Structural Analysis of Diastereomeric Cardiac Glycosides and Their Genins Using Ultraperformance Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry.

Ultraperformance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-MS/MS) is an economical and indispensable tool in natural product research to investigate novel metabolites, biomarker discovery, chemical diversity exploration, and structure elucidation. In this study, the structural analysis of 38 naturally occurring cardiac glycosides (CGs) in various tissues of Nerium oleander was achieved by the extensive use of mass spectrometry. The chemical diversity of CGs was described on the basis of characteristic MS/MS fragmentation patterns, accurate mass measurement, and published scientific information on CGs from Nerium oleander. It was observed that only six genins, viz., Δ16anhydrogitoxigenin, Δ16adynerigenin, gitoxigenin, oleandrigenin, digitoxigenin, and adynerigenine, produce 38 diverse chemical structures of CGs. Among them, 20 were identified as diastereomers having a difference in a sugar (l-oleandrose, ß-d-diginose, and ß-d-sarmentose) unit. However, the differentiation of diastereomeric CGs was not possible by only MS/MS fragments. Thus, the diastereomer's chromatographic elution order was assigned on the basis of the relative retention time (RRt) of two reference standards (odoroside A and oleandrin) among their diastereomers. Besides this, the in-source fragmentation of CGs and the MS/MS of m/z 325 and 323 disaccharide daughter ions also exposed the intrinsic structure information on the sugar units. The daughter ions m/z 162, 145, 113, 95, and 85 in MS/MS spectra indicated the abundance of l-oleandrose, ß-d-diginose, and ß-d-sarmentose sugars. At the same time, m/z 161, 143, 129, and 87 product ions confirmed the presence of a ß-d-digitalose unit. As a result, the UPLC-ESI/TQD system was successfully utilized for the structure characterization of CGs in Nerium oleander tissues.

Periplogenin Activates ROS-ER Stress Pathway to Trigger Apoptosis via BIP-eIF2α- CHOP and IRE1α-ASK1-JNK Signaling Routes.

BACKGROUND: Periplogenin (PPG), a natural compound isolated from traditional Chinese herb Cortex Periplocae, has been reported to possess anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties. OBJECTIVE: The present study aims to investigate the antitumor effects of PPG and the underlying mechanism in human colorectal cancer cells. METHODS: The inhibition of cell growth in vitro was assessed by MTT assay. The induction of apoptosis and the ROS production induced by PPG was investigated by flow cytometry analysis. Western blotting was applied to measure the protein expression. Small interference RNA (siRNA) and a specific pharmacological inhibitor were used to knock down or inhibit the expression of related genes. RESULTS: PPG was able to cause the production of ROS, inhibit the cancer cell growth and induce apoptosis. Nacetylcysteine was able to inhibit ROS production and apoptosis. PPG up-regulated the protein levels of BIP, peIF2α and CHOP as well as IRE1α and p-JNK, and down-regulated the protein level of p-ASK1, all of which were reversed by N-acetylcysteine. Importantly, knockdown of CHOP or JNK protein level attenuated the PPGelicited apoptosis. CONCLUSION: PPG-induced apoptosis was regulated by ROS-mediated BIP/eIF2α/CHOP and BIP/ASK1/JNK signaling pathways in colon cancer cells, suggesting that PPG is a promising therapeutic agent for the treatment of human colon cancer.

Less Is More: a Mutation in the Chemical Defense Pathway of Erysimum cheiranthoides (Brassicaceae) Reduces Total Cardenolide Abundance but Increases Resistance to Insect Herbivores.

Erysimum cheiranthoides L (Brassicaceae; wormseed wallflower) accumulates not only glucosinolates, which are characteristic of the Brassicaceae, but also abundant and diverse cardenolides. These steroid toxins, primarily glycosylated forms of digitoxigenin, cannogenol, and strophanthidin, inhibit the function of essential Na+/K+-ATPases in animal cells. We screened a population of 659 ethylmethanesulfonate-mutagenized E. cheiranthoides plants to identify isolates with altered cardenolide profiles. One mutant line exhibited 66% lower cardenolide content, resulting from greatly decreased cannogenol and strophanthidin glycosides, partially compensated for by increases in digitoxigenin glycosides. This phenotype was likely caused by a single-locus recessive mutation, as evidenced by a wildtype phenotype of F1 plants from a backcross, a 3:1 wildtype:mutant segregation in the F2 generation, and genetic mapping of the altered cardenolide phenotype to one position in the genome. The mutation created a more even cardenolide distribution, decreased the average cardenolide polarity, but did not impact most glucosinolates. Growth of generalist herbivores from two feeding guilds, Myzus persicae Sulzer (Hemiptera: Aphididae; green peach aphid) and Trichoplusia ni Hübner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae; cabbage looper), was decreased on the mutant line compared to wildtype. Both herbivores accumulated cardenolides in proportion to the plant content, with T. ni accumulating higher total concentrations than M. persicae. Helveticoside, a relatively abundant cardenolide in E. cheiranthoides, was not detected in M. persicae feeding on these plants. Our results support the hypothesis that increased digitoxigenin glycosides provide improved protection against M. persicae and T. ni, despite an overall decrease in cardenolide content of the mutant line.

Investigation of the cytotoxic activity of two novel digitoxigenin analogues on H460 lung cancer cells.

Cardiac glycosides (CGs) are natural compounds traditionally used for the treatment of heart disorders, and recently new therapeutic possibilities were proposed. Their antitumor reports and clinical trials have notably enhanced, including those targeted for lung cancer, the most lethal type that lacks of new treatment agents, instigating the research of these molecules. The CGs studied here, named C10 {3ß-[(N-(2-hydroxyethyl)aminoacetyl]amino-3-deoxydigitoxigenin} and C18 (3ß-(aminoacetyl)amino-3-deoxydigitoxigenin), are semisynthetic derivatives prepared from digitoxigenin scaffold. Both compounds demonstrated high cytotoxicity for different cancer cell lines, especially H460 lung cancer cells, and their cytotoxic effects were deeply investigated using different methodological approaches. C10 induced cell death at lower concentrations and during shorter periods of treatment than C18, and increased the number of small and irregular nuclei, which are characteristics of apoptosis. This type of cell death was confirmed by caspase-3/7 assay. Both compounds reduced H460 cells proliferative potential by long-term action, and C10 showed the strongest potential. Moreover, these compounds induced a significant decrease of the area and viability of H460 spheroids providing preclinical favorable profiles to develop new chemotherapeutic agents.

Cytotoxic 20,22-Dihydrodigitoxigenin Glycosides and Other Constituents of Vallaris glabra Stems.

Ten cardiac glycosides (1-10) including six 20,22-dihydrodigitoxigenin and four gitoxigenin glycosides were isolated from the stems of Vallaris glabra together with six known triterpenoid cinnamates. Spectroscopic data of these previously undescribed compounds are reported. All isolates were evaluated for their growth inhibitory activities against three cancer cell lines, and compound 2 was the most active against KB cells with an IC50 value of 0.03 ± 0.001 µM. Also, compounds 1, 3, 5, and 6 and the triterpenoid cinnamates 11-13 showed inhibitory activity (IC50 < 10 µM) for one or more of the cell lines used.

The alpha-1 subunit of the Na+,K+-ATPase (ATP1A1) is required for macropinocytic entry of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in human respiratory epithelial cells.

Human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading viral cause of acute pediatric lower respiratory tract infections worldwide, with no available vaccine or effective antiviral drug. To gain insight into virus-host interactions, we performed a genome-wide siRNA screen. The expression of over 20,000 cellular genes was individually knocked down in human airway epithelial A549 cells, followed by infection with RSV expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP). Knockdown of expression of the cellular ATP1A1 protein, which is the major subunit of the Na+,K+-ATPase of the plasma membrane, had one of the strongest inhibitory effects on GFP expression and viral titer. Inhibition was not observed for vesicular stomatitis virus, indicating that it was RSV-specific rather than a general effect. ATP1A1 formed clusters in the plasma membrane very early following RSV infection, which was independent of replication but dependent on the attachment glycoprotein G. RSV also triggered activation of ATP1A1, resulting in signaling by c-Src-kinase activity that transactivated epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) by Tyr845 phosphorylation. ATP1A1 signaling and activation of both c-Src and EGFR were found to be required for efficient RSV uptake. Signaling events downstream of EGFR culminated in the formation of macropinosomes. There was extensive uptake of RSV virions into macropinosomes at the beginning of infection, suggesting that this is a major route of RSV uptake, with fusion presumably occurring in the macropinosomes rather than at the plasma membrane. Important findings were validated in primary human small airway epithelial cells (HSAEC). In A549 cells and HSAEC, RSV uptake could be inhibited by the cardiotonic steroid ouabain and the digitoxigenin derivative PST2238 (rostafuroxin) that bind specifically to the ATP1A1 extracellular domain and block RSV-triggered EGFR Tyr845 phosphorylation. In conclusion, we identified ATP1A1 as a host protein essential for macropinocytic entry of RSV into respiratory epithelial cells, and identified PST2238 as a potential anti-RSV drug.

Erythrocyte Membrane-Camouflaged IR780 and DTX Coloading Polymeric Nanoparticles for Imaging-Guided Cancer Photo-Chemo Combination Therapy.

Conventional systemic chemotherapy leads to poor therapeutic outcomes at moments in cancer therapy because the nontargeting anticancer drug release results in adverse effects and consequently drug resistance. The combination therapeutic strategy provides an alternative way to solve the conundrums. Herein, drug delivery systems with a rational design and tumor-targeting abilities become the ideal carriers for combinatorial therapy. IR780 iodide possesses near-infrared fluorescence intensity for fluorescence imaging (FI) and photothermal conversion for photoacoustic imaging (PAI), which also can be employed for tumor phototherapy (including photothermal therapy and photodynamic therapy). However, hydrophobicity and rapid elimination in vivo limit its biomedical applications. Furthermore, the hydrophobicity and high crystallization of IR780 result in poor drug-loading capacity and low stability. In this study, the high-pressure homogenization method was utilized for hydrophobic molecular IR780 and DTX coloading to construct IR780/DTX-PCEC nanoparticles which exhibit narrow size distribution and satisfactory drug-loading capacity. With further erythrocyte membrane [red blood cell (RBC)] camouflaging, the obtained IR780/DTX-PCEC@RBC nanoparticles present desired stability and prolonged circulation time in vivo. Additionally, the IR780/DTX-PCEC@RBC nanoparticles not only can be employed as a FI/PAI dual model imaging probe but also exhibit the property for phototherapy and chemotherapy of tumors. Based on the therapeutic outcome of combination therapy, the IR780/DTX-PCEC@RBC nanoparticles can serve as promising FI- and PAI-guided photo-chemo combination therapy agents for the future treatment of breast cancer.

Cytotoxicity of AMANTADIG - a semisynthetic digitoxigenin derivative - alone and in combination with docetaxel in human hormone-refractory prostate cancer cells and its effect on Na+/K+-ATPase inhibition.

Cardiac glycosides (CGs) are natural compounds used to treat congestive heart failure. They have garnered attention as a potential cancer treatment option, especially because they bind to Na+/K+-ATPase as a target and activate intracellular signaling pathways leading to a variety of cellular responses. In this study we evaluated AMANTADIG, a semisynthetic cardenolide derivative, for its cytotoxic activity in two human androgen-insensitive prostate carcinoma cell lines, and the potential synergistic effects with docetaxel. AMANTADIG induced cytotoxic effects in both cell lines, and a combination with docetaxel showed a moderate and strong synergism in DU145 and PC-3 cells, respectively, at concentrations considerably lower than their IC50 values. Cell cycle analyses showed that AMANTADIG and its synergistic combination induced G2/M arrest of DU145 and PC-3 cells by modulating Cyclin B1, CDK1, p21 and, mainly, survivin expression, a promising target in cancer therapy. Furthermore, AMANTADIG presented reduced toxicity toward non-cancerous cell type (PBMC), and computational docking studies disclosed high-affinity binding to the Na+/K+-ATPase α subunit, a result that was experimentally confirmed by Na+/K+-ATPase inhibition assays. Hence, AMANTADIG inhibited Na+/K+-ATPase activity in PC-3 cells, as well as in purified pig kidney at nanomolar range. Altogether, these data highlight the potent effects of AMANTADIG in combination with docetaxel and offer important insights for the development of more effective and selective therapies against prostate cancer.

Tissue distribution study of periplocin and its two metabolites in rats by a validated LC-MS/MS method.

Periplocin is a cardiac glycoside and has been used widely in the clinic for its cardiotonic, anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor effects. Although it is taken frequently by oral administration in the clinic, there have been no reports demonstrating that periplocin could be detected in vivo after an oral administration, so there is an urgen need to determine the characteristics of periplocin in vivo after oral administration. In this study, a sensitive and reliable liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated to identify and quantify periplocin and its two metabolites in rat tissue after a single dosage of perplocin at 50 mg/kg. The results demonstrated that periplocin and its two metabolites were detected in all of the selected tissues; periplocin could reach peak concentration quickly after administration, while periplocymarin and periplogenin reached maximum concentration > 4.83 h after administration. The tissue distribution of analytes tended to be mostly in the liver, and higher analyte concentrations were found in the heart, liver, spleen, lung and kidney, but a small amount of chemical constituents was distributed into the brain. The consequences obtained using this method might provide a meaningful insight for clinical investigations and applications.

Enantioselective Total Synthesis of Cannogenol-3-O-α-l-rhamnoside via Sequential Cu(II)-Catalyzed Michael Addition/Intramolecular Aldol Cyclization Reactions.

A concise and scalable enantioselective total synthesis of the natural cardenolides cannogenol and cannogenol-3-O-α-l-rhamnoside has been achieved in 18 linear steps. The synthesis features a Cu(II)-catalyzed enantioselective and diastereoselective Michael reaction/tandem aldol cyclization and a one-pot reduction/transposition, which resulted in a rapid (6 linear steps) assembly of a functionalized intermediate containing C19 oxygenation that could be elaborated to cardenolide cannogenol. In addition, a strategy for achieving regio- and stereoselective glycosylation at the C3 position of synthetic cannogenol was developed and applied to the preparation of cannogenol-3-O-α-l-rhamnoside.

An LC-MS/MS method for the determination of digitoxigenin in skin samples and its application to skin permeation and metabolic stability studies.

An LC-MS/MS method was developed for the determination of digitoxigenin in mice skin samples. Chromatographic separation was achieved on an Agilent Poroshell 120 EC-C18 column. Mass spectrometric detection was achieved by a triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer equipped with an ESI interface operating in a positive ionization mode. Quantification was performed using selective reaction monitoring of the precursor-product ion transitions of m/z 375.5→339 for digitoxigenin and m/z 391.5→337 for internal standard (IS). The calibration curves were linear over the concentration range of 1.00-500ng/mL. The intra- and inter-batch precision was no more than 10.6% of the coefficient of variation and the accuracy was within ±8.1% of the actual values. This validated method has been successfully applied to skin permeation and skin metabolic stability studies of digitoxigenin in mice. The steady-state flux and lag time of digitoxigenin permeated across the full-thickness mice skin were 1.86±0.45µg/cm2/h and 0.46±0.18h, respectively. The metabolism of digitoxigenin in the skin was not detected in our study.

Molecular docking of the anticancer bioactive compound proceraside with macromolecules involved in the cell cycle and DNA replication.

The bioactive compounds proceraside A, frugoside and calotropin, which were extracted from the root bark of Calotropis procera (Aiton) W.T. Aiton (family Asclepiadaceae), were recently reported to inhibit the growth of inhibition against various human cancer cell lines in vitro. However, their modes of action have not been clearly defined. Therefore, we attempted an in silico approach to gain insights into their binding modes against the following selected molecular targets: CDK-2, CDK-6, topoisomerase I, BCL-2, VEGFR-2, telomere: G-quadruplex, and topoisomerase II. These targets were selected based on their key roles in cancer progression via the regulation of the cell cycle and DNA replication. Molecular-docking analyses revealed that proceraside A was the best docked ligand against all the targets, with the exception of telomere-G: quadruplex. Furthermore, it displayed the lowest binding energies and inhibition constants, and critical hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions with the targets were also revealed. The present study may aid in the identification of possible targets for proceraside A, and might provide a plausible explanation for its proven anti-tumor activities. Moreover, the result of this study may further guide structure-activity relationship studies used to generate more potent target-specific inhibitors.

Tumor targeted delivery of octreotide-periplogenin conjugate: Synthesis, in vitro and in vivo evaluation.

Periplogenin (PPG), a cardiac glycoside prepared from Cortex periplocae, with similar structure to bufalin, has been found to induce apoptosis in many tumor cells. However, lots of cardiac glycosides possessing strong antitumor activity in vitro have still not passed phase I clinical trials, mostly due to poor tumor selectivity and systemic toxicity. To overcome this drawback, we designed octreotide-periplogenin (OCT-PPG) conjugate by coupling PPG-succinate to the amino-terminal end of octreotide. In comparison with free PPG, the conjugate exhibited significantly stronger cytotoxicity on HepG2 cells (SSTRs overexpression) but much less toxicity in L-02 cells. After intravenous injection of OCT-PPG conjugate into H22 tumor-bearing mice, its total accumulation in tumor was 2.3 fold higher than that of free PPG, but was 0.71- and 0.84-fold lower in heart and liver, respectively, suggesting somatostatin-mediated target delivery of PPG into the tumor tissue and reduced distribution in heart and liver. In vivo studies using H22 tumor model in mice confirmed the remarkable therapeutic effect of this conjugate. These results suggested that OCT-PPG conjugate could provide a new approach for clinical application of cardiac glycosides and as a targeting agent for cancer therapy.

A validated LC-MS/MS method for determination of periplogenin in rat plasma and its application in pharmacokinetic study.

A method coupling high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry has been developed and validated for quantifying periplogenin in rat plasma using psoralen as an internal standard (IS). Plasma samples were pretreated using a simple liquid-liquid extraction with ethyl acetate and the chromatographic separation of periplogenin and psoralen was achieved on a Waters XBridge™ BEH C18 column with 0.1% formic acid and acetonitrile as mobile phase at a flow rate of 0.4mL/min. The detection was performed on a positive ion mode with electrospray ionization (ESI) source. The optimized ion transition pairs for quantitation were m/z 391.3→m/z 337.2 for periplogenin and m/z 187.0→m/z 131.0 for IS. The total run time was 9.0min. The calibration curve was linear over the range of 0.2-250ng/mL (r>0.99) with the lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) at 0.2ng/mL. The intra- and inter-day precision were below 9.85% and the mean accuracy were from -10.03% to 10.26%. The average recoveries of periplogenin in plasma ranged from 85.1% to 95.6%. The proposed method was successfully applied in evaluating the pharmacokinetics of periplogenin after an oral dose of 30mg/kg Cortex Periplocae extract in rats.

C3'/C4'-Stereochemical Effects of Digitoxigenin α-L-/α-D-Glycoside in Cancer Cytotoxicity.

Sweet'n low in stereo: A Wharton reaction was employed along with a diastereoselective palladium-catalyzed glycosylation and other post-glycosylation transformations to synthesize digitoxin analogues. Cytotoxic evaluation against a panel of cancer cell lines uncovered the stereochemical and substitutional limits of the C3'/C4'-hydroxy functionality in digitoxin monosaccharide.

The asymmetric syntheses of methyl D-digitoxoside, L-oleandrose and L-cymarose from methyl sorbate, an achiral precursor.

The addition of 4 eq of chloral to osmundalactone (4S,5R)-4 gave quantitative formation of the hemiacetal derivative (4S,5R)-8, which was treated with methane sulfonic acid to afford the intramolecular Micheal addition product (+)-(3S,4S,5R)-9 possessing a 3,4-cis-dihydroxy-δ-lactone in 78% overall yield from (4S,5R)-4. The obtained (+)-(3S,4S,5R)-9 was subsequently converted to methyl D-digitoxoside (pyranoside) (12) in 13% overall yield and methyl D-digitoxoside (furanoside) (12) in 20% overall yield. The reaction of benzyl-osmundalactone (4R,5S)-3 and MeOH in the presence of Amberlyst A-26 as a basic catalyst gave 3,4-trans-δ-lactone (-)-(3S,4R,5S)-20 in 28% yield and 3,4-cis-δ-lactone (-)-(3R,4R,5S)-21 in 45% yield. Dibal-H reduction of (-)-(3S,4R,5S)-20 followed by catalytic hydrogenation gave L-oleandrose (6) in 86% overall yield, while Dibal-H reduction of (-)-(3R,4R,5S)-21 followed by catalytic hydrogenation provided L-cymarose (7) in 85% overall yield.

Inhibitory activity of a phytochemically characterized fraction from Streptocaulon juventas on lung cancer in nude mice.

In the present study, a 75% ethanol extract of Streptocaulon juventas (SJ), which had a strong inhibitory effect on the proliferation of human lung A549 adenocarcinoma cells, was subjected to bioassay-guided fractionation. The most active fraction (SJF) was obtained using a macroreticular resin column followed by a silica-gel column. Then its in vivo effect on lung cancer was investigated in athymic nude mice with A549 tumors while its effects on body weight, blood biochemical indicators, and organ indices were monitored. The results showed that SJF inhibited the tumor growth significantly at day 10 and day 15 during treatment without physical side effects. Following HPLC and NMR spectrometry, the main components of SJF were identified as digitoxigenin, periplogenin, and periplogenin glucoside.

[Chemical constituents of Periploca forrestii].

OBJECTIVE: To study the constituents of the stems of Periploca forrestii. METHOD: The compounds were separated and purified by silica gel column chromatography, recrystallization and high-performance liquid chromatography. The structures were identified by various spectroscopic methods. RESULT: Nine compounds were isolated and identified as 3-O-acetyloleanolic acid (1), 14-ursen-3-ol-1-one (2), taraxasterol (3), jacoumaric acid (4), periplogenin (5), 2alpha,3beta-dihydroxyursolic acid (6), E-p-hydroxy-cinnamic acid (7), caffeic acid (8), proanthocyanidin A2 (9). CONCLUSION: All compounds except 6 were isolated from this plant for the first time, compound 4, 9 were obtained from the Periploca for the first time.

A simple chemical method for synthesizing malonyl hemiesters of 21-hydroxypregnanes, potential intermediates in cardenolide biosynthesis.

A simple and versatile method for the chemical synthesis of 21-hydroxypregnane 21-O-malonyl hemiesters which may be important intermediates of cardenolide biosynthesis is described. Starting from commercial beta-methyldigitoxin, acid hydrolysis followed by 3beta-O-acetylation and ozonolysis with reductive cleavage of the ozonides afforded 3beta-acetoxy-5beta-pregnane-14beta,21-diol-20-one which was finally converted into the target compound by treatment with malonyl chloride. The malonylation protocol was optimized using deoxycorticosterone (DOC) as the pregnane educt.

A stereoselective synthesis of digitoxin and digitoxigen mono- and bisdigitoxoside from digitoxigenin via a palladium-catalyzed glycosylation.

A convergent and stereocontrolled route to trisaccharide natural product digitoxin has been developed. The route is amenable to the preparation of both the digitoxigen mono- and bisdigitoxoside. This route featured the iterative application of the palladium-catalyzed glycosylation reaction, reductive 1,3-transposition, diastereoselective dihydroxylation, and regioselective protection. The natural product digitoxin was fashioned in 15 steps starting from digitoxigenin 2 and pyranone 8a or 18 steps from achiral acylfuran.