Design, synthesis, and anti-proliferative evaluation of [1,1'-biphenyl]-4-ols as inhibitor of HUVEC migration and tube formation

Honokiol and magnolol: A review of structure-activity relationships of their derivatives

Honokiol (HK) and magnolol (MAG) are typical representatives of neolignans possessing a wide range of biological activities and are employed as traditional medicines in Asia. In the past few decades, HK and MAG have been proven to be promising chemical scaffolds for the development of novel neolignan drugs. This review focuses on recent advances in the medicinal chemistry of HK and MAG derivatives, especially their structure-activity relationships. In addition, it also presents a comprehensive summary of the pharmacology, biosynthetic pathways, and metabolic characteristics of HK and MAG. This review can provide pharmaceutical chemists deeper insights into medicinal research on HK and MAG, and a reference for the rational design of HK and MAG derivatives.

A high-throughput screening campaign against PFKFB3 identified potential inhibitors with novel scaffolds

The growth of solid tumors depends on tumor vascularization and the endothelial cells (ECs) that line the lumen of blood vessels. ECs generate a large fraction of ATP through glycolysis, and elevation of their glycolytic activity is associated with angiogenic behavior in solid tumors. 6-Phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase 3 (PFKFB3) positively regulates glycolysis via fructose-2/6-bisphosphate, the product of its kinase activity. Partial inhibition of glycolysis in tumor ECs by targeting PFKFB3 normalizes the otherwise abnormal tumor vessels, thereby reducing metastasis and improving the outcome of chemotherapy. Although a limited number of tool compounds exist, orally available PFKFB3 inhibitors are unavailable. In this study we conducted a high-throughput screening campaign against the kinase activity of PFKFB3, involving 250,240 chemical compounds. A total of 507 initial hits showing >50% inhibition at 20 µM were identified, 66 of them plus 1 analog from a similarity search consistently displayed low IC50 values (<10 µM). In vitro experiments yielded 22 nontoxic hits that suppressed the tube formation of primary human umbilical vein ECs at 10 µM. Of them, 15 exhibited binding affinity to PFKFB3 in surface plasmon resonance assays, including 3 (WNN0403-E003, WNN1352-H007 and WNN1542-F004) that passed the pan-assay interference compounds screening without warning flags. This study provides potential leads to the development of new PFKFB3 inhibitors.

Nickel-catalyzed cross-electrophile coupling of aryl chlorides with allylic alcohols

Nickel-catalyzed cross-electrophile coupling of aryl chlorides with allylic alcohols proceeds readily under mild conditions in the presence of zinc powder and MgCl₂ to produce allylarenes in 25-92% yields. The reaction shows high regioselectivity and E/Z-selectivity, giving linear allylation products with an E configurated double bond when 1- or 3-arylallyl alcohols were used as the substrates. Functional groups including F, CF₃, COOEt, NMe₂, OMe, SiMe₃, OH and vinyl groups as well as nitrogen-containing heterocycles were tolerated.

Transition metal-free synthesis of sterically hindered allylarenes from 5-hexene-2-one

A simple, efficient and transition metal-free strategy was established for the synthesis of highly functionalized, sterically hindered allylarenes (6, 7 & 8) by base-mediated ring transformation of 2-oxo-6-aryl-4-(methylthio/sec-amino)-2H-pyran-3-carbonitriles (3/4) with 5-hexene-2-one (5). This provides a method for the synthesis of allylarenes functionalized with different electron donating and withdrawing groups in one pot. The structures of isolated products 6c and 7a were ascertained by spectroscopic and single crystal X-ray diffraction analyses. In addition, we have performed a molecular docking study to predict the biological activity of the synthesized molecules for binding to estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) and estrogen receptor beta (ERβ).

Anti-proliferative activity and structure-activity relationship of honokiol derivatives

As a known natural product with anti-tumor activity, honokiol has been widely researched and structural modified. Lots of honokiol derivatives have been found to possess good anti-proliferative activity and showed great potential in cancer therapy, but the SAR (structure-activity relationship) was still confused. Here in, the SAR were comprehensively researched by summary of reported derivatives and synthesis of novel derivatives. Amongst novel derivatives, the promising compounds A6 and A10 exhibited potent and selective anti-proliferative activities against K562 cell line with the IC₅₀ values of 5.04 and 7.08 μM respectively. The SAR was discussed around honokiol and 79 derivatives by the means of CoMFA and theoretical calculation, which provided useful suggestion for further structural optimization of honokiol derivatives.

microRNA-126 inhibits tube formation of HUVECs by interacting with EGFL7 and down-regulating PI3K/AKT signaling pathway

It's critical for tube formation and angiogenesis to repair ischemic myocardium or stroke. This study aimed to investigate role of microRNA-126 (miR-126) in tube formation in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and associated mechanisms. Primary neural stem cells (NSCs) and HUVECs were cultured and transfected with microRNA-126 mimics and miR-126 inhibitor. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) and cell cycle assay were conducted for evaluating NSCs viability. Transwell assay was conducted to observe invasive ability of HUVECs. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) assay was used to examine epidermal growth factor like domain 7 (EGFL7) and miR-126 mRNA both in vitro and animal models. Tube forming capability was evaluated in HUVECs. Dual luciferase assay was performed to evaluate interaction between miR-126 and EGFL7 gene. Western blot assay was used to determine phosphoinositide-3-kinase/protein kinase-B (PI3K/AKT) signaling molecules and EGFL7. The results indicated that miR-126 significantly decreased cell viability, inhibited invasive ability and modulated cell cycle of NSCs compared to miR-NC group (p < 0.05). miR-126 significantly inhibited tube formation of HUVECs compared to miR-NC group (p < 0.05). miR-126 significantly down-regulated EGFL7 mRNA and protein expression compared to miR-NC (p < 0.05). Atorvastatin significantly increased CD34 and enhanced EGFL7 expression in traumatic brain injury (TBI) rats brain tissues compared to Model group (p < 0.05). miR-126 significantly down-regulated and atorvastatin up-regulated PI3K/AKT signaling pathway (p < 0.05). Atorvastatin significantly increased EGFL7 and down-regulated miR-126 expression in TBI rats brain tissues compared to Model group (p < 0.05). miR-126 interacted with and negatively correlated with EGFL7 gene both in vitro and in TBI models. In conclusion, microRNA-126 inhibited tube formation of HUVECs by interacting with EGFL7 and down-regulating PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.

Synthesis of magnolol and honokiol derivatives and their effect against hepatocarcinoma cells

The hepatocellular carcinoma is one of the most common malignant tumour with high level of mortality rate due to its rapid progression and high resistance to conventional chemotherapies. Thus, the search for novel therapeutic leads is of global interest. Herein, a small set of derivatives of magnolol 1 and honokiol 2, the main components of Magnolia grandiflora and Magnolia obovata, were evaluated in in vitro assay using tumoral hepatocytes. The pro-drug approach was applied as versatile strategy to the improve bioactivity of the compounds by careful transformation of the hydroxyl groups of magnolol 1 and honokiol 2 in suitable ester derivatives. Compounds 10 and 11 resulted to be more potent than the parental honokiol 2 at concentration down to 1 μM with complete viability of treated fibroblast cells up to concentrations of 80 μM. The combination of a butyrate ester and a bare phenol-OH group in the honokiol structure seemed to play a significant role in the antiproliferative activity identifying an interesting pharmacological clue against hepatocellular carcinoma.