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Arampatzis AS, Tsave O, Kirchweger B, Zwirchmayr J, Papageorgiou VP, Rollinger JM, Assimopoulou AN. Expanding the Biological Properties of Alkannins and Shikonins: Their Impact on Adipogenesis and Life Expectancy in Nematodes. Front Pharmacol 2022; 13:909285. [PMID: 35754463 PMCID: PMC9216188 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2022.909285] [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: 03/31/2022] [Accepted: 05/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Alkannin, shikonin (A/S) and their derivatives are naturally occurring hydroxynaphthoquinones biosynthesized in some species of the Boraginaceae family. These natural compounds have been extensively investigated for their biological properties over the last 40 years, demonstrating a plethora of activities, such as wound healing, regenerative, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antimicrobial and antioxidant. This study aims to extend the current knowledge by investigating the effects of various A/S compounds on two model systems, namely on 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes and the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. The former constitutes an established in vitro model for investigating anti-obesity and insulin-mimetic properties, while the latter has been widely used as a model organism for studying fat accumulation, lifespan and the anthelmintic potential. A set of chemically well-defined A/S derivatives were screened for their effect on pre-adipocytes to assess cell toxicity, cell morphology, and cell differentiation. The differentiation of pre-adipocytes into mature adipocytes was examined upon treatment with A/S compounds in the presence/absence of insulin, aiming to establish a structure-activity relationship. The majority of A/S compounds induced cell proliferation at sub-micromolar concentrations. The ester derivatives exhibited higher IC50 values, and thus, proved to be less toxic to 3T3-L1 cells. The parent molecules, A and S tested at 1 μM resulted in a truncated differentiation with a reduced number of forming lipids, whereas compounds lacking the side chain hydroxyl group projected higher populations of mature adipocytes. In C. elegans mutant strain SS104, A/S enriched extracts were not able to inhibit the fat accumulation but resulted in a drastic shortage of survival. Thus, the set of A/S compounds were tested at 15 and 60 μg/ml in the wild-type strain N2 for their nematocidal activity, which is of relevance for the discovery of anthelmintic drugs. The most pronounced nematocidal activity was observed for naphthazarin and β,β-dimethyl-acryl-shikonin, followed by isovaleryl-shikonin. The latter 2 A/S esters were identified as the most abundant constituents in the mixture of A/S derivatives isolated from Alkanna tinctoria (L.) Tausch. Taken together, the findings show that the structural variations in the moiety of A/S compounds significantly impact the modulation of their biological activities in both model systems investigated in this study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Athanasios S Arampatzis
- Organic Chemistry Laboratory, School of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and Natural Products Research Centre of Excellence (NatPro-AUTH), Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation of AUTh (CIRI-AUTh), Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Olga Tsave
- Organic Chemistry Laboratory, School of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and Natural Products Research Centre of Excellence (NatPro-AUTH), Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation of AUTh (CIRI-AUTh), Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Benjamin Kirchweger
- Division of Pharmacognosy, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Julia Zwirchmayr
- Division of Pharmacognosy, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Vassilios P Papageorgiou
- Organic Chemistry Laboratory, School of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and Natural Products Research Centre of Excellence (NatPro-AUTH), Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation of AUTh (CIRI-AUTh), Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Judith M Rollinger
- Division of Pharmacognosy, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Andreana N Assimopoulou
- Organic Chemistry Laboratory, School of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and Natural Products Research Centre of Excellence (NatPro-AUTH), Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation of AUTh (CIRI-AUTh), Thessaloniki, Greece
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Kirchweger B, Klein-Junior LC, Pretsch D, Chen Y, Cretton S, Gasper AL, Heyden YV, Christen P, Kirchmair J, Henriques AT, Rollinger JM. Azepine-Indole Alkaloids From Psychotria nemorosa Modulate 5-HT 2A Receptors and Prevent in vivo Protein Toxicity in Transgenic Caenorhabditis elegans. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:826289. [PMID: 35360162 PMCID: PMC8963987 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.826289] [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: 11/30/2021] [Accepted: 01/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Nemorosine A (1) and fargesine (2), the main azepine-indole alkaloids of Psychotria nemorosa, were explored for their pharmacological profile on neurodegenerative disorders (NDs) applying a combined in silico–in vitro–in vivo approach. By using 1 and 2 as queries for similarity-based searches of the ChEMBL database, structurally related compounds were identified to modulate the 5-HT2A receptor; in vitro experiments confirmed an agonistic effect for 1 and 2 (24 and 36% at 10 μM, respectively), which might be linked to cognition-enhancing properties. This and the previously reported target profile of 1 and 2, which also includes BuChE and MAO-A inhibition, prompted the evaluation of these compounds in several Caenorhabditis elegans models linked to 5-HT modulation and proteotoxicity. On C. elegans transgenic strain CL4659, which expresses amyloid beta (Aβ) in muscle cells leading to a phenotypic paralysis, 1 and 2 reduced Aβ proteotoxicity by reducing the percentage of paralyzed worms to 51%. Treatment of the NL5901 strain, in which α-synuclein is yellow fluorescent protein (YFP)-tagged, with 1 and 2 (10 μM) significantly reduced the α-synuclein expression. Both alkaloids were further able to significantly extend the time of metallothionein induction, which is associated with reduced neurodegeneration of aged brain tissue. These results add to the multitarget profiles of 1 and 2 and corroborate their potential in the treatment of NDs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Kirchweger
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Division of Pharmacognosy, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Luiz C Klein-Junior
- School of Health Sciences, Universidade do Vale do Itajaí (UNIVALI), Itajaí, Brazil.,Laboratory of Pharmacognosy and Quality Control of Phytomedicines, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Dagmar Pretsch
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Division of Pharmacognosy, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Ya Chen
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Division of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Sylvian Cretton
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Western Switzerland, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - André L Gasper
- Herbarium Dr. Roberto Miguel Klein, Department of Natural Sciences, Universidade Regional de Blumenau (FURB), Blumenau, Brazil
| | - Yvan Vander Heyden
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Applied Chemometrics and Molecular Modeling, Center for Pharmaceutical Research (CePhaR), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Philippe Christen
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Western Switzerland, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Johannes Kirchmair
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Division of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Amélia T Henriques
- Laboratory of Pharmacognosy and Quality Control of Phytomedicines, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Judith M Rollinger
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Division of Pharmacognosy, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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