Antitumor activity of paederosidic acid in human non-small cell lung cancer cells via inducing mitochondria-mediated apoptosis

Recent advances in the development of P2Y14R inhibitors: a patent and literature review (2018-present)

INTRODUCTION

The P2Y14 receptor (P2Y14R), a member of the G protein-coupled receptor family, is activated by extracellular nucleotides. Due to its involvement in inflammatory, immunological and other associated processes, P2Y14R has emerged as a promising therapeutic target. Despite lacking a determined three-dimensional crystal structure, the homology modeling technique based on closely related P2Y receptors' crystallography has been extensively utilized for developing active compounds targeting P2Y14R. Recent discoveries have unveiled numerous highly effective and subtype-specific P2Y14R inhibitors. This study presents an overview of the latest advancements in P2Y14R inhibitors.

AREAS COVERED

This review presents an overview of the advancements in P2Y14R inhibitor research over the past five years, encompassing new patents, journal articles, and highlighting the therapeutic prospects inherent in these compounds.

EXPERT OPINION

The recent revelation of the vast potential of P2Y14R inhibitors has led to the development of novel compounds that exhibit promising capabilities for the treatment of sterile inflammation of the kidney, potentially diabetes, and asthma. Despite being a relatively nascent class of compounds, certain members have already exhibited their capacity to surmount specific challenges posed by conventional P2Y14R inhibitors. Targeting P2Y14R through small molecules may present a promising therapeutic strategy for effectively managing diverse inflammatory diseases.

Network pharmacology and untargeted metabolomic-based investigation of anti-osteoporotic effects of viscozyme-assisted polysaccharide from Portulaca oleracea L

Osteoporosis is a metabolic bone disease closely associated with oxidative stress. We had previously confirmed that the Viscozyme-assisted polysaccharide from Portulaca oleracea L (VPOP1) protects against antioxidant stress and evaluated the structure of VPOP1. In this study, we aimed to explore the anti-osteoporotic effects of VPOP1 on H2O2-induced osteoblast apoptosis. In addition, untargeted zebrafish metabolomics based on UPLC-Q-Orbitrap-HRMS was used to investigate the potential anti-osteoporotic mechanisms of VPOP1. The levels of Bcl-2 decreased significantly and those of caspase-3, Bax, and cytochrome C increased after treatment with H2O2. VPOP1 inhibited apoptosis in H2O2-induced MC3T3 cells. Metabolomic analyses showed that 28 potential biomarkers were gradually restored to normal levels after treatment with VPOP1 compared with that in the model group. Among them, leukotrienes D4 and A4, L-dopa, and L-tyrosine are important biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Pathway analysis revealed that arachidonic acid, tyrosine, phenylalanine, and sphingolipid metabolism were the major intervening pathways. Collectively, these results help us understand the protective activity of large molecular weight compounds, such as VPOP1, against osteoporosis.

Anti-inflammatory iridoid glycosides from Paederia scandens (Lour.) Merrill

Eight previously undescribed iridoid glycosides together with 20 known congeners were isolated from the aerial parts of Paederia scandens (Lour.) Merrill (Rubiaceae). Their structures incorporating absolute configurations were elucidated based on the comprehensive analyses of NMR data, HR-ESI-MS spectrometry, and ECD data. The potential anti-inflammatory activities of the isolated iridoids were evaluated in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. Compound 6 significantly inhibited the production of nitric oxide (NO) with an IC₅₀ value of 15.30 μM. The results of immunoblotting, qPCR, and immunofluorescence staining assays revealed that compound 6 exhibited anti-inflammatory activity by suppressing nuclear translocation of NF-κB and reducing the expression of COX-2, iNOS, IL-1β, and IL-6. These results provide a basis for further development and utilization of P. scandens as a natural source of potential anti-inflammatory agents.

Structure-based virtual screening for discovery of paederosidic acid from Paederia scandens as novel P2Y14R antagonist

BACKGROUND

The activation of P2Y₁₄ receptor (P2Y₁₄R) promotes osteoclast formation and causes neuropathic pain, exhibiting possible link to osteoarthritis (OA). Given lack of P2Y₁₄R antagonist, the present study aims to search a novel P2Y₁₄R antagonist with low toxicity and high activity from natural products as a possible drug candidate in treatment of OA.

METHODS

The role of P2Y₁₄R on OA was verified using P2Y₁₄R knockout (KO) rats. Molecular docking virtual screening strategy and activity test in P2Y₁₄R stably-expressed HEK293 cells were used to screen target compound from natural product library. The MM/GBSA free energy calculation/decomposition technique was used to determine the principal interaction mechanism. Next, the binding of target compound to P2Y₁₄R was examined using cellular thermal shift assay and drug affinity responsive target stability test. Finally, the therapeutic effect of target compound was performed in monosodium iodoacetate (MIA)-induced OA mouse model. To verify whether the effect of target compound was attributed to P2Y₁₄R, we establish the osteoarthritis model in P2Y₁₄R KO mice to perform pharmacodynamic evaluation. Importantly, to investigate the potential mechanism by which target compound attenuate OA, expressions of the major transcription factors involved in osteoclast differentiation were detected by western blot, while markers of nerve damage in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) were evaluated by RT-qPCR and immunofluorescence techniques.

RESULTS

Deficiency of P2Y₁₄R alleviated pain behavior and cartilage destruction in MIA-induced OA rats. 14 natural compounds were screened by Glide docking-based virtual screening, among which paederosidic acid exhibited the highest antagonistic activity to P2Y₁₄R with IC₅₀ of 8.287 μM. As a bioactive component extracted from Paederia scandens, paederosidic acid directly interacted with P2Y₁₄R to enhance the thermostability and decrease the protease sensitivity of target protein, which significantly inhibited receptor activator for nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL)-mediated osteoclastogenesis. More importantly, paederosidic acid suppressed osteoclast formation by downregulating expressions of NFAT2 and ATP6V0D2, as well as relieved neuropathic pain by decreasing expressions of CGRP, CSF1 and galanin in DRG.

CONCLUSIONS

Paederosidic acid targeted P2Y₁₄R to improve OA through alleviating osteoclast formation and neuropathic pain, which provided an available strategy for developing novel drug leads for treatment of OA.

Lipophilic Grape Seed Proanthocyanidin Exerts Anti-Cervical Cancer Effects in HeLa Cells and a HeLa-Derived Xenograft Zebrafish Model

Lipophilic grape seed proanthocyanidin (LGSP) synthesized from GSP and lauric acid exhibits an excellent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect. However, its anti-cervical cancer activity is still unknown. In this study, the in vitro anti-cervical cancer activity of LGSP on HeLa cell lines was investigated by MTT assay, flow cytometry and Western blot analysis, and its effect was explored by a HeLa-derived xenograft zebrafish model. LGSP exhibited an excellent anti-proliferative effect on HeLa cells by increasing the level of reactive oxygen species, which further induced cell apoptosis and blocked cell cycle progression in the G2/M phase. LGSP-treated HeLa cells showed a reduction in mitochondrial membrane potential, upregulation of the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, release of cytochrome c into the cytoplasm, and activation of cleaved caspase-9/3 and cleavage of PARP, thus indicating that LGSP induced apoptosis through the intrinsic mitochondrial/caspase-mediated pathway. In the zebrafish model, LGSP effectively suppressed the growth of a HeLa xenograft tumor. These data suggest that LGSP may be a good candidate for the prevention or treatment of cervical cancer.

A natural product enhances apoptosis via mitochondria/caspase-mediated pathway in HeLa cells

Cervical cancer is the fourth most lethal human malignancy and the leading cause of death among females around the world. Many antitumor agents have microbial origins. 5'-epi-SPA-6952A is a new 24-membered macrolide isolated from the cultured broth of Streptomyces diastatochromogenes. Therefore, we studied the activity and molecular mechanism of 5'-epi-SPA-6952A in human cervical carcinoma HeLa cell. The results showed that 5'-epi-SPA-6952A significantly inhibited cell proliferation and migration. In addition, 5'-epi-SPA-6952A obviously increased the production of intracellular reactive oxygen species and DNA damage in HeLa cells. Moreover, nuclear shrinkage of cells, decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential, and upregulation of Bax/Bcl-2 ratio resulted in the release of cytochrome c, and activation of caspase-9/3 was observed in HeLa cells treated with 5'-epi-SPA-6952A, which means it enhanced the intrinsic mitochondrial apoptosis. Besides, DNA-damage associated proteins poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) and p53 were also studied, and the expressions of cleaved-PARP and p53 were drastically increased in HeLa cells treated with 5'-epi-SPA-6952A. Furthermore, we confirmed that 5'-epi-SPA-6952A affected the survival of HeLa cells by blocking cell cycle progression in the G1 phase. Taken together, the results shows that 5'-epi-SPA-6952A significantly inhibited HeLa cells proliferation via intrinsic mitochondrial apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, and blocking cell migration.

8-Cetylcoptisine, a new coptisine derivative, induces mitochondria-dependent apoptosis and G0/G1 cell cycle arrest in human A549 cells

Lung cancer is the worldwide leading cause of cancer-related death. Here, we described the synthesis and the anticancer activity of a novel coptisine derivative 8-cetylcoptisine (CCOP) on lung carcinoma in vitro and in vivo. CCOP inhibited the cell viability of A549, BGC-823, MDA-MB-231, HCT-116 and HepG2 cell lines. In A549 cells, CCOP induced apoptosis, G0/G1 cell cycle arrest and decreased mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) in a dose-dependent manner. Western blot analysis showed that CCOP increased the expression of Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax), cleaved caspase 3 and 9, while decreased B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), cyclins D and E, cyclin dependent kinases (CDKs) 2, 4 and 6, along with the inactivation of the upstream phosphoinositide 3-kinase (Pi3k)/protein kinase B (Akt) signaling. Further in vivo studies showed that CCOP (10 mg/kg) significantly delayed tumor growth in A549 xenograft nude mice, which is stronger than that of coptisine (100 mg/kg). These data suggested that CCOP could be a candidate for lung cancer therapy.

Puerarin 6″-O-xyloside possesses significant antitumor activities on colon cancer through inducing apoptosis

Puerarin 6″-O-xyloside (PRX) is a major compound found in the root of the Pueraria lobata (Willd.) Ohwi. The present study aimed to investigate the antitumor activity of PRX against colon cancer and examine its possible mechanism. In the present study, the anti-proliferative effects of PRX against colon cell lines (SW480, LoVo and HCT-116) were evaluated using a Cell Counting Kit-8 assay, and the half maximal inhibitory concentration values of the SW480, LoVo and HCT-11 cells were 37.114, 49.213 and 43.022 µg/ml, respectively. Furthermore, the apoptosis of SW480 cells was detected using flow cytometry with Annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate/propidium iodide staining. Subsequently, western blot analysis was performed to examine the expression of proteins associated with apoptosis, invasion and metastasis of tumors. The results showed that PRX possessed antitumor activity against colon cancer cell lines in a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner. In addition, PRX significantly upregulated the expression levels of cleaved (c)-caspase-3, c-caspase-9, B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), Bcl-2-associated X protein and phosphorylated c-Jun terminal kinase, and downregulated the expression levels of Bcl-2, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-3, MMP-9 and vascular endothelial growth factor (P<0.01). Therefore, the present study demonstrated the PRX exerted antitumor activity against colon cancer cell lines and that the anticancer mechanisms of PRX may be associated with the induction of mitochondria-mediated intrinsic apoptosis, and inhibition of tumor invasion and metastasis. The present study provides a scientific basis for the clinical use of PRX for the treatment of colon cancer.

The antitumour effects of eudesmin on lung cancer by inducing apoptosis via mitochondria-mediated pathway in the tumour cells

CONTEXT

Limonoids possess broad range of biological activities, including antitumour, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities, etc. Eudesmin (EDN) is a type of limonoid which also possesses various activities. However, there is no report on the antitumour lung cancer (LC) activities of this compound.

OBJECTIVE

The present study investigates the antitumour effects of EDN and its potential molecular mechanisms.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The in vitro antitumour effects of EDN on LC A549 cells were evaluated by using MTT assay. The in vivo antitumour effects were investigated on a xenograft athymic nude mouse model. The mice were administered orally with EDN (10, 20 and 40 mg/kg) once daily for 28 days. Effects of EDN on apoptosis-related or signalling proteins (Bcl-2, Bax, caspase-3, caspase-9, P53, Akt and JNK) were assayed by western blot analysis.

RESULTS

EDN showed significant inhibitory effects on the growth of LC A549 cells in vitro with the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) of 18.3 μM. By treating with EDN (10, 20 and 40 μM), expression of caspase-3, caspase-9, Bax, P53 and phosphorylated JNK in A549 cells were significantly upregulated, whereas expression of Bcl-2 and Akt phosphorylation were significantly down-regulated. Interestingly, EDN-induced apoptosis could be attenuated by JNK inhibitor. In addition, in vivo experiments also indicated EDN (10, 20 and 40 mg/kg) had significant antitumour effects (p < 0.01) on nude mice.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, the results indicated that EDN possesses significant antitumour effects on LC and the possible mechanism might be related to induction of mitochondria-mediated apoptosis.