In-depth free fatty acids annotation of edible oil by mCPBA epoxidation and tandem mass spectrometry.

The analysis of free fatty acids (FFAs) in edible oils, especially their fine structure, can provide information for nutritional value evaluation and authentication. Here, a strategy based on epoxidation reaction by mCPBA combined with tandem MS was developed to identify and relatively quantify FFAs, including CC location isomers, which can rapidly distinguish different edible oils. Notably, low-abundant FFAs can be detected directly in the presence of high-abundant triacylglycerol (TAG) without complicated pretreatment. We identified a series of CC location isomers via mCPBA-nanoESI-MS/MS, among them, FA 24:1 (Δ13) and FA 24:1 (Δ17) were first identified in edible oils, and the predominant UFAs was FA 18:1 (Δ9), which occupies 98.35% of FA 18:1 in peanut oil while 89.68% in rapeseed oil. The results demonstrated that the proposed method could provide further in-depth CC positional information of oils, promoting the development of structural determination of fatty acids in food chemistry.

Design of novel dopamine D2 and serotonin 5-HT2A receptors dual antagonists toward schizophrenia: An integrated study with QSAR, molecular docking, virtual screening and molecular dynamics simulations.

The extrapyramidal side effects of schizophrenia treatment can be significantly reduced by simultaneously targeting dopamine D2 and serotonin 5-HT2A receptors. In this study, three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship (3D-QSAR) models of D2 receptor (CoMFA-1, q2 = 0.767, r2 = 0.969; CoMSIA-1, q2 = 0.717, r2 = 0.978) and 5-HT2A receptor antagonists (CoMFA-2, q2 = 0.703, r2 = 0.946; CoMSIA-2, q2 = 0.675, r2 = 0.916) were successfully constructed using 35 tetrahydropyridopyrimidinone derivatives. Topomer CoMFA and HQSAR models were then constructed to further validate and supplement above models. Results showed that all models had good predictive power and stability. Contour map analysis revealed that the electrostatic and hydrophobic fields played vital roles in the bioactivity of dual antagonists. Molecular docking and molecular dynamic studies also suggested that the hydrogen bonding, electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions played key roles in the formation of stable binding sites. Meanwhile, several key residues like ASP114, TRP100, PHE389 of dopamine D2 receptor and ASP134, PHE328, TRP324 of serotonin 5-HT2A receptor were identified. Based on above findings, seven compounds were obtained through bioisostere replacement and ten compounds were designed by contour map analysis, in which the predicted activity of compounds S6 and DS2 were equivalent to that of the template compound 15. 3D-QSAR and ADMET predictions indicated that all newly designed compounds had great biological activity and physicochemical properties. Moreover, based on the best pharmacophore model, four compounds (Z1, Z2, Z3 and Z4) with new backbones were obtained by virtual screening. Overall, this study could provide theoretical guidance for the structural optimization, design and synthesis of novel dopamine D2 and serotonin 5-HT2A receptors dual antagonists. Abbreviations3D-QSARThree-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship5-HT2ARSerotonin 5-hydroxytryptamine 5-HT2A receptor5-HT2CRSerotonin 5-hydroxytryptamine 5-HT2C receptor receptorCADDComputer-aided drug designCoMFAComparative molecular field analysisCoMSIAComparative molecular similarity index analysisD2RDopamine D(2) receptorGPCRG-protein coupled receptorPLSPartial least squares regressionHQSARHologram quantitative structure-activity relationship. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

4-Alkyl-5,7-dihydroxycoumarins from the flowering buds of Mesua ferrea.

Five new 4-alkyl-5,7-dihydroxycoumarins, Mesuaferol G-K (1-5), together with four known 4-alkyl-5,7-dihydroxycoumarins (6-9) were isolated from the methanol extraction of the flowering buds of Mesua ferrea by flash extraction. Their structures were established on the basis of extensive analyses of HR-ESI-MS, UV, IR and NMR methods, the absolute configurations were confirmed by the Mosher's method and circular dichroism (CD) measurement and theoretical calculation (ECD) methods. Additionally, a putative biogenetic relationship of these compounds was also proposed. The cytotoxicity of all these isolates against HepG2, MCF-7 and Hela cancer cell lines was evaluated. In MCF-7 and Hela cell lines, all compounds exhibited strong activity (IC50 in the range of 3.21-13.54 µM and 4.69-14.47 µM, respectively), while almost all compounds showed moderate cytotoxic activities against HepG2 cell lines.

Improving antitumor outcomes for palliative intratumoral injection therapy through lecithin- chitosan nanoparticles loading paclitaxel- cholesterol complex.

BACKGROUND: Intratumoral injection is a palliative treatment that aims at further improvement in the survival and quality of life of patients with advanced or recurrent carcinomas, or cancer patients with severe comorbidities or those with a poor performance status. METHODS: In this study, a solvent-injection method was used to prepare paclitaxel-cholesterol complex-loaded lecithin-chitosan nanoparticles (PTX-CH-loaded LCS_NPs) for intratumoral injection therapy, and the physicochemical properties of NPs were well characterized. RESULTS: The particle size and zeta potential of PTX-CH-loaded LCS_NPs were 142.83±0.25 nm and 13.50±0.20 mV, respectively. Release behavior of PTX from PTX-CH-loaded LCS_NPs showed a pH-sensitive pattern. The result of cell uptake assay showed that PTX-CH-loaded LCS_NPs could effectively enter cells via the energy-dependent caveolae-mediated endocytosis and macropinocytosis in company with the Golgi apparatus. Meanwhile, PTX-CH-loaded LCS_NPs had a better ability to induce cell apoptosis than PTX solution. The in vivo antitumor results suggested that PTX-CH-loaded LCS_NPs effectively inhibited mouse mammary cancer growth and metastasis to distant organs and significantly improved the survival rate of tumor-bearing mice by intratumoral administration. CONCLUSION: In general, our study demonstrated that PTX-CH-loaded LCS_NPs used for palliative treatment by intratumoral injection showed improved safety and antitumor efficacy, which provided an alternative approach in the field of palliative chemotherapy.

Preclinical pharmacodynamic evaluation of a new Src/FOSL1 inhibitor, LY-1816, in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Despite tremendous efforts, the clinical prognosis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains disappointing. There is an urgent need to develop more effective treatment strategies to improve the prognosis of patients with PDAC. In this study, we evaluate the anti-PDAC effects of LY-1816, a new multikinase inhibitor developed by us. In in vitro assays, LY-1816 showed significant inhibitory effects on the proliferation, migration, and invasion of human PDAC cells, and induced PDAC cell apoptosis. Western blot analysis revealed that LY-1816 markedly suppressed the Src signaling, and downregulated the expression of FOSL1; FOSL1 is an oncogene vulnerability in KRAS-driven pancreatic cancer. In in vivo models of PDAC xenografts (Aspc-1 and Bxpc-3), LY-1816 showed more potent antitumor activity than dasatinib and gemcitabine. Moreover, mice treated with LY-1816 showed a much more significant survival advantage in a metastatic model of PDAC compared with those treated with vehicle, dasatinib, or gemcitabine. These results provide effective support for the subsequent clinical evaluation of LY-1816 in the treatment of PDAC.