1
|
Recent Advances in the Chemistry and Therapeutic Evaluation of Naturally Occurring and Synthetic Withanolides. Molecules 2022; 27:molecules27030886. [PMID: 35164150 PMCID: PMC8840339 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27030886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2021] [Revised: 01/27/2022] [Accepted: 01/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Natural products are a major source of biologically active compounds that make promising lead molecules for developing efficacious drug-like molecules. Natural withanolides are found in many flora and fauna, including plants, algae, and corals, that traditionally have shown multiple health benefits and are known for their anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-leishmaniasis, and many other medicinal properties. Structures of these withanolides possess a few reactive sites that can be exploited to design and synthesize more potent and safe analogs. In this review, we discuss the literature evidence related to the medicinal implications, particularly anticancer properties of natural withanolides and their synthetic analogs, and provide perspectives on the translational potential of these promising compounds.
Collapse
|
2
|
Albert LP, Restrepo-Coupe N, Smith MN, Wu J, Chavana-Bryant C, Prohaska N, Taylor TC, Martins GA, Ciais P, Mao J, Arain MA, Li W, Shi X, Ricciuto DM, Huxman TE, McMahon SM, Saleska SR. Cryptic phenology in plants: Case studies, implications, and recommendations. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2019; 25:3591-3608. [PMID: 31343099 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14759] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2018] [Revised: 06/13/2019] [Accepted: 06/16/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Plant phenology-the timing of cyclic or recurrent biological events in plants-offers insight into the ecology, evolution, and seasonality of plant-mediated ecosystem processes. Traditionally studied phenologies are readily apparent, such as flowering events, germination timing, and season-initiating budbreak. However, a broad range of phenologies that are fundamental to the ecology and evolution of plants, and to global biogeochemical cycles and climate change predictions, have been neglected because they are "cryptic"-that is, hidden from view (e.g., root production) or difficult to distinguish and interpret based on common measurements at typical scales of examination (e.g., leaf turnover in evergreen forests). We illustrate how capturing cryptic phenology can advance scientific understanding with two case studies: wood phenology in a deciduous forest of the northeastern USA and leaf phenology in tropical evergreen forests of Amazonia. Drawing on these case studies and other literature, we argue that conceptualizing and characterizing cryptic plant phenology is needed for understanding and accurate prediction at many scales from organisms to ecosystems. We recommend avenues of empirical and modeling research to accelerate discovery of cryptic phenological patterns, to understand their causes and consequences, and to represent these processes in terrestrial biosphere models.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Loren P Albert
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
- Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Natalia Restrepo-Coupe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
- School of Life Science, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, Australia
| | - Marielle N Smith
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Jin Wu
- Biological, Environmental & Climate Sciences Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, New York, NY, USA
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong
| | - Cecilia Chavana-Bryant
- Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Climate & Ecosystem Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Neill Prohaska
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Tyeen C Taylor
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Giordane A Martins
- Ciências de Florestas Tropicais, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Manaus, Brazil
| | - Philippe Ciais
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, Gif sur Yvette, France
| | - Jiafu Mao
- Environmental Sciences Division and Climate Change Science Institute, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
| | - M Altaf Arain
- School of Geography and Earth Sciences & McMaster Centre for Climate Change, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Wei Li
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, Gif sur Yvette, France
- Department of Earth System Science, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Earth System Modeling, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaoying Shi
- Environmental Sciences Division and Climate Change Science Institute, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
| | - Daniel M Ricciuto
- Environmental Sciences Division and Climate Change Science Institute, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
| | - Travis E Huxman
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology & Center for Environmental Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Sean M McMahon
- Smithsonian Institution's Forest Global Earth Observatory & Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD, USA
| | - Scott R Saleska
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Xu YM, Liu MX, Grunow N, Wijeratne EMK, Paine-Murrieta G, Felder S, Kris RM, Gunatilaka AAL. Discovery of Potent 17β-Hydroxywithanolides for Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer by High-Throughput Screening of a Natural Products Library for Androgen-Induced Gene Expression Inhibitors. J Med Chem 2015; 58:6984-93. [PMID: 26305181 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.5b00867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Prostate cancer (PC) is the second most prevalent cancer among men in Western societies, and those who develop metastatic castration-resistant PC (CRPC) invariably succumb to the disease. The need for effective treatments for CRPC is a pressing concern, especially due to limited durable responses with currently employed therapies. Here, we demonstrate the successful application of a high-throughput gene-expression profiling assay directly targeting genes of the androgen receptor pathway to screen a natural products library leading to the identification of 17β-hydroxywithanolides 1-5, of which physachenolide D (5) exhibited potent and selective in vitro activity against two PC cell lines, LNCaP and PC-3. Epoxidation of 5 afforded physachenolide C (6) with higher potency and stability. Structure-activity relationships for withanolides as potential anti-PC agents are presented together with in vivo efficacy studies on compound 6, suggesting that 17β-hydroxywithanolides are promising candidates for further development as CRPC therapeutics.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ya-Ming Xu
- Natural Products Center, School of Natural Resources and the Environment, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Arizona , 250 East Valencia Road, Tucson, Arizona 85706, United States
| | - Manping X Liu
- Natural Products Center, School of Natural Resources and the Environment, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Arizona , 250 East Valencia Road, Tucson, Arizona 85706, United States
| | - Nathan Grunow
- NuvoGen Research LLC , P.O. Box 64326, Tucson, Arizona 85728, United States
| | - E M Kithsiri Wijeratne
- Natural Products Center, School of Natural Resources and the Environment, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Arizona , 250 East Valencia Road, Tucson, Arizona 85706, United States
| | - Gillian Paine-Murrieta
- University of Arizona Cancer Center , 1515 North Campbell Avenue, Tucson, Arizona 85724, United States
| | - Stephen Felder
- NuvoGen Research LLC , P.O. Box 64326, Tucson, Arizona 85728, United States
| | - Richard M Kris
- NuvoGen Research LLC , P.O. Box 64326, Tucson, Arizona 85728, United States
| | - A A Leslie Gunatilaka
- Natural Products Center, School of Natural Resources and the Environment, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Arizona , 250 East Valencia Road, Tucson, Arizona 85706, United States
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Yuan JS, Galbraith DW, Dai SY, Griffin P, Stewart CN. Plant systems biology comes of age. TRENDS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2008; 13:165-71. [PMID: 18329321 DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2008.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2007] [Revised: 02/06/2008] [Accepted: 02/13/2008] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
'Omics' research approaches have produced copious data for living systems, which have necessitated the development of systems biology to integrate multidimensional biological information into networks and models. Applications of systems biology to plant science have been rapid, and have increased our knowledge about circadian rhythms, multigenic traits, stress responses and plant defenses, and have advanced the virtual plant project.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Joshua S Yuan
- UTIA Genomics Hub, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
7
|
Gene expression-based screening identifies microtubule inhibitors as inducers of PGC-1alpha and oxidative phosphorylation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2008; 105:4721-6. [PMID: 18347329 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0800979105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The transcriptional coactivator PGC-1alpha is a potent regulator of several metabolic pathways, including, in particular, the activation of oxidative phosphorylation and mitochondrial biogenesis. Recent evidence suggests that increasing PGC-1alpha activity may have beneficial effects in various conditions, including muscular dystrophy, diabetes, and neurodegenerative diseases. We describe here a high-throughput screen to identify small molecules that induce PGC-1alpha expression in skeletal muscle cells. A number of drug classes are identified, including glucocorticoids, microtubule inhibitors, and protein synthesis inhibitors. These drugs induce PGC-1alpha mRNA, and the expression of a number of genes known to be regulated by PGC-1alpha. No induction of these target genes is seen in PGC-1alpha -/- cells, demonstrating that the drugs act through PGC-1alpha. These data demonstrate the feasibility of high-throughput screening for inducers of PGC-1alpha. Moreover, the data identify microtubule inhibitors and protein synthesis inhibitors as modulators of PGC-1alpha and oxidative phosphorylation.
Collapse
|