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Yang J, Chen X, He X, Fang X, Liu S, Zou L, Cao H, Liu J, Zuo J, Yu L, Lu Z. Tanreqing injection demonstrates anti-dengue activity through the regulation of the NF-κB-ICAM-1/VCAM-1 axis. PHYTOMEDICINE : INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHYTOTHERAPY AND PHYTOPHARMACOLOGY 2024; 130:155764. [PMID: 38797030 DOI: 10.1016/j.phymed.2024.155764] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2024] [Revised: 04/11/2024] [Accepted: 05/18/2024] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Tanreqing injection (TRQ) has been employed in clinical practice as a treatment for dengue fever (DF). Nevertheless, the precise pharmacological mechanism underlying its efficacy remains elusive. METHOD Network pharmacology, molecular docking, transcriptome sequencing, and experimental evaluation were employed to analyze and study the inhibitory potential of TRQ against dengue virus (DENV). RESULT We found that TRQ inhibited the replication of DENV in human umbilical vein endothelial cells, Huh-7 cells, and Hep3B cells. In addition, TRQ prolonged the survival duration of AG129 mice infected with DF, decreased the viral load in serum and organs, and alleviated organ damage. Subsequently, ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis of TRQ was performed to identify 314 targets associated with 36 active compounds present in TRQ. Integration of multiple databases yielded 47 DF-related genes. Then, 15 hub targets of TRQ in DF were determined by calculating the network topology parameters (Degree). Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analyses revealed that these pathways were primarily enriched in the processes of cytokine activation and leukocyte cross-endothelial migration, with significant enrichment of cell adhesion molecules. Molecular docking revealed favorable binding affinity between TRQ's key active compounds and the predicted hub targets. Transcriptome sequencing results showed TRQ's ability to restore the expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) post-DENV infection. Finally, TRQ was found to modulate the immune status by regulating the nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB)- intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1)/VCAM-1 axis, as well as reduce immune cell alterations, inflammatory factor secretion, vascular permeability, and bleeding tendencies induced by DENV infection. CONCLUSION Our research suggests that TRQ exerts therapeutic effects on DF by regulating the NF-κB-ICAM-1/VCAM-1 axis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiabin Yang
- Third Level Research Laboratory of State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, PR China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine Pharmaceutics, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, PR China
| | - Xi Chen
- Third Level Research Laboratory of State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, PR China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine Pharmaceutics, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, PR China
| | - Xuemei He
- Third Level Research Laboratory of State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, PR China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine Pharmaceutics, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, PR China
| | - Xiaochuan Fang
- Third Level Research Laboratory of State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, PR China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine Pharmaceutics, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, PR China
| | - Shanhong Liu
- Third Level Research Laboratory of State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, PR China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine Pharmaceutics, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, PR China
| | - Lifang Zou
- Third Level Research Laboratory of State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, PR China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine Pharmaceutics, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, PR China
| | - Huihui Cao
- Third Level Research Laboratory of State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, PR China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine Pharmaceutics, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, PR China
| | - Junshan Liu
- Third Level Research Laboratory of State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, PR China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine Pharmaceutics, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, PR China
| | - Jianping Zuo
- Laboratory of Immunopharmacology, State Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201203, PR China
| | - Linzhong Yu
- Third Level Research Laboratory of State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, PR China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine Pharmaceutics, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, PR China.
| | - Zibin Lu
- Third Level Research Laboratory of State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, PR China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine Pharmaceutics, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, PR China.
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Kurbanova MM, Maharramov AM, Sadigova AZ, Gurbanova FZ, Mali SN, Al-Salahi R, El Bakri Y, Lai CH. Synthesis, Characterization, DFT, and In Silico Investigation of Two Newly Synthesized β-Diketone Derivatives as Potent COX-2 Inhibitors. Bioengineering (Basel) 2023; 10:1361. [PMID: 38135952 PMCID: PMC10741009 DOI: 10.3390/bioengineering10121361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2023] [Revised: 11/23/2023] [Accepted: 11/25/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite extensive genetic and biochemical characterization, the molecular genetic basis underlying the biosynthesis of β-diketones remains largely unexplored. β-Diketones and their complexes find broad applications as biologically active compounds. In this study, in silico molecular docking results revealed that two β-diketone derivatives, namely 2-(2-(4-fluorophenyl)hydrazono)-5,5-dimethylcyclohexane-1,3-dione and 5,5-dimethyl-2-(2-(2-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)hydrazono)cyclohexane-1,3-dione, exhibit anti-COX-2 activities. However, recent docking results indicated that the relative anti-COX-2 activity of these two studied β-diketones was influenced by the employed docking programs. For improved design of COX-2 inhibitors from β-diketones, we conducted molecular dynamics simulations, density functional theory (DFT) calculations, Hirshfeld surface analysis, energy framework, and ADMET studies. The goal was to understand the interaction mechanisms and evaluate the inhibitory characteristics. The results indicate that 5,5-dimethyl-2-(2-(2-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)hydrazono)cyclohexane-1,3-dione shows greater anti-COX-2 activity compared to 2-(2-(4-fluorophenyl)hydrazono)-5,5-dimethylcyclohexane-1,3-dione.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malahat Musrat Kurbanova
- Organic Chemistry Department, Baku State University, Z. Khalilov 23, Baku 1148, Azerbaijan; (A.M.M.); (A.Z.S.)
| | - Abel Mammadali Maharramov
- Organic Chemistry Department, Baku State University, Z. Khalilov 23, Baku 1148, Azerbaijan; (A.M.M.); (A.Z.S.)
| | - Arzu Zabit Sadigova
- Organic Chemistry Department, Baku State University, Z. Khalilov 23, Baku 1148, Azerbaijan; (A.M.M.); (A.Z.S.)
| | - Fidan Zaur Gurbanova
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, Bioinformatics, University of Bologna, Via Marsala, 49/A, 40126 Bologna, Italy;
| | - Suraj Narayan Mali
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology, Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra 835215, India;
| | - Rashad Al-Salahi
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia;
| | - Youness El Bakri
- Department of Theoretical and Applied Chemistry, South Ural State University, Lenin Prospect 76, Chelyabinsk 454080, Russia;
| | - Chin-Hung Lai
- Department of Medical Applied Chemistry, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung 40241, Taiwan
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Shamsian S, Sokouti B, Dastmalchi S. Benchmarking different docking protocols for predicting the binding poses of ligands complexed with cyclooxygenase enzymes and screening chemical libraries. BIOIMPACTS : BI 2023; 14:29955. [PMID: 38505677 PMCID: PMC10945300 DOI: 10.34172/bi.2023.29955] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Revised: 08/09/2023] [Accepted: 08/23/2023] [Indexed: 03/21/2024]
Abstract
Introduction Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) constitute an important class of pharmaceuticals acting on cyclooxygenase COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes. Due to their numerous severe side effects, it is necessary to search for new selective, safe, and effective anti-inflammatory drugs. In silico design of novel therapeutics plays an important role in nowadays drug discovery pipelines. In most cases, the design strategies require the use of molecular docking calculations. The docking procedure may require case-specific condition for a successful result. Additionally, many different docking programs are available, which highlights the importance of identifying the most proper docking method and condition for a given problem. Methods In the current work, the performances of five popular molecular docking programs, namely, GOLD, AutoDock, FlexX, Molegro Virtual Docker (MVD) and Glide to predict the binding mode of co- crystallized inhibitors in the structures of known complexes available for cyclooxygenases were evaluated. Furthermore, the best performers, Glide, AutoDock, GOLD and FlexX, were further evaluated in docking-based virtual screening of libraries consisted of active ligands and decoy molecules for cyclooxygenase enzymes and the obtained docking scores were assessed by receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis. Results The results of docking experiments indicated that Glide program outperformed other docking programs by correctly predicting the binding poses (RMSD less than 2 Å) of all studied co-crystallized ligands of COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes (i.e., the performance was 100%). However, the performances of the other studied docking methods for correctly predicting the binding poses of the ligands were between 59% to 82%. Virtual screening results treated by ROC analysis revealed that all tested methods are useful tools for classification and enrichment of molecules targeting COX enzymes. The obtained AUCs range between 0.61-0.92 with enrichment factors of 8 - 40 folds. Conclusion The obtained results support the importance of choosing appropriate docking method for predicting ligand-receptor binding modes, and provide specific information about docking calculations on COXs ligands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Shamsian
- Student Research Committee, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, 5165665931, Iran
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, 5166414766, Iran
| | - Babak Sokouti
- Biotechnology Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, 5165665813, Iran
| | - Siavoush Dastmalchi
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, 5166414766, Iran
- Biotechnology Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, 5165665813, Iran
- Faculty of Pharmacy, Near East University, POBOX:99138, Nicosia, North Cyprus, Mersin 10, Turkey
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Gligorić E, Igić R, Teofilović B, Grujić-Letić N. Phytochemical Screening of Ultrasonic Extracts of Salix Species and Molecular Docking Study of Salix-Derived Bioactive Compounds Targeting Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:11848. [PMID: 37511606 PMCID: PMC10380267 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241411848] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2023] [Revised: 07/17/2023] [Accepted: 07/20/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Willow bark (Salix spp., Salicaceae) is a traditional analgesic and antirheumatic herbal medicine. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the phytochemical and antioxidant profiles of leaf and bark extracts of six species of the genus Salix obtained by ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) and to examine the inhibitory potential of target bioactive compounds against two inflammatory mediators, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin 6 (IL-6), through in silico molecular docking. The total phenolic and flavonoid content of the extracts was estimated using spectrophotometric methods and the antioxidant activity using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH•) and hydroxyl radical (•OH) scavenging assays. Chemical profiling of extracts was carried out using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with a diode array detector (HPLC-DAD). Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed to differentiate the sample extracts based on their phytochemical profiles and amounts of target bioactive compounds. Chemical composition varied among the analyzed willow species and also among the plant organs of the same species. The major bioactive compounds of the extracts were salicin, chlorogenic acid, rutin and epicatechin. The extracts exhibited significant DPPH● and ●OH scavenging activities. Results of molecular docking revealed that chlorogenic acid had the highest binding affinity toward TNF-α and IL-6. UAE extracts represent valuable sources of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emilia Gligorić
- Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, Hajduk Veljkova 3, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
| | - Ružica Igić
- Department of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 3, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
| | - Branislava Teofilović
- Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, Hajduk Veljkova 3, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
| | - Nevena Grujić-Letić
- Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, Hajduk Veljkova 3, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
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