Effect of Sorbus commixta on the invasion and migration of human hepatocellular carcinoma Hep3B cells

Drug discovery inspired by bioactive small molecules from nature

Natural products (NPs) have greatly contributed to the development of novel treatments for human diseases such as cancer, metabolic disorders, and infections. Compared to synthetic chemical compounds, primary and secondary metabolites from medicinal plants, fungi, microorganisms, and our bodies are promising resources with immense chemical diversity and favorable properties for drug development. In addition to the well-validated significance of secondary metabolites, endogenous small molecules derived from central metabolism and signaling events have shown great potential as drug candidates due to their unique metabolite-protein interactions. In this short review, we highlight the values of NPs, discuss recent scientific and technological advances including metabolomics tools, chemoproteomics approaches, and artificial intelligence-based computation platforms, and explore potential strategies to overcome the current challenges in NP-driven drug discovery.

Modulation of Cytoskeleton, Protein Trafficking, and Signaling Pathways by Metabolites from Cucurbitaceae, Ericaceae, and Rosaceae Plant Families

One promising frontier within the field of Medical Botany is the study of the bioactivity of plant metabolites on human health. Although plant metabolites are metabolic byproducts that commonly regulate ecological interactions and biochemical processes in plant species, such metabolites also elicit profound effects on the cellular processes of human and other mammalian cells. In this regard, due to their potential as therapeutic agents for a variety of human diseases and induction of toxic cellular responses, further research advances are direly needed to fully understand the molecular mechanisms induced by these agents. Herein, we focus our investigation on metabolites from the Cucurbitaceae, Ericaceae, and Rosaceae plant families, for which several plant species are found within the state of Florida in Hillsborough County. Specifically, we compare the molecular mechanisms by which metabolites and/or plant extracts from these plant families modulate the cytoskeleton, protein trafficking, and cell signaling to mediate functional outcomes, as well as a discussion of current gaps in knowledge. Our efforts to lay the molecular groundwork in this broad manner hold promise in supporting future research efforts in pharmacology and drug discovery.

Metabolomic and Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CLSM) Analyses Reveal the Important Function of Flavonoids in Amygdalus pedunculata Pall Leaves With Temporal Changes

Amygdalus pedunculata Pall [Rosaceae, Prunus, Prunus pedunculata (Pall.) Maxim.] belongs to the Rosaceae family and is resistant to cold and drought. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry and metabolomics were used to track the changes in bioactive metabolites during several stages of Amygdalus pedunculata Pall growth. A total of 827 different metabolites were detected, including 169 flavonoids, 68 organic acids, 35 terpenoids and 2 tannins. Flavonoid biosynthesis and flavone and flavonol biosynthesis were the main synthetic sources of flavonoids. Quercetin, isoquercitrin, and epicatechin as biomarkers related to growth and development were found. Quercetin connects the biosynthesis of flavonoids and the biosynthesis of flavones and flavonols. The contents of isoquercitrin and epicatechin increased uniformly during the whole growth process from the flowering stage to the fruit ripening stage, indicating that play key roles in the fruit growth and ripening stages of this plant. The tissue location and quantitative analysis of flavonoids in leaves at different stages were performed by confocal laser scanning microscopy. The flavonoids were mainly distributed in the palisade tissue and spongy tissue, indicating the need for protection of these sensitive tissues in particular. Through comprehensive and systematic analysis, the temporal distribution of flavonoids in the process of their leaves growth was determined. These results clarify the important role of flavonoids in the developmental process of Amygdalus pedunculata Pall.

Conditional Knockdown of Gene Expression in Cancer Cell Lines to Study the Recruitment of Monocytes/Macrophages to the Tumor Microenvironment

siRNA and shRNA-mediated knock down (KD) methods of regulating gene expression are invaluable tools for understanding gene and protein function. However, in the case that the KD of the protein of interest has a lethal effect on cells or the anticipated effect of the KD is time-dependent, unconditional KD methods are not appropriate. Conditional systems are more suitable in these cases and have been the subject of much interest. These include Ecdysone-inducible overexpression systems, Cytochrome P-450 induction system¹, and the tetracycline regulated gene expression systems. The tetracycline regulated gene expression system enables reversible control over protein expression by induction of shRNA expression in the presence of tetracycline. In this protocol, we present an experimental design using functional Tet-ON system in human cancer cell lines for conditional regulation of gene expression. We then demonstrate the use of this system in the study of tumor cell-monocyte interaction.