Chemical Biology & Drug Design最新文献

Despite efforts, available alternatives for the treatment of leishmaniasis are still scarce. In this work we tested a class of 15 quinolinylhydrazone analogues and presented data that support the use of the most active compound in cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania amazonensis. In general, the compounds showed activity at low concentrations for both parasitic forms (5.33–37.04 μM to promastigotes, and 14.31–61.98 μM to amastigotes). In addition, the best compound (MHZ15) is highly selective for the parasite. Biochemical studies indicate that the treatment of promastigotes with MHZ15 leads the loss of mitochondrial potential and increase in ROS levels as the primary effects, which triggers accumulation of lipid droplets, loss of plasma membrane integrity and apoptosis hallmarks, including DNA fragmentation and phosphatidylserine exposure. These effects were similar in the intracellular form of the parasite. However, in this parasitic form there is no change in plasma membrane integrity in the observed treatment time, which can be attributed to metabolic differences and the resilience of the amastigote. Also, ultrastructural changes such as vacuolization suggesting autophagy were observed. The in vivo effectiveness of MHZ15 in the experimental model of cutaneous leishmaniasis was carried out in mice of the BALB/c strain infected with L. amazonensis. The treatment by intralesional route showed that MHZ15 acted with great efficiency with significantly reduction in the parasite load in the injured paws and draining lymph nodes, without clinical signs of distress or compromise of animal welfare. In vivo toxicity was also evaluated and null alterations in the levels of hepatic enzymes aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase was observed. The data presented herein demonstrates that MHZ15 exhibits a range of favorable characteristics conducive to the development of an antileishmanial agent.

Histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6), as the key regulatory enzyme, plays an important role in the development of the nervous system. More and more studies indicate that HDAC6 has become a promising therapeutic target for CNS diseases. Herein we designed and synthesized a series of novel HDAC6 inhibitors with benzothiadiazinyl systems as cap groups and evaluated their activity in vitro and in vivo. Among them, compound 3 exhibited superior selective inhibitory activity against HDAC6 (IC₅₀ = 5.1 nM, about 30-fold selectivity over HDAC1). The results of docking showed that compound 3 can interact well with the key amino acid residues of HDAC6. Compound 3 showed lower cytotoxicity (20 μM to SH-SY5Y cells, inhibition rate = 25.75%) and better neuroprotective activity against L-glutamate-induced SH-SY5Y cell injury model in vitro. Meanwhile, compound 3 exhibited weak cardiotoxicity (10 μM hERG inhibition rate = 17.35%) and possess good druggability properties. Especially, compound 3 could significantly reduce cerebral infarction from 49.87% to 32.18%, and similar with butylphthalide in MCAO model, indicating potential clinical application prospects for alleviating ischemic stroke-induced brain infarction.

Tyrosinase is a copper-containing enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of melanin pigment. While the excess production of melanin causes hyperpigmentation of human skin, hypopigmentation results in medical conditions like vitiligo. Tyrosinase inhibitors could be used as efficient skin whitening agents and tyrosinase agonists could be used for enhanced melanin synthesis and skin protection from UV exposure. Among a wide range of tyrosinase-regulating compounds, natural and synthetic derivatives of furochromenones, such as 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP), are known to both activate and inhibit tyrosinase. We recently reported a synthetic approach to generate a variety of dihydrofuro[3,2-c]chromenones and furo[3,2-c]chromenones in a metal-free condition. In the present study, we investigated these compounds for their potential as antagonists or agonists of tyrosinase. Using fungal tyrosinase-based in vitro biochemical assay, we obtained one compound (3k) which could inhibit tyrosinase activity, and the other compound (4f) that stimulated tyrosinase activity. The kinetic studies revealed that compound 3k caused ‘mixed’ type tyrosinase inhibition and 4f stimulated the catalytic efficiency. Studying the mechanisms of these compounds may provide a basis for the development of new effective tyrosinase inhibitors or activators.

Inhibition of prolylhydroxylase-2 (PHD-2) in both normoxic and hypoxic cells is a critical component of solid tumours. The present study aimed to identify small molecules with PHD-2 activation potential. Virtually screening 4342 chemical compounds for structural similarity to R59949 and docking with PHD-2. To find the best drug candidate, hits were assessed for drug likeliness, antihypoxic and antineoplastic potential. The selected drug candidate's PHD-2 activation, cytotoxic and apoptotic potentials were assessed using 2-oxoglutarate, MTT, AO/EtBr and JC-1 staining. The drug candidate was also tested for its in-vivo chemopreventive efficacy against DMBA-induced mammary gland cancer alone and in combination with Tirapazamine (TPZ). Virtual screening and 2-oxoglutarate assay showed BBAP-6 as lead compound. BBAP-6 exhibited cytotoxic and apoptotic activity against ER+ MCF-7. In carmine staining and histology, BBAP-6 alone or in combination with TPZ restored normal surface morphology of the mammary gland after DMBA produced malignant alterations. Immunoblotting revealed that BBAP-6 reduced NF-κB expression, activated PHD-2 and induced intrinsic apoptotic pathway. Serum metabolomics conducted with 1H NMR confirmed that BBAP-6 prevented HIF-1α and NF-κB-induced metabolic changes in DMBA mammary gland cancer model. In a nutshell, it can be concluded that BBAP-6 activates PHD-2 and exhibits anticancer potential.

This research was designed to prospect the mechanism and impact of glycyrrhizic acid (GA) on DNA damage repair and cisplatin (CP)-induced apoptosis of melanoma cells. First, human melanoma cell SK-MEL-28 was stimulated using GA for 24, 48, and 72 h. Then, the optimal treatment time and dosage were selected. After that, cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) was employed for testing the cell viability, flow cytometry for the apoptosis, comet assay for the DNA damage of cells, and western blot for the cleaved-Caspase3, Caspase3, Bcl-2, and γH2AX protein expression levels. The experimental outcomes exhibited that as the GA concentration climbed up, the SK-MEL-28 cell viability dropped largely, while the apoptosis level raised significantly, especially at the concentration of 100 μm. In addition, compared with GA or CPtreatment only, CP combined with GA notably suppressed the viability of melanoma cells and promoted cell apoptosis at the cytological level. At the protein level, the combined treatment notably downregulated the Bcl-2 and Caspase3 expression levels, while significantly upregulated the cleaved-Caspase3 and γH2AX expression levels. Besides, CP + GA treatment promoted DNA damage at the DNA molecular level. Collectively, both GA and CP can inhibit DNA damage repair and enhance the apoptosis of SK-MEL-28 cells, and the synergistic treatment of both exhibits better efficacy.

Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) is a common infection found in domesticated and wild cats worldwide. Despite the wealth of therapeutic understanding of the disease in humans, considerably less information exists regarding the treatment of the disease in felines. Current treatment relies on drugs developed for the related human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and includes compounds of the popular non-nucleotide reverse transcriptase (NNRTI) class. This is despite FIV-RT being only 67% similar to HIV-1 RT at the enzyme level, increasing to 88% for the allosteric pocket targeted by NNRTIs. The goal of this project was to try to quantify how well the more extensive pharmacological knowledge available for human disease translates to felines. To this end we screened known NNRTIs and 10 diverse pyrimidine analogs identified virtually. We use this chemo-centric probe approach to (a) assess the similarity between the two related RT targets based on the observed experimental inhibition values, (b) try to identify more potent inhibitors at FIV, and (c) gain a better appreciation of the structure–activity relationships (SAR). We found the correlation between IC₅₀s at the two targets to be strong (r² = 0.87) and identified compound 1 as the most potent inhibitor of FIV with IC₅₀ of 0.030 μM ± 0.009. This compared to FIV IC₅₀ values of 0.22 ± 0.17 μM, 0.040 ± 0.010 μM and >160 μM for known anti HIV-1 RT drugs Efavirenz, Rilpivirine, and Nevirapine, respectively. This knowledge, along with an understanding of the structural origin that give rise to any differences could improve the way HIV drugs are repurposed for FIV.

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a progressive form of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) that causes severe liver damage, fibrosis, and scarring. Despite its potential to progress to cirrhosis or hepatic failure, approved drugs or treatments are currently unavailable. We developed 4,4-diallyl curcumin bis(2,2-hydroxymethyl)propanoate, also known as 35e, which induces upregulation of mitochondrial proteins including carnitine palmitoyltransferase I (CPT-I), carnitine palmitoyltransferase II, heat shock protein 60, and translocase of the outer mitochondrial membrane 20. Among these proteins, the upregulated expression of CPT-I was most prominent. CPT-I plays a crucial role in transporting carnitine across the mitochondrial inner membrane, thereby initiating mitochondrial β-oxidation of fatty acids. Given recent research showing that CPT-I activation could be a viable pathway for NASH treatment, we hypothesized that 35e could serve as a potential agent for treating NASH. The efficacy of 35e in treating NASH was evaluated in methionine- and choline-deficient (MCD) diet- and Western diet (WD)-induced models that mimic human NASH. In the MCD diet-induced model, both short-term (2 weeks) and long-term (7 weeks) treatment with 35e effectively regulated elevated serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT)/aspartate aminotransferase (AST) concentrations and histological inflammation. However, the antisteatotic effect of 35e was obtained only in the short-term treatment group. As a comparative compound in the MCD diet-induced model, curcumin treatment did not produce significant regulatory effects on the liver triglyceride/total cholesterol, serum ALT/AST, or hepatic steatosis. In the WD-induced model, 35e ameliorated hepatic steatosis and hepatic inflammation, while increasing serum AST and hepatic lipid content. A decrease in epididymal adipose tissue weight and serum free fatty acid concentration suggested that 35e may promote lipid metabolism or impede lipid accumulation. Overall, 35e displayed significant antilipid accumulation and antifibrotic effects in the two complementary mice models. The development of new curcumin derivatives with the ability to induce CPT-I upregulation could further underscore their efficacy as anti-NASH agents.

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and vascular endothelial growth factor 2 (VEGFR2) are known as valid targets for cancer therapy. Overexpression of EGFR induces uncontrolled cell proliferation and VEGF expression triggering angiogenesis via VEGFR2 signaling. On the other hand, VEGF expression independent of EGFR signaling is already known as one of the mechanisms of resistance to anti-EGFR therapy. Therefore, drugs that act as dual inhibitors of EGFR and VEGFR2 can be a solution to the problem of drug resistance and increase the effectiveness of therapy. In this review, we summarize the relationship between EGFR and VEGFR2 signal transduction in promoting cancer growth and how their kinase domain structures can affect the selectivity of an inhibitor as the basis for designing dual inhibitors. In addition, several recent studies on the development of dual EGFR and VEGFR2 inhibitors involving docking simulations were highlighted in this paper to provide some references such as pharmacophore features of inhibitors and key residues for further research, especially in computer-aided drug design.

Hirudin is one of the specific inhibitors of thrombin, which has been confirmed to have strong bioactivities, including inhibiting tumors. However, the function and mechanism of hirudin and protease-activated receptor 1 (PAR-1) in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) have not been clear. Detecting the expression PAR-1 in DLBCL tissues and cells by RT-qPCR and IHC. Transfected sh-NC, sh-PAR-1, or pcDNA3.1-PAR-1 in DLBCL cells or processed DLBCL cells through added thrombin, Vorapaxar, Recombinant hirudin (RH), or Na₂S₂O₄ and co-culture with EA.hy926. And built DLBCL mice observed tumor growth. Detecting the expression of related genes by RT-qPCR, Western blot, IHC, and immunofluorescence, measured the cellular hypoxia with Hypoxyprobe-1 Kit, and estimated the cell inflammatory factors, proliferation, migration, invasion, and apoptosis by ELISA, CCK-8, flow cytometry, wound-healing and Transwell. Co-immunoprecipitation and pull-down measurement were used to verify the relationship. PAR-1 was highly expressed in DLBCL tissues and cells, especially in SUDHL2. Na₂S₂O₄ induced SUDHL2 hypoxia, and PAR-1 did not influence thrombin-activated hypoxia. PAR-1 could promote SUDHL2 proliferation, migration, and invasion, and it was unrelated to cellular hypoxia. PAR-1 promoted proliferation, migration, and angiogenesis of EA.hy926 or SUDHL2 through up-regulation vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). RH inhibited tumor growth, cell proliferation, and migration, promoted apoptosis of DLBCL, and inhibited angiogenesis by down-regulating PAR-1-VEGF. RH inhibits proliferation, migration, and angiogenesis of DLBCL cells by down-regulating PAR-1-VEGF.