Synthesis of pyranochalcone derivatives and their inhibitory effect on NF-κB activation

Dual-targeting tumor cells hybrids derived from Pt(IV) species and NF-κB inhibitors enables cancer therapy through mitochondrial dysfunction and ER stress and overcomes cisplatin resistance

To ameliorate the defects including serious side effects and drug resistance of Pt(II) drugs (e.g., cisplatin and oxaliplatin), here a novel of "dual-prodrug" by containing Pt(II) drugs and NF-κB inhibitors were synthesized and characterized. Among them, Pt(IV) complex 11 exhibited better cytotoxic activity than other Pt(IV) complexes and the corresponding Pt(II) drugs, with IC50 values ranged from 0.31 to 0.91 μM, respectively, and also displayed low toxicity toward two normal cells HL-7702 and BEAS-2B. More importantly, complex 11 significantly reversed cisplatin resistance in A549/CDDP cells, indicating that complex 11 was able to overcome multidrug resistance. Following mechanism studies demonstrated that complex 11 significantly induced DNA damage and ROS generation, arrest the cell cycle at the G2/M stage, suppressed cell migration and intrusion, and induced cell apoptosis through activated ER stress and mitochondrial apoptosis pathway in A549 cells. Moreover, complex 11 effectively suppressed the IKKβ phosphorylation, IκBα phosphorylation and NF-κB p65 phosphorylation and nuclear translocation, leading to blocked the NF-κB signal pathway in A549 cells. In vivo tests showed that the inhibitory rate in the complex 11 reached 69.2 %, which was much higher than that of oxaliplatin (55.6 %), 1a (39.7 %) and the combination of oxaliplatin/1a (65.1 %), without causing loss in the body weight.

Small molecule compounds with good anti-inflammatory activity reported in the literature from 01/2009 to 05/2021: a review

Inflammation and disease are closely related. Inflammation can induce various diseases, and diseases can promote inflammatory response, and two possibly induces each other in a bidirectional loop. Inflammation is usually treated using synthetic anti-inflammatory drugs which are associated with several adverse effects hence are not safe for long-term use. Therefore, there is need for anti-inflammatory drugs which are not only effective but also safe. Several researchers have devoted to the research and development of effective anti-inflammatory drugs with little or no side effects. In this review, we studied some small molecules with reported anti-inflammatory activities and hence potential sources of anti-inflammatory agents. The information was retrieved from relevant studies published between January 2019 and May, 2021 for review. This review study was aimed to provide relevant information towards the design and development of effective and safe anti-inflammation agents.