Identification of a natural PLA2 inhibitor from the marine fungus Aspergillus sp. c1 for MAFLD treatment that suppressed lipotoxicity by inhibiting the IRE-1α/XBP-1s axis and JNK signaling

Lipotoxicity is a pivotal factor that initiates and exacerbates liver injury and is involved in the development of metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD). However, there are few reported lipotoxicity inhibitors. Here, we identified a natural anti-lipotoxicity candidate, HN-001, from the marine fungus Aspergillus sp. C1. HN-001 dose- and time- dependently reversed palmitic acid (PA)-induced hepatocyte death. This protection was associated with IRE-1α-mediated XBP-1 splicing inhibition, which resulted in suppression of XBP-1s nuclear translocation and transcriptional regulation. Knockdown of XBP-1s attenuated lipotoxicity, but no additional ameliorative effect of HN-001 on lipotoxicity was observed in XBP-1s knockdown hepatocytes. Notably, the ER stress and lipotoxicity amelioration was associated with PLA2. Both HN-001 and the PLA2 inhibitor MAFP inhibited PLA2 activity, reduced lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) level, subsequently ameliorated lipotoxicity. In contrast, overexpression of PLA2 caused exacerbation of lipotoxicity and weakened the anti-lipotoxic effects of HN-001. Additionally, HN-001 treatment suppressed the downstream pro-apoptotic JNK pathway. In vivo, chronic administration of HN-001 (i.p.) in mice alleviated all manifestations of MAFLD, including hepatic steatosis, liver injury, inflammation, and fibrogenesis. These effects were correlated with PLA2/IRE-1α/XBP-1s axis and JNK signaling suppression. These data indicate that HN-001 has therapeutic potential for MAFLD because it suppresses lipotoxicity, and provide a natural structural basis for developing anti-MAFLD candidates.

Synthesis of(Z)-methyl-2-acetamidocinnamate / 中国药科大学学报

@#In the investigation of asymmetric catalytic hydrogenation reaction, (Z)-methyl-2-acetamidocinnamate is often used as a standard substrate to assess the chiral catalysts. However, its previous syntheses suffered from low yield, relying on column chromatography for isolation. Herein, (Z)-methyl-2-acetamidocinnamate was obtained with 68. 5% isolation yield via simple operations such as wash and extraction using dicyclohexylcarbodiimide(DCC)as dehydrant and 4-dimethylaminopyridine(DMAP)as catalyst in the last synthetic step.

Study of 2-(2-quinolinylazo)-5-dimethylaminobenzoic acid as a new chromogenic reagent for the spectrophotometric determination of cobalt.

2-(2-Quinolinylazo)-5-dimethylaminobenzoic acid (QADMAB) is proposed as a new sensitive and selective chromogenic reagent for spectrophotometric determination of cobalt. The QADMAB reacts with cobalt in the presence of cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTMAB) medium to form a violet complex of molar ratio 1:2 (cobalt to QADMAB) in the pH range 3.2-5.2. The molar absorptivity of the complex is 1.28x10(5) L mol(-1) cm(-1) at 625 nm. Beer's law is obeyed in range 0.01-0.32 micro g mL(-1). The relative standard deviation for eleven replicate samples of 0.2 micro g mL(-1) is 0.76%. This method was applied to the determination of cobalt in biological samples, Vitamin B(12), alloys and water with good results.