Acerogenin C from Acer nikoense exhibits a neuroprotective effect in mouse hippocampal HT22 cell lines through the upregulation of Nrf-2/HO-1 signaling pathways

Evaluation of the Chemical Stability, Membrane Permeability and Antiproliferative Activity of Cyclic Diarylheptanoids from European Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus L.)

Four cyclic diarylheptanoids-carpinontriols A (1) and B (2), giffonin X (3) and 3,12,17-trihydroxytricyclo [12.3.1.12,6]nonadeca-1(18),2(19),3,5,14,16-hexaene-8,11-dione (4)-were isolated from Carpinus betulus (Betulaceae). Chemical stability of the isolated diarylheptanoids was evaluated as a function of storage temperature (-15, 5, 22 °C) and time (12 and 23 weeks). The effect of the solvent and the pH (1.2, 6.8, 7.4) on the stability of these diarylheptanoids was also investigated. Compounds 2 and 4 showed good stability both in aqueous and methanolic solutions at all investigated temperatures. Only 2 was stable at all three studied biorelevant pH values. Degradation products of 1 and 3 were formed by the elimination of a water molecule from the parent compounds, as confirmed by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HR-MS). The permeability of the compounds across biological membranes was evaluated by the parallel artificial membrane permeability assay (PAMPA). Compound 3 possesses a logPe value of -5.92 ± 0.04 in the blood-brain barrier-specific PAMPA-BBB study, indicating that it may be able to cross the blood-brain barrier via passive diffusion. The in vitro antiproliferative activity of the compounds was investigated against five human cancer cell lines, confirming that 1 inhibits cell proliferation in A2058 human metastatic melanoma cells.

Complete chloroplast genome sequence of Acer nikoense (Sapindaceae)

Acer nikoense (Sapindaceae: Acer) is a deciduous tree, belonging to the Ser. Grisea of Sect. Trifoliata. Its complete genome sequence was obtained using genome Illumina pair-end sequencing data. It had a typical quadripartite structure with 155,952 bp in length, consisting of a large single-copy region (85,720 bp) and a small single-copy region (18,072 bp), as well as a pair of inverted repeats (26,080 bp). The total GC content was 37.9%. A total of 113 unique genes were annotated, including 30 tRNAs, 4 rRNAs, and 79 protein-coding genes. The phylogenetic analysis indicated that A. nikoense and A. triflorum were the most closely related.

Recent Studies on Cyclic 1,7-Diarylheptanoids: Their Isolation, Structures, Biological Activities, and Chemical Synthesis

Diarylheptanoids are a family of plant secondary metabolites with a 7 carbon skeleton possessing two phenyl rings at the 1- and 7-positions. They can be subdivided into acyclic and cyclic diarylheptanoids where the latter are further divided into meta,meta-bridged biphenyls ([7.0]metacyclophanes) and meta,para-bridged diphenyl ether heptanoids (oxa[7.1]metapara-cyclophanes). Since the isolation of curcumin from the rhizomes of turmeric (Curcuma longa) in 1815 which was named curcumin, a variety of diarylheptanoids have been isolated from a number of plant families such as Aceraceae, Actinidiaceae, Betulaceae, Burseraceae, Casuarinaceae, Juglandaceae, Leguminosae, Myricaceae, and Zingiberaceae. Earlier studies on these diarylheptanoids have been summarized on several occasions, of which the main themes only focus on isolation, structure elucidation, and the biological properties of linear types. Only a few have covered cyclic diarylheptanoids and their chemical synthesis has been covered lastly by Zhu et al. in 2000. The present paper has, therefore, covered recent progress in cyclic diarylheptanoids focusing on the isolation, structural and biological features, and chemical synthesis.

Ferritinophagy/ferroptosis: Iron-related newcomers in human diseases

Nuclear receptor coactivator 4 mediated ferritinophagy is an autophagic phenomenon that specifically involves ferritin to release intracellular free iron. Ferritinophagy is implicated in maintaining efficient erythropoiesis. Notably, ferritinophagy also plays a central role in driving some pathological processes, including Parkinson's disease (PD) and urinary tract infections. Some evidence has demonstrated that ferritinophagy is critical to induce ferroptosis. Ferroptosis is a newly nonapoptotic form of cell death, characterized by the accumulation of iron-based lipid reactive oxygen species. Ferroptosis plays an important role in inhibiting some types of cancers, such as hepatocellular carcinoma, pancreatic carcinoma, prostate cancer, and breast cancer. Conversely, the activation of ferroptosis accelerates neurodegeneration diseases, including PD and Alzheimer's disease. Therefore, in this review, we summarize the regulatory mechanisms related to ferritinophagy and ferroptosis. Moreover, the distinctive effects of ferritinophagy in human erythropoiesis and some pathologies, coupled with the promotive or inhibitory role of tumorous and neurodegenerative diseases mediated by ferroptosis, are elucidated. Obviously, activating or inhibiting ferroptosis could be exploited to achieve desirable therapeutic effects on diverse cancers and neurodegeneration diseases. Interrupting ferritinophagy to control iron level might provide a potentially therapeutic avenue to suppress urinary tract infections.