Genetic dereplication driven discovery of a tricinoloniol acid biosynthetic pathway in Trichoderma hypoxylon.

A genetic dereplication approach in combination with differential gene expression led to the discovery of three new sesquiterpenes, tricinoloniol acids (TRAs) A-C (1-3) and the known fusidilactone A (4) from T. hypoxylon. Comparative transcriptomic analysis and targeted deletion identified the biosynthetic route for TRAs. Our results demonstrate an alternative application of the genetic dereplication method for exploring the biosynthesis of cryptic secondary metabolites (SMs), which utilizes the coordinated expression of trichothecene (tri) and tra cluster genes.

Cytotoxic, Anti-Migration, and Anti-Invasion Activities on Breast Cancer Cells of Angucycline Glycosides Isolated from a Marine-Derived Streptomyces sp.

Four angucycline glycosides were previously characterized from marine-derived Streptomyces sp. OC1610.4. Further investigation of this strain cultured on different fermentation media from that used previously resulted in the isolation of two new angucycline glycosides, vineomycins E and F (1-2), and five known homologues, grincamycin L (3), vineomycinone B2 (4), fridamycin D (5), moromycin B (7), and saquayamycin B1 (8). Vineomycin F (2) contains an unusual ring-cleavage deoxy sugar. All the angucycline glycosides isolated from Streptomyces sp. OC1610.4 were evaluated for their cytotoxic activity against breast cancer cells MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, and BT-474. Moromycin B (7), saquayamycin B1 (8), and saquayamycin B (9) displayed potent anti-proliferation against the tested cell lines, with IC50 values ranging from 0.16 to 0.67 µM. Saquayamycin B (9) inhibited the migration and invasion of MDA-MB-231 cells in a dose-dependent manner, as detected by Transwell and wound-healing assays.

2H-Pyranone and isocoumarin derivatives isolated from the plant pathogenic fungus Leptosphaena maculans.

Two new 2H-pyranones and two new isocoumarin derivatives, maculanslines A-D (1-4), together with seven known compounds (5-11), were isolated from the plant pathogenic fungus Leptosphaena maculans. Their planar structures and absolute configuration were elucidated by comprehensive spectroscopic techniques including high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrum, 1D and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance, as well as electronic circular dichroism. All 11 compounds were tested for their inhibitory activity against α-glucosidase. Compound 1 showed moderate inhibitory activity against α-glucosidase with IC50 of 74.35 µM.

Small Molecule Oligopeptides Isolated from Walnut (Juglans regia L.) and Their Anti-Fatigue Effects in Mice.

Walnut (Juglans regia L.) is unique for its extensive biological activities and pharmaceutical properties. There are few studies on walnut oligopeptides (WOPs), which are small molecule peptides extracted from walnuts. This study aimed to evaluate the anti-fatigue effects of WOPs on ICR mice and explore the possible underlying mechanism. Mice were randomly divided into four experimental sets and each set of mice were then randomly divided into four groups. The vehicle group was administered distilled water, and the three WOP intervention groups were orally administered WOP solution at a dose of 110, 220, and 440 mg/kg of body weight, respectively. After 30 days of WOP intervention, the anti-fatigue activity of WOPs were evaluated using the weight-loaded swimming test and by measuring the change of biochemical parameters, glycogen storage and energy metabolism enzymes, anti-oxidative capacity and mitochondrial function. It was observed that WOPs could significantly prolong the swimming time, decrease the accumulation of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine kinase (CK), blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and blood lactic acid (BLA), and increased the glycogen storage of liver and gastrocnemius muscle. WOPs also markedly inhibited fatigue induced oxidative stress by increasing the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and decreasing the content malondialdehyde (MDA). Notably, WOPs improved the activity of pyruvate kinase (PK), succinate dehydrogenase (SDH), Na+-K+-ATPase, and enhanced the mRNA expression of mitochondrial biogenesis factors and mitochondrial DNA content in skeletal muscles of mice. These results suggest that WOPs have beneficial anti-fatigue effects, which may be attributed to their positive effects on increasing glycogen storage, improving energy metabolism, inhibiting oxidative stress, enhancing mitochondrial function in skeletal muscle, and ameliorating the cell damage and the muscular injury.

Effect of bovine bone collagen oligopeptides on wound healing in mice.

Impaired wound healing often brings a set of problems in clinical practice. This study aimed to observe the wound healing potential of bovine bone collagen oligopeptides (BCOP) in mice. After an operation, mice in BCOP-treated groups were given intragastric administration of BCOP, while others were administered vehicle. Mice were sacrificed at different points. The wound healing condition and the tensile strength were observed, serum biochemical indexes and mRNA expression of level of related genes were measured. Compared with the normal control group, albumin (ALB), prealbumin (PA), transferrin (TRF), hydroxyproline (Hyp) levels and tension strength in the BCOP-treated groups increased significantly (p < 0.05). A pathological report showed that neutrophil granulocyte in the BCOP-treated groups decreased, while blood capillary and fibroblasts increased. The levels of serum inflammation indexes like interleukin (IL)-8, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2 (CCL2) and C-reactive protein (CRP) significantly decreased in full-thickness incision model, whereas increased in full-thickness excision model (p < 0.05). Furthermore, IL-10, stromal cell-derived factor-1 alpha (SDF-1α) levels and the mRNA expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) significantly increased in both models (p < 0.05). These results suggested that oral administration of BCOP could promote wound healing in mice.

Sesquiterpenes and polyphenols with glucose-uptake stimulatory and antioxidant activities from the medicinal mushroom Sanghuangporus sanghuang.

A chemical investigation on the fermentation products of Sanghuangporus sanghuang led to the isolation and identification of fourteen secondary metabolites (1-14) including eight sesquiterpenoids (1-8) and six polyphenols (9-14). Compounds 1-3 were sesquiterpenes with new structures which were elucidated based on NMR spectroscopy, high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) data. All the isolates were tested for their stimulation effects on glucose uptake in insulin-resistant HepG2 cells, and cellular antioxidant activity. Compounds 9-12 were subjected to molecular docking experiment to primarily evaluate their anti-coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) activity. As a result, compounds 9-12 were found to increase the glucose uptake of insulin-resistant HepG2 cells by 18.1%, 62.7%, 33.7% and 21.4% at the dose of 50 µmol·L-1, respectively. Compounds 9-12 also showed good cellular antioxidant activities with CAA50 values of 12.23, 23.11, 5.31 and 16.04 µmol·L-1, respectively. Molecular docking between COVID-19 Mpro and compounds 9-12 indicated potential SARS-CoV-2 inhibitory activity of these four compounds. This work provides new insights for the potential role of the medicinal mushroom S. sanghuang as drugs and functional foods.

p-Terphenyls and actinomycins from a Streptomyces sp. associated with the larva of mud dauber wasp.

In the course of searching for cytotoxic metabolites from insects associated actinomyces, two new natural p-terphenyl glycosides, strepantibin D (1) and strepantibin E (2), along with terferol (3), actinomycin D (4), actinomycin V (5) and actinomycin V0ß (6), were identified from the fermentation medium of a Streptomyces sp. which was obtained from the larva body of mud dauber wasp. Strepantibin D (1), previously reported as a synthetic derivative of terfestatin A, is firstly isolated as a natural p-terphenyl in this research. Strepantibin D (1) and terferol (3) showed medium cytotoxic activity against breast cancer cells MCF-7, MDA-MB-231 and BT-474. Actinomycins (4-6), especially actinomycin V (5), displayed remarkable cytotoxicity against breast cancer cells, with IC50 values ranging from 0.83 nM to 369.90 nM.

A Versatile Transcription-Translation in One Approach for Activation of Cryptic Biosynthetic Gene Clusters.

The ever-growing drug resistance problem worldwide highlights the urgency to discover and develop new drugs. Microbial natural products are a prolific source of drugs. Genome sequencing has revealed a tremendous amount of uncharacterized natural product biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) encoded within microbial genomes, most of which are cryptic or express at very low levels under standard culture conditions. Therefore, developing effective strategies to awaken these cryptic BGCs is of great interest for natural product discovery. In this study, we designed and validated a Transcription-Translation in One (TTO) approach for activation of cryptic BGCs. This approach aims to alter the metabolite profiles of target strains by directly overexpressing exogenous rpsL (encoding ribosomal protein S12) and rpoB (encoding RNA polymerase ß subunit) genes containing beneficial mutations for natural product production using a plug-and-play plasmid system. As a result, this approach bypasses the tedious screening work and overcomes the false positive problem in the traditional ribosome engineering approach. In this work, the TTO approach was successfully applied to activating cryptic BGCs in three Streptomyces strains, leading to the discovery of two aromatic polyketide antibiotics, piloquinone and homopiloquinone. We further identified a single BGC responsible for the biosynthesis of both piloquinone and homopiloquinone, which features an unusual starter unit incorporation step. This powerful strategy can be further exploited for BGC activation in strains even beyond streptomycetes, thus facilitating natural product discovery research in the future.

Anti-fatigue effects of small-molecule oligopeptides isolated from Panax quinquefolium L. in mice.

American ginseng (Panax quinquefolium L.) was reported to have extensive biological activities and pharmaceutical properties. In most of the studies, the anti-fatigue effects of American ginseng are attributed to ginsenoside, and in only a few studies, they have been attributed to oligopeptides. Therefore, the aim of this study was to observe the anti-fatigue effects of small-molecule oligopeptides isolated from Panax quinquefolium L. (QOPs) in mice. At first, mice chosen for the study were randomly divided into four experimental groups; each group of mice was further divided into five subgroups: vehicle control group, whey protein group (450 mg per kg BW), and three groups of QOPs at different doses (225 mg per kg BW, 450 mg per kg BW, and 900 mg per kg BW). Test substances were given by gavage once a day for 30 days. QOPs can significantly prolong the forced swimming time, decrease the serum urea nitrogen (SUN) and blood lactate (BLA) levels, and increase the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity and hepatic glycogen content. QOPs also markedly enhanced the superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity and attenuated the malondialdehyde (MDA) levels. Notably, QOPs enhanced the activity of succinate dehydrogenase (SDH), Na+-K+-ATPase, and Ca2+-Mg2+-ATPase and increased the mRNA expression of nuclear respiratory factor 1 (NRF-1) and mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM) and the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) content in skeletal muscles. These results indicate that treatment with QOPs induces anti-fatigue effects, which may be due to the inhibition of oxidative stress and the improvement of mitochondrial function in skeletal muscles. QOPs can be used as a novel natural agent for relieving physical fatigue.

Chemical diversity from the Tibetan Plateau fungi Penicillium kongii and P. brasilianum.

Two new secondary metabolites, kongiilines A and B (1, 7), and two asperphenamate derivatives, asperphenamates B and C (5-6), together with 16 known compounds (2-4, 8-20), were isolated from Tibetan Plateau fungi Penicillium kongii and Penicillium brasilianum. This is the first report on asperphenamates B and C as naturally occurring compounds, and that aspterric acid is isolated from P. brasilianum for the first time. Their structures were elucidated by different spectroscopic techniques including high-resolution electrospray ionisation mass spectrum, 1D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and 2D NMR as well as electronic circular dichroism. Compounds 4, 5, and 10 exhibited cytotoxicity activities against human colon carcinoma HCT116 cell line with IC50 values of 88.16, 77.68, and 36.92 µM, respectively. Fungi from Tibetan Plateau represent important and rich resources for the investigation of new chemicals.

Ginseng (Panax ginseng Meyer) Oligopeptides Protect Against Binge Drinking-Induced Liver Damage through Inhibiting Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in Rats.

Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer (ginseng) is an edible and traditional medicinal herb, which is reported to have a wide range of biological activity and pharmaceutical properties. There were more studies on ginsenoside and polysaccharides, but fewer on ginseng oligopeptides (GOPs), which are small molecule oligopeptides extracted from ginseng. The present study was designed to investigate the effects and underlying mechanism of ginseng oligopeptide (GOPs) on binge drinking-induced alcohol damage in rats. Sprague Dawley rats were randomly assigned to six groups (n = 10), rats in normal control group and alcohol model group was administered distilled water; rats in four GOPs intervention groups (at a dose of 0.0625, 0.125, 0.25, 0.5 g/kg of body weight, respectively) were administered GOPs once a day for 30 days. Experiment rats were intragastrically administered ethanol at a one-time dose of 7 g/kg of body weight after 30 days. The liver injury was measured through traditional liver enzymes, inflammatory cytokines, expression of oxidative stress markers, and histopathological examination. We found that the GOPs treatment could significantly improve serum alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase, plasma lipopolysaccharide, and inflammatory cytokine levels, as well as the oxidative stress markers that were altered by alcohol. Moreover, GOPs treatment inhibited the protein expression of toll-like receptor 4, and repressed the inhibitor kappa Bα and nuclear factor-κB p65 in the liver. These findings suggested that GOPs have a significant protective effect on binge drinking-induced liver injury, and the mechanism possibly mediated by the partial inhibition of lipopolysaccharide-toll-like receptor 4-nuclear factor-κB p65 signaling in the liver.

Ginseng oligopeptides protect against irradiation-induced immune dysfunction and intestinal injury.

Intestinal injury and immune dysfunction are commonly encountered after irradiation therapy. While the curative abilities of ginseng root have been reported in prior studies, there is little known regarding its role in immunoregulation of intestinal repairability in cancer patients treated with irradiation. Our current study aims to closely examine the protective effects of ginseng-derived small molecule oligopeptides (Panax ginseng C. A. Mey.) (GOP) against irradiation-induced immune dysfunction and subsequent intestinal injury, using in vitro and in vivo models. Expectedly, irradiation treatment resulted in increased intestinal permeability along with mucosal injury in both Caco-2 cells and mice, probably due to disruption of the intestinal epithelial barrier, leading to high plasma lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and pro-inflammatory cytokines levels. However, when the cells were treated with GOP, this led to diminished concentration of plasma LPS and cytokines (IL-1 and TNF-α), suggesting its dampening effect on inflammatory and oxidative stress, and potential role in restoring normal baseline intestinal permeability. Moreover, the Caco-2 cells treated with GOP showed high trans-epithelial electrical resistance (TEER) and low FITC-dextran paracellular permeability when compared to the control group. This could be explained by the higher levels of tight junction proteins (ZO-1 and Occludin) expression along with reduced expression of the apoptosis-related proteins (Bax and Caspase-3) noticed in the GOP-treated cells, highlighting its role in preserving intestinal permeability, through prevention of their degradation while maintaining normal levels of expression. Further confirmatory in vivo data showed that GOP-treated mice exhibited high concentrations of lymphocytes (CD3+, CD4+, CD8+) in the intestine, to rescue the irradiation-induced damage and restore baseline intestinal integrity. Therefore, we propose that GOP can be used as an adjuvant therapy to attenuate irradiation-induced immune dysfunction and intestinal injury in cancer patients.

Ginseng (Panax ginseng Meyer) oligopeptides regulate innate and adaptive immune responses in mice via increased macrophage phagocytosis capacity, NK cell activity and Th cells secretion.

Traditionally used as a restorative medicine, ginseng (Panax ginseng Meyer) has been the most widely used and acclaimed herb in Chinese communities for thousands of years. To investigate the immune-modulating activity of ginseng oligopeptides (GOP), 420 healthy female BALB/c mice were intragastrically administered distilled water (control), whey protein (0.15 g per kg body weight (BW)), and GOP 0.0375, 0.075, 0.15, 0.3 and 0.6 g per kg BW for 30 days. Blood samples from mice were collected from the ophthalmic venous plexus and then sacrificed by cervical dislocation. Seven assays were conducted to determine the immunomodulatory effects of GOP on innate and adaptive immune responses, followed by flow cytometry to investigate spleen T lymphocyte sub-populations, multiplex sandwich immunoassays to investigate serum cytokine and immunoglobulin levels, and ELISA to investigate intestinally secreted immunoglobulin to study the mechanism of GOP affecting the immune system. Our results showed that GOP was able to enhance innate and adaptive immune responses in mice by improving cell-mediated and humoral immunity, macrophage phagocytosis capacity and NK cell activity. Notably, the use of GOP revealed a better immune-modulating activity compared to whey protein. We conclude that the immune-modulating activity might be due to the increased macrophage phagocytosis capacity and NK cell activity, and the enhancement of T and Th cells, as well as IL-2, IL-6 and IL-12 secretion and IgA, IgG1 and IgG2b production. These results indicate that GOP could be considered a good candidate that may improve immune functions if used as a dietary supplement, with a dosage that ranges from 0.3 to 0.6 g per kg BW.

Sea cucumber (Codonopsis pilosula) oligopeptides: immunomodulatory effects based on stimulating Th cells, cytokine secretion and antibody production.

This study aimed to investigate the immunomodulating activity of small molecule oligopeptides from sea cucumber (Codonopsis pilosula) (SOP) in mice. Seven assays were performed to determine the immunomodulatory effects, including splenic lymphocyte proliferation and delayed-type hypersensitivity assays (cell-mediated immunity), IgM antibody response of spleen to sheep red blood cells (SRBC) and serum hemolysin level assays (humoral immunity), the carbon clearance assay and the phagocytic capacity of peritoneal cavity phagocytes assay (macrophage phagocytosis), and the NK cell activity assay. Spleen T lymphocyte subpopulations, multiplex sandwich immunoassays of serum cytokine and immunoglobulin levels and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for small intestinal secretory immunoglobulin were performed to study the mechanism by which SOP affects the immune system. We found that SOP could improve immune functions in mice, which may be due to the enhancement of the functions of cell-mediated immunity, humoral immunity, macrophage phagocytosis and NK cell activity. From the cellular and molecular assays, we postulated that the immunomodulatory effects are most likely attributed to the stimulation of Th cells, cytokine secretion and antibody production.

Stucturally Diverse Sesquiterpenes Produced by a Chinese Tibet Fungus Stereum hirsutum and Their Cytotoxic and Immunosuppressant Activities.

Two new heterodimeric sesquiterpenes, sterhirsutins C (1) and D (2), along with eight new sesquiterpenoid derivatives, sterhirsutins E--L (3-10), were isolated from the culture of Stereum hirsutum. The absolute configuration of 1 was assigned by a single-crystal X-ray diffraction experiment. Compounds 1 and 2 possessed an unprecedented chemical skeleton with a 5/5/5/6/9/4 fused ring system. Compound 10 is the first sesquiterpene coupled with a xanthine moiety. Compounds 1-10 showed cytotoxicity against K562 and HCT116 cell lines. Compound 9 induced autophagy in HeLa cells. Compound 5 inhibited the activation of IFNß promoter in Sendai virus infected cells.

Sterhirsutins A and B, two new heterodimeric sesquiterpenes with a new skeleton from the culture of Stereum hirsutum collected in Tibet Plateau.

Two new heterodimeric sesquiterpenes, sterhirsutins A (1) and B (2), and two new sesquiterpenes, hirsutic acids D-E (3 and 4), were identified from the culture of Stereum hirsutum. The absolute configurations in 1 and 2 were confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction experiments and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations. Compounds 1 and 2 are likely biosynthesized from a hirsutane-type sesquiterpene and α-humulene by a hetero-Diels-Alder cycloaddition. Compounds 1-4 showed cytotoxicity against K562 and HCT116 cell lines.

Cyclohexanone derivatives with cytotoxicity from the fungus Penicillium commune.

Four new cyclohexanone derivatives (2-5) and one known analog, (-)-Palitantin (1) were isolated from the EtOAc extract of Penicillium commune, a fungal strain of low-temperature habitats. The structures of 2-5 were determined on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analysis. Furthermore, the absolute configuration of 2 was assigned by electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations, whereas that 3-5 were deduced via the CD data. Cytotoxicities of 2-5 against five human carcinoma cell lines (Hela, A549, MCF7, HCT116, T24) were evaluated.

Anti-diabetic and hypolipidemic effects of aqueous-extract from the flower of Inula japonica in alloxan-induced diabetic mice.

The anti-diabetic and hypolipidemic effects of aqueous-extract from the flower of Inula japonica (IJ) and its two fractions (IJR and IJP) were investigated in alloxan-induced diabetic mice. An oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) of IJ was also performed in normal and diabetic mice. The results showed that IJ (1000 mg/kg), IJR (500 mg/kg) and IJP (250 mg/kg) significantly reduced blood glucose levels in diabetic mice by oral administration (p<0.01). IJ and IJP markedly decreased serum triglyceride concentrations (p<0.05) in diabetic mice. Their hypoglycemic activities were better than gliclazide (40 mg/kg) and compared with metformin (250 mg/kg). IJ raised plasma insulin levels in alloxan-induced diabetic mice. IJ, IJR and IJP significantly decreased the consumption of water and food in diabetic mice. OGTT showed that IJ slightly lowered blood glucose levels in normal mice, but significantly decreased blood glucose in diabetic mice between 60-150 min after a glucose load (p<0.05). The data indicated that IJ has both anti-diabetic and hypolipidemic effects.