Investigation of cell cytotoxic activity and molecular mechanism of 5ß,19-epoxycucurbita-6,23(E)-diene-3ß,19(R),25-triol isolated from Momordica charantia on hepatoma cells.

CONTEXT: Momordica charantia L. (Cucurbitaceae), known as bitter melon, is an edible fruit cultivated in the tropics. In this study, an active compound, 5ß,19-epoxycucurbita-6,23(E)-diene-3ß,19(R),25-triol (ECDT), isolated from M. charantia was investigated in regard to its cytotoxic effect on human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. OBJECTIVE: To examine the mechanisms of ECDT-induced apoptosis in HCC cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The inhibitive activity of ECDT on HA22T HCC cells was examined by MTT assay, colony formation assay, wound healing assay, TUNEL/DAPI staining, annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate/propidium iodide (PI) staining and JC-1 dye. HA22T cells were treated with ECDT (5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 µM) for 24 h, and the molecular mechanism of cells apoptosis was examined by Western blot. Cells treated with vehicle DMSO were used as the negative control. RESULTS: ECDT inhibited the cell proliferation of HA22T cells in a dose-dependent manner. Flow cytometry showed that ECDT treatment at 10-20 µM increased early apoptosis by 10-14% and late apoptosis by 2-5%. Western blot revealed that ECDT treatment activated the mitochondrial-dependent apoptotic pathway, and ECDT-induced apoptosis was mediated by the caspase signalling pathway and activation of JNK and p38MAPK. Pre-treatment of cells with MAPK inhibitors (SB203580 or SP600125) reversed the ECDT-induced cell death, which further supported the involvement of the p38MAPK and JNK pathways. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicated that ECDT can induce apoptosis through the p38MAPK and JNK pathways in HA22T cells. The findings suggested that ECDT has a valuable anticancer property with the potential to be developed as a new chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of HCC.

(+)-Bornyl p-Coumarate Extracted from Stem of Piper betle Induced Apoptosis and Autophagy in Melanoma Cells.

(+)-Bornyl p-coumarate is an active substance that is abundant in the Piper betle stem and has been shown to possess bioactivity against bacteria and a strong antioxidative effect. In the current study, we examined the actions of (+)-bornyl p-coumarate against A2058 and A375 melanoma cells. The inhibition effects of (+)-bornyl p-coumarate on these cell lines were assessed by 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5- diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and the underlying mechanisms were identified by immunostaining, flow cytometry and western blotting of proteins associated with apoptosis and autophagy. Our results demonstrated that (+)-bornyl p-coumarate inhibited melanoma cell proliferation and caused loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, demonstrating treatment induced apoptosis. In addition, western blotting revealed that the process is mediated by caspase-dependent pathways, release of cytochrome C, activation of pro-apoptotic proteins (Bax, Bad and caspase-3/-9) and suppression of anti-apoptotic proteins (Bcl-2, Bcl-xl and Mcl-1). Also, the upregulated expressions of p-PERK, p-eIF2α, ATF4 and CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein (C/EBP)-homologous protein (CHOP) after treatment indicated that (+)-bornyl p-coumarate caused apoptosis via endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. Moreover, increased expressions of beclin-1, Atg3, Atg5, p62, LC3-I and LC3-II proteins and suppression by autophagic inhibitor 3-methyladenine (3-MA), indicated that (+)-bornyl p-coumarate triggered autophagy in the melanoma cells. In conclusion, our findings demonstrated that (+)-bornyl p-coumarate suppressed human melanoma cell growth and should be further investigated with regards to its potential use as a chemotherapy drug for the treatment of human melanoma.

Anti-α-glucosidase and Anti-dipeptidyl Peptidase-IV Activities of Extracts and Purified Compounds from Vitis thunbergii var. taiwaniana.

Ethanol extracts (Et) from the stem (S) and leaf (L) of Vitis thunbergii var. taiwaniana (VTT) were used to investigate yeast α-glucosidase and porcine kidney dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPP-IV) inhibitory activities. Both VTT-Et showed complete α-glucosidase inhibition at 0.1 mg/mL; VTT-S-Et and VTT-L-Et showed 26 and 11% DPP-IV inhibition, respectively, at 0.5 mg/mL. The VTT-Et interventions (20 and 50 mg/kg) resulted in improvements in impaired glucose tolerance of diet-induced obese rats. (+)-Hopeaphenol, (+)-vitisin A, and (-)-vitisin B were isolated from the ethyl acetate fractions of S-Et and showed yeast α-glucosidase inhibition (IC50 = 18.30, 1.22, and 1.02 µM) and porcine kidney DPP-IV inhibition (IC50 = 401, 90.75, and 15.3 µM) compared to acarbose (6.39 mM) and sitagliptin (47.35 nM), respectively. Both (+)-vitisin A and (-)-vitisin B showed mixed noncompetitive inhibition against yeast α-glucosidase and porcine kidney DPP-IV, respectively. These results proposed that VTT extracts might through inhibitions against α-glucosidase and DPP-IV improve the impaired glucose tolerance in diet-induced obese rats.

Improved N(α)-acetylated peptide enrichment following dimethyl labeling and SCX.

Protein N-terminal acetylation is one of the most common modifications occurring co- and post-translationally on either eukaryote or prokaryote proteins. However, compared to other protein modifications, the physiological role of protein N-terminal acetylation is relatively unclear. To explore the biological functions of protein N-terminal acetylation, a robust and large-scale method for qualitative and quantitative analysis of this modification is required. Enrichment of N(α)-acetylated peptides or depletion of the free N-terminal and internal tryptic peptides prior to analysis by mass spectrometry are necessary based on current technologies. This study demonstrated a simple strong cation exchange (SCX) fractionation method to selectively enrich N(α)-acetylated tryptic peptides via dimethyl labeling without the need for tedious protective labeling and depleting procedures. This method was introduced for the comprehensive analysis of N-terminal acetylated proteins from HepG2 cells. Several hundred N-terminal acetylation sites were readily identified in a single SCX flow-through fraction. Moreover, the N(α)-acetylated peptides of some protein isoforms were simultaneously observed in the SCX flow-through fraction, which indicated that this approach can be utilized to discriminate protein isoforms with very similar full sequences but different N-terminal sequences, such as ß-actin/γ-actin, ERK1/ERK2, α-centractin/ß-centractin, and ADP/ATP translocase 2 and 3. Compared to other methods, this method is relatively simple and can be directly implemented in a two-dimensional separation (SCX-RP)-mass spectrometry scheme for quantitative N-terminal proteomics using stable-isotope dimethyl labeling.

Cucurbitane-type triterpenoids from the fruit pulp of Momordica charantia.

Three new cucurbitane-type triterpenoids, 5beta,19-epoxy-23(R)-methoxycucurbita-6,24-dien-3beta-ol (1), 5beta,19-epoxy-23(S)-methoxycucurbita-6,24-dien-3beta-ol (2), and 3beta-hydroxy-23(R)-methoxycucurbita-6,24-dien-5beta,19-olide (3), were isolated from the fruit pulp of Momordica charantia. Their structures were established on the basis of extensive NMR (1H, 13C, COSY, HMQC, HMBC, and NOESY) and EI-MS studies. Compound 1 exhibited cytotoxic activity against the SK-Hep 1 cell line.

Cucurbitane triterpenoids from Momordica charantia and their cytoprotective activity in tert-butyl hydroperoxide-induced hepatotoxicity of HepG2 cells.

Two novel pentanorcucurbitane triterpenes, 22-hydroxy-23,24,25,26,27-pentanorcucurbit-5-en-3-one (1) and 3,7-dioxo-23,24,25,26,27-pentanorcucurbit-5-en-22-oic acid (2) together with a new trinorcucurbitane triterpene, 25,26,27-trinorcucurbit-5-ene-3,7,23-trione (3) were isolated from the methyl alcohol extract of the stems of Momordica charantia. The structures of the new compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic methods. Compounds 2 and 3 showed potent cytoprotective activity in tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BHP)-induced hepatotoxicity of HepG2 cells.

Octanorcucurbitane triterpenoids protect against tert-butyl hydroperoxide-induced hepatotoxicity from the stems of Momordica charantia.

Four novel octanorcucurbitane triterpenes, octanorcucurbitacins A-D (1-4), together with one known octanorcucurbitane triterpene, kuguacin M (5), were isolated from the methyl alcohol extract of the stems of Momordica charantia. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analyses. Compound 3 inhibited tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BHP)-induced hepatotoxicity against HepG2 cells.

D:C-friedooleanane-type triterpenoids from Lagenaria siceraria and their cytotoxic activity.

Four new D:C-friedooleanane-type triterpenes, 3 beta-O-(E)-feruloyl-D:C-friedooleana-7,9(11)-dien-29-ol (1), 3 beta-O-(E)-coumaroyl-D:C-friedooleana-7,9(11)-dien-29-ol (2), 3 beta-O-(E)-coumaroyl-D:C-friedooleana-7,9(11)-dien-29-oic acid (3), and methyl 2 beta,3 beta-dihydroxy-D:C-friedoolean-8-en-29-oate (6), together with five known triterpenes with the same skeleton, 3-epikarounidiol (4), 3-oxo-D:C-friedoolena-7,9(11)-dien-29-oic acid (5), bryonolol (7), bryononic acid (8), and 20-epibryonolic acid (9), were isolated from the methanol extract of the stems of Lagenaria siceraria. The structures of those compounds were elucidated using spectroscopic methods. Compounds 3 and 9 showed significant cytotoxic activity against the SK-Hep 1 cell line with IC50 values of 4.8 and 2.1 microg/ml, respectively. Based on these initially promising results, the two D:C-friedooleanane triterpenes merit further study as potential anticancer agents.