Piperlongumine derivative, CG-06, inhibits STAT3 activity by direct binding to STAT3 and regulating the reactive oxygen species in DU145 prostate carcinoma cells.

Piperlongumine (PL), isolated from Piper longum L., is receiving intense interest due to its selectively ability to kill cancer cells but not normal cells. We synthesized a number of analogues by replacing the cyclic amide of PL with aliphatic amides to explore structural diversity. Compound CG-06 had the strongest cytotoxic profile of this series, showing potent effects in human prostate cancer DU-145 cells, in which signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is constitutively active. CG-06 inhibited STAT3 phosphorylation at tyrosine 705 in a dose- and time dependent manner in DU-145 cells and suppressed IL-6-induced STAT3 phosphorylation at Tyr-705 in DU-145 and LNCaP cell lines. CG-06 decreased the expression levels of STAT3 target genes, such as cyclin A, Bcl-2, and survivin. Notably, we used drug affinity responsive target stability (DARTS) to show that CG-06 binds directly to STAT3, and the reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenger N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) rescued the CG-06-induced suppression p-STAT3. Our results suggest that CG-06 is a novel inhibitor of STAT3 and may be a useful lead molecule for the development of a therapeutic STAT3 inhibitor.

Ingenane-type diterpenes with a modulatory effect on IFN-γ production from the roots of Euphorbia kansui.

A new ingenane-type diterpene, (3S,5R)5-O-(2,3-dimethylbutanoyl)-13-O-dodecanoyl-20-O-deoxyingenol (1), and six known compounds,3-O-(2,3-dimethylbutanoyl)-13-O-dodecanoyl-20-O-deoxyingenol (2), 20-O-decanoylingenol (3), 20-O-acetylingenol-3-O-(2'E,4'Z) decadienoate (4), kansuiphorin A (5), 3-O-(2,3-dimethylbutanoyl)-13-O-dodecanoylingenol (6), and kansuinin F (7) were isolated and evaluated for their effect on IFN-γ production in NK92 cells. Interestingly, subjection to compounds 4 and 6 (10 nM) displayed the most significant response in IFN-γ production, comparable to that produced by the same dose of phorbol 12-myistate 13-acetate (PMA). High doses of compounds 3 (100 nM), 1 (1. 25 µM) and 5 (5.0 µM) have also been shown to activate the IFN-γ production.

Fast determination of the ripeness stage of strawberries using infrared spectroscopy combined with principal component analysis.

The utility of infrared (IR) spectroscopy for the determination of strawberry ripeness has been successfully demonstrated. Transmission IR spectra were collected using dried liquid extracts from strawberry flesh. The overall IR feature provided fairly noticeable differences, and the ripeness stage was clearly identified using principal component analysis (PCA). Although all of the extracted components contributed to the resulting spectral features for discrimination, the variation of carbohydrate and amide residues played a major role for providing the selective spectral feature. Additionally, NMR spectra were also collected to quantify the concentrations of three small sugars (alpha-glucose, beta-glucose and sucrose) as well as to evaluate the NMR spectral features at each ripeness step. The concentrations of three sugars increased from early to late growth stages. Both IR and NMR spectroscopies were valuable to elucidate the metabolic signatures for the determining of ripeness stage; however, IR spectroscopy could be more advantageous when fast and high throughput analysis is essential.

Inhibition of protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B by prenylated isoflavonoids isolated from the stem bark of Erythrina addisoniae.

It has been suggested that protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) inhibitors might be a therapeutic target for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity. A bioassay-guided phytochemical study of the EtOAc extract of the stem bark of Erythrina addisoniae (Leguminosae) resulted in the identification of a new PTP1B inhibitory compound, 5,2',4'-trihydroxy-6-(gamma,gamma-dimethylallyl)-2''',2'''-dimethyldihydropyrano[5''',6''']isoflavanone ( 6), along with five known prenylated isoflavonoids, orientanol E ( 1), senegalensin ( 2), warangalone ( 3), warangalone 4'-methyl ether ( 4) and 2,3-dihydroauriculatin ( 5). Compounds 1, 5 and 6 inhibited PTP1B with IC (50) values ranging from 2.6 +/- 0.5 to 10.1 +/- 0.3 microM. Our results indicate that hydroxylation at both 2'- and 4'-positions in the B-ring and cyclization between a hydroxy group at C-7 and one of the prenyl groups at C-6 or C-8 in the A-ring may be important for activity. Thus, compounds 5 and 6 could be a new class of natural PTP1B inhibitors.

New sesquiterpene dimers from Inula britannica inhibit NF-kappaB activation and NO and TNF-alpha production in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells.

A bioassay-guided isolation of an ethyl acetate-soluble extract of the aerial parts of Inula britannica var. chinensis (Rupr.) Regel, using an in vitro NF-kappaB reporter gene assay, led to the isolation of four new sesquiterpene dimers bearing a norbornene moiety, inulanolides A-D, and three known sesquiterpenes, 1,6alpha-dihydroxyeriolanolide, 1-acetoxy-6alpha-hydroxyeriolanolide, and eupatolide. The structures of the new compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic methods. Among these compounds, inulanolides B and D and eupatolide, exhibited potent inhibitory activity on the LPS-induced NF-kappaB activation with IC50 values of 0.49 microM, 0.48 microM, and 1.54 microM, respectively. Consistent with their inhibitory effect on NF-kappaB activation, compounds and also strongly inhibited the production of NO and TNF-alpha in the LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells with IC50 values in the range of 2 microM.

Novel alpha-glucosidase inhibitors, CKD-711 and CKD-711a produced by Streptomyces sp. CK-4416. III. Physico-chemical properties and structure elucidation.

We have isolated two novel a-glucosidase inhibitors, O-[4-deoxy-4-(2,3-epoxy-3-hydroxymethyl-4,5,6-trihydroxycyclohexane-1-yl-amino)-alpha-D-glucopyranosyl]-(1-->4)-O-alpha-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->4)-alpha-D-glucopyranose (named CKD-711) and its hexameric analog CKD-711a, from the fermentation broth of Streptomyces sp. CK-4416. HRFAB-MS and NMR analyses reveal that molecular formulae of CKD-711 and CKD-711a are C25H43NO20 and C37H63NO30, respectively with the latter containing two more glucose moieties than the former. Detailed chemical structures of both compounds have been characterized by high-resolution two-dimensional NMR methods.