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Three compounds were obtained from Sabia parviflora Wall., and their structures were identified through nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, particularly 2-dimensional (2D)-NMR. The molecular masses were determined using quadrupole-time-of-flight-mass spectrometry. Electronic circular dichroism spectra were used to determine the absolute configuration of compound 1. The 3 new compounds were identified as 2,2,7,7-tetramethyl-8S,10-dihydroxy-2,7,8,9-tetrahydro-2H-naphtha[2,3-b]pyran-6-one-10- O - β -D-glucopyranoside, (2Z)-4-(3-carboxy-4-hydroxyphenyl)-2-methylbut-2-enoic acid, and (2Z)-5-(3-carboxy-4-hydroxyphenyl)-5-oxo-2-methylpent-2-enoic acid. The liver protective activities of these compounds were tested by HepG2 and LO2 cell lines, which were induced using free fatty acids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFLD) over the past years has become a metabolic pandemic linked to a collection of metabolic diseases. The nuclear receptors ERRs, REV-ERBs, RORs, FXR, PPARs, and LXR are master regulators of metabolism and liver physiology. The characterization of these nuclear receptors and their biology has promoted the development of synthetic ligands. The possibility of targeting these receptors to treat NAFLD is promising, as several compounds including Cilofexor, thiazolidinediones, and Saroglitazar are currently undergoing clinical trials. This review focuses on the latest development of the pharmacology of these metabolic nuclear receptors and how they may be utilized to treat NAFLD and subsequent comorbidities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reports the design and synthesis of NO-donating polymer to generate biodegradable polymeric micelle containing paclitaxel (NO/PTX) as a nanomedicine delivery system aimed to enhance the solubility and anti-cancer activity of paclitaxel (PTX). NO/PTX showed greater NO-releasing performance than nitroglycerin, displaying excellent tolerance in KM mice, and exhibited a two-fold stronger antiproliferative activity than PTX in vitro against HCT116, SW480, and SGC-7901 cell lines. In vivo tumor growth inhibition assay results indicated that NO/PTX displayed lightly stronger activities against tumor growth than PTX at a dose of 10 mg kg−1, while the anti-tumor effect of NO/PTX was significantly improved than that of PTX and Genexol®-PM groups at a dose of 15 mg kg−1 (the inhibition rate: 67% vs. 53% and 41%). In addition, NO/PTX showed an improved area under the plasma concentration-time curve and drug deposition in tumors in comparison to PTX. Wound healing assay and western blot analysis of EMT-related markers suggested that NO/PTX could inhibit the potential of HCT116 migration. Western blot analysis also demonstrated that NO/PTX dampened efflux activity of P-gp and up-regulated apoptosis-related proteins. Overall, these promising results suggested that the synergism between PTX and NO-donating micelles could contribute to the potent anti-cancer activity of NO/PTX. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of Pulsatilla saponin D (PSD) and α-hederin derivatives bearing NO donors were designed, synthesized and evaluated for anticancer activities in vitro and in vivo. Among them, most of the target compounds exhibited strong antiproliferative activities against the tested cancer cell lines, and derivatives 5a, 5b and 5c exhibited high levels of NO release. Furthermore, compound 5c treated with a dose of 15 mg kg−1 showed a more potent tumor inhibitory effect than that of Taxol (27.44% vs. 23.26%). In addition, compound 5c blocked the cell cycle at the S phase and induced cancer cell apoptosis in a concentration-dependent manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GPR119 is a promising target for discovery of anti-type 2 diabetes mellitus agents. We described the optimisation of a novel series of pyrimido[5,4-b][1,4]oxazine derivatives as GPR119 agonists. Most designed compounds exhibited good agonistic activities. Among them, compound 10 and 15 demonstrated the potent EC50 values (13 and 12 nM, respectively) and strong inherent activities. Moreover, significant hypoglycaemic effect of compound 15 was observed by reducing the blood glucose AUC0–2h at the dose of 30 mg/kg, which is stronger than Vildagliptin (23.4% reduction vs. 17.9% reduction). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uveal melanoma (UM) has a high mortality rate due to liver metastasis. The insulin‐like growth factor‐1 receptor (IGF‐1R) is highly expressed in UM and has been shown to be associated with hepatic metastases. Targeting IGF signalling may be considered as a promising approach to inhibit the process of metastatic UM cells. Pristimerin (PRI) has been demonstrated to inhibit the growth of several cancer cells, but its role and underlying mechanisms in the IGF‐1‐induced UM cell proliferation are largely unknown. The present study examined the anti‐proliferative effect of PRI on UM cells and its possible role in IGF‐1R signalling transduction. MTT and clonogenic assays were used to determine the role of PRI in the proliferation of UM cells. Flow cytometry was performed to detect the effect of PRI on the cell cycle distribution of UM cells. Western blotting was carried out to assess the effects of PRI and IGF‐1 on the IGF‐1R phosphorylation and its downstream targets. The results indicated that IGF‐1 promoted the UM cell proliferation and improved the level of IGF‐1R phosphorylation, whereas PRI attenuated the effect of IGF‐1. Interestingly, PRI could not only induce the G1 phase accumulation and reduce the G2 phase induced by IGF‐1, but also could stimulate the expression of p21 and inhibit the expression of cyclin D1. Besides, PRI could attenuate the phosphorylations of Akt, mTOR and ERK1/2 induced by IGF‐1. Furthermore, the molecular docking study also demonstrated that PRI had potential inhibitory effects on IGF‐1R. Taken together, these results indicated that PRI could inhibit the proliferation of UM cells through down‐regulation of phosphorylated IGF‐1R and its downstream signalling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of ester and amide derivatives of triterpenoid saponin Pulsatilla saponin D (PSD) were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for their antiproliferative activity. Compounds 1 and 6 displayed 1.7–8.3 times more potent cytotoxicity (IC50 = 1.2–4.7 and 1.7–4.5 μM, respectively) against five human tumor cell lines (SMMC-7721, MCF-7, NCI-H460, A549, and HCT-116) in vitro and lower acute toxicity to mice in vivo than did PSD. Furthermore, compound 6 was observed to show potent tumor growth inhibition against mice H22 hepatocellular cells (49.8% at 20 mg/kg) and induce cell cycle at G1 phase and apoptosis in HCT-116 cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several phenylbutenoid dimer ( PBD) analogs were synthesized and evaluated for their inhibitory activities against nitric oxide ( NO) production and TNF-α release. The PBD analogs were synthesized via Diels-Alder and subsequent Schlosser reactions as key steps. Among the tested compounds, two analogs ( 8c, 8f) exhibited much stronger inhibitory activity against LPS-stimulated NO production and TNF-α release in RAW 264.7 cells than that of wogonin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A practical total synthesis of racemic nyasol (7) was explored. The α-hydroxyketo compound3was prepared from commercially available starting materials in two steps. Chelation-controlled reduction of the α-hydroxyketo compound3with Zn(BH4)2gave the anti-1,2-diol compound4as the major product (anti/syn = 11.5:1). Stereospecific elimination reaction of a 1,3-cyclic thionocarbonate intermediate (5) exclusively yielded the Z-alkene compound6. Our total synthesis is very concise (seven steps), uses commercially available starting materials, and offers good overall yield (40%). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Straightforward and facile synthesis of a bioactive component A fromZingiber cassumunarRoxb. is described. The phenylbutenoid dimer A was reported to possess anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic activities. The optically active cyclohexene ring fragment was obtained via the highly diastereo- and enantioselective Diels–Alder reaction of chiral acryloyloxazolidinones (1aand1b) and 1-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)butadiene (2). The enantiomeric excess of Diels–Alder adducts3aand3bwere determined via high-performance liquid chromatotography of the corresponding bis-acetate (6). The greatest enantiomeric excess (99.9% ee) was obtained when the 4-phenyloxazolidin-2-one (1a) chiral auxiliary was used in combination with TiCl4. The optically pure bioactive compound A was prepared from the optically active Diels–Alder adduct (3a) in two additional steps. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A series of halogenated 1,5-diarylimidazole compounds were synthesized and their inhibitory effects on LPS-induced PGE2 production in RAW 264.7 cells were evaluated. A wide variety of 2,4-, 4-, and 2-halogenated 5-aryl-1-(4-methylsulfonylphenyl)imidazoles were synthesized for SAR study via two different pathways. Overall, 4-halogenated 5-aryl-1-(4-methylsulfonylphenyl)imidazoles, regardless of the species of halogen, exhibited very strong inhibitory activities of PGE2 production. Among them, 4-chloro-5-(4-methoxyphenyl)-1-(4-methylsulfonylphenyl)imidazole (3, IC50 3.3 nM ± 2.93), and 4-chloro-5-(4-chlorophenyl)-1-(4-methylsulfonylphenyl)imidazole (13, IC50 5.3 nM ± 0.23) showed the best results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prolonging in vivo circulation has proved to be an efficient route for enhancing the therapeutic effect of rapidly metabolized drugs. In this study, we aimed to construct a nanocrystal-loaded micelles delivery system to enhance the blood circulation of docetaxel (DOC). We employed high-pressure homogenization to prepare docetaxel nanocrystals (DOC(Nc)), and then produced docetaxel nanocrystal-loaded micelles (DOC(Nc)@mPEG-PLA) by a thin-film hydration method. The particle sizes of optimized DOC(Nc), docetaxel micelles (DOC@mPEG-PLA), and DOC(Nc)@mPEG-PLA were 168.4, 36.3, and 72.5 nm, respectively. The crystallinity of docetaxel was decreased after transforming it into nanocrystals, and the crystalline state of docetaxel in micelles was amorphous. The constructed DOC(Nc)@mPEG-PLA showed good stability as its particle size showed no significant change in 7 days. Despite their rapid dissolution, docetaxel nanocrystals exhibited higher bioavailability. The micelles prolonged the retention time of docetaxel in the circulation system of rats, and DOC(Nc)@mPEG-PLA exhibited the highest retention time and bioavailability. These results reveal that constructing nanocrystal-loaded micelles may be a promising way to enhance the in vivo circulation and bioavailability of rapidly metabolized drugs such as docetaxel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three series of novel thienopyrimidine derivatives 9a–l, 15a–l, and 18a–h were designed and synthesized, and their IC50 values against four cancer cell lines HepG-2, A549, PC-3, and MCF-7 were evaluated. Most compounds show moderate cytotoxicity against the tested cancer cell lines. The most promising compound 9a showed moderate activity with IC50 values of 12.32 ± 0.96, 11.30 ± 1.19, 14.69 ± 1.32, and 9.80 ± 0.93 µM, respectively. The inhibitory activities of compounds 9a and 15a against PI3Kα and mTOR kinase were further evaluated. Compound 9a exhibited PI3Kα kinase inhibitory activity with IC50 of 9.47 ± 0.63 µM. In addition, docking studies of compounds 9a and 15a were also investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]