Author Correction: The natural product 4,10-aromadendranediol induces neuritogenesis in neuronal cells in vitro through activation of the ERK pathway.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Synthesis and Target Identification of Benzoxepane Derivatives as Potential Anti-Neuroinflammatory Agents for Ischemic Stroke.

Benzoxepane derivatives were designed and synthesized, and one hit compound emerged as being effective in vitro with low toxicity. In vivo, this hit compound ameliorated both sickness behavior through anti-inflammation in LPS-induced neuroinflammatory mice model and cerebral ischemic injury through anti-neuroinflammation in rats subjected to transient middle cerebral artery occlusion. Target fishing for the hit compound using photoaffinity probes led to identification of PKM2 as the target protein responsible for anti-inflammatory effect of the hit compound. Furthermore, the hit exhibited an anti-neuroinflammatory effect in vitro and in vivo by inhibiting PKM2-mediated glycolysis and NLRP3 activation, indicating PKM2 as a novel target for neuroinflammation and its related brain disorders. This hit compound has a better safety profile compared to shikonin, a reported PKM2 inhibitor, identifying it as a lead compound in targeting PKM2 for the treatment of inflammation-related diseases.

The natural product 4,10-aromadendranediol induces neuritogenesis in neuronal cells in vitro through activation of the ERK pathway.

Recent studies focus on promoting neurite outgrowth to remodel the central nervous network after brain injury. Currently, however, there are few drugs treating brain diseases in the clinic by enhancing neurite outgrowth. In this study, we established an NGF-induced PC12 differentiation model to screen novel compounds that have the potential to induce neuronal differentiation, and further characterized 4,10-Aromadendranediol (ARDD) isolated from the dried twigs of the Baccharis gaudichaudiana plant, which exhibited the capability of promoting neurite outgrowth in neuronal cells in vitro. ARDD (1, 10 µmol/L) significantly enhanced neurite outgrowth in NGF-treated PC12 cells and N1E115 cells in a time-dependent manner. In cultured primary cortical neurons, ARDD (5, 10 µmol/L) not only significantly increased neurite outgrowth but also increased the number of neurites on the soma and the number of bifurcations. Further analyses showed that ARDD (10 µmol/L) significantly increased the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and the downstream GSK-3ß, subsequently induced ß-catenin expression and up-regulated the gene expression of the Wnt ligands Fzd1 and Wnt3a in neuronal cells. The neurite outgrowth-promoting effect of ARDD in neuronal cells was abolished by pretreatment with the specific ERK1/2 inhibitor PD98059, but was partially reversed by XAV939, an inhibitor of the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway. ARDD also increased the expression of BDNF, CREB and GAP-43 in N1E115 cells, which was reversed by pretreatment with PD98059. In N1E115 cells subjected to oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD), pretreatment with ARDD (1-10 µmol/L) significantly enhanced the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and induced neurite outgrowth. These results demonstrated that the natural product ARDD exhibits neurite outgrowth-inducing activity in neurons via activation of the ERK signaling pathway, which may be beneficial to the treatment of brain diseases.

Defervescent dengue patients might be a potential source of infection for vector mosquitoes.

BACKGROUND: Dengue is a re-emerging public health problem and mosquito-borne infectious disease that is transmitted mainly by Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus. Early diagnosis, isolation, and treatment of patients are critical steps for dengue epidemic control, especially to prevent secondary transmission of dengue virus (DENV). However, little is known about defervescent dengue patients as a source of infection. METHODS: This case study describes 1268 dengue patients hospitalized at Guangzhou Eighth People's Hospital from June 2013 to December 2014. The viral loads of each individual were measured using real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus were exposed to blood meal with gradated dengue viral loads to characterize the relationship between viremia in dengue patients and the vector competence of vector mosquitoes. RESULTS: The viral numbers in the blood were measured, ranging from 108 to 103 copies/ml from day 1 to day 12 after fever onset. Vector competence analysis of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus indicated that viremia > 104 copies/ml can still infect vector mosquitoes, which implied that the defervescent dengue patients might be a source of infection. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study indicate that some defervescent dengue patients still have sufficient viral load to infect vector mosquitoes. Therefore, the protection against mosquito biting for these people should be extended to prevent secondary transmission events.

Broussonin E suppresses LPS-induced inflammatory response in macrophages via inhibiting MAPK pathway and enhancing JAK2-STAT3 pathway.

Macrophages play an important role in inflammation, and excessive and chronic activation of macrophages leads to systemic inflammatory diseases, such as atherosclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. In this paper, we explored the anti-inflammatory effect of broussonin E, a novel phenolic compound isolated from the barks ofBroussonetia kanzinoki, and its underlying molecular mechanisms. We discovered that Broussonin E could suppress the LPS-induced pro-inflammatory production in RAW264.7 cells, involving TNF-α, IL-1ß, IL-6, COX-2 and iNOS. And broussonin E enhanced the expressions of anti-inflammatory mediators such as IL-10, CD206 and arginase-1 (Arg-1) in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. Further, we demonstrated that broussonin E inhibited the LPS-stimulated phosphorylation of ERK and p38 MAPK. Moreover, we found that broussonin E could activate janus kinase (JAK) 2, signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) 3. Downregulated pro-inflammatory cytokines and upregulated anti-inflammatory factors by broussonin E were abolished by using the inhibitor of JAK2-STAT3 pathway, WP1066. Taken together, our results showed that broussonin E could suppress inflammation by modulating macrophages activation statevia inhibiting the ERK and p38 MAPK and enhancing JAK2-STAT3 signaling pathway, and can be further developed as a promising drug for the treatment of inflammation-related diseases such as atherosclerosis.

Development of Novel Alkoxyisoxazoles as Sigma-1 Receptor Antagonists with Antinociceptive Efficacy.

A novel series of sigma (σ) receptor ligands based on an alkoxyisoxazole scaffold has been designed and synthesized. Preliminary receptor binding assays identified highly potent (Ki < 1 nM) and selective σ1 ligands devoid of binding interactions with the monoamine transporters DAT, NET, and SERT. In particular, compound 53 was shown to possess significant antinociceptive activity in the mouse formalin-induced inflammation pain model when administered intraperitoneally at 40 and 80 mg/kg. Initial pharmacokinetics evaluation indicated an excellent brain exposure following oral dosing in mice, suggesting that further investigation into the use of alkoxyisoxazoles as σ1 ligands for antinociception is warranted. This study supports the notion that selective σ1 antagonism could be a useful strategy in the development of novel antipain therapy.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of tricyclic diterpene derivatives as novel neuroprotective agents against ischemic brain injury.

Lead compound 7 has neuroprotective effects, and it was discovered by screening a small synthetic natural product-like (NPL) library. Based on the lead, a series of tricyclic diterpene derivatives was designed and synthesized, and their neuroprotective effects were further evaluated against glutamate-, oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD)- and nutrient deprivation-induced neuronal injury using cell-based assays. To our delight, most of these synthetic compounds exhibited increased neuroprotective effects and blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability without cellular toxicity. The most potent compound, compound 30, showed significantly improved neuroprotection against neuronal injury in primary neurons. Furthermore, compound 30 exhibited remarkable neuroprotection in transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) rats by reducing their infarct sizes and neurological deficit scores. A mechanistic exploration using in vitro and in vivo experiments showed that the neuroprotection of these compounds was at least partly mediated by improving the levels of glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) protein. Therefore, these tricyclic diterpene derivatives could be used as promising leads for the development of a new type of neuroprotective agents against ischemic brain injury.