Complement-mediated antiinflammatory effect of bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloid fangchinoline

Fangchinoline inhibits growth and biofilm of Candida albicans by inducing ROS overproduction

Infections caused by Candida species, especially Candida albicans, threaten the public health and create economic burden. Shortage of antifungals and emergence of drug resistance call for new antifungal therapies while natural products were attractive sources for developing new drugs. In our study, fangchinoline, a bis-benzylisoquinoline alkaloid from Chinese herb Stephania tetrandra S. Moore, exerted antifungal effects on planktonic growth of several Candida species including C. albicans, with MIC no more than 50 μg/mL. In addition, results from microscopic, MTT and XTT reduction assays showed that fangchinoline had inhibitory activities against the multiple virulence factors of C. albicans, such as adhesion, hyphal growth and biofilm formation. Furthermore, this compound could also suppress the metabolic activity of preformed C. albicans biofilms. PI staining, followed by confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM) analysis showed that fangchinoline can elevate permeability of cell membrane. DCFH-DA staining suggested its anti-Candida mechanism also involved overproduction of intracellular ROS, which was further confirmed by N-acetyl-cysteine rescue tests. Moreover, fangchinoline showed synergy with three antifungal drugs (amphotericin B, fluconazole and caspofungin), further indicating its potential use in treating C. albicans infections. Therefore, these results indicated that fangchinoline could be a potential candidate for developing anti-Candida therapies.

Study on spectrum-effect correlation for screening the effective components in Fangji Huangqi Tang basing on ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

BACKGROUD

Fangji Huangqi Tang (FHT) is a traditional Chinese medicine formula. Our previous work found that FHT could improve glomerular filtration function. The research on the effective materials basis of FHT was rarely reported.

PURPOSE

The effect indicators of glomerular filtration function were determined. The components in serum of FHT was detected and identified. The relationships between chemical spectra of serum and effect indicators were elucidated.

STUDY DESIGN

The paper was to study the underlying correlations between the chemical spectra and the protective effect of FHT on glomerulus to reveal the potential effective compounds in FHT.

METHODS

For the serum pharmacochemistry study, the biological samples were collected according to a time schedule designed carefully in advance. The fingerprint chromatograms of rat serum after oral administration of FHT were established by UHPLC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS technique. Meanwhile, in the pharmacodynamics research, the protective effects of FHT on glomerulonephritis were evaluated by detecting the contents of cystatin C (Cys C), blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and serum creatinine (Scr). Then, the spectrum-effect relationships between UHPLC fingerprints and anti-adriamycin nephrosis activities were evaluated using canonical correlation analysis (CCA) statistical method.

RESULTS

As a result, 105 peaks were identified from rat serum samples, which turned out to be 26 original compounds of FHT as well as 79 metabolites. According to the CCA results, eleven components were finally found to be the main anti-adriamycin nephrosis components.

CONCLUSIONS

The model successfully discovered the spectrum-effect relationships of FHT, which showed a representative way to discover the primary active ingredients from the complex herbal medicine system.

Inactivation of the orphan nuclear receptor NR4A1 contributes to apoptosis induction by fangchinoline in pancreatic cancer cells

Previous studies have demonstrated that the orphan nuclear receptor NR4A1 is overexpressed in human pancreatic cancer and antagonizing this receptor promotes apoptosis and inhibits pancreatic cancer cells and tumor growth. In the present study, we identified fangchinoline, a bisbenzyltetrahydroisoquinoline alkaloid from Stephania tetrandra, as a new inactivator of nuclear NR4A1 and demonstrated that fangchinoline inhibits cell proliferation and induces apoptosis, in part, via the NR4A1-dependent pro-apoptotic pathways in human pancreatic cancer cells. It decreased expression of the antiapoptotic protein survivin by inhibiting Sp1-mediated transcription and induced oxidative stress-mediated endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in pancreatic cancer cells. These results suggest that inhibition of NR4A1-mediated transcriptional activity was involved in the anticancer effects of fangchinoline, and fangchinoline represents a novel class of mechanism-based anticancer agents targeting NR4A1 that is overexpressed in pancreatic cancer.

Tetrandrine--A molecule of wide bioactivity

Stephania tetrandra and other related species of Menispermaceae form the major source of the bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloid - tetrandrine. The plant is extensively referenced in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia for its use in the Chinese medicinal system as an analgesic and diuretic agent and also in the treatment of hypertension and various other ailments, including asthma, tuberculosis, dysentery, hyperglycemia, malaria, cancer and fever. Tetrandrine, well-known to act as a calcium channel blocker, has been tested in clinical trials and found effective against silicosis, hypertension, inflammation and lung cancer without any toxicity. Recently, the efficacy of tetrandrine was tested against Mycobaterium tuberculosis, Candida albicans, Plasmodium falciparum and Ebola virus. Tetrandrine's pharmacological property has been proved to be through its action on different signalling pathways like reactive oxygen species, enhanced autophagic flux, reversal of multi drug resistance, caspase pathway, cell cycle arrest and by modification of calcium channels. The present review summarises current knowledge on the synthesis, distribution, extraction, structural elucidation, pharmacological properties and the mechanism of action of tetrandrine. Future perspectives in the clinical use of tetrandrine as a drug are also considered.

Fangchinoline targets PI3K and suppresses PI3K/AKT signaling pathway in SGC7901 cells

Fangchinoline, an important compound in Stephania tetrandra S. Moore, as a novel antitumor agent, has been implicated in several types of cancers cells except gastric cancer. To investigate whether fangchinoline affects gastric cancer cells, we detected the signaling pathway by which fangchinoline plays a role in different human gastric cancer cells lines. We found that fangchinoline effectively suppressed proliferation and invasion of SGC7901 cell lines, but not MKN45 cell lines by inhibiting the expression of PI3K and its downstream pathway. All of the Akt/MMP2/MMP9 pathway, Akt/Bad pathway, and Akt/Gsk3β/CDK2 pathway could be inhibited by fangchinoline through inhibition of PI3K. Taken together, these results suggest that fangchinoline targets PI3K in tumor cells that express PI3K abundantly and inhibits the growth and invasive ability of the tumor cells.

Ethnobotany, phytochemistry and pharmacology of Stephania rotunda Lour

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Stephania rotunda Lour. (Menispermaceae) is an important traditional medicinal plant that is grown in Southeast Asia. The stems, leaves, and tubers have been used in the Cambodian, Lao, Indian and Vietnamese folk medicine systems for years to treat a wide range of ailments, including asthma, headache, fever, and diarrhoea.

AIM OF THE REVIEW

To provide an up-to-date, comprehensive overview and analysis of the ethnobotany, phytochemistry, and pharmacology of Stephania rotunda for its potential benefits in human health, as well as to assess the scientific evidence of traditional use and provide a basis for future research directions.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Peer-reviewed articles on Stephania rotunda were acquired via an electronic search of the major scientific databases (Pubmed, Google Scholar, and ScienceDirect). Data were collected from scientific journals, theses, and books.

RESULTS

The traditional uses of Stephania rotunda were recorded in countries throughout Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and India). Different parts of Stephania rotunda were used in traditional medicine to treat about twenty health disorders. Phytochemical analyses identified forty alkaloids. The roots primarily contain l-tetrahydropalmatine (l-THP), whereas the tubers contain cepharanthine and xylopinine. Furthermore, the chemical composition differs from one region to another and according to the harvest period. The alkaloids exhibited approximately ten different pharmacological activities. The main pharmacological activities of Stephania rotunda alkaloids are antiplasmodial, anticancer, and immunomodulatory effects. Sinomenine, cepharanthine, and l-stepholidine are the most promising components and have been tested in humans. The pharmacokinetic parameters have been studied for seven compounds, including the three most promising compounds. The toxicity has been evaluated for liriodenine, roemerine, cycleanine, l-tetrahydropalmatine, and oxostephanine.

CONCLUSION

Stephania rotunda is traditionally used for the treatment of a wide range of ailments. Pharmacological investigations have validated different uses of Stephania rotunda in folk medicine. The present review highlights the three most promising compounds of Stephania rotunda, which could constitute potential leads in various medicinal fields, including malaria and cancer.

Fangchinoline induces G0/G1 arrest by modulating the expression of CDKN1A and CCND2 in K562 human chronic myelogenous leukemia cells

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a hematopoietic stem cell disease caused by the oncoprotein BCR-ABL, which exhibits a constitutive tyrosine kinase activity. Imatinib mesylate (IM), an inhibitor of the tyrosine kinase activity of BCR-ABL, has been used as a first-line therapy for CML. However, IM is less effective in the accelerated phase and blastic phases of CML and certain patients develop IM resistance due to the mutation and amplification of the BCR-ABL gene. Fangchinoline, an important chemical constituent from the dried roots of Stephaniae tetrandrae S. Moore, exhibits significant antitumor activity in various types of cancers, including breast, prostate and hepatocellular carcinoma. However, the effects and the underlying mechanisms of fangchinoline in CML remain unclear. In the present study, we identified that fangchinoline inhibits cell proliferation in a dose- and time-dependent manner in K562 cells derived from the blast crisis of CML. Additional experiments revealed that fangchinoline induces cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase and has no effect on apoptosis, which is mediated through the upregulation of cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK)-N1A and MCL-1 mRNA levels, as well as the downregulation of cyclin D2 (CCND2) mRNA levels. These findings suggest the potential of fangchinoline as an effective antitumor agent in CML.

Fangchinoline induces autophagic cell death via p53/sestrin2/AMPK signalling in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Fangchinoline is a novel anti-tumour agent with little known of its cellular and molecular mechanisms of action. Here we have investigated the mode of cell death induced by fangchinoline and its underlying mechanism in two human hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines, HepG2 and PLC/PRF/5.

EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH

Apoptosis and autophagy were monitored in fangchinoline-treated HepG2 and PLC/PRF/5 cells by histological methods. The signal transduction pathways involved in activation of autophagy were examined, using immunoblotting, real-time PCR and siRNA techniques.

KEY RESULTS

Fangchinoline did not induce apoptosis in HepG2 and PLC/PRF/5 cells but triggered, dose-dependently, autophagy, an alternative mode of cell death which may contribute to fangchinoline's anti-tumour action. Nuclear translocation of p53 was involved in induction of autophagy by fangchinoline, followed by selective transactivation of the autophagy-related gene sestrin2 and initiation of the autophagic process. Signalling by the AMP-activated protein kinase was also involved as a downstream target of sestrin2 and induced mTOR-independent autophagic cell death in both cell lines. siRNA for Atg 5 or pharmacological block of p53 abolished fangchinoline-induced autophagy and inhibition of autophagy switched cell death to apoptosis in these cells, suggesting that cell death is irreversible once autophagy is induced by fangchinoline.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

Fangchinoline is a highly specific agent inducing autophagic cell death in hepatocellular carcinoma cells with a novel mechanism, which elucidates the potential of fangchinoline to potentiate programmed cell death in cancer cells.

Interaction of Tetrandrine with Human Serum Albumin: a Fluorescence Quenching Study

The interaction of tetrandrine with human serum albumin (HSA) was studied by measuring fluorescence quenching spectra, synchronous fluorescence spectra and ultra-violet spectra. The fluorescence quenching spectra of HSA in the presence of tetrandrine showed that tetrandrine quenched the fluorescence of HSA. The quenching constants of tetrandrine on HSA were determined using the Stern-Volmer equation. Static quenching and non-radiation energy transfer were the two main reasons leading to the fluorescence quenching of HSA by tetrandrine. According to the Förster theory of non-radiation energy transfer, the binding distances (r) and the binding constants (K(A)) were obtained. The thermodynamic parameters obtained in this study revealed that the interaction between tetrandrine and HSA was mainly driven by a hydrophobic force. The conformational changes of HSA were investigated by synchronous spectrum studies.

Nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis for rapid and sensitive determination of fangchinoline and tetrandrine in RadixStephaniae tetrandraeand its medicinal preparations

A simple, rapid, and sensitive non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis procedure with head-column field-amplified sample stacking concentration for the analysis of fangchinoline and tetrandrine is established. Optimum separation and stacking conditions were obtained when the sample was injected at 8 kV for 50 s after preliminary pressure injection of ethanol (16.9 kPa) for 0.6 s and separated with the buffer containing 50 mM ammonium acetate, 0.5% (v/v) acetic acid, and 50% (v/v) acetonitrile in methanol medium at 24 kV applied voltage. The analytes were detected by UV at 214 nm. The two bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloids can be separated within 6 min and quantified with high sensitivity. The detection limits were 0.30 ng mL(-1) for fangchinoline and 0.34 ng mL(-1) for tetrandrine, which indicated that the sensitivities were at least 1000-fold enhanced over those reported in the literature as obtained by UV detection. The method was applied to the analysis of fangchinoline and tetrandrine in Radix Stephaniae tetrandrae and its medicinal preparations with good results.

Complement modulating activity of Rwandan medicinal plants

Forty-two ethanolic extracts of thirty-six Rwandan medicinal plants were investigated for their influence on complement-mediated hemolysis. The plants were selected on the base of their ethnomedicinal use in infections and autoimmune diseases. Eight plant extracts showed an inhibitory activity against the classical pathway of the complement system and ten plant extracts against the alternative pathway. Three plant extracts exhibited an interesting activity against both pathways, i.e. Aspilia pluriseta, Coleus kilimandschari, and Macaranga kilimandscharica (leaves and stem). Further study indicated that the complement inhibitory activity was not caused by chelation of bivalent cations or by direct action on the target erythrocytes.