Natural Products Targeting Hsp90 for a Concurrent Strategy in Glioblastoma and Neurodegeneration

Discovery of Michael reaction acceptors from the leaves of Ailanthus altissima by a modified tactic

Structural characteristics-guided investigation of Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle resulted in the isolation and identification of seven undescribed potential Michael reaction acceptors (1-7). Ailanlactone A (1) possesses an unusual 1,7-epoxy-11,12-seco quassinoid core. Ailanterpene B (6) was a rare guaianolide-type sesquiterpene with a 5/6/6/6-fused skeleton. Their structures were determined through extensive analysis of physiochemical and spectroscopic data, quantum chemical calculations, and single crystal X-ray crystallographic technology using Cu Kα radiation. The cytotoxic activities of isolates on HepG2 and Hep3B cells were evaluated in vitro. Encouragingly, ailanaltiolide K (4) showed significant cytotoxicity against Hep3B cells with IC50 values of 1.41 ± 0.21 μM, whose covalent binding mode was uncovered in silico.

Gut Microbiota in Autophagy Regulation: New Therapeutic Perspective in Neurodegeneration

Gut microbiota and the brain are related via a complex bidirectional interconnective network. Thus, intestinal homeostasis is a crucial factor for the brain, as it can control the environment of the central nervous system and play a significant role in disease progression. The link between neuropsychological behavior or neurodegeneration and gut dysbiosis is well established, but many involved pathways remain unknown. Accumulating studies showed that metabolites derived from gut microbiota are involved in the autophagy activation of various organs, including the brain, one of the major pathways of the protein clearance system that is essential for protein aggregate clearance. On the other hand, some metabolites are evidenced to disrupt the autophagy process, which can be a modulator of neurodegeneration. However, the detailed mechanism of autophagy regulation by gut microbiota remains elusive, and little research only focused on that. Here we tried to evaluate the crosstalk between gut microbiota metabolites and impaired autophagy of the central nervous system in neurodegeneration and the key to future research regarding gut dysbiosis and compromised autophagy in neurodegenerative diseases.