Microbial transformation of danazol with Cunninghamella blakesleeana and anti-cancer activity of danazol and its transformed products

Substitutional Diversity-Oriented Synthesis and In Vitro Anticancer Activity of Framework-Integrated Estradiol-Benzisoxazole Chimeras

Hybridization of steroids and other pharmacophores often modifies the bioactivity of the parent compounds, improving selectivity and side effect profile. In this study, estradiol and 3′-(un)substituted benzisoxazole moieties were combined into novel molecules by structural integration of their aromatic rings. Simple estrogen starting materials, such as estrone, estradiol and estradiol-3-methylether were used for the multistep transformations. Some of the heterocyclic derivatives were prepared from the estrane precursor by a formylation or Friedel–Crafts acylation—oximation—cyclization sequence, whereas others were obtained by a functional group interconversion strategy. The antiproliferative activities of the synthesized compounds were assessed on various human cervical, breast and prostate cancer cell lines (HeLa, MCF-7, PC3, DU-145) and non-cancerous MRC-5 fibroblast cells. Based on the primary cytotoxicity screens, the most effective cancer-selective compounds were selected, their IC₅₀ values were determined and their apoptosis-inducing potential was evaluated by quantitative real-time PCR. Pharmacological studies revealed a strong structure–function relationship, where derivatives with a hydroxyl group on C-17 exhibited stronger anticancer activity compared to the 17-acetylated counterparts. The present study concludes that novel estradiol-benzisoxazole hybrids exert remarkable cancer cell-specific antiproliferative activity and trigger apoptosis in cancer cells.

Comprehensive Metabolic Profiling of Euphorbiasteroid in Rats by Integrating UPLC-Q/TOF-MS and NMR as Well as Microbial Biotransformation

Euphorbiasteroid, a lathyrane-type diterpene from Euphorbiae semen (the seeds of Euphorbia lathyris L.), has been shown to have a variety of pharmacological effects such as anti-tumor and anti-obesity. This study aims to investigate the metabolic profiles of euphorbiasteroid in rats and rat liver microsomes (RLMs) and Cunninghamella elegans bio-110930 by integrating ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q/TOF-MS), UNIFI software, and NMR techniques. A total of 31 metabolites were identified in rats. Twelve metabolites (M1–M5, M8, M12–M13, M16, M24–M25, and M29) were matched to the metabolites obtained by RLMs incubation and the microbial transformation of C. elegans bio-110930 and their structures were exactly determined through analysis of NMR spectroscopic data. In addition, the metabolic pathways of euphorbiasteroid were then clarified, mainly including hydroxylation, hydrolysis, oxygenation, sulfonation, and glycosylation. Finally, three metabolites, M3 (20-hydroxyl euphorbiasteroid), M24 (epoxylathyrol) and M25 (15-deacetyl euphorbiasteroid), showed significant cytotoxicity against four human cell lines with IC₅₀ values from 3.60 μM to 40.74 μM. This is the first systematic investigation into the in vivo metabolic pathways of euphorbiasteroid and the cytotoxicity of its metabolites, which will be beneficial for better predicting the metabolism profile of euphorbiasteroid in humans and understanding its possible toxic material basis.

Danazol

A comprehensive profile of danazol describing the nomenclatures, formulae, elemental composition, appearance, uses and applications is presented. The profile contains the method which was utilized for the preparation of the drug substance and its respective scheme is outlined. The physical characteristics of the drug including the solubility, X-ray powder diffraction pattern, differential scanning calorimetry, thermal behavior and spectroscopic studies are described. The methods which were used for the analysis of the drug substance in bulk drug and/or in pharmaceutical formulations including the compendial, spectrophotometric, electrochemical and the chromatographic methods are reported. The stability, toxicity, pharmacokinetics, bioavailability, drug evaluation and monitoring, comparisons, pharmacology, in addition to several compiled reviews on the drug substance which were involved. Finally, two hundred and seventy-nine references are listed at the end of this profile.

Fungal transformation of norandrostenedione with Cunninghamella blakesleeana and anti-bacterial activity of the transformed products

Although the discovery of antibiotics has decreased the spread and severity of infectious diseases, their uncontrolled use has lead to the emergence of bacterial resistance to existing chemotherapeutic agents. Bacterial disease thus remains a challenge for health authorities in worldwide and especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite their efficacy, the miss-use of medicinal plants for the treatment of infectious diseases couple to the farming and hunting activities has contribute enormously to the destruction of many medicinal plant species. In search of an alternative for new and effective agents against bacterial infection, norandrostenedion (19-nor-4-androsten-3,17-dione) (1), was biotransformed by Cunninghamella blakesleeana ATCC 8688A and yielded a new metabolite, 6α,10 β -dihydroxy-19-nor-4-androsten-3-one (2), together with three known compounds, 10 β -hydroxy-19-nor-4-androsten-3,17-dione (3), 6 β,10 β,17 β -trihydroxy-19-nor-4-androsten-3-one (4) and 10 β,17 β -dihydroxy-19-nor-4-androsten-3-one (5). Their structures were elucidated on the basis ofspectroscopic techniques: NMR analysis (1D and 2D) and HRIE-MS and by comparison with previously reported data. In addition, the agar diffusion method was used to evaluate the diameter of the inhibition zone and INT colorimetric assay for MIC values. All metabolites obtained showed a potent and varied activity against tested bacteria. These results support the uses of biotransformation to develop new antimicrobial compounds for clinical application.

Evaluation of Microbial Transformation of 10-deoxoartemisinin by UPLC-ESI-Q-TOF-MSE

10-deoxoartemisinin is a semisynthetic derivative of artemisinin that lacks a lactone carbonyl group at the 10-position, and has stronger antimalarial properties than artemisinin. However, 10-deoxoartemisinin has limited utility as a therapeutic agent because of its low solubility and bioavailability. Hydroxylated 10-deoxoartemisinins are a series of properties-improved derivatives. Via microbial transformation, which can hydroxylate 10-deoxoartemisinin at multiple sites, the biotransformation products of 10-deoxoartemisinin have been investigated in this paper. Using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS^E) combined with UNIFI software, products of microbial transformation of 10-deoxoartemisinin were rapidly and directly analyzed. The hydroxylation abilities of nine microorganisms were compared using this method. All of the microorganisms evaluated were able to hydroxylate 10-deoxoartemisinin, and a total of 35 hydroxylated products were identified. These can be grouped into dihydroxylated 10-deoxoartemisinins, monohydroxylated 10-deoxoartemisinins, hydroxylated dehydrogenated 10-deoxoartemisinins, and hydroxylated hydrogenated 10-deoxoartemisinins. Cunninghamella echinulata and Cunninghamella blakesleeana are able to hydroxylate 10-deoxoartemisinin, and their biotransformation products are investigated here for the first time. Cunninghamella elegans CICC 40250 was shown to most efficiently hydroxylate 10-deoxoartemisinin, and could serve as a model organism for microbial transformation. This method could be used to generate additional hydroxylated 10-deoxoartemisinins for further research.

Biotransformation of progestonic hormone dydrogesterone with Macrophomina phaseolina, and study of the effect of biotransformed products on phagocytes oxidative burst

Biotransformation of a synthetic progestonic hormone dydrogesterone (1), C₂₁H₂₈O₂, with a plant pathogenic fungus Macrophomina phaseolina yielded two new 2 and 3, and a known 4 metabolites. These analogues were identified as, 3β,11α-dihydroxy-5β,9β,10α-pregna-7-ene-6,20-dione (2), 15β-hydroxy-9β,10α-pregna-4,6-diene-3,20-dione (3), and 8α-hydroxy-9β,10α-pregna-4,6-diene-3,20-dione (4). Major structural changes were observed in metabolite 2. New metabolite 3 showed anti-inflammatory potential, and was found to be the potent inhibitor of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) from whole blood phagocytes (IC₅₀ = 4.2 ± 0.3 μg/mL), as compared to standard drug Ibuprofen (IC₅₀ = 11.2 ± 1.9 μg/mL). The metabolites 2, 3, and 4 were found to be non-toxic to NIH-3T3 (CRL-1658) normal cell line. This indicated anti-inflammatory potential of resulting metabolites.

Microbial transformation of mestanolone byMacrophomina phaseolinaandCunninghamella blakesleeanaand anticancer activities of the transformed products

The microbial transformation of anabolic androgenic steroid mestanolone (1) with Macrophomina phaseolina and Cunninghamella blakesleeana has afforded seven metabolites. The structures of these metabolites were characterized as 17β-hydroxy-17α-methyl-5α-androsta-1-ene-3,11-dione (2), 14α,17β-dihydroxy-17α-methyl-5α-androstan-3,11-dione (3), 17β-hydroxy-17α-methyl-5α-androstan-1,14-diene-3,11-dione (4), 17β-hydroxy-17α-methyl-5α-androstan-3,11-dione (5), 11β,17β-dihydroxy-17α-methyl-5α-androstan-1-ene-3-one (6), 9α,11β,17β-trihydroxy-17α-methyl-5α-androstan-3-one (7), and 1β,11α,17β-trihydroxy-17α-methyl-5α-androstan-3-one (8). All the metabolites, except 5 and 6, were identified as new compounds. Substrate 1 (IC₅₀ = 27.6 ± 1.1 μM), and its metabolites 2 (IC₅₀ = 19.2 ± 2.9 μM) and 6 (IC₅₀ = 12.8 ± 0.6 μM) exhibited moderate cytotoxicity against the HeLa cancer cell line (human cervical carcinoma). All metabolites were noncytotoxic to 3T3 (mouse fibroblast) and H460 (human lung carcinoma) cell lines. The metabolites were also evaluated for immunomodulatory activity, and all were found to be inactive.

The microbial transformation of anabolic androgenic steroid mestanolone (1) with Macrophomina phaseolina and Cunninghamella blakesleeana has afforded seven metabolites. Some of them have exhibited moderate cytotoxicity against HeLa cancer cell line.