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Cerchia C, Küfner L, Werz O, Lavecchia A. Identification of selective 5-LOX and FLAP inhibitors as novel anti-inflammatory agents by ligand-based virtual screening. Eur J Med Chem 2024; 263:115932. [PMID: 37976708 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2023.115932] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2023] [Revised: 10/28/2023] [Accepted: 11/02/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
Inflammation is a multifaceted biological process in which the conversion of arachidonic acid to eicosanoids, including prostaglandins and leukotrienes (LTs), plays a crucial role. 5-Lipoxygenase (5-LOX) is a key enzyme in cellular LT biosynthesis, and it is supported by the accessory protein 5-lipoxygenase-activating protein (FLAP). Pharmacological interventions to modulate LTs aim at either decreasing their biosynthesis or at mitigating their biological effects. Therefore, inhibiting 5-LOX or FLAP represents a useful strategy to reduce inflammation. Herein we present the identification and pharmacological evaluation of novel inhibitors targeting 5-LOX or FLAP. By means of a ligand-based virtual screening approach, we selected 38 compounds for in vitro assays. Among them, ALR-38 exhibits direct 5-LOX inhibition, while ALR-6 and ALR-27 showed potential as FLAP inhibitors. These latter not only reduced LT production but also promoted the generation of specialized pro-resolving mediators in specific human macrophage phenotypes. Interestingly, the identified compounds turned out to be selective for their respective targets, as none of them displayed activity towards microsomal prostaglandin E2 synthase-1 and soluble epoxide hydrolase, which are other proteins involved in eicosanoid biosynthesis. Thus, these compounds are endowed with potential therapeutic utility in mitigating inflammatory responses and might offer a venue for tackling inflammation-based disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carmen Cerchia
- Department of Pharmacy, "Drug Discovery" Laboratory, University of Naples "Federico II", Via D. Montesano 49, 80131, Napoli, Italy
| | - Laura Küfner
- Department of Pharmaceutical/Medicinal Chemistry, Institute of Pharmacy, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Philosophenweg 14, D-07743, Jena, Germany
| | - Oliver Werz
- Department of Pharmaceutical/Medicinal Chemistry, Institute of Pharmacy, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Philosophenweg 14, D-07743, Jena, Germany.
| | - Antonio Lavecchia
- Department of Pharmacy, "Drug Discovery" Laboratory, University of Naples "Federico II", Via D. Montesano 49, 80131, Napoli, Italy.
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Laghezza A, Cerchia C, Genovese M, Leuci R, Pranzini E, Santi A, Brunetti L, Piemontese L, Tortorella P, Biswas A, Singh RP, Tambe S, Ca S, Pattnaik AK, Jayaprakash V, Paoli P, Lavecchia A, Loiodice F. A New Antidiabetic Agent Showing Short- and Long-Term Effects Due to Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Alpha/Gamma Dual Agonism and Mitochondrial Pyruvate Carrier Inhibition. J Med Chem 2023; 66:3566-3587. [PMID: 36790935 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.2c02093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/16/2023]
Abstract
A new series of analogues or derivatives of the previously reported PPARα/γ dual agonist LT175 allowed the identification of ligand 10, which was able to potently activate both PPARα and -γ subtypes as full and partial agonists, respectively. Docking studies were performed to provide a molecular explanation for this different behavior on the two different targets. In vivo experiments showed that this compound induced a significant reduction in blood glucose and lipid levels in an STZ-induced diabetic mouse model displaying no toxic effects on bone, kidney, and liver. By examining in depth the antihyperglycemic activity of 10, we found out that it produced a slight but significant inhibition of the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier, acting also through insulin-independent mechanisms. This is the first example of a PPARα/γ dual agonist reported to show this inhibitory effect representing, therefore, the potential lead of a new class of drugs for treatment of dyslipidemic type 2 diabetes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Laghezza
- Dipartimento Farmacia-Scienze del Farmaco, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", via Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
| | - Carmen Cerchia
- Dipartimento di Farmacia, "Drug Discovery" Laboratory, Università degli Studi di Napoli "Federico II", via D. Montesano 49, 80131 Napoli, Italy
| | - Massimo Genovese
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche Sperimentali e Cliniche, Sezione di Scienze Biochimiche, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Viale Morgagni 50, 50134 Firenze, Italy
| | - Rosalba Leuci
- Dipartimento Farmacia-Scienze del Farmaco, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", via Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
| | - Erica Pranzini
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche Sperimentali e Cliniche, Sezione di Scienze Biochimiche, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Viale Morgagni 50, 50134 Firenze, Italy
| | - Alice Santi
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche Sperimentali e Cliniche, Sezione di Scienze Biochimiche, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Viale Morgagni 50, 50134 Firenze, Italy
| | - Leonardo Brunetti
- Dipartimento Farmacia-Scienze del Farmaco, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", via Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
| | - Luca Piemontese
- Dipartimento Farmacia-Scienze del Farmaco, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", via Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
| | - Paolo Tortorella
- Dipartimento Farmacia-Scienze del Farmaco, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", via Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
| | - Abanish Biswas
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences & Technology, Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi, Jharkhand 835215, India
| | - Ravi Pratap Singh
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences & Technology, Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi, Jharkhand 835215, India
| | - Suhas Tambe
- Adgyl Lifesciences Private Ltd., Bengaluru 560058, India
| | - Sudeep Ca
- Bioanalytical Section, Eurofins Advinus Biopharma Services India Pvt. Ltd., Bengaluru 560058, India
| | - Ashok Kumar Pattnaik
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences & Technology, Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi, Jharkhand 835215, India
| | - Venkatesan Jayaprakash
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences & Technology, Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi, Jharkhand 835215, India
| | - Paolo Paoli
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche Sperimentali e Cliniche, Sezione di Scienze Biochimiche, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Viale Morgagni 50, 50134 Firenze, Italy
| | - Antonio Lavecchia
- Dipartimento di Farmacia, "Drug Discovery" Laboratory, Università degli Studi di Napoli "Federico II", via D. Montesano 49, 80131 Napoli, Italy
| | - Fulvio Loiodice
- Dipartimento Farmacia-Scienze del Farmaco, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", via Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
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Wu N, Wen H, Xu P, Chen J, Xue M, Li J, Wang M, Song C, Li H. PPAR Signaling Maintains Metabolic Homeostasis under Hypothermia in Freshwater Drum ( Aplodinotus grunniens). Metabolites 2023; 13:102. [PMID: 36677027 PMCID: PMC9865675 DOI: 10.3390/metabo13010102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2022] [Revised: 01/02/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Aplodinotus grunniens, known as freshwater drum, is a kind of eurythermal freshwater fish that is widely distributed in North America. In 2019, our research group reached a milestone on its artificial breeding and cultivation and have investigated its physiological adaption to the environment, providing a breakthrough and prospects for aquaculture. However, its adaptability and metabolic homeostasis to hypothermia is not fully understood. In this experiment, cold stress was conducted at 18 °C (LT18) and 10 °C (LT10) with 25 °C as control (Con) for 8 days to explore the effects of short-term hypothermia on the physiology and metabolism of freshwater drum. From the results, the level of free essential amino acids in LT18 and LT10 decreased significantly after 2 days cold stress compared with Con. Furthermore, plasma total triglyceride (TG) content and lipase (LPS) activity were decreased at LT10 for 2d. With RNA-seq in the liver, metabolic-related signaling, especially amino acid synthesis and lipid metabolism, was inhibited by hypothermia. Specifically, the PPAR signaling pathway is correlated with the inhibition of lipid and amino acid metabolism induced by hypothermia. These data confirmed that PPAR signaling maintains lipid and amino acid metabolic homeostasis during cold stress. These results give a theoretical foundation for hypothermia resistance in the area of metabolic homeostasis for freshwater drum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ningyuan Wu
- Freshwater Fisheries Research Center, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, No. 9 Shanshui East Road, Wuxi 214081, China
- Wuxi Fisheries College, Nanjing Agricultural University, Wuxi 214081, China
| | - Haibo Wen
- Freshwater Fisheries Research Center, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, No. 9 Shanshui East Road, Wuxi 214081, China
- Wuxi Fisheries College, Nanjing Agricultural University, Wuxi 214081, China
| | - Pao Xu
- Freshwater Fisheries Research Center, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, No. 9 Shanshui East Road, Wuxi 214081, China
- Wuxi Fisheries College, Nanjing Agricultural University, Wuxi 214081, China
| | - Jianxiang Chen
- Wuxi Fisheries College, Nanjing Agricultural University, Wuxi 214081, China
| | - Miaomiao Xue
- Wuxi Fisheries College, Nanjing Agricultural University, Wuxi 214081, China
| | - Jianlin Li
- Freshwater Fisheries Research Center, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, No. 9 Shanshui East Road, Wuxi 214081, China
- Wuxi Fisheries College, Nanjing Agricultural University, Wuxi 214081, China
| | - Meiyao Wang
- Freshwater Fisheries Research Center, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, No. 9 Shanshui East Road, Wuxi 214081, China
- Wuxi Fisheries College, Nanjing Agricultural University, Wuxi 214081, China
| | - Changyou Song
- Freshwater Fisheries Research Center, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, No. 9 Shanshui East Road, Wuxi 214081, China
- Wuxi Fisheries College, Nanjing Agricultural University, Wuxi 214081, China
| | - Hongxia Li
- Freshwater Fisheries Research Center, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, No. 9 Shanshui East Road, Wuxi 214081, China
- Wuxi Fisheries College, Nanjing Agricultural University, Wuxi 214081, China
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Effects of Rice-Husk Silica Liquid in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Mice. Metabolites 2022; 12:metabo12100964. [PMID: 36295866 PMCID: PMC9611213 DOI: 10.3390/metabo12100964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2022] [Revised: 10/08/2022] [Accepted: 10/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a complex multifactorial disease characterized by poor glucose tolerance and insulin resistance. Rice-husk silica liquid (RHSL) derived from rice husk has the ability to improve the dysfunction of pancreatic β-cells. This study aimed to confirm the potential protective effects of RHSL in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice. Diabetes was induced in male C57BL/6J mice by intraperitoneal administration of STZ (200 mg/kg BW). RHSL, food-grade silica liquid (FDSL), and rosiglitazone (RSG) were administered to diabetic mice for 12 weeks after successful induction of diabetes. During the experiment, fasting blood glucose, serum insulin, and organ weights were measured. The histopathology of liver tissue was evaluated by H&E staining. Western blotting was performed to assess protein expression levels. The results showed that RHSL significantly reversed the serum insulin levels and improved oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) results (p < 0.05). In addition, liver sections of STZ-induced diabetic mice after RHSL treatment showed neatly arranged and intact hepatocytes. Furthermore, RHSL was more effective than FDSL in increasing the expression of SIRT1 and decreasing the expression of the PPAR-γ and p-NF-κB proteins. Taken together, this study demonstrated that RHSL ameliorated STZ-induced insulin resistance and liver tissue damage in C57BL/6J mice.
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