ABSTRACT
Bioassay-guided fractionation led to the isolation of a series of triterpenoids (1-46) including 12 new ones (1-12) from the mushroom Inonotus obliquus. The structures of all the compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis as well as by comparison with literature data. Triterpenoids 1-3, 6, 7, 16, 24, 25, 27, 38, 43, 44 and 46 showed strong α-glucosidase inhibition, with IC50 values from 11.5 to 81.8 µM. Their structure-activity relationships were discussed. Inonotusol F (24) showed the strongest inhibitory activity and it presented noncompetitive inhibition against α-glucosidase. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics stimulation further demonstrated that GLU302 and PHE298 were key amino acids for the inhibition of inonotusol F (24) towards α-glucosidase. This study indicates the vital role of triterpenoids in explaining hypoglycemic effect of Inonotus obliquus and provides important evidence for further development and utilization of this mushroom.
Subject(s)
Agaricales/chemistry , Glycoside Hydrolase Inhibitors/pharmacology , Hypoglycemic Agents/pharmacology , Triterpenes/pharmacology , alpha-Glucosidases/metabolism , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Glycoside Hydrolase Inhibitors/chemistry , Glycoside Hydrolase Inhibitors/isolation & purification , Humans , Hypoglycemic Agents/chemistry , Hypoglycemic Agents/isolation & purification , Kinetics , Models, Molecular , Molecular Structure , Structure-Activity Relationship , Triterpenes/chemistry , Triterpenes/isolation & purificationABSTRACT
Seven new triterpenes, inonotusol A-G (1-7), one new diterpene, inonotusic acid (8), and 22 known compounds were isolated from Inonotus obliquus. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analysis, including homonuclear and heteronuclear correlation NMR ((1)H-(1)H COSY, ROESY, HSQC, and HMBC) experiments. In in vitro assays, compounds 6 and 8-16 showed hepatoprotective effects against d-galactosamine-induced WB-F344 cell damage, with inhibitory effects from 34.4% to 81.2%. Compounds 7, 17, and 18 exhibited selective cytotoxicities against KB, Bel-7402, or A-549 cell lines. Compounds 16 and 17 showed inhibitory effects against protein tyrosine kinases, with IC50 values of 24.6 and 7.7 µM, respectively.
Subject(s)
Basidiomycota/chemistry , Diterpenes/isolation & purification , Protein Kinase Inhibitors/isolation & purification , Protein Kinase Inhibitors/pharmacology , Triterpenes/isolation & purification , Triterpenes/pharmacology , China , Diterpenes/chemistry , Diterpenes/pharmacology , Galactosamine/pharmacology , Humans , Inhibitory Concentration 50 , KB Cells , Liver/drug effects , Molecular Structure , Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Biomolecular , Protein Kinase Inhibitors/chemistry , Triterpenes/chemistryABSTRACT
More and more medicinal mushrooms have been widely used as a miraculous herb for health promotion, especially by cancer patients. Here we report screening thirteen mushrooms for anti-cancer cell activities in eleven different cell lines. Of the herbal products tested, we found that the extract of Amauroderma rude exerted the highest activity in killing most of these cancer cell lines. Amauroderma rude is a fungus belonging to the Ganodermataceae family. The Amauroderma genus contains approximately 30 species widespread throughout the tropical areas. Since the biological function of Amauroderma rude is unknown, we examined its anti-cancer effect on breast carcinoma cell lines. We compared the anti-cancer activity of Amauroderma rude and Ganoderma lucidum, the most well-known medicinal mushrooms with anti-cancer activity and found that Amauroderma rude had significantly higher activity in killing cancer cells than Ganoderma lucidum. We then examined the effect of Amauroderma rude on breast cancer cells and found that at low concentrations, Amauroderma rude could inhibit cancer cell survival and induce apoptosis. Treated cancer cells also formed fewer and smaller colonies than the untreated cells. When nude mice bearing tumors were injected with Amauroderma rude extract, the tumors grew at a slower rate than the control. Examination of these tumors revealed extensive cell death, decreased proliferation rate as stained by Ki67, and increased apoptosis as stained by TUNEL. Suppression of c-myc expression appeared to be associated with these effects. Taken together, Amauroderma rude represented a powerful medicinal mushroom with anti-cancer activities.
Subject(s)
Agaricales/chemistry , Antineoplastic Agents/pharmacology , Breast Neoplasms/drug therapy , Fungal Polysaccharides/pharmacology , Animals , Apoptosis/drug effects , Cell Line, Tumor , Cell Survival/drug effects , Female , Fruiting Bodies, Fungal/chemistry , Medicine, Chinese Traditional , Mice , Mice, Inbred BALB C , Mice, Nude , Tumor Burden/drug effects , Xenograft Model Antitumor AssaysABSTRACT
Chaga medicinal mushroom, Inonotus obliquus, a popular prescription in traditional medicine in Europe and Asia, was used to reduce inflammation in the nasopharynx and to facilitate breathing. The aqueous extract from I. obliquus (AEIO) exhibited marked decrease in herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection (the 50% inhibitory concentration was 3.82 µg/mL in the plaque reduction assay and 12.29 µg/mL in the HSV-1/blue assay) as well as safety in Vero cells (the 50% cellular cytotoxicity was > 1 mg/mL, and selection index was > 80). Using a time course assay, effective stage analysis, and fusion inhibition assay, the mechanism of anti-HSV activity was found against the early stage of viral infection through inhibition of viral-induced membrane fusion. Therefore, AEIO could effectively prevent HSV-1 entry by acting on viral glycoproteins, leading to the prevention of membrane fusion, which is different from nucleoside analog antiherpetics.
Subject(s)
Agaricales/chemistry , Antiviral Agents/pharmacology , Membrane Fusion/drug effects , Simplexvirus/drug effects , Virus Internalization/drug effects , Animals , Antiviral Agents/chemistry , Chlorocebus aethiops , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Simplexvirus/physiology , Vero Cells , WaterABSTRACT
Due to an altered expression of oncogenic factors and tumor suppressors, aggressive cancer cells have an intrinsic or acquired resistance to chemotherapeutic agents. This typically contributes to cancer recurrence after chemotherapy. microRNAs are short non-coding RNAs that are involved in both cell self-renewal and cancer development. Here we report that tumor cells transfected with miR-378 acquired properties of aggressive cancer cells. Overexpression of miR-378 enhanced both cell survival and colony formation, and contributed to multiple drug resistance. Higher concentrations of chemotherapeutic drugs were needed to induce death of miR-378-transfected cells than to induce death of control cells. We found that the biologically active component isolated from Ganoderma lucidum could overcome the drug-resistance conferred by miR-378. We purified and identified the biologically active component of Ganoderma lucidum as ergosterol peroxide. We demonstrated that ergosterol peroxide produced greater activity in inducing death of miR-378 cells than the GFP cells. Lower concentrations of ergosterol peroxide were needed to induce death of the miR-378-transfected cells than in the control cells. With further clinical development, ergosterol peroxide represents a promising new reagent that can overcome the drug-resistance of tumor cells.