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Background: The aim of the present study is to investigate the effects of two structurally divergent coumarins, calipteryxin (1) and (3'S,4'S)-3',4'-disenecioyloxy-3',4'-dihydroseselin (2) from Seseli recinosum, in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated murine macrophages. Methods: The nitrite production was evaluated using Griess reagent. The protein and mRNA expression levels were investigated through Western blot and quantitative real time-PCR analyses. The NF-κB and AP-1 DNA-binding activities were assessed using an electrophoretic mobility shift assay. The docking studies were performed with Glide XP in Schrödinger suite (version 2013). Results: The results of the present study revealed that calipteryxin (1) and (3'S,4'S)-3',4'-disenecioyloxy-3',4'-dihydroseselin (2) treatment showed potent inhibitory effects on pro-inflammatory enzymes and cytokines associated with molecular signaling pathways. Treatment with calipteryxin and (3'S,4'S)-3',4'-disenecioyloxy-3',4'-dihydroseselin also decreased the production of nitric oxide (NO), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) in a dose-dependent manner. Additionally, both coumarins inhibited the LPS-induced protein and mRNA expression levels of nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in RAW264.7 cells. To explore the potential mechanisms underlying the inhibitory activity of coumarin derivatives, the protein signaling pathways for NF-κB, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and Akt were examined. Calipteryxin and (3'S,4'S)-3',4'-disenecioyloxy-3',4'-dihydroseselin markedly reduced the LPS-stimulated phosphorylation of IKKα/β, p-IκBα and IκBα degradation as well as the nuclear translocation of the p65 subunit of pro-inflammatory transcription factor NF-κB. In addition, calipteryxin and (3'S,4'S)-3',4'-disenecioyloxy-3',4'-dihydroseselin) considerably inhibited the LPS-induced expression of ERK, c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), p38 and Akt proteins. Furthermore, both coumarins significantly inhibited c-Jun expression in the nucleus. Conclusions: Taken together, these results support the therapeutic potential and molecular mechanism of calipteryxin and (3'S,4'S)-3',4'-disenecioyloxy-3',4'-dihydroseselin associated with inflammatory diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mycobacterium tuberculosis FabH, an essential enzyme in the mycolic acid biosynthetic pathway, is an attractive target for novel anti-tubercolosis agents. Structure-based design and synthesis of 1-(4-carboxybutyl)-4-(4-(substituted benzyloxy) phenyl)-1H-pyrrole-2-carboxylic acid derivatives 7a-h, a subset of eight potential FabH inhibitors, is described in this paper. The Vilsmeier-Haack reaction was employed as a key step. The structures of all the newly synthesized compounds were identified by IR, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, ESI-MS and HRMS. The alamarBlue™ microassay was employed to evaluate the compounds 7a-h against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv. The results demonstrate that the compound 7d possesses good in vitro antimycobacterial activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv (Minimum Inhibitory Concentration value [MIC], 12.5 μg/mL).These compounds may prove useful in the discovery and development of new anti-tuberculosis drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To explore the effects of Icaritin on chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) cells and underlying mechanisms. Method: CML cells were incubated with various concentration of Icaritin for 48 hours, the cell proliferation was analyzed by MTT and the apoptosis was assessed with Annexin V and Hoechst 33258 staining. Cell hemoglobinization was determined. Western blotting was used to evaluate the expressions of MAPK/ERK/JNK signal pathway and Jak-2/Phorpho-Stat3/Phorsph- Akt network-related protein. NOD-SCID nude mice were applied to demonstrate the anti-leukemia effect of Icaritin in vivo. Results: Icaritin potently inhibited proliferation of K562 cells (IC50 was 8 &mgr;M) and primary CML cells (IC50 was 13.4 &mgr;M for CML-CP and 18 &mgr;M for CML-BC), induced CML cells apoptosis and promoted the erythroid differentiation of K562 cells with time-dependent manner. Furthermore, Icaritin was able to suppress the growth of primary CD34+ leukemia cells (CML) and Imatinib-resistant cells, and to induce apoptosis. In mouse leukemia model, Icaritin could prolong lifespan of NOD-SCID nude mice inoculated with K562 cells as effective as Imatinib without suppression of bone marrow. Icaritin could upregulate phospho-JNK or phospho-C-Jun and down-regulate phospho-ERK, phospho-P-38, Jak-2, phospho-Stat3 and phospho-Akt expression with dose- or time-dependent manner. Icaritin had no influence both on c-Abl and phospho-c-Abl protein expression and mRNA levels of Bcr/Abl. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, 90 patients with newly diagnosed acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) were studied for all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and arsenic trioxide (As2O3) combination treatment in remission induction and postremission therapy. In addition, 20 APL patients who had achieved complete remission (CR) with an ATRA-based regimen received ATRA/As2O3 combination for consolidation and maintenance were also enrolled. The results showed that ATRA/As2O3 combination therapy yielded a high CR rate of 93.3% and a significantly shorter time to enter CR (median: 31 days; range: 18–59 days) compared to the ATRA-based regimen (n = 72; median: 39 days; range: 25–62 days). With the ATRA/As2O3 combination for CR maintaining, regardless of the way by which CR was attained, the relapse-free survival was significantly better than with an ATRA plus cytotoxic chemotherapy regimen (92.9 ± 3.2% vs. 72.4 ± 7.6%, for the 3-year Kaplan-Meier estimate of relapse-free survival). The drug toxicity profile showed that with the use of As2O3, the incidence of hepatotoxicity was obviously high during remission induction but decreased significantly during postremission treatment. We conclude that APL patients may benefit from the early use of the combination of ATRA and As2O3, in either remission induction or consolidation/maintenance. Copyright © 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This investigation was designed to assess the effect of DuP-697 on growth and apoptosis in a human chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) cell line (K562 cells) and primary CML cells from CML patient bone marrow. DuP-697 significantly suppressed K562 cells and primary CML cells growth and induced apoptosis in a concentration-dependent manner and the growth-inhibiting effect was independent on Philadelphia chromosome. The IC50 of DuP-697 at 36 h was 31.7 μM. It arrested G1-S phase transmit on cell cycle and its apoptosis activity was partially abrogated by pretreating K562 cells with Z-IETD-fmk, a specific inhibitor of caspase-8. This study suggested that Dup-697 suppresses growth and induces apoptosis on K562 leukemia cells by cell-cycle arrest and caspase-8 activation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]