Comparative Analysis of Phytochemical Profiles and Selected Biological Activities of Various Morphological Parts of Ligustrum vulgare.

Ligustrum vulgare (LV), widely cultivated in Europe and often used in hedges, has been historically recognized in folk medicine for its potential health benefits. This study focused on exploring the untargeted identification of secondary metabolites in ethanol extracts (70% v/v) from different morphological parts (young shoots, leaves, flowers and fruits) of LV at various stages of plant development, using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography with high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS). Additionally, the selected biological activities (antioxidant activity, cyclooxygenase-2 inhibition (COX-2), α-amylase inhibition and cytotoxicity) of the tested extracts were determined. Untargeted metabolomics showed that LV extracts were a rich source of phenylethanoid compounds, flavonoids, iridoids and their derivatives. The flowers of LV had the highest content of oleuropein (33.43 ± 2.48 mg/g d.w.). The lowest antioxidant activity was obtained for ripe and post-seasonal fruits, while in the case of other samples, the activity was at a similar level. All tested extracts showed α-amylase and COX-2 inhibitory activity. In addition, LV extracts showed strong antiproliferative properties in colorectal (HT29) and liver (HepG2) cancer cell lines. The obtained results show the difference in the content of bioactive compounds in various morphological parts of Ligustrum vulgare. These differences may influence the multifaceted medicinal potential of this plant.

New 1,2,3-triazole/1,2,4-triazole hybrids linked to oxime moiety as nitric oxide donor selective COX-2, aromatase, B-RAFV600E and EGFR inhibitors celecoxib analogs: design, synthesis, anti-inflammatory/anti-proliferative activities, apoptosis and molecular modeling study.

A new series of bis-triazole 19a-l was synthesised for the purpose of being hybrid molecules with both anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer activities and assessed for cell cycle arrest, NO release. Compounds 19c, 19f, 19h, 19 l exhibited COX-2 selectivity indexes in the range of 18.48 to 49.38 compared to celecoxib S.I. = 21.10), inhibit MCF-7 with IC50 = 9-16 µM compared to tamoxifen (IC50 = 27.9 µM). and showed good inhibitory activity against HEP-3B with IC50 = 4.5-14 µM compared to sorafenib (IC50 = 3.5 µM) (HEP-3B). Moreover, derivatives 19e, 19j, 19k, 19 l inhibit HCT-116 with IC50 = 5.3-13.7 µM compared to 5-FU with IC50 = 4.8 µM (HCT-116). Compounds 19c, 19f, 19h, 19 l showed excellent inhibitory activity against A549 with IC50 = 3-4.5 µM compared to 5-FU with IC50 = 6 µM (A549). Compounds 19c, 19f, 19h, 19 l inhibit aromatase (IC50 of 22.40, 23.20, 22.70, 30.30 µM), EGFR (IC50 of 0.112, 0.205, 0.169 and 0.066 µM) and B-RAFV600E (IC50 of 0.09, 0.06, 0.07 and 0.05 µM).

Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of new 1,4-diarylazetidin-2-one derivatives (ß-lactams) as selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors.

A new series of 1,4-diarylazetidin-2-one derivatives (ß-lactams) were designed and synthesized to evaluate their biological activities as selective cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors. In vitro COX-1 and COX-2 inhibition studies showed that all compounds were selective inhibitors of the COX-2 isozyme with IC50 values in the 0.05-0.11 µM range, and COX-2 selectivity indexes in the range of 170-703.7. Among the synthesized ß-lactams, 3-methoxy-4-(4-(methylsulfonyl)phenyl)-1-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)azetidin-2-one (4j) possessing trimethoxy groups at the N-1 phenyl ring exhibited the highest COX-2 inhibitory selectivity and potency, even more potent than the reference drug celecoxib. The analgesic activity of the synthesized compounds was also determined using the formalin test. Compound 4f displayed the best analgesic activity among the synthesized molecules. Molecular modeling studies indicated that the methylsulfonyl pharmacophore group can be inserted into the secondary pocket of the COX-2 active site for interactions with Arg513 . The structure-activity data acquired indicate that the ß-lactam ring moiety constitutes a suitable scaffold to design new 1,4-diarylazetidin-2-ones with selective COX-2 inhibitory activity.

Nimesulide analogues: From anti-inflammatory to antitumor agents.

Nimesulide is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug possessing analgesic and antipyretic properties. This drug is considered a selective cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor and, more recently, has been associated to antitumor activity. Thus, numerous works have been developed to modify the nimesulide skeleton aiming to develop new and more potent and selective COX-2 inhibitors as well as potential anticancer agents. This review intends to provide an overview on analogues of nimesulide, including the general synthetic approaches used for their preparation and structural diversification and their main anti-inflammatory and/or antitumor properties.

Neoadjuvant irinotecan, cisplatin, and concurrent radiation therapy with celecoxib for patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer.

BACKGROUND: Patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer who are treated with trimodality therapy have a high recurrence rate. Preclinical evidence suggests that inhibition of cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2) increases the effectiveness of chemoradiation, and observational studies in humans suggest that COX-2 inhibition may reduce esophageal cancer risk. This trial tested the safety and efficacy of combining a COX2 inhibitor, celecoxib, with neoadjuvant irinotecan/cisplatin chemoradiation. METHODS: This single arm phase 2 trial combined irinotecan, cisplatin, and celecoxib with concurrent radiation therapy. Patients with stage IIA-IVA esophageal cancer received weekly cisplatin 30 mg/m(2) plus irinotecan 65 mg/m(2) on weeks 1, 2, 4, and 5 concurrently with 5040 cGy of radiation therapy. Celecoxib 400 mg was taken orally twice daily during chemoradiation, up to 1 week before surgery, and for 6 months following surgery. RESULTS: Forty patients were enrolled with stage IIa (30 %), stage IIb (20 %), stage III (22.5 %), and stage IVA (27.5 %) esophageal or gastroesophageal junction cancer (AJCC, 5th Edition). During chemoradiation, grade 3-4 treatment-related toxicity included dysphagia (20 %), anorexia (17.5 %), dehydration (17.5 %), nausea (15 %), neutropenia (12.5 %), diarrhea (10 %), fatigue (7.5 %), and febrile neutropenia (7.5 %). The pathological complete response rate was 32.5 %. The median progression free survival was 15.7 months and the median overall survival was 34.7 months. 15 % (n = 6) of patients treated on this study developed brain metastases. CONCLUSIONS: The addition of celecoxib to neoadjuvant cisplatin-irinotecan chemoradiation was tolerable; however, overall survival appeared comparable to prior studies using neoadjuvant cisplatin-irinotecan chemoradiation alone. Further studies adding celecoxib to neoadjuvant chemoradiation in esophageal cancer are not warranted. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT00137852 , registered August 29, 2005.

Cyclooxygenase-2 Inhibition Reduces Autophagy of Macrophages Enhancing Extraintestinal Pathogenic Escherichia coli Infection.

Extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC) is one of the top pathogens responsible for bloodstream infection and severe, often fatal, sepsis. Although the virulence factors and host immune responses to ExPEC infection have been investigated, the responses to a particular ExPEC strain could be very different. In this study, we investigated the mechanisms of Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) up-regulation in influencing the host defenses against infection of ExPEC XM O2:K1:H7. Our results demonstrated that ExPEC XM O2:K1:H7 infection in mouse and RAW264.7 macrophages leads to COX-2 up-regulation, and COX-2 inhibition significantly enhances ExPEC infection. The up-regulation of COX-2 in macrophages was mediated by Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) through the activation of p38 and extracellular signal-regulated kinase/Mitogen-activated protein kinase (ERK/MAPK) pathways. Further studies showed that COX-2 inhibition significantly decreased autophagy in macrophages during ExPEC XM O2:K1:H7 infection. Autophagy inhibition significantly enhanced, while induction reduced ExPEC XM O2:K1:H7 survival in macrophages. In addition, COX-2 inhibition significantly increased macrophage cell death during ExPEC XM O2:K1:H7 infection and increased the expression of anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-10 (IL-10). Our results indicate that COX-2 up-regulation benefits host defense against ExPEC XM O2:K1:H7 infection by increasing autophagy in macrophages and by reducing IL-10 expression and macrophage cell death during ExPEC infection.

Design, Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of New Imidazo[2,1-b]Thiazole Derivatives as Selective COX-2 Inhibitors.

A new series of imidazo[2,1-b]thiazole analogs containing a methyl sulfonyl COX-2 pharmacophore was synthesized and evaluated for their COX-2 inhibitory activity. According to in-vitro COX-1/COX-2 inhibition data, all compounds (6a-g) were selective inhibitors of COX-2 isoenzyme with IC50 values in the highly potent 0.08-0.16 µM range. These results indicated that both potency and selectivity of COX-2 inhibitory activity were affected by the type and size of amine on C-5 of imidazo[2,1-b]thiazole ring. Our data identified N,N-dimethyl-1-(6-(4-(methylsulfonyl)phenyl)imidazo[2,1-b]thiazol-5-yl)methanamine (6a) as a potent and selective COX-2 inhibitor (IC50 COX-1 >100 µM; IC50 COX-2 = 0.08 µM; selectivity index = 313.7). Our results indicated that both potency and selectivity of COX-2 inhibitory activity were affected by the type and size of amine on C-5 of imidazo[2,1-b]thiazole ring.

Synthesis, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, COX-1/2 inhibitory activities and molecular docking studies of substituted 2-mercapto-4(3H)-quinazolinones.

A new series of 2-substituted mercapto-4(3H)-quinazolinone 1-26 were synthesized and assessed for in vivo anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities and in vitro inhibition of cyclooxygenase COX-1/COX-2. A new series of 2-substituted mercapto-4(3H)-quinazolinone 1-26 were synthesized and assessed for in vivo anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities. The potent anti-inflammatory compounds were subjected to in vitro cyclooxygenase COX-1/COX-2 inhibition assays. Compounds 1, 3, 5, 11, 12, 13, 15, 17, and 25 exhibited potent anti-inflammatory effects, with half-maximal effective dose (ED50) values of 65.7-102.4 mg/kg, (0.16-0.36 mmol/kg), and strong analgesic activities, with ED50 values of 33.3-104.6 mg/kg, (0.07-0.34 mmol/kg). These values were compared with those of diclofenac sodium [ED50 values: 112.2 and 100.4 mg/kg, (0.35 and 0.31 mmol/kg)], and celecoxib [ED50 values: 84.3 and 71.6 mg/kg (0.22 and 0.19 mmol/kg)], respectively as reference drugs. Compounds 1, 11, 12, 13, 15, 17, and 25 exhibited effective COX-2 inhibitory activity, with half-maximal inhibitor concentration (IC50) values of 0.70-2.0 µM and selectivity index (SI) values of more than 50-142.9 compared with celecoxib as reference drugs (IC50 = 0.30 µM and COX-2 SI: >333). Potent COX-2 inhibitors, i.e., compounds 15, 11, and 17 were docked into the binding site pockets of COX-1 and COX-2. These compounds exhibited strong interactions at the COX-2 binding site and poor interactions at COX-1 active site pocket.