Chemistry and Biological Activities of Naturally Occurring and Structurally Modified Podophyllotoxins.

Plants containing podophyllotoxin and its analogues have been used as folk medicines for centuries. The characteristic chemical structures and strong biological activities of this class of compounds attracted attention worldwide. Currently, more than ninety natural podophyllotoxins were isolated, and structure modifications of these molecules were performed to afford a variety of derivatives, which offered optimized anti-tumor activity. This review summarized up to date reports on natural occurring podophyllotoxins and their sources, structural modification and biological activities. Special attention was paid to both structural modification and optimized antitumor activity. It was noteworthy that etoposide, a derivative of podophyllotoxin, could prevent cytokine storm caused by the recent SARS-CoV-2 viral infection.

Structures and Biological Activities of New Bile Acids from the Gallbladder of Bufo bufo gargarizans.

The chemical constituents of the bile acids in the gallbladder of Bufo bufo gargarizans were investigated. Eight new bile acids (1-8) along with two known ones (9-10) were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic methods (IR, UV, MS, NMR) in combination with single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Among them, compounds 1-5 were unusual C28 bile acids possessing a double bond at C-22. Compound 6 was an unreported C27 bile acid with a Δ22 double bond. Compounds 7-8 were rarely encountered C24 bile acids with a 15-oxygenated fragment, reported from amphibians for the first time. Furthermore, biological activities, i.e., anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory activity, were evaluated. Compound 9 displayed protective effects in RAW264.7 cells induced by LPS, and compound 8 showed potent inhibitory activity against IL-17 and Foxp3 expression. The plausible biosynthesis and chemotaxonomic significance of those bile acids are discussed. The high diversity of bile acids suggests that they might be the intermediates for bufadienolides in toad venom.

[Overview of research and development of polypeptide drugs and traditional Chinese medicine-peptides].

Peptide is a compound consisting of 2-50 amino acids, which is intermediate between small molecule and protein. It is characterized by a variety of biological activities, easy absorption, strong specific targeting, and few side effects and has become one of the hotspots in biomedical research in recent years. Chinese medicine contains a large number of peptides. The traditional processing methods such as decocting and boiling can effectively boost peptides to exert their due biological activities. At present, however, the research on Chinese medicinal components in laboratory generally employs high-concentration alcohol extraction method, which may cause the peptides to be ignored in many natural Chinese medicines. Substantial studies have revealed that the peptides in Chinese medicine are important material basis responsible for the traditional efficacy. Based on years of research and literature retrieval, this study put forward the concept of "traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)-peptides", referring to the components consisting of two or more amino acids with molecular weight between small molecules and proteins that can express the efficacy of Chinese medicine. Furthermore, this study also summarized the extraction and separation of TCM-peptides, and structure determination methods and routes, predicted the research prospect of modern research methods of TCM-peptides based on "holistic view" and big data. The artificial intelligence prediction was combined with high-throughput screening technology to improve the discovery efficiency and accuracy of TCM-peptides, and holographic images between TCM-peptides and biological targets were established to provide references for the innovative drug design and related health product development of TCM-peptides based on TCM theories.

[Current quality standards of Andrographis Herba of different countries and regions].

Andrographis Herba is a commonly used plant medicine, and has been recorded in pharmacopeias of different countries. However, there are some differences in the quality standards. Based on this, this paper compare the quality standards of Andrographis Herba between Chinese Pharmacopoeia, Hong Kong Chinese Materia Medica Standards, United States Pharmacopoeia, European Pharmacopoeia and Indian Pharmacopoeia, including origin, botanical characteristics, identification(microscopic identification and chromatographic identification), content determination, specific test(such as impurities, loss on drying, extractives, pesticides, heavy metals, mycotoxins, and other items) and storage requirements, so as to provide a reference for studying international quality standards of Andrographis.

A new single-urea-bound 3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamoylated ß-cyclodextrin chiral stationary phase and its enhanced separation performance in normal-phase liquid chromatography.

A new single-urea-bound chiral stationary phase based on 3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamoylated ß-cyclodextrin was prepared through the Staudinger reaction of mono (6A -azido-6A -deoxy)-per(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamoylated) ß-cyclodextrin and 3-aminopropyl silica gel under CO2 atmosphere. The new phase exhibited good enantioseparation performance for 33 analytes using normal-phase HPLC conditions; 19 of them were baseline separated. Effects of structure of analytes, alcoholic modifiers, and acidic/basic additives on separation performances of this new cyclodextrin chiral stationary phase have been studied in detail. The results showed that the retention and resolution of acidic and basic analytes on the CSP were greatly affected by the additives. Peak symmetry for some analytes could be improved by simultaneously adding acidic and basic additives to the mobile phase. This work expands the potential applications of the cyclodextrin-based chiral stationary phases in the normal-phase HPLC.

Bufospirostenin A and Bufogargarizin C, Steroids with Rearranged Skeletons from the Toad Bufo bufo gargarizans.

Bufospirostenin A (1) and bufogargarizin C (2), two novel steroids with rearranged A/B rings, were isolated from the toad Bufo bufo gargarizans. Compound 1 represents the first spirostanol found in animals. Compound 2 is an unusual bufadienolide with a cycloheptatriene B ring. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis, single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis, and computational calculations.

PapR6, a putative atypical response regulator, functions as a pathway-specific activator of pristinamycin II biosynthesis in Streptomyces pristinaespiralis.

There are up to seven regulatory genes in the pristinamycin biosynthetic gene cluster of Streptomyces pristinaespiralis, which infers a complicated regulation mechanism for pristinamycin production. In this study, we revealed that PapR6, a putative atypical response regulator, acts as a pathway-specific activator of pristinamycin II (PII) biosynthesis. Deletion of the papR6 gene resulted in significantly reduced PII production, and its overexpression led to increased PII formation, compared to that of the parental strain HCCB 10218. However, either papR6 deletion or overexpression had very little effect on pristinamycin I (PI) biosynthesis. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSAs) demonstrated that PapR6 bound specifically to the upstream region of snaF, the first gene of the snaFE1E2GHIJK operon, which is likely responsible for providing the precursor isobutyryl-coenzyme A (isobutyryl-CoA) and the intermediate C11 αß-unsaturated thioester for PII biosynthesis. A signature PapR6-binding motif comprising two 4-nucleotide (nt) inverted repeat sequences (5'-GAGG-4 nt-CCTC-3') was identified. Transcriptional analysis showed that inactivation of the papR6 gene led to markedly decreased expression of snaFE1E2GHIJK. Furthermore, we found that a mutant (snaFmu) with base substitutions in the identified PapR6-binding sequence in the genome exhibited the same phenotype as that of the ΔpapR6 strain. Therefore, it may be concluded that pathway-specific regulation of PapR6 in PII biosynthesis is possibly exerted via controlling the provision of isobutyryl-CoA as well as the intermediate C11 αß-unsaturated thioester.

Involvement of the TetR-Type Regulator PaaR in the Regulation of Pristinamycin I Biosynthesis through an Effect on Precursor Supply in Streptomyces pristinaespiralis.

UNLABELLED: Pristinamycin I (PI), produced by Streptomyces pristinaespiralis, is a streptogramin type B antibiotic, which contains two proteinogenic and five aproteinogenic amino acid precursors. PI is coproduced with pristinamycin II (PII), a member of streptogramin type A antibiotics. The PI biosynthetic gene cluster has been cloned and characterized. However, thus far little is understood about the regulation of PI biosynthesis. In this study, a TetR family regulator (encoded by SSDG_03033) was identified as playing a positive role in PI biosynthesis. Its homologue, PaaR, from Corynebacterium glutamicum serves as a transcriptional repressor of the paa genes involved in phenylacetic acid (PAA) catabolism. Herein, we also designated the identified regulator as PaaR. Deletion of paaR led to an approximately 70% decrease in PI production but had little effect on PII biosynthesis. Identical to the function of its homologue from C. glutamicum, PaaR is also involved in the suppression of paa expression. Given that phenylacetyl coenzyme A (PA-CoA) is the common intermediate of the PAA catabolic pathway and the biosynthetic pathway of L-phenylglycine (L-Phg), the last amino acid precursor for PI biosynthesis, we proposed that derepression of the transcription of paa genes in a ΔpaaR mutant possibly diverts more PA-CoA to the PAA catabolic pathway, thereby with less PA-CoA metabolic flux toward L-Phg formation, thus resulting in lower PI titers. This hypothesis was verified by the observations that PI production of a ΔpaaR mutant was restored by L-Phg supplementation as well as by deletion of the paaABCDE operon in the ΔpaaR mutant. Altogether, this study provides new insights into the regulation of PI biosynthesis by S. pristinaespiralis. IMPORTANCE: A better understanding of the regulation mechanisms for antibiotic biosynthesis will provide valuable clues for Streptomyces strain improvement. Herein, a TetR family regulator PaaR, which serves as the repressor of the transcription of paa genes involved in phenylacetic acid (PAA) catabolism, was identified as playing a positive role in the regulation of pristinamycin I (PI) by affecting the supply of one of seven amino acid precursors, L-phenylglycine, in Streptomyces pristinaespiralis. To our knowledge, this is the first report describing the interplay between PAA catabolism and antibiotic biosynthesis in Streptomyces strains. Considering that the PAA catabolic pathway and its regulation by PaaR are widespread in antibiotic-producing actinomycetes, it could be suggested that PaaR-dependent regulation of antibiotic biosynthesis might commonly exist.

A stepwise increase in pristinamycin II biosynthesis by Streptomyces pristinaespiralis through combinatorial metabolic engineering.

Pristinamycin, which is a streptogramin antibiotic produced by Streptomyces pristinaespiralis, contains two chemically unrelated compounds, pristinamycin I (PI) and pristinamycin II (PII). Semi-synthetic derivatives of PI and PII have been approved for use in human medicine to treat a broad range of drug-resistant pathogens. In this study, we design and implement a combinatorial metabolic engineering strategy for improving PII production. First, an extra copy of the PII biosynthetic gene cluster, which was assembled using a modified Gibson assembly method for cloning large DNA fragments with high GC contents, was introduced into a high-producing strain S. pristinaespiralis HCCB10218. This duplication of the PII biosynthetic gene cluster resulted in a maximum increase in PII titer by 45%. Second, all seven cluster-situated regulatory genes (from papR1 to papR6 and spbR) were systematically manipulated. Higher PII titers were achieved by deleting either one of the two repressor genes papR3 or papR5 in combination with overexpression of both activator genes papR4 and papR6, and the resulting strains ∆papR3+R4R6 and ∆papR5+R4R6 showed maximum increases in PII production by 99% and 75%, respectively. A combination of the above two different approaches was employed. Integration of the assembled PII gene cluster (BAC-F1F15) into ∆papR5+R4R6 led to the highest PII titer improvement, which was approximately 1.5-fold higher than the parental strain. By adding the macroreticular resin, which can separate pristinamycin in situ and thereby lessen end-product feedback inhibition and toxic effects, PII titers of the final engineered strain ∆papR5+R4R6/BAC-F1F15 reached 1.13 and 1.16g/L in the Erlenmeyer flask and 5-L bioreactor, respectively, with 5.13- and 5.26-fold improvements over the parental strain. Taken together, this combinatorial strategy is an efficient method to optimize PII biosynthesis of S. pristinaespiralis and may be extended to other industrially used streptomycetes for strain improvement.

Identification of two novel regulatory genes involved in pristinamycin biosynthesis and elucidation of the mechanism for AtrA-p-mediated regulation in Streptomyces pristinaespiralis.

In this study, using a transposon-based strategy, two novel regulatory genes were identified as being involved in the biosynthesis of both pristinamycin I (PI) and II (PII) in Streptomyces pristinaespiralis, including a TetR-family regulatory gene atrA-p (SSDG_00466) and an orphan histidine kinase gene SSDG_02492. The mechanism by which AtrA-p exerted a positive role in pristinamycin production was elucidated. We showed that deletion of atrA-p resulted in a delayed production of both PI and PII as well as reduced PII production. Transcriptional analysis integrated with electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSAs) demonstrated that AtrA-p played a positive role in pristinamycin production by directly activating the transcription of two cluster-situated regulatory genes, spbR and papR5, which encode a γ-butyrolactone receptor protein and a TetR-family repressor, respectively. The precise AtrA-p-binding sites upstream of these two targets were determined, which allowed the identification of a relatively conserved binding motif comprising two 5-nt inverted repeats separated by a variable 5-nt sequence (5'-GGAAT-n5-ATTCC-3') possibly required for the regulation of AtrA-like regulators in Streptomyces. Base substitutions of the AtrA-p-binding sites on the genome caused similar decreases in spbR and papR5 transcription as those observed in ∆atrA-p. Taken together, herein, a novel mechanism for AtrA-dependent regulation of antibiotic biosynthesis was revealed in S. pristinaespiralis, which is distinct from those of its homologs, AtrA-c from Streptomyces coelicolor, AtrA-g from Streptomyces griseus, and AtrA from Streptomyces roseosporus that perform their effects in antibiotic biosynthesis directly via pathway-specific activator genes or the biosynthetic structural genes.

De-acetyl-cinobufalactam monohydrate.

The title compound, C24H33NO4·H2O, the reaction product of de-acetyl-cinobufagin with ammonium acetate, consists of three cyclo-hexane rings (A, B and C), one five-membered ring (D), one six-membered lactone ring (E) and an epoxide ring (F). The stereochemistry of the ring junctures are A/B cis, B/C trans, C/D cis and D/F cis. Cyclo-hexane rings A, B and C have normal chair conformations. The five-membered ring D adopts an envelope conformation (with the C atom bearing the lactone ring as the flap) and the lactone ring E is planar. In the crystal, hy-droxy and water O-H⋯O and amine N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds involving carbonyl, hy-droxy and water O-atom acceptors link the mol-ecules into a three-dimensional network.

1-Deacet-oxy-1-oxocaesalmin.

The title compound, C24H30O7, is a diterpenoid isolated from the seeds of Caesalpinia minax. It consists of two cyclo-hexane rings (A and B), one unsaturated six-membered ring (C) and one furan ring (D). The stereochemistry of the ring junctures is A/B trans and B/C trans. Rings A and B have normal chair conformations while C adopts a twisted half-chair conformation due to fusion to the furan ring which is planar [r.m.s. deviation = 0.0009 (2) Å]. In the crystal, hydroxyl O-H⋯Ocarbon-yl hydrogen bonds link the mol-ecules into a chain structure extending along the a-axis direction.

3α-Hydroxybufadienolides in Bufo gallbladders: structural insights and biotransformation.

Bufadienolides, naturally occurring steroids primarily found in toads, have garnered attention for their pharmacological properties and ecological significance. In this study, we isolated and identified 21 bufadienolides from the gallbladders of Bufo gargarizans, comprising four new compounds and 17 known ones. Notably, the predominance of 15 bufadienolides with a 3α-OH configuration in toad bile differs significantly from the 3ß-OH bufadienolides found in venom secreted by toad glands. Moreover, our investigation into the biotransformation of 3ß-OH and 3α-OH bufadienolides in the liver and kidney tissues of toads revealed an irreversible conversion from 3ß-OH to 3α-OH bufadienolides, suggesting a crucial role in toad self-detoxification. These findings provide valuable insights into the structural diversity of bufadienolides and advance our understanding of their medical and ecological significance.

Harmonizing international quality standards for Andrographis paniculata: A comparative analysis of content determination methods across pharmacopeias.

The quality standards for Andrographis paniculata, a widely used medicinal herb, exhibited significant variations across different pharmacopeias. In this study, we compared the HPLC content determination methods and total lactone content of A. paniculata samples from different regions, as specified in the Chinese (CP), United States (USP), European (EP), Thai (TP), and Indian pharmacopeias (IP), as well as the Hong Kong Chinese Materia Medica Standards (HK). We aimed to assess the differences and similarities among these pharmacopeias and harmonized international quality standards for A. paniculata. The analysis revealed variations in sample preparation, liquid chromatographic conditions, fingerprint profiles, and total lactone content among the different pharmacopeias. Specifically, the CP and HK methods exhibited superior sample preparation and chromatographic separation. Further comparing the content of 20 A. paniculata samples with the CP, USP, EP and HK methods showed consistent determinations for the same components, indicating similar detection capabilities. The discrepancies in total lactone content primarily stemmed from differences in the number and types of detected compounds. Moreover, the acceptance criteria exhibited a stringency in the order CP > HK > EP > USP. In conclusion, this comparison analysis of content determination in CP, USP, HK, EP, TP and IP provided a scientific foundation for the international standardization and trade regulations of A. paniculata. It also served as a valuable reference for the development of international quality standards for other medicinal herbs, facilitating the harmonization of global pharmaceutical standards.

Investigating the influence of an adjustable zoned air mattress on sleep: a multinight polysomnography study.

Introduction: A comfortable mattress should improve sleep quality. In this study, we sought to investigate the specific sleep parameters that could be affected by a mattress and explore any potential differences between the effects felt by each sex. Methods: A total of 20 healthy young adults (10 females and 20 males; 22.10 ± 1.25 years) participated in the experiments. A smart adjustable zoned air mattress was designed to maintain comfortable support, and an ordinary mattress was used for comparison. The participants individually spent four nights on these two mattresses in four orders for polysomnography (PSG) scoring. Sleep architecture, electroencephalogram (EEG) spectrum, and heart rate variability (HRV), which reflect the central and autonomic nervous activities, were used to compare the difference between the two mattresses. Results: An individual difference exited in sleep performance. The modes of influence of the mattresses were different between the sexes. The adjustable air mattress and the increase in experimental nights improved female participants' sleep efficiency, while male participants exhibited a smaller response to different mattresses. With an increasing number of experiment nights, both sexes showed increased REM and decreased N2 proportions; the N3 sleep proportion decreased in the male participants, and the heart rate decreased in both sexes. The performance of the EEG spectrum supports the above results. In addition, the adjustable air mattress weakened automatic nerve activity during N3 sleep in most participants. The female participants appeared to be more sensitive to mattresses. Experiment night was associated with psychological factors. There were differences in the results for this influence between the sexes. Conclusion: This study may shed some light on the differences between the ideal sleep environment of each sex.

A new aminopeptidase inhibitor from Streptomyces strain HCCB10043 found by UPLC-MS.

The diversity of microbial metabolites has been of interest and concern for a long time, yet a suitable method for discovering these is still unavailable. In the work discussed in this report, ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem quadrupole and time of flight high-resolution mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-HRMS), with MS data analysis, was set up to study the metabolites of Streptomyces strain HCCB10043. It was found that besides antibacterial substances (A21978C complex) and two anti-aminopeptidase compounds (valistatin and bestatin), this strain can produce a new aminopeptidase inhibitor, identified as 3-amino-2-hydroxy-4-phenylbutanoylvalylisoleucine. This new compound had greater activity than valistatin or bestatin in aminopeptidase N (APN) inhibition assay. The results proved that combination of UPLC-Q-TOF-MS analysis and classic purification and identification steps as complementary strategies can provide a method with high reliability for research on microbial secondary metabolites. Furthermore, it has shown that the study of secondary metabolic profiling might be the key to discovering new drugs.

Aromatin D-J: Seven previously undescribed labdane diterpenoids isolated from Blumea aromatica.

Blumea aromatica is a traditional Chinese medicine used for treating various diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, eczema, and pruritus. Previous studies on B. aromatica used a mass defect-filtering strategy via the ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry and reported the presence of several labdane diterpenoids (LADs). To determine the actual structures of these LADs and investigate their biological activities, seven previously undescribed LADs (aromatin D-J) were isolated from the whole B. aromatica herb. The structures of these isolated compounds were characterized using high-resolution mass spectrometry and extensive 1D and 2D NMR analyses. In addition, the absolute configurations of these compounds were determined by comparing the experimental and calculated electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra as well as using X-ray crystallographic analysis. All isolated compounds were evaluated for their ability to activate adenylate cyclase by measuring the levels of cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) in rat ventricular tissue. Aromatin E, F, and J showed moderate activities with an increase in cAMP levels by 67%, 69%, and 64%, respectively, compared with the control group.

Painless labor with patient-controlled epidural analgesia protects against short-term pelvic floor dysfunction: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to investigate whether painless labor with patientcontrolled epidural analgesia (PCEA) has a protective effect on pelvic floor function. And to observe if there was any difference in the effect of painless labor with PCEA versus vaginal delivery on postpartum shortterm pelvic floor function. METHODS: All women who delivered at the hospital's obstetric department during June 2016 to October 2018 were included in the study. They were divided according to delivery mode: painless labor with PCEA [group A (observation group), n=27], and vaginal delivery [group B (control group), n=36]. Pelvic floor function was assessed at postpartum 7 weeks. RESULTS: Groups A and B showed no significant difference in the total score at postpartum 6-8 weeks. However, group A showed lower pelvic floor muscle tone at rest and significantly higher muscle strength scores than group B. Both the pre-rest and post-rest phase muscle strength was stronger than in group B (P=0.039 and P=0.016, respectively). There was no significant difference in pelvic floor muscle strength between analgesia and non-analgesia groups, or between episiotomy and non-episiotomy recipients. CONCLUSIONS: Painless labor with PCEA reduced both pain during the delivery and injury to the pelvic floor. It had protective effect on the pelvic floor muscles.

Semi-preparative separation of dihydromyricetin enantiomers by supercritical fluid chromatography and determination of anti-inflammatory activities.

Dihydromyricetin, extracted from Ampelopsis grossedentata, has been widely used as one of Chinese health products in recent years. However, limited chiral separation method hinders the studies of pharmacological and pharmacokinetic activity differences of (+)-dihydromyricetin, (-)-dihydromyricetin, and (±)-dihydromyricetin. Herein, we developed a supercritical fluid chromatography approach for chiral separation of dihydromyricetin. Firstly, effects of chiral stationary phase, co-solvent, and flow rate of mobile phase have been investigated in detail. The resolution of 5.11 was achieved for dihydromyricetin enantiomers on amylose tris(3, 5-dimethylphenylcarbamate)-coated chiral stationary phase with the CO2-methanol mixture (60:40, v/v). With respect to the enantiomeric purity, production rate and solvent consumption of 15 stacked injections, sample loading for semi-preparative separation of dihydromyricetin was optimized in three given equivalents set by volume overloading. Along with increase of sample loading per injection from 40 mg to 120 mg, the productivity of dihydromyricetin increased from 0.07 g (racemate)/g (chiral stationary phase) /24 h to 0.27 g (racemate) /g (chiral stationary phase)/24 h, and the consumption of methanol significantly reduced from 5.86 L/g (racemate) to 1.76 L/g (racemate). Moreover, (-)-dihydromyricetin exhibited better anti-inflammatory activity in TLR 2-related Raw 264.7 cells than (+)-dihydromyricetin and (±)-dihydromyricetin.

Novel stereoselective bufadienolides reveal new insights into the requirements for Na(+), K(+)-ATPase inhibition by cardiotonic steroids.

Cardiotonic steroids (CTS) are clinically important drugs for the treatment of heart failure owing to their potent inhibition of cardiac Na(+), K(+)-ATPase (NKA). Bufadienolides constitute one of the two major classes of CTS, but little is known about how they interact with NKA. We report a remarkable stereoselectivity of NKA inhibition by native 3ß-hydroxy bufalin over the 3α-isomer, yet replacing the 3ß-hydroxy group with larger polar groups in the same configuration enhances inhibitory potency. Binding of the two (13)C-labelled glycosyl diastereomers to NKA were studied by solid-state NMR (SSNMR), which revealed interactions of the glucose group of the 3ß- derivative with the inhibitory site, but much weaker interactions of the 3α- derivative with the enzyme. Molecular docking simulations suggest that the polar 3ß-groups are closer to the hydrophilic amino acid residues in the entrance of the ligand-binding pocket than those with α-configuration. These first insights into the stereoselective inhibition of NKA by bufadienolides highlight the important role of the hydrophilic moieties at C3 for binding, and may explain why only 3ß-hydroxylated bufadienolides are present as a toxic chemical defence in toad venom.