Panaxadiol carbamate derivatives: Synthesis and biological evaluation as potential multifunctional anti-Alzheimer agents.

It is reported that panaxadiol has neuroprotective effects. Previous studies have found that compound with carbamate structure introduced at the 3-OH position of 20 (R) -panaxadiol showed the most effective neuroprotective activity with an EC50 of 13.17 µM. Therefore, we designed and synthesized a series of ginseng diol carbamate derivatives with ginseng diol as the lead compound, and tested their anti-AD activity. It was found that the protective effect of compound Q4 on adrenal pheochromocytoma was 80.6 ±â€¯10.85 % (15 µM), and the EC50 was 4.32 µM. According to the ELISA results, Q4 reduced the expression of Aß25-35 by decreasing ß-secretase production. Molecular docking studies revealed that the binding affinity of Q4 to ß-secretase was -49.67 kcal/mol, indicating a strong binding affinity of Q4 to ß-secretase. Western blotting showed that compound Q4 decreased IL-1ß levels, which may contribute to its anti-inflammatory effect. Furthermore, compound Q4 exhibits anti-AD activities by reducing abnormal phosphorylation of tau protein and activation of the mitogen activated protein kinase pathway. The learning and memory deficits in mice treated with Q4in vivo were significantly alleviated. Therefore, Q4 may be a promising multifunctional drug for the treatment of AD, providing a new way for anti-AD drugs.

Bioactivities and Structure-Activity Relationships of Maslinic Acid Derivatives: A Review.

Maslinic acid has a variety of biological activities, such as anti-tumor, hypoglycemic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-parasitic. In order to enhance the biological activity of maslinic acid, scholars have carried out a lot of structural modifications, and found some more valuable maslinic acid derivatives. In this paper, the structural modification, biological activity, and structure-activity relationship of maslinic acid were reviewed, providing references for the development of maslinic acid.

Synthesis and structure-activity relationship studies of fusidic acid derivatives as anti-inflammatory agents for acute lung injury.

Acute lung injury (ALI) are severe forms of diffuse lung disease that impose a substantial health burden all over the world. In the United States, approximately 190,000 cases per year of ALI each year, with an associated 74,500 deaths per year. Anti-inflammatory therapy has become a reasonable approach for the treatment of patients with ALI. In this study, fusidic acid derivatives were used to design new anti-inflammatory compounds with high pharmacological activity and low toxicity. A total of 30 new fusidic acid derivatives were discovered, synthesized, and screened for their anti-inflammatory activity against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated RAW264.7 cells. Of them, b2 was found to be the most active, with a higher efficiency compared with fusidic acid and celecoxib in 10 µM. In vitro, we further measured b2 inhibited inflammatory factor NO (IC50 = 5.382 ± 0.655 µM), IL-6 (IC50 = 7.767 ± 0.871 µM), and TNF-α (IC50 = 7.089 ± 0.775 µM) and b2 inhibited inflammatory cytokines COX-2 and iNOS, ROS production, NF-κB/MAPK and Bax/Bcl-2 signaling pathway pathway. In vivo,b2 attenuated ALI pathological changes and inhibited inflammatory cytokines COX-2 and iNOS in lung tissue and NF-κB/MAPK and Bax/Bcl-2 signaling pathway. In conclusion, b2 may be a promising anti-inflammatory lead compound.

Research progress of natural products and their derivatives against Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD), a persistent neurological dysfunction, has an increasing prevalence with the aging of the world and seriously threatens the health of the elderly. Although there is currently no effective treatment for AD, researchers have not given up, and are committed to exploring the pathogenesis of AD and possible therapeutic drugs. Natural products have attracted considerable attention owing to their unique advantages. One molecule can interact with multiple AD-related targets, thus having the potential to be developed in a multi-target drug. In addition, they are amenable to structural modifications to increase interaction and decrease toxicity. Therefore, natural products and their derivatives that ameliorate pathological changes in AD should be intensively and extensively studied. This review mainly presents research on natural products and their derivatives for the treatment of AD.

Application of the Mannich reaction in the structural modification of natural products.

The Mannich reaction is commonly used to introduce N atoms into compound molecules and is thus widely applied in drug synthesis. The Mannich reaction accounts for a certain proportion of structural modifications of natural products. The introduction of Mannich bases can significantly improve the activity, hydrophilicity, and medicinal properties of compounds; therefore, the Mannich reaction is widely used for the structural modification of natural products. In this paper, the application of the Mannich reaction to the structural modification of natural products is reviewed, providing a method for the structural modification of natural products.

Natural Products-Pyrazine Hybrids: A Review of Developments in Medicinal Chemistry.

Pyrazine is a six-membered heterocyclic ring containing nitrogen, and many of its derivatives are biologically active compounds. References have been downloaded through Web of Science, PubMed, Science Direct, and SciFinder Scholar. The structure, biological activity, and mechanism of natural product derivatives containing pyrazine fragments reported from 2000 to September 2023 were reviewed. Publications reporting only the chemistry of pyrazine derivatives are beyond the scope of this review and have not been included. The results of research work show that pyrazine-modified natural product derivatives have a wide range of biological activities, including anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antibacterial, antiparasitic, and antioxidant activities. Many of these derivatives exhibit stronger pharmacodynamic activity and less toxicity than their parent compounds. This review has a certain reference value for the development of heterocyclic compounds, especially pyrazine natural product derivatives.

Application of Quinoline Ring in Structural Modification of Natural Products.

Natural compounds are rich in pharmacological properties that are a hot topic in pharmaceutical research. The quinoline ring plays important roles in many biological processes in heterocycles. Many pharmacological compounds, including saquinavir and chloroquine, have been marketed as quinoline molecules with good anti-viral and anti-parasitic properties. Therefore, in this review, we summarize the medicinal chemistry of quinoline-modified natural product quinoline derivatives that were developed by several research teams in the past 10 years and find that these compounds have inhibitory effects on bacteria, viruses, parasites, inflammation, cancer, Alzheimer's disease, and others.

Whole-genome resequencing of wild and cultivated cannabis reveals the genetic structure and adaptive selection of important traits.

BACKGROUND: Cannabis is an important industrial crop species whose fibre, seeds, flowers and leaves are widely used by humans. The study of cannabinoids extracted from plants has been popular research topic in recent years. China is one of the origins of cannabis and one of the few countries with wild cannabis plants. However, the genetic structure of Chinese cannabis and the degree of adaptive selection remain unclear. RESULTS: The main morphological characteristics of wild cannabis in China were assessed. Based on whole-genome resequencing SNPs, Chinese cannabis could be divided into five groups in terms of geographical source and ecotype: wild accessions growing in the northwestern region; wild accessions growing in the northeastern region; cultivated accessions grown for fibre in the northeastern region; cultivated accessions grown for seed in northwestern region, and cultivated accessions in southwestern region. We further identified genes related to flowering time, seed germination, seed size, embryogenesis, growth, and stress responses selected during the process of cannabis domestication. The expression of flowering-related genes under long-day (LD) and short-day (SD) conditions showed that Chinese cultivated cannabis is adapted to different photoperiods through the regulation of Flowering locus T-like (FT-like) expression. CONCLUSION: This study clarifies the genetic structure of Chinese cannabis and offers valuable genomic resources for cannabis breeding.

Arctigenin: pharmacology, total synthesis, and progress in structure modification.

Arctium lappa L. is a prevalent medicinal herb and a health supplement that is commonly used in Asia. Over the last few decades, the bioactive component arctigenin has attracted the attention of researchers because of its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, immunomodulatory, multiple sclerosis fighting, antitumor, and anti-leukemia properties. After summarising the research and literature on arctigenin, this study outlines the current status of research on pharmacological activity, total synthesis, and structural modification of arctigenin. The purpose of this study is to assist academics in obtaining a more comprehensive understanding of the research progress on arctigenin and to provide constructive suggestions for further investigation of this useful molecule.

Application of triazoles in the structural modification of natural products.

Nature products have been extensively used in the discovery and development of new drugs, as the most important source of drugs. The triazole ring is one of main pharmacophore of the nitrogen-containing heterocycles. Thus, a new class of triazole-containing natural product conjugates has been synthesised. These compounds reportedly exert anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antiparasitic, antiviral, antioxidant, anti-Alzheimer, and enzyme inhibitory effects. This review summarises the research progress of triazole-containing natural product derivatives involved in medicinal chemistry in the past six years. This review provides insights and perspectives that will help scientists in the fields of organic synthesis, medicinal chemistry, phytochemistry, and pharmacology.

Piperazine skeleton in the structural modification of natural products: a review.

Piperazine moiety is a cyclic molecule containing two nitrogen atoms in positions 1 and 4, as well as four carbon atoms. Piperazine is one of the most sought heterocyclics for the development of new drug candidates with a wide range of applications. Over 100 molecules with a broad range of bioactivities, including antitumor, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and other activities, were reviewed. This article reviewed investigations regarding piperazine groups for the modification of natural product derivatives in the last decade, highlighting parameters that affect their biological activity.

Exosomes: Potential Therapies for Disease via Regulating TLRs.

Exosomes are small membrane vesicles that retain various substances such as proteins, nucleic acids, and small RNAs. Exosomes play crucial roles in many physiological and pathological processes, including innate immunity. Innate immunity is an important process that protects the organism through activating pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), which then can induce inflammatory factors to resist pathogen invasion. Toll-like receptor (TLR) is one member of PRRs and is important in pathogen clearance and nervous disease development. Although exosomes and TLRs are two independent materials, abundant evidences imply exosomes can regulate innate immunity through integrating with TLRs. Herein, we review the most recent data regarding exosome regulation of TLR pathways. Specifically, exosome-containing materials can regulate TLR pathways through the interaction with TLRs. This is a new strategy regulating immunity to resist pathogens and therapy diseases, which provide a potential method to cure diseases.

Effects of Decabromodiphenyl Ether and Elevated Carbon Dioxide on Rice (Oryza sativa L.).

We assessed the effects of carbon dioxide (CO2) and decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209, 0, 3 and 30 mg/kg) on rice (Oryza sativa L. cv. Wuyunjing) in field free-air CO2 enrichment system. Rice at elevated (580 ppm) CO2 had increased net photosynthetic rate, intercellular CO2 concentration, shoot biomass, yield and phosphorus content in grains. However, there were no significant changes in such parameters observed on rice at elevated CO2 combined with BDE-209 (3 and 30 mg/kg). Elevated CO2 alone had no significant effects on sugar or starch content in rice grains, whereas its combination with BDE-209 (3 mg/kg) significantly decreased grain sugar and starch content. In conclusion, rice reared in soil polluted by BDE-209 under elevated CO2 modulates the effects in grain feature.

Transcriptome Reveals the Rice Response to Elevated Free Air CO2 Concentration and TiO2 Nanoparticles.

Increasing CO2 levels are speculated to change the effects of engineered nanomaterials in soil and on plant growth. How plants will respond to a combination of elevated CO2 and nanomaterials stress has rarely been investigated, and the underlying mechanism remains largely unknown. Here, we conducted a field experiment to investigate the rice (Oryza sativa L. cv. IIyou) response to TiO2 nanoparticles (nano-TiO2, 0 and 200 mg kg-1) using a free-air CO2 enrichment system with different CO2 levels (ambient ∼370 µmol mol-1 and elevated ∼570 µmol mol-1). The results showed that elevated CO2 or nano-TiO2 alone did not significantly affect rice chlorophyll content and antioxidant enzyme activities. However, in the presence of nano-TiO2, elevated CO2 significantly enhanced the rice height, shoot biomass, and panicle biomass (by 9.4%, 12.8%, and 15.8%, respectively). Furthermore, the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analysis revealed that genes involved in photosynthesis were up-regulated while most genes associated with secondary metabolite biosynthesis were down-regulated in combination-treated rice. This indicated that elevated CO2 and nano-TiO2 might stimulate rice growth by adjusting resource allocation between photosynthesis and metabolism. This study provides novel insights into rice responses to increasing contamination under climate change.

Human single follicle growth in vitro from cryopreserved ovarian tissue after slow freezing or vitrification.

STUDY QUESTION: What is the effect of human ovarian tissue cryopreservation on single follicular development in vitro? SUMMARY ANSWER: Vitrification had a greater negative effect on growth and gene expression of human ovarian follicles when compared with fresh follicles. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: For human ovarian cortex cryopreservation, the conventional option is slow freezing while more recently vitrification has been demonstrated to maintain good quality and function of ovarian tissues. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION: Ovarian tissues were collected from 11 patients. For every patient, the ovarian cortex was divided into three samples: Fresh, slow-rate freezing (Slow) and vitrification (Vit). Tissue histology was performed and follicles were isolated for single-cell mRNA analysis and in vitro culture (IVC) in 1% alginate for 8 days. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS: Follicle morphology was assessed with hematoxylin-eosin analysis. Follicles were individually embedded in alginate (1% w/v) and cultured in vitro for 8 days. Follicle survival and growth were assessed by microscopy. Follicle viability was observed after Calcein-AM and ethidium homodimer-I (Ca-AM/EthD-I) staining. Expression of genes, including GDF9 (growth differentiation factor 9), BMP15 (bone morphogenetic protein 15) and ZP3 (zona pellucida glycoprotein 3) in oocytes and AMH (anti-Mullerian hormone), FSHR (FSH receptor), CYP11A (cholesterol side-chain cleavage cytochrome P450) and STAR (steroidogenic acute regulatory protein) in GCs, was evaluated by single-cell mRNA analysis. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE: A total of 129 follicles were separated from ovarian cortex (Fresh n = 44; Slow n = 40; Vit n = 45). The percentage of damaged oocytes and granulosa cells was significantly higher in both the Slow and Vit groups, as compared with Fresh control (P< 0.05). The growth of follicles in vitro was significantly delayed in the Vit group compared with the Fresh group (P< 0.05). Both slow freezing (P< 0.05) and vitrification (P< 0.05) down-regulated the mRNA levels of ZP3 and CYP11A compared with Fresh group, while there was no significant difference between the Slow and Vit groups (P> 0.05). Vitrification also down-regulates AMH mRNA levels compared with Fresh group (P< 0.05). LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION: Only short-term IVC studies (8 days) are reported. Further study should be performed to examine and improve follicular development in a long-term culture system after cryopreservation. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS: This is the first comparison of gene expression and growth of single human ovarian follicles in vitro after either slow freezing or vitrification. With the decreased gene expression and growth during IVC, damage by cryopreservation still exists and needs to be minimized during the long-term IVC of follicles in the future for eventual clinical application. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTERESTS: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31230047, 81571386, 81471508, 31429004 and 81501247), National Natural Science Foundation of Beijing (7142166) and Mega-projects of Science Research for the 12th five-year plan (2012ba132b05). There are no conflicts of interest to declare.

Basic fibroblast growth factor promotes the development of human ovarian early follicles during growth in vitro.

STUDY QUESTION: What is the effect of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) on the growth of individual early human follicles in a three-dimensional (3D) culture system in vitro? SUMMARY ANSWER: The addition of 200 ng bFGF/ml improves human early follicle growth, survival and viability during growth in vitro. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: It has been demonstrated that bFGF enhances primordial follicle development in human ovarian tissue culture. However, the growth and survival of individual early follicles in encapsulated 3D culture have not been reported. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION: The maturation in vitro of human ovarian follicles was investigated. Ovarian tissue (n= 11) was obtained from 11 women during laparoscopic surgery for gynecological disease, after obtaining written informed consent. One hundred and fifty-four early follicles were isolated by enzymic digestion and mechanical disruption. They were individually encapsulated into alginate (1% w/v) and randomly assigned to be cultured with 0, 100, 200 or 300 ng bFGF/ml for 8 days. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS: Individual follicles were cultured in minimum essential medium α (αMEM) supplemented with bFGF. Follicle survival and growth were assessed by microscopy. Follicle viability was evaluated under confocal laser scanning microscope following Calcein-AM and Ethidium homodimer-I (Ca-AM/EthD-I) staining. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE: After 8 days in culture, all 154 follicles had increased in size. The diameter and survival rate of the follicles and the percentage with good viability were significantly higher in the group cultured with 200 ng bFGF/ml than in the group without bFGF (P < 0.05). The percentage of follicles in the pre-antral stage was significantly higher in the 200 ng bFGF/ml group than in the group without bFGF (P < 0.05), while the percentages of primordial and primary follicles were significantly lower (P < 0.05). LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION: The study focuses on the effect of bFGF on the development of individual human early follicles in 3D culture in vitro and has limited ability to reveal the specific effect of bFGF at each different stage. The findings highlight the need to improve the acquisition and isolation of human ovarian follicles. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS: The in vitro 3D culture of human follicles with appropriate dosage of bFGF offers an effective method to investigate their development. Moreover, it allows early follicles to be cultured to an advanced stage and therefore has the potential to become an important source of mature oocytes for assisted reproductive technology; particularly as an option for fertility preservation in women, including patients with cancer. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S): This work was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (2011|CB944504, 2011CB944503) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81200470, 81000275, 31230047, 8110197). There are no conflicts of interest to declare.

Discussion on the Influence of Gpx 4 Target in the Field of Cancer.

The current review was undertaken to collate data on Gpx4 inhibitors and the regulatory proteins related to Gpx4. Gpx4 plays an essential role in ferroptosis; it can be used to determine the Gpx4 as an indicator for determining tumor occurrence and as a means of treating cancer. Although there is no market for Gpx4 inhibitors, many researchers have conducted extensive research, and some compounds have entered clinical research. This article summarizes all papers related to Gpx4; hope this review can provide some new insights and ideas for researchers aiming to develop efficient and low-- toxicity Gpx4 inhibitors and provide some new ideas for cancer treatment.

Design and synthesis of forsythin derivatives as anti-inflammatory agents for acute lung injury.

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a clinically high mortality disease, which has not yet been effectively treated. The development of anti-ALI drugs is imminent. ALI can be effectively treated by inhibiting the inflammatory cascade and reducing the inflammatory response in the lung. Forsythia suspense is a common Chinese herbal medicine with significant anti-inflammatory activity. Using forsythin as the parent, 27 Forsythin derivatives were designed and synthesized, and the anti-AIL activity of these compounds was evaluated. Among them, compound B5 has the best activity to inhibit the release of IL-6, and the inhibition rate reaches 91.79% at 25 µM, which was 7.5 times that of the parent forsythin. In addition, most of the compounds have no significant cytotoxicity in vitro. Further studies showed that compound B5 had a concentration-dependent inhibitory effect on NO, IL-6 and TNF-α. And the IC50 values of compound B5 for NO and IL-6 are 10.88 µM and 4.93 µM, respectively. We also found that B5 could significantly inhibit the expression of some immune-related cytotoxic factors, including inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). In addition, B5 inhibits NF-κB/MAPK signaling pathway. In vivo experiments showed that B5 could alleviate lung inflammation in LPS-induced ALI mice and inhibit IL-6, TNF-α, COX-2 and iNOS. In summary, B5 has anti-inflammatory effects and alleviates ALI by regulating inflammatory mediators and inhibiting MAPK and NF-κB signaling pathways.

Bioactivities and Structure-Activity Relationships of Usnic Acid Derivatives: A Review.

Usnic acid has a variety of biological activities, and has been widely studied in the fields of antibacterial, immune stimulation, antiviral, antifungal, anti-inflammatory and antiparasitic. Based on this, usnic acid is used as the lead compound for structural modification. In order to enhance the biological activity and solubility of usnic acid, scholars have carried out a large number of structural modifications, and found some usnic acid derivatives to be of more potential research value. In this paper, the structural modification, biological activity and structure-activity relationship of usnic acid were reviewed to provide reference for the development of usnic acid derivatives.

CD206 modulates the role of M2 macrophages in the origin of metastatic tumors.

Tumor metastasis is a key factor affecting the life of patients with malignant tumors. For the past hundred years, scientists have focused on how to kill cancer cells and inhibit their metastasis in vivo, but few breakthroughs have been made. Here we hypothesized a novel mode for cancer metastasis. We show that the phagocytosis of apoptotic tumor cells by macrophages leads to their polarization into the M2 phenotype, and that the expression of stem cell related as well as drug resistance related genes was induced. Therefore, it appears that M2 macrophages have "defected" and have been transformed into the initial "metastatic cancer cells", and thus are the source, at least in part, of the distal tissue tumor metastasis. This assumption is supported by the presence of fused cells with characteristics of both macrophage and tumor cell observed in the peripheral blood and ascites of patients with ovarian cancer. By eliminating the expression of CD206 in M2 macrophages using siRNA, we show that the growth and metastasis of tumors was suppressed using both in vitro cell line and with experimental in vivo mouse models. In summary, we show that M2 macrophages in the blood circulation underwent a "change of loyalty" to become "cancer cells" that transformed into distal tissue metastasis, which could be suppressed by the knockdown of CD206 expression.