Spirohypertones A and B as potent antipsoriatics: Tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitors with unprecedented chemical architectures.

Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) is a promising target for inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Spirohypertones A (1) and B (2), two unprecedented polycyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols with highly rearranged skeletons, were isolated from Hypericum patulum. The structures of 1 and 2 were confirmed through comprehensive spectroscopic analysis, single-crystal X-ray diffraction and electronic circular dichroism calculations. Importantly, 2 showed remarkable TNF-α inhibitory activity, which could protect L929 cells from death induced by co-incubation with TNF-α and actinomycin D. It also demonstrated the ability to suppress the inflammatory response in HaCaT cells stimulated with TNF-α. Notably, in an imiquimod-induced psoriasis murine model, 2 restrained symptoms of epidermal hyperplasia associated with psoriasis, presenting anti-inflammatory and antiproliferative effects. This discovery positions 2 as a potent TNF-α inhibitor, providing a promising lead compound for developing an antipsoriatic agent.

Patumantanes A-D, seco-Polycyclic Polyprenylated Acylphloroglucinols with Diverse Carbon Skeletons from Hypericum patulum.

Patumantanes A-D (1-4), four new seco-polycyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols (PPAPs) were isolated from Hypericum patulum. Patumantane A (1) was an unprecedented 1,2-seco-homoadamantane-type PPAP bearing a new 3,7-dioxatetracyclo[7.7.0.01,6.111,15]heptadecane architecture based on a 6/7/5/6 ring system. Patumantane B (2) was a unique 1,9-seco-adamantane-type PPAP with a tricyclo[4.4.4.0.02,12]tridecane core formed by a 6/6/6 carbon skeleton, and the further breakage between C-5 and C-9 decorated patumantane C (3) with the 9-nor-adamantane skeleton. More importantly, compounds 2 and 3 exhibited moderate immunosuppressive activity on Con A-induced T-lymphocyte proliferation in vitro, with IC50 values of 5.6 ± 1.2 and 11.2 ± 1.2 µM, respectively.

Hyparillums A and B: polycyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols from Hypericum patulum.

Hyparillums A (1) and B (2), two previously unidentified polycyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols (PPAPs) with intricate architectures, were isolated from Hypericum patulum Thunb. Hyparillum A was the first PPAP with eight-carbon rings based on an unprecedented 6/6/5/6/6/5/6/4 octocyclic system featuring a rare heptacyclo[10.8.1.11,10.03,8.08,21.012,19.014,17]docosane core. In contrast, hyparillum B featured a novel heptacyclic architecture (6/6/5/6/6/5/5) based on a hexacyclo[9.6.1.11,9.03,7.07,18.011,16]nonadecane motif. Furthermore, hyparillums A and B demonstrated promising inhibitory effects on the proliferation of murine splenocytes stimulated by anti-CD3/anti-CD28 monoclonal antibodies and lipopolysaccharide, exhibiting half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values ranging from 6.13 ± 0.86 to 12.69 ± 1.31 µmol·L-1.

Discovery of adamantane-type polycyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols that can prevent concanavalin A-induced autoimmune hepatitis in mice.

Hyperadamans A-G (1-7), seven new adamantane type polycyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols (PPAPs), were isolated from Hypericum wilsonii N. Robson. Structurally, 1-4 were the first adamantanes bearing an unusual 2,7-dioxabicyclo-[2.2.1]-heptane fragment, and compound 5 was the first adamantane with a rare 1,6-dioxaspiro[4.4]nonane section. Importantly, 1-7 exhibited significant immunosuppressive activity on Con A-induced T-lymphocyte proliferation in vitro, with IC50 values ranging from 3.97 ± 0.10 to 18.12 ± 1.07 µM. Pretreatment with 1 in Con A-challenged autoimmune hepatitis mice could dramatically ameliorate the levels of hepatic injury indexes (ALT and AST) and reduce the product of proinflammatory cytokines (COX-2, IL-6, IL-1ß, IL-18, IL-23A and TNF-α). Furthermore, the protective effect of 1 on the Con A-induced liver injury was corroborated by the histological analysis and the immunohistochemistry.

Discovery of bioactive polycyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols with adamantine/homoadamantane skeletons from Hypericum wilsonii.

In this work, nine previous undescribed polycyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols with adamantine/homoadamantane skeletons, cumilcinols A-I (1-9), along with six known analogues, were isolated and identified from the stems, leaves and flowers of Hypericum wilsonii. Their structures were determined by HRESIMS, NMR spectroscopic analysis, single-crystal X-ray crystallography as well as electronic circular dichroism calculations and comparisons. Compound 2 formed a unique furan ring bearing a rare acetal functionality. In bioassays, hyperacmosin G (13) could significantly inhibit the production of NO in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cell (IC50 = 4.350 ± 1.146 µM), and increased expression of related transcription factors at the gene level, inhibit the nuclear translocation of NF-κBp65, and reduce the protein expression of COX-2. Additionally, compound 5 showed significant inhibitory activity on Con A-induced T-lymphocyte proliferation (IC50 = 4.803 ± 3.149 µM), and treatment of 5 could reduce the increased ratio of CD4 and CD8 subpopulations induced by Con A in vitro. Those results indicated 13 possesses potential anti-inflammatory activity, and 5 exhibits a certain degree of immunosuppressive activity.

(±)-Walskiiglucinol A, a pair of rearranged acylphloroglucinol derivative enantiomers from Hypericum przewalskii.

(±)-Walskiiglucinol A (1a/1b), a pair of rearranged acylphloroglucinol derivatives with a new carbon skeleton, was obtained from Hypericum przewalskii. Compounds 1a/1b were the first examples of naturally occurring acylphloroglucinol derivatives possessing a unique 1-oxaspiro[4.4]nonane core bearing a new 5/5 ring system. Their planar and relative structures were identified by extensive spectroscopic analysis and NMR chemical shift calculations with DP4+ probability analysis, and their absolute configurations were determined by electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations. A plausible biogenetic pathway of 1a/1b was proposed in which the breakage of the C-2/C-3 linkage via a retro-Claisen reaction and the cyclization between C-3 and C-1 were proposed as key steps. The isolates were evaluated for cytotoxic activities against a panel of cancer cell lines and anti-inflammatory activities against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced NO production, and compounds 1a/1b showed moderate cytotoxic activities with IC50 values ranging from 9.72 to 36.75 µM.

Norprzewalsone A, a Rearranged Polycyclic Polyprenylated Acylphloroglucinol with a Spiro[cyclopentane-1,3'-tricyclo[7.4.0.01,6]tridecane] Core from Hypericum przewalskii.

Norprzewalsone A (1), a rearranged polyprenylated polycyclic acylphloroglucinol (PPAP) with a new carbon skeleton, along with a new congener, norprzewalsone B (2), were isolated from Hypericum przewalskii. Compound 1 possessed a new 5/6/5/6/6 pentacyclic ring system based on a spiro[cyclopentane-1,3'-tricyclo[7.4.0.01,6]tridecane] core, which might be derived from the common [3.3.1]-type bicyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinol (BPAP) via the key retro-Claisen, intramolecular cyclization, and Diels-Alder cyclization reactions. Their structures and absolute configurations were confirmed by spectroscopic data, calculated 1D NMR data with DP4+ probability analyses, and electronic circular dichroism calculations and comparison. More significantly, compound 1 exhibited a moderate inhibitory effect on NO production in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW264.7 cells.

Kiiacylphnols A-H, eight undescribed polycyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols with anticancer activities from Hypericum przewalskii Maxim.

Kiiacylphnols A-H, eight previously undescribed polycyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols (PPAPs), along with two known congeners (hyperforcinol F and oxepahyperforin), were obtained from Hypericum przewalskii Maxim. The structures of these metabolites were confirmed by spectroscopic analyses, quantum-chemical 1H and 13C NMR calculations with DP4+ analyses, electronic circular dichroism (ECD) comparisons and calculations. Kiiacylphnols A and B were the first [3.3.1]-type PPAPs with an unusual octahydrooxireno[2,3-i]chromene scaffold bearing a rare 6/6/6/3 ring system. More significantly, kiiacylphnol A and oxepahyperforin displayed cytotoxicity against acute myeloid leukemia and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma cell lines by inducing cell apoptosis.

Discovery of Undescribed Monoterpenoid Polyprenylated Acylphloroglucinols with Immunosuppressive Activities from Hypericum longistylum.

Acylphlorostylums A-G (1-7), seven undescribed monoterpenoid polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols, were isolated and identified from Hypericum longistylum. Significantly, acylphlorostylums A and B were the first monoterpenoid polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols possessing a dodecahydro-1H-benzo [b]cyclopenta [e]oxepine moiety bearing a 6/7/5 fused tricyclic ring system that assembled by the attack from 4-OH to C-13. In addition, acylphlorostylums A-G exhibited moderate in vitro immunosuppressive activity in anti-CD3/anti-CD28 monoclonal antibodies, lipopolysaccharide and concanavalin A-induced murine splenocyte proliferation, with IC50 values ranging from 1.51 ± 0.12 to 18.49 ± 1.67 µM, underscoring those isolates as novel chemical templates in the development of novel immunosuppressors.

Deep-learning-based in-field citrus fruit detection and tracking.

Fruit yield estimation is crucial to establish fruit harvesting and marketing strategies. Recently, computer vision and deep learning techniques have been used to estimate citrus fruit yield and have exhibited a notable fruit detection ability. However, computer-vision-based citrus fruit counting has two key limitations: inconsistent fruit detection accuracy and double-counting of the same fruit. Using oranges as the experimental material, this paper proposes a deep-learning-based orange counting algorithm using video sequences to help overcome these problems. The algorithm consists of two sub-algorithms, OrangeYolo for fruit detection and OrangeSort for fruit tracking. The OrangeYolo backbone network is partially based on the YOLOv3 algorithm and improved upon to detect small object fruits at multiple scales. The network structure was adjusted to detect small-scale targets while enabling multiscale target detection. A channel attention and spatial attention multiscale fusion module was introduced to fuse the semantic features of the deep network with the shallow textural detail features. OrangeYolo can reach mean Average Precision (mAP) to 0.957 in the citrus dataset, which is higher than the 0.905, 0.911, and 0.917 that the YOLOv3, YOLOv4 and YOLOv5 algorithms. OrangeSort was designed to alleviate the double-counting problem of occluded fruits. A specific tracking region counting strategy and tracking algorithm based on motion displacement estimation are established. Six video sequences, which were taken from two fields containing 22 trees, were used as a validation dataset. The proposed method showed better performance (Mean Absolute Error(MAE) = 0.081, Standard Deviation(SD) = 0.08) compared to video-based manual counting and demonstrated more accurate results compared with existing standard Sort and DeepSort (MAE = 0.45, 1.212; SD = 0.4741, 1.3975; respectively).

Discovery of 13,15-nor-polycyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols from Hypericum longistylum with anti-inflammatory activity.

Spihyperglucinols A (1) and B (2), the first 13,15-nor-polycyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols (PPAPs) featuring a 7/6/5 tricyclic ring system based on an unexpected bicyclo[3.2.2]nonane core, along with three new congeners, spihyperglucinols C-E (3-5), were isolated from Hypericum longistylum. Importantly, 1 and 2 displayed potential inhibitory effects on the production of nitric oxide in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages, with IC50 values of (8.70 ± 1.18) and (9.23 ± 1.26) µM, respectively, comparable to the positive control, dexamethasone, with an IC50 value of (9.76 ± 1.13) µM.

Discovery of immunosuppressive Lupane-type Triterpenoids from Hypericum longistylum.

The phytochemistry study of Hypericum longistylum afforded one new degraded lupane-type triterpenoid, triterhyper A (1), and seven known congeners (2-8). The structures of those natural products were identified by extensive spectroscopic techniques and single crystal diffraction tests. Notably, triterhyper A (1) possessing an unusual 28-nor-lupane skeleton. More significantly, compounds 1-3 exhibited potential inhibitory effects on murine splenocytes proliferation stimulated by anti-CD3/anti-CD28 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS), with IC50 values ranging from (4.56 ± 0.45) µM to (18.34 ± 2.34) µM, highlighting that those isolates as potential lead compounds in the development of immunosuppressive drugs for autoimmune disease treatment.

Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of N-(3-cyano-1H-indol-5/6-yl)-6-oxo-1,6-dihydropyrimidine-4-carboxamides and 5-(6-oxo-1,6-dihydropyrimidin-2-yl)-1H-indole-3-carbonitriles as novel xanthine oxidase inhibitors.

Xanthine oxidase (XO) has been an important target for the treatment of hyperuricemia and gout. The analysis of potential interactions of pyrimidinone and 3-cyano indole pharmacophores present in the corresponding reported XO inhibitors with parts of the XO active pocket indicated that they both can be used as effective fragments for the fragment-based design of nonpurine XO inhibitors. In this paper, we adopted the fragment-based drug design strategy to link the two fragments with an amide bond to design the type 1 compounds 13a-13w,14c, 14d, 14f, 14g, 14j, 14k, and 15g. Compound 13g displayed an evident XO inhibitory potency (IC50 = 0.16 µM), which was 52.3-fold higher than that of allopurinol (IC50 = 8.37 µM). For comparison, type 2 compounds 5-(6-oxo-1,6-dihydropyrimidin-2-yl)-1H-indole-3-carbonitriles (25c-25g) were also designed by linking the two fragments with a single bond directly. The results showed that compound 25c from the latter series displayed the best inhibitory potency (IC50 = 0.085 µM), and it was 98.5-fold stronger than that of allopurinol (IC50 = 8.37 µM). These results suggested that amide and single bonds were applicable for linking the two fragments together to obtain potent nonpurine XO inhibitors. The structure-activity relationship results revealed that hydrophobic groups at N-atom of the indole moiety were indispensable for the improvement of the inhibitory potency in vitro against XO. In addition, enzyme kinetics studies suggested that compounds 13g and 25c, as the most promising XO inhibitors for the two types of target compounds, acted as mixed-type inhibitors for XO. Moreover, molecular modeling studies suggested that the pyrimidinone and indole moieties of the target compounds could interact well with key amino acid residues in the active pocket of XO. Furthermore, in vivo hypouricemic effect demonstrated that compounds 13g and 25c could effectively reduce serum uric acid levels at an oral dose of 10 mg/kg. Therefore, compounds 13g and 25c could be potential and efficacious agents for the treatment of hyperuricemia and gout.

Lightweight Fruit-Detection Algorithm for Edge Computing Applications.

In recent years, deep-learning-based fruit-detection technology has exhibited excellent performance in modern horticulture research. However, deploying deep learning algorithms in real-time field applications is still challenging, owing to the relatively low image processing capability of edge devices. Such limitations are becoming a new bottleneck and hindering the utilization of AI algorithms in modern horticulture. In this paper, we propose a lightweight fruit-detection algorithm, specifically designed for edge devices. The algorithm is based on Light-CSPNet as the backbone network, an improved feature-extraction module, a down-sampling method, and a feature-fusion module, and it ensures real-time detection on edge devices while maintaining the fruit-detection accuracy. The proposed algorithm was tested on three edge devices: NVIDIA Jetson Xavier NX, NVIDIA Jetson TX2, and NVIDIA Jetson NANO. The experimental results show that the average detection precision of the proposed algorithm for orange, tomato, and apple datasets are 0.93, 0.847, and 0.850, respectively. Deploying the algorithm, the detection speed of NVIDIA Jetson Xavier NX reaches 21.3, 24.8, and 22.2 FPS, while that of NVIDIA Jetson TX2 reaches 13.9, 14.1, and 14.5 FPS and that of NVIDIA Jetson NANO reaches 6.3, 5.0, and 8.5 FPS for the three datasets. Additionally, the proposed algorithm provides a component add/remove function to flexibly adjust the model structure, considering the trade-off between the detection accuracy and speed in practical usage.

Bioassay-Guided Isolation of an Abetiane-Type Diterpenoid from Prunella vulgaris That Protects against Concanavalin A-Induced Autoimmune Hepatitis.

Prunella vulgaris is a widely used edible Chinese medicinal plant. In the present study, two new abietane-type diterpenoids, abietoquinones A (1) and B (2), were isolated from this plant by an immunosuppressive bioassay-guided isolation procedure. Their structures were elucidated unambiguously by NMR spectroscopic analysis, single-crystal X-ray crystallography, and electronic circular dichroism calculations. Compounds 1 and 2 bear a cyclohex-2-ene-1,4-dione moiety, which is uncommon among abietane diterpenes. Also, abietoquinone A (1) suppressed murine splenocyte proliferation and decreased the production of proinflammatory cytokines induced by concanavalin A (Con A) in vitro. In Con A-challenged mice, preinjection with 1 significantly ameliorated liver injury. Additionally, abietoquinone A (1) exhibited inhibitory activities against the proliferation of murine splenocytes and human T cells induced by anti-CD3/anti-CD28 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs).

Discovery of bioactive polycyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols from Hypericum wilsonii.

Eleven new polycyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols (PPAPs), hyperwilsones A-K (1-11), along with five known PPAPs (12-16), were isolated from Hypericum wilsonii. Their structures were established via spectroscopic methods, the careful analysis of calculated and experimental electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra, single-crystal X-ray diffraction, the modified Mosher's method, and [Rh2(OCOCF3)4]-induced ECD. Hyperwilsone A (1) and hyperwilsone B (2) possessed the unique acetal functionality. Hyperwilsone C (3) was a rare example of [3.3.1]-type PPAP possessing a 3-isopropylfuran moiety. In bioassay, compounds 9 and 10 showed potent anti-inflammatory activity against LPS-induced NO production by inhibiting the nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65 and thus reducing the production of proinflammatory cytokines. Compounds 5, 8, 11, and 14 exhibited moderate inhibitory activity against SUDHL-4 and HL60 cancer cells with IC50 values in the range of 5.74-19.82 µM.

Discovery of nor-bicyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols possessing diverse architectures with anti-hepatoma activities from Hypericum patulum.

Five new 2-nor-bicyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols (BPAPs), norhyperpalums A-E (1-5), three new 2,3-nor-BPAPs, norhyperpalums F-H (8-10), one new 2,3,4-nor-BPAP (13), and four known analogs (6, 7, 11 and 12) were obtained from Hypericum patulum. Their structures were confirmed by spectroscopic data, electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations and comparisons, quantum-chemical 13C NMR calculations with DP4 + probability analysis, the modified Mosher's method, Rh2(OCOCF3)4-induced ECD, and X-ray crystallographic data. Norhyperpalums A-E (1-5) are rare 2-nor-BPAPs bearing a 6/5/5 system based on a hexacyclic-fused 1,6-dioxaspiro[4.4]nonane core, and norhyperpalums F and G (8 and 9) exhibit an unusual 6-oxabicyclo[3.2.1]octane architecture. More significantly, compound 2 displayed pronounced cytotoxicities against hepatoma cell lines by the induction of S-phase cell cycle arrest and promotion of cell apoptosis.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of novel FXIa inhibitors with 2-phenyl-1H-imidazole-5-carboxamide moiety as P1 fragment.

Factor XIa, as a blood coagulation enzyme, amplifies the generation of the last enzyme thrombin in the blood coagulation cascade. It was proved that direct inhibition of factor XIa could reduce pathologic thrombus formation without an enhanced risk of bleeding. WSJ-557, a nonpurine imidazole-based xanthine oxidase inhibitor in our previous reports, could delay blood coagulation during its animal experiments, which prompted us to investigate its action mechanism. Subsequently, during the exploration of the action mechanism, it was found that WSJ-557 exhibited weak in vitro factor XIa binding affinity. Under the guide of molecular modeling, we adopted molecular hybridization strategy to develop novel factor XIa inhibitors with WSJ-557 as an initial compound. This led to the identification of the most potent compound 44g with a Ki value of 0.009 µM, which was close to that of BMS-724296 (Ki = 0.0015 µM). Additionally, serine protease selectivity study indicated that compound 44g display a desired selectivity, more 400-fold than those of thrombin, factor VIIa and factor Xa in coagulation cascade. Moreover, enzyme kinetics studies suggested that the representative compound 44g acted as a competitive-type inhibitor for FXIa, and molecular modeling revealed that it could tightly bind to the S1, S1' and S2' pockets of factor XIa. Furthermore, in vivo efficacy in the rabbit arteriovenous shunt model suggested that compound 44g demonstrated dose-dependent antithrombotic efficacy. Therefore, these results supported that compound 44g could be a potential and efficacious agent for the treatment of thrombotic diseases.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of 2-(4-alkoxy-3-cyano)phenylpyrimidine derivatives with 4-amino or 4-hydroxy as a pharmacophore element binding with xanthine oxidase active site.

Xanthine oxidase is the rate-limiting enzyme critical for the synthesis of uric acid, and therefore xanthine oxidase inhibitors are considered as one of the promising therapies for hyperuricemia and gout. In our previous study, series of 2-(4-alkoxy-3-cyano)phenyl-6-oxo-1,6-dihydropyrimidine-5-carboxylic acids and 2-(4-alkoxy-3-cyano)phenyl-6-imino-1,6-dihydropyrimidine-5-carboxylic acids were synthesized that presented excellent in vitro xanthine oxidase inhibitory potency. Interestingly, molecular docking studies revealed that the interaction behavior of these compounds with xanthine oxidase was changed after the conversion from a hydroxy group to amine group. To further investigate the structure-activity relationships of these pyrimidine-containing xanthine oxidase inhibitors and explore the contribution of amino or hydroxy group on xanthine oxidase inhibitory potency, several 2-phenylpyrimidine derivatives with amino or hydroxy functional group were designed and synthesized. Thereafter, the structure-activity research and molecular modeling study proved that hydroxy and amino groups could be used as pharmacophore elements for the design of 2-phenylpyrimidines xanthine oxidase inhibitors. Particularly, the optimized compound, 2-(3-cyano-4-isopentoxy)phenylpyrimidine-4-ol, emerged the strongest xanthine oxidase inhibitor potency, with an IC50 value of 0.046 µM, which was approximately 120-fold more potent than that of allopurinol (IC50 = 5.462 µM). Additionally, Lineweaver-Burk plot analysis revealed that the optimized compound acted as a mixed-type inhibitor. Furthermore, the in vivo hypouricemic effect of the optimized compound was investigated in a hyperuricemia rat model induced by potassium oxonate, and the results showed that the optimized compound could effectively reduce serum uric acid levels at an oral dose of 30 mg/kg.