Collybolide is a novel biased agonist of κ-opioid receptors with potent antipruritic activity.

Among the opioid receptors, the κ-opioid receptor (κOR) has been gaining considerable attention as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of complex CNS disorders including depression, visceral pain, and cocaine addiction. With an interest in discovering novel ligands targeting κOR, we searched natural products for unusual scaffolds and identified collybolide (Colly), a nonnitrogenous sesquiterpene from the mushroom Collybia maculata. This compound has a furyl-δ-lactone core similar to that of Salvinorin A (Sal A), another natural product from the plant Salvia divinorum Characterization of the molecular pharmacological properties reveals that Colly, like Sal A, is a highly potent and selective κOR agonist. However, the two compounds differ in certain signaling and behavioral properties. Colly exhibits 10- to 50-fold higher potency in activating the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway compared with Sal A. Taken with the fact that the two compounds are equipotent for inhibiting adenylyl cyclase activity, these results suggest that Colly behaves as a biased agonist of κOR. Behavioral studies also support the biased agonistic activity of Colly in that it exhibits ∼10-fold higher potency in blocking non-histamine-mediated itch compared with Sal A, and this difference is not seen in pain attenuation by these two compounds. These results represent a rare example of functional selectivity by two natural products that act on the same receptor. The biased agonistic activity, along with an easily modifiable structure compared with Sal A, makes Colly an ideal candidate for the development of novel therapeutics targeting κOR with reduced side effects.

Removing the invariant salt bridge of parvalbumin increases flexibility in the AB-loop structure.

Parvalbumins (PVs) are calcium-buffer proteins that belong to the EF-hand family. Their N-terminal domain consists of two antiparallel helices A and B that make up a flat hydrophobic surface that is associated with the opposite side of the CD and EF binding sites. A single conserved Arg75-Glu81 salt bridge is buried in this hydrophobic interface. The structure of a rat PV mutant in which Arg75 was replaced by alanine was solved by molecular replacement. Unexpectedly, a large distance deviation of 7.8 A was observed for the AB loop but not for the residues that flank the R75A mutation. The thermal stability of the calcium-loaded form is lower (T(m) = 352.0 K; DeltaT(m) = -11.4 K) than that of the wild-type protein and the apo mutant is unfolded at room temperature. Weaker calcium or magnesium affinities were also measured for the R75A mutant (Ca(2+): K(1) = 4.21 x 10(7) M(-1), K(2) = 6.18 x 10(6) M(-1); Mg(2+): K(1) = 2.98 x 10(4) M(-1), K(2) = 3.09 x 10(3) M(-1)). Finally, comparison of the B factors showed an increase in the flexibility of the AB loop that is consistent with this region being more exposed to solvent in the mutant. The mutant structure therefore demonstrates the role of the salt bridge in attaching the nonbinding AB domain to the remaining protein core. Normal-mode analysis indeed indicated an altered orientation of the AB domain with regard to the CD-EF binding domains.

Cogniauxia podolaena: bioassay-guided fractionation of defoliated stems, isolation of active compounds, antiplasmodial activity and cytotoxicity.

COGNIAUXIA PODOLAENA Baill. (Cucurbitaceae) is traditionally used in Congo Brazzaville for the treatment of malaria. We assessed the antiplasmodial activity of the plant and isolated some of the compounds responsible for this activity. It was the first time that a chemical study of this plant has been undertaken. Three triterpenes were isolated: cucurbitacin B ( 1), cucurbitacin D ( 2) and 20-epibryonolic acid ( 3) and their structures were assigned from spectroscopic evidence and comparison with published data. The crystallographic structure of 3 was determined. All fractions and compounds obtained in this study were assayed for antiplasmodial activity (on FcM29, a chloroquine-resistant strain of P. FALCIPARUM) and cytotoxicity (on KB and Vero cell lines). The IC50 values of 1, 2 and 3 are 1.6, 4 and 2 microg/mL on FcM29. Both 1 and 2 have a high cytotoxicity whereas 3 shows a better selectivity index.

Bisbenzyltetrahydroisoquinolines, a new class of inhibitors of the mitochondrial respiratory chain complex I.

Four bisbenzyltetrahydroisoquinoline alkaloids (-)-medelline, (+)-antioquine, (+)-aromoline, and (+)-obamegine were isolated from the fruits of Xylopia columbiana. These compounds, the previously isolated alkaloids (+)-thaligrisine and (+)-isotetrandrine, as well as their O-acetylated derivatives were assayed on submitochondrial particles from beef heart as inhibitors of the mammalian respiratory chain. The results revealed that these alkaloids act as selective inhibitors of mitochondrial complex I in a 0.15 - 4.71 microM range. O-Acetylation, which increases their lipophilicity, considerably increased the inhibitory potency.

Two Highly Populated Conformations at Room Temperature of Monterine and Granjine, Antitumor Bisbenzylisoquinoline Alkaloids: Origin and Tridimensional Structures.

Monterine 1 as well as granjine 3, 1R,1'S configured biphenylic bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloids, generate two highly populated conformers. The interconversion of two forms was detected by saturation tranfer in (1)H NMR NOEs experiments. Tridimensional structure of the conformers was determined on the basis of (1)H NMR analysis of anisotropic shielding protons, by NOEs measurements and vicinal proton coupling constants of CH1-CH(2)alpha and CH1'-CH(2)alpha'. The structures established from NMR data were further refined to observe the mobility of 3D conformations by molecular dynamics simulation in vacuo. The highly populated conformers, monterine 1a and 1b, as well as granjine 3a and 3b, are interconvertible by rotation about the C1'-Calpha', Calpha'-C9', and C11'-C11 bonds and inversion of the benzyl D ring by reference to CH(2)alpha'. The slow exchange system was investigated by dynamic NMR spectroscopy: DeltaG()(c) 77.9 KJ/mol and k(c) 200 s(-)(1) for monterine 1; DeltaG()(c) 77.7 KJ/mol and k(c) 211 s(-)(1) for granjine 3. Natural and synthetic biphenylic bisbenzylisoquinolines displayed, in vitro, cytotoxic activities against human prostate and breast cancer cell lines.