongolian folk medicines to treat insomnia and pain, while its pharmacological evaluation and underlying mechanism remain unclear. In this study, the sedative effect of ethanol extract of SO (ESO) was evaluated with the locomotor activity test and the threshold dose of pentobarbital sodium-induced sleep test in mice, and the hot plate test, acetic acid-induced writhing test, and formalin test in mice were used to evaluate its analgesic effect. The underlying mechanism of ESO analgesia was explored by RT-PCR and western blot analysis, which is associated with the regulation of the NF-κB signaling pathway. Besides, the main constituents of ESO were characterized by LC/MS data analysis and comparison with isolated pure compounds. The current findings brought evidence for clinical application and further pharmacological and phytochemical studies on SO.

Syringenes A-L: Bioactive dimeric eremophilane sesquiterpenoids from Syringa pinnatifolia.

A phytochemical investigation guided by 1H NMR and LC-MS data on the ethanol extract of Syringa pinnatifolia stems led to the isolation of 11 new dimeric eremophilane sesquiterpenoids, namely, syringenes A-K (1-11) and one known analog (12, syringene L). These structures were elucidated by extensive analysis of spectroscopic data, single-crystal X-ray diffraction, and computational methods. Biological assays revealed that 1-12 exhibited different degrees of anti-inflammatory effects, and 5 and 6 showed significant cytotoxicity against human hepatoma HepG2 cells with IC50 values of 12.3 and 12.9 µM, respectively. Furthermore, flow cytometry assays and western blot analysis revealed that 5 and 6 promoted the apoptosis of HepG2 cells by activating ERK. Finally, the molecular docking analysis implied that the carbonyl and hydroxy groups at the C-11/C-6' of 5 and 6 had a good binding affinity with ERK.

Zerumbone, a humulane sesquiterpene from Syringa pinnatifolia, attenuates cardiac fibrosis by inhibiting of the TGF-ß1/Smad signaling pathway after myocardial infarction in mice.

BACKGROUND: Zerumbone (ZER) is a humulane sesquiterpene isolated from Syringa pinnatifolia Hemsl., a representative Mongolian herbal medicine that is used to treat cardiovascular diseases. Cardiac fibrosis is a common pathological process in cardiovascular disease that results from the excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM), and the transforming growth factor (TGF)-ß/Smad pathway is a canonical signaling pathway that directly induces expressions of ECM-related genes. Currently, the cardioprotective effect and underlying mechanisms of ZER on the inhibition of cardiac fibrosis are not well known. PURPOSE: To explore the cardioprotective properties and pharmacological mechanism of ZER against cardiac fibrosis via the TGF-ß1/Smad signaling pathway. METHODS: Myocardial infarction (MI) model was induced by ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery in ICR mice. The mice were randomly divided into six groups: sham, model, low-dose ZER (ZER-L), medium-dose ZER (ZER-M), high-dose ZER (ZER-H) and fosinopril. Mice in each group were intragastrically administered treatments for 21 days, and cardiac function was evaluated by 2D echocardiography. The pathological structure of the heart was examined by hematoxylin and eosin (HE) and Masson staining. Content of collagen I and collagen III were assessed by immunofluorescence methods. The inhibitory effect of ZER on TGF-ß1 protein expression was predicted by molecular docking technology. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and western blotting were used to measure the levels of genes and proteins expressed in the TGF-ß1/Smad signaling pathway and MMPs. TGF-ß1-treated cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) of neonatal SD rats were adopted for in vitro studies. RESULTS: Cardiac ejection fraction (EF) and fractional shortening (FS) in the model group were markedly decreased compared with those in the sham group, indicating that the MI model was successfully established. ZER and fosinopril elevated EF and FS values, suggesting cardioprotective effects. Pathological staining and immunofluorescence analysis showed that the content of collagen I and collagen III increased in the cardiac tissue of mice in model group, while ZER treatment obviously reduced collagen levels. The molecular docking simulations predicted the hydrophobic interactions between ZER and TGF-ß1. In addition, the expression of TGF-ß1, p-Smad2/3 and MMPs in the ZER treatment group was significantly decreased compared with the model group. In vitro studies further confirmed that α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and p-Smad2/3 increased markedly in cardiac fibroblasts after incubation with TGF-ß1, and treatment with ZER suppressed the expression of α-SMA and TGF-ß1 downstream proteins in cardiac fibroblasts. CONCLUSION: ZER rescues cardiac function by attenuating cardiac fibrosis, and the antifibrotic effect may be mediated by blocking the TGF-ß1/Smad pathway.

[Network pharmacology study of Tibetan medicine Corydalis Herba against acute myocardial ischemia].

In this study, the compound search was completed through SciFinder and CNKI databases, and the drug-like properties were screened in FAFdrugs4 and SEA Search Server databases. In addition, based on the target sets related to acute myocardial ischemia(AMI) searched in disease target databases such as OMIM database, GeneCards database and DrugBank, a network diagram of chemical component-target-pathway-disease was established via Cytoscape to predict the potential active components of Corydalis Herba, a traditional Tibetan herbal medicine which derived from the aerial parts of Corydalis hendersonii and C. mucronifera against AMI. A protein-protein interaction(PPI) network was constructed through the STRING database and the core targets in the network were predicted. And the enrichment analyses of core targets were completed by DAVID database and R software. Furthermore, a molecular docking method was used to verify the binding of the components with core targets using softwares such as Autodock Vina. The present results showed that there were 60 compounds related to AMI in Corydalis Herba, involving 73 potential targets. The GO functional enrichment analysis obtained 282 biological processes(BP), 49 cell components(CC) and 78 molecular functions(MF). KEGG was enriched into 85 pathways, including alcoholism pathway, endocrine resistance pathway, calcium signaling pathway, cAMP signaling pathway, vascular endothelial growth factor signaling pathway and adrenergic signaling transduction pathway of myocardial cells. The results of network topology analysis showed that the key components of anti-AMI of Corydalis Herba might be tetrahydropalmatine, etrahydrocolumbamine, N-trans-feruloyloctopamine, N-cis-p-coumaroyloctopamine, N-trans-p-coumaroylnoradrenline and N-trans-p-coumaroyloctopamine, and their core targets might be CDH23, SCN4 B and NFASC. The results of molecular docking showed that the key components of Corydalis Herba had stable binding activity with the core targets. This study provides reference for further elucidation of the pharmacological effects of Corydalis Herba against AMI, subsequent clinical application, and development.

The Prognostic Values Of Circulating Tumor Cells In Lung Carcinoma: An Analysis On 98 Chinese Patients.

AIM: To examine the prognostic values of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in patients with advanced lung cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 98 patients with their CTCs enumerated in 2017 was recruited. Data were retrieved from medical records for comparison. Patients' overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were studied using Kaplan-Meier curve with log rank test. RESULTS: Seventy-three percent of the patients were male, and nearly half of the patients (44.8%) were smokers. Most tumors were adenocarcinoma (73.4%), and about 60% of the cases were diagnosed at stage IV. Half of the patients showing less than nine CTCs. Patients' OS were significantly associated with total CTC count (P=0.047), epithelial CTC count (P=0.027), mixed CTC count (P=0.004), and use of adjuvant chemotherapy (P=0.001). For PFS, it was strongly associated with tumor backgrounds (T stage, P=0.002; M stage, P=0.001; TMN stage, P<0.001), cancer biomarkers (CEA, P=0.004; CA125, P=0.004; CA153, P=0.045), and treatment strategy (surgical intervention, P=0.025; first-line chemotherapy, P<0.001). CONCLUSION: The present study clearly indicated the significant associations between CTC and overall survival of patients with lung cancer.