Characterization of cinnamate 4-hydroxylase (CYP73A) and p-coumaroyl 3'-hydroxylase (CYP98A) from Leucojum aestivum, a source of Amaryllidaceae alkaloids.

Biosynthesis of Amaryllidaceae alkaloids (AA) starts with the condensation of tyramine with 3,4-dihydroxybenzaldehyde. The latter derives from the phenylpropanoid pathway that involves modifications of trans-cinnamic acid, p-coumaric acid, caffeic acid, and possibly 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde, all potentially catalyzed by hydroxylase enzymes. Leveraging bioinformatics, molecular biology techniques, and cell biology tools, this research identifies and characterizes key enzymes from the phenylpropanoid pathway in Leucojum aestivum. Notably, we focused our work on trans-cinnamate 4-hydroxylase (LaeC4H) and p-coumaroyl shikimate/quinate 3'-hydroxylase (LaeC3'H), two key cytochrome P450 enzymes, and on the ascorbate peroxidase/4-coumarate 3-hydroxylase (LaeAPX/C3H). Although LaeAPX/C3H consumed p-coumaric acid, it did not result in the production of caffeic acid. Yeasts expressing LaeC4H converted trans-cinnamate to p-coumaric acid, whereas LaeC3'H catalyzed specifically the 3-hydroxylation of p-coumaroyl shikimate, rather than of free p-coumaric acid or 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde. In vivo assays conducted in planta in this study provided further evidence for the contribution of these enzymes to the phenylpropanoid pathway. Both enzymes demonstrated typical endoplasmic reticulum membrane localization in Nicotiana benthamiana adding spatial context to their functions. Tissue-specific gene expression analysis revealed roots as hotspots for phenylpropanoid-related transcripts and bulbs as hubs for AA biosynthetic genes, aligning with the highest AAs concentration. This investigation adds valuable insights into the phenylpropanoid pathway within Amaryllidaceae, laying the foundation for the development of sustainable production platforms for AAs and other bioactive compounds with diverse applications.

Relative expression of putative genes involved in galanthamine and other Amaryllidaceae alkaloids biosynthesis in Narcissus field and in vitro tissues.

The Narcissus pseudonarcissus cv. Carlton contains Amaryllidaceae alkaloids namely galanthamine, lycorine, homolycorine, narciclasine, which are noted for their pharmaceutical properties such as for the treatment of early to mid-stage Alzheimer's diseases, cancer, tumor etc. Alkaloid biosynthesis using plant in vitro systems has been considered as a tool for drug discovery and the pathways are starting to be understood but still far from complete. Therefore, the study was emphasized to observe the relative expressions of putative genes involved in the biosynthetic pathway leading to the Amaryllidaceae alkaloids in field grown bulbs and developing cell culture systems in Narcissus. MS media fortified with growth regulators were used for the development of tissue culture from Carlton twin-scale explants. MS medium with high auxin, 20 mg/l NAA was the best medium for callus growth and maintenance while media with low auxin, 4 mg/l NAA and MS basal media gave the maximum bulblets. Field tissues showed a higher amount of galanthamine content; i.e. basal plate (1050-1310 µg Gal/g FW) and bulb (980-1150 µg Gal/g FW) than the culture derived samples; callus (1.0-7.0 µg Gal/g FW) and bulblets (12-215 µg Gal/g FW) on a fresh weight (FW) basis. GC-MS chromatograms of samples under study also showed the presence of other important alkaloids i.e. lycorine, homolycorine, lycorenine, haemanthamine, crinamine, lycoramine and tazettine. RNA extracted from in vitro callus, bulblets and field grown bulb, basal plate were used for PCR to detect the relative expression of putative genes; P450, PAL, TYDC and NpO4OMT normalized to actin. The selected transcripts for P450s and TYDC were expressed in both field and in vitro tissues. Higher expressions of PAL were observed in calli than field samples. The expression of NpN4OMT was notably higher in field samples than in vitro tissues. Therefore, in vitro tissues could be a good source for the reproducible and easy extraction of alkaloids from plants.

Biosynthesis and Biological Activities of Newly Discovered Amaryllidaceae Alkaloids.

Alkaloids are an important group of specialized nitrogen metabolites with a wide range of biochemical and pharmacological effects. Since the first publication on lycorine in 1877, more than 650 alkaloids have been extracted from Amaryllidaceae bulbous plants and clustered together as the Amaryllidaceae alkaloids (AAs) family. AAs are specifically remarkable for their diverse pharmaceutical properties, as exemplified by the success of galantamine used to treat the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. This review addresses the isolation, biological, and structure activity of AAs discovered from January 2015 to August 2020, supporting their therapeutic interest.

The versatile O-methyltransferase LrOMT catalyzes multiple O-methylation reactions in amaryllidaceae alkaloids biosynthesis.

Amaryllidaceae alkaloids are unique benzylphenethylamine derivatives that comprise of more than 600 members with a huge chemical diversity. Most of them showed interesting bioactivities, for instance, galanthamine (GAL) is clinically used for Alzheimer's disease treatment. All Amaryllidaceae alkaloids had been thought to be derived from 4'-O-methylnorbelladine originated from norbelladine catalyzed by norbelladine 4'-O-methyltransferase (N4OMT). Herein we mined the transcriptome datasets of Lycoris radiata, a GAL-producing plant. LrOMT was cloned, overexpressed in Escherichia coli, and purified to homogeneity. Bioinformatics analysis and enzymatic activity assays revealed that LrOMT is an S-adenosylmethionine-dependent Class I OMT. LrOMT exhibited both para- and meta-O-methylation activities toward norbelladine to give 4'- and 3'-O-methylnorbelladine. Twenty-four analogues, including the proposed biosynthetic intermediates, were introduced to investigate the substrate scope of LrOMT and it showed that the aromatic substrates should have two vicinal hydroxyl groups. The LrOMT-catalyzed O-methylation preference is dependent on the properties of the binding group of the substrates. The transcription levels of LrOMT were positively associated with the accumulation of the Amaryllidaceae alkaloids and the biosynthetic intermediates in L. radiata. The present work revealed that LrOMT catalyzes multiple O-methylation reactions and its characterization will be helpful to uncover novel biosynthetic genes for Amaryllidaceae alkaloids biosynthesis.

Pancratistatin Inhibits the Growth of Colorectal Cancer Cells by Inducing Apoptosis, Autophagy, and G2/M Cell Cycle Arrest.

BACKGROUND Worldwide, colorectal cancer is ranked as the third most prevalent cancer. The natural compound, pancratistatin, extracted from the spider lily, has previously been shown to target apoptosis in cancer cells lines. This study aimed to investigate the effects of pancratistatin in human colorectal cancer cells in vitro. MATERIAL AND METHODS Human colorectal cancer cell lines, including HTC-15 cells, were compared with a normal human colonic fibroblast cell line, CDD-18Co. Cells were treated with increasing doses of pancratistatin. The MTT assay was used to assess cell viability. Fluorescence microscopy using DAPI and Annexin-V/propidium iodide (PI) was used to detect cell apoptosis. Cell autophagy was detected by electron microscopy. Cell migration was evaluated using a wound healing assay, and Western blot determined the expression levels of cell cycle proteins. RESULTS Pancratistatin inhibited the growth of the colorectal cancer cells with an IC50 ranging from 15-25 µM, but had a limited effect in normal CCD-18Co cells, with an IC50 of >100 µM. Pancratistatin reduced HCT-15 cell migration. Growth inhibition due to pancratistatin was associated with morphological changes of HCT-15 cells and included autophagy and apoptosis, and increased expression the autophagic proteins, LC3II, beclin-1, and Bax. Pancratistatin induced arrest of HCT-15 cells at G2/M of the cell cycle and inhibited phosphorylation of cdc2/cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1) and Cdc25c and the expression of cyclin B1. CONCLUSIONS Pancratistatin inhibited the growth of colorectal cancer cells in vitro by inducing apoptosis, autophagy, and G2/M cell cycle arrest.

Cell cycle modulatory effects of Amaryllidaceae alkaloids.

The birth, growth, proliferation and death of cells involve a rigorous and continuous process in place to ensure the survival of living organisms. The cell cycle prevails at the core of this process to facilitate the division of a parent cell as well as the duplication of its genetic matter. Although checkpoints exist to steer the course of a cell from one phase to the other, malfunctions at any point of the four active phases of the cell cycle can have detrimental effects. Cancer is thought to be a consequence of such a malfunction in the cell cycle which endows a cell with enhanced replicative potential, immunity to anti-growth signals and the ability to evade apoptosis. This characteristic has been exploited in cancer chemotherapy since a significant number of anticancer drugs manifest their action via cell cycle modulatory effects. The plant family Amaryllidaceae is distinguished for its alkaloid principles which exhibit potent (at the sub-nanomolar level in some cases) and cell line specific antiproliferative activities, with apoptosis induction a key feature of these properties. As a consequence there has been sustained interest in these chemical entities as a source of new anticancer drugs. This has been matched by the large body of work that has emerged over the past two decades addressing their cytotoxic potential, establishing a structure-activity relationship basis as well as probing their mode of action. This review focuses on studies which highlight how Amaryllidaceae alkaloids modulate the cell cycle of cancer cells.

Lycorine Induces Apoptosis of A549 Cells via AMPK-Mammalian Target of Rapamycin (mTOR)-S6K Signaling Pathway.

BACKGROUND This study was designed to investigate the effect of lycorine (LY) on the AMPK-mTOR-S6K signaling pathway and to clarify its role in autophagy and apoptosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS Various concentrations of LY were used to treat non-small cell lung carcinoma A549 cells. The MTT assay was used to measure cell viability and acridine orange staining was used to detect cell morphology changes. Western blot analysis was used to test the effect of LY on the expression levels of LC3, caspase 3, and other proteins involved in the AMPK-mTOR-S6K signaling pathway. RESULTS The half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of LY after 24-h treatment was 8.5 µM, with stronger inhibitory effect of 24-h LY treatment over 12-h LY treatment. Morphological observation showed that lower doses (4 µM and 8 µM) of LY treatment induced A549 cell death mainly caused by autophagy, whereas the higher dose (16 µM) of LY treatment induced A549 cell death, mainly caused by apoptosis. Furthermore, 8 µM LY caused the highest conversion of LC3-II from LC3-I. All LY treatments activated caspase-3. LY treatment also promoted AMPK phosphorylation (Thr172) and inhibited the phosphorylation of mTOR and S6K. CONCLUSIONS LY induced apoptosis of A549 cells by regulating the AMPK-mTOR-S6K signaling pathway. Lower levels (4~8 µM) of LY-induced autophagy contributed to LY-induced apoptosis.

Narciclasine - an Amaryllidaceae Alkaloid with Potent Antitumor and Anti-Inflammatory Properties.

The isocarbostyril alkaloid narciclasine, also known as lycoricidinol, was discovered in Narcissus species (Amaryllidaceae) in 1967. A few years later, the 60S subunit of ribosomes, and thus protein biosynthesis, were shown to be directly targeted by narciclasine. Due to its selective and highly potent cytotoxic action on cancer cells, narciclasine was intensively investigated as an antitumor compound both in vitro and in vivo. However, narciclasine did not show a strong pharmacological activity in animal tumor models. During the last decade, new fascinating actions, mechanisms, and targets of narciclasine have emerged. This review intends to present a brief but comprehensive overview of these novel insights. Beneficial therapeutical actions have been reported particularly in brain tumor models. The translation elongation factor eEF1A, which does not only participate in protein biosynthesis but also in the regulation of the actin cytoskeleton, was discovered as new direct target. Moreover, narciclasine was found to trigger actin stress fiber formation via the activation of the small GTPase RhoA. Progress has also been made regarding the pharmacokinetic characterization of the alkaloid. The synthesis of a great number of narciclasine derivatives led to a substantial understanding of its pharmacophore and of the structure-activity relationships. However, an optimized compound did not result from these efforts. Most importantly, a new field of indication has emerged: Narciclasine was proven to exert profound anti-inflammatory actions in vivo. Taken together, there has been a strong advance in the preclinical knowledge about the alkaloid. Nevertheless, narciclasine has not been tested in human clinical trials up to now.

Identification of a Noroxomaritidine Reductase with Amaryllidaceae Alkaloid Biosynthesis Related Activities.

Amaryllidaceae alkaloids are a large group of plant natural products with over 300 documented structures and diverse biological activities. Several groups of Amaryllidaceae alkaloids including the hemanthamine- and crinine-type alkaloids show promise as anticancer agents. Two reduction reactions are required for the production of these compounds: the reduction of norcraugsodine to norbelladine and the reduction of noroxomaritidine to normaritidine, with the enantiomer of noroxomaritidine dictating whether the derivatives will be the crinine-type or hemanthamine-type. It is also possible for the carbon-carbon double bond of noroxomaritidine to be reduced, forming the precursor for maritinamine or elwesine depending on the enantiomer reduced to an oxomaritinamine product. In this study, a short chain alcohol dehydrogenase/reductase that co-expresses with the previously discovered norbelladine 4'-O-methyltransferase from Narcissus sp. and Galanthus spp. was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli Biochemical analyses and x-ray crystallography indicates that this protein functions as a noroxomaritidine reductase that forms oxomaritinamine from noroxomaritidine through a carbon-carbon double bond reduction. The enzyme also reduces norcraugsodine to norbelladine with a 400-fold lower specific activity. These studies identify a missing step in the biosynthesis of this pharmacologically important class of plant natural products.

Towards a molecular understanding of the biosynthesis of amaryllidaceae alkaloids in support of their expanding medical use.

The alkaloids characteristically produced by the subfamily Amaryllidoideae of the Amaryllidaceae, bulbous plant species that include well know genera such as Narcissus (daffodils) and Galanthus (snowdrops), are a source of new pharmaceutical compounds. Presently, only the Amaryllidaceae alkaloid galanthamine, an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor used to treat symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, is produced commercially as a drug from cultivated plants. However, several Amaryllidaceae alkaloids have shown great promise as anti-cancer drugs, but their further clinical development is restricted by their limited commercial availability. Amaryllidaceae species have a long history of cultivation and breeding as ornamental bulbs, and phytochemical research has focussed on the diversity in alkaloid content and composition. In contrast to the available pharmacological and phytochemical data, ecological, physiological and molecular aspects of the Amaryllidaceae and their alkaloids are much less explored and the identity of the alkaloid biosynthetic genes is presently unknown. An improved molecular understanding of Amaryllidaceae alkaloid biosynthesis would greatly benefit the rational design of breeding programs to produce cultivars optimised for the production of pharmaceutical compounds and enable biotechnology based approaches.

Metabolic studies of the Amaryllidaceous alkaloids galantamine and lycorine based on electrochemical simulation in addition to in vivo and in vitro models.

Alkaloids from the plant family of Amaryllidaceae, such as galantamine (GAL) and lycorine (LYC), are known to exhibit numerous promising biological and pharmacological activities like antibacterial, antiviral or anti-inflammatory effects. Nonetheless, studies on the biotransformation pathway are rare for this substance class, unless approval for use as medication exists. While GAL has become a prescription drug used to alleviate and delay the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, LYC exhibits potential antitumor properties. However, it has also been linked to toxic effects resulting in nausea and emesis. Whereas there are few publications available describing the metabolic pathway of GAL in animals and humans, the metabolism of LYC is unknown. Therefore, this study is concerned with the investigation of the oxidative metabolism of GAL and LYC, which was achieved by means of three different approaches: electrochemical (EC) simulation coupled on-line to liquid chromatography (LC) with electrospray mass spectrometric (ESI-MS) detection was applied in addition to in vivo experiments in beagle dog analyzing plasma (BP) and in vitro incubations with rat liver microsomes (RLM). This way, it should be investigated if electrochemistry can be used to predict the oxidative metabolism of alkaloids. For GAL, the EC model was capable of predicting most metabolites observed during microsomal and plasma studies, including N-demethylated, dehydrogenated and oxygenated products or a combination of these. LYC was found to be metabolized far less than GAL in the animal-based approaches, but several EC oxidation products were generated. Some principal metabolic routes could successfully be correlated for this alkaloid as well, comprising dehydrogenation, dehydration to ungeremine and oxygenation reactions.

Lycorine and its derivatives for anticancer drug design.

Amaryllidaceae alkaloids are extensively studied for their biological activities in several pharmaceutical areas, including, for example, Alzheimer's disease for which galanthamine has already reached the market. Among this chemical family, lycorine displays very promising anti-tumor properties. This review first focuses on the chemical diversity of natural and synthetic analogues of lycorine and their metabolites, and then on mechanisms of action and biological targets through which lycorine and its derivatives display their anti-tumor activity. Our analysis of the structure-activity relationships of this family of compounds highlights the existence of various potential leads for the development of novel anticancer agents.