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Rohitukine, a chromone alkaloid extracted from Dysoxylum binectariferum, has a propitious anticancer activity. Our previous study shows that a new Rohitukine derivative IIIM-290 restricts the growth of pancreatic cancer in vivo and in vitro. In the present findings, we report the mechanism of cell death induced by IIIM-290 in MOLT-4 cells (acute lymphoblastic leukemia) and its anticancer potential against various murine leukemic tumor models in vivo. We found that IIIM-290 induced apoptosis through upregulation of different apoptotic proteins like PUMA, BAX, cytochrome c, cleaved (active) caspase-3, and cleaved PARP in MOLT-4 cells. Moreover, IIIM-290 abated mitochondrial membrane potential, elevated calcium levels, reactive oxygen species, and arrested growth of MOLT-4 cells in the synthesis (S) phase of the cell cycle. Interestingly, the elevation in proapoptotic markers was p53 dependent-the silencing of p53 abrogated apoptosis (programmed cell death) triggered by IIIM-290 in MOLT-4 cells. Furthermore, IIIM-290 significantly enhanced the survival of animals with P388 and L1210 leukemia. Thus, our results put IIIM-290 as a potential candidate for the anticancer lead.

AKT, a serine threonine kinase, exists in three different isoforms and is known for regulating several biological processes including tumorigenesis. In this study, we investigated the expression and net effect of the individual isoforms in triple negative breast cancers and response to cisplatin treatment using cellular, mice models and clinical samples. Interestingly, analysis of the expressions of AKT isoforms in clinical samples showed relatively higher expression of AKT1 in primary tissues; whereas lung and liver metastatic samples showed elevated expression of AKT2. Similarly, triple-negative breast cancer cell lines, BT-549 and MDA-MB-231, with high proliferative and invasive properties, displayed higher expression levels of AKT1/2. By modulating AKT isoform expression in MCF-10A and BT-549 cell lines, we found that presence of AKT2 was associated with invasiveness, stemness and sensitivity to drug treatment. It was observed that the silencing of AKT2 suppressed the cancer stem cell populations (CD44high CD24low, ALDH1), mammosphere formation, invasive and migratory potential in MCF-10A and BT-549 cells. It was further demonstrated that loss of function of AKT1 isoform is associated with reduced sensitivity towards cisplatin treatment in triple-negative breast cancers cellular and syngeneic mice models. The decrease in cisplatin treatment response in shAKT1 cells was allied with the upregulation in the expression of transporter protein ABCG2, whereas silencing of ABCG2 restored cisplatin sensitivity in these cells through AKT/SNAIL/ABCG2 axis. In conclusion, our study demonstrated the varied expression of AKT isoforms in triple-negative breast cancers and also confirmed differential role of isoforms in stemness, invasiveness and response towards the cisplatin treatment.

Velutibol A (1), a new 14-residue peptaibol was isolated from the Himalayan cold habitat fungus Trichoderma velutinum. The structural characterization was carried out by 1D and 2D NMR studies, and tandem mass studies, and Marfey's method aided in determining the stereochemistry of the amino acids. The CD analysis revealed folding of the peptide in a 310-helical conformation. The intramolecular H-bonding was determined by an NMR-VT experiment. Cytotoxic evaluation was carried out against a panel of cancer cell lines. The cell cycle assay was carried out on human myeloid leukaemia (HL-60) cells and revealed the formation of apoptotic bodies and DNA damage in a dose-dependent manner. Three other peptaibols namely velutibol B (2), velutibol C (3), and velutibol D (4) were also isolated in trace amounts from the psychotropic fungus and characterized through tandem mass spectroscopy and Marfey's analysis.

A series of rationally designed platanic acid-based compounds derived from naturally occurring betulinic acid were synthesized through a sequence of Lemieux-Johnson oxidation and Aldol condensation reaction. All the compounds were screened for cytotoxicity against a panel of human cancer and normal cell lines using MTT assay. From the biological data, it was observed that some of these semi-synthetic congeners exhibited potent biological profiles compared to platanic acid. One of the compounds with the p-tolyl substitution was found to be most active in this study, and its cytotoxicity against two of the cell lines, MDA-MB 231 and A-549 were in tune with the standard compound, 5-fluorouracil.

Four known metabolites, macrophin (1), rosellisin (2), 2-(2-hydroxy-5-6-methoxy-3-methylene-1,4-benzodioxin-2(3H)-one (3), and methoxyphenoxyacrylic acid (4) were isolated, for the first time, from an endophytic fungus, Phoma macrostoma inhabiting the inner tissue of medicinal plant Glycyrrhiza glabra Linn. Their structures were characterized by comparison of their NMR data with literature data, and X-ray diffraction data of macrophin (1) as described herein for the first time. The compounds (1–4) were evaluated for their growth-inhibitory activities against a panel of cancer cell lines. Of these substances, macrophin (1) showed prominent cytotoxic activity against the MDA-MB-231, T47D, MCF-7, and MIAPaCa-2 cancer-cell lines with IC50 values of 14.8, 8.12, 13.0, and 0.9 μM, respectively. This biological significance has prompted us to generate a series of five acylated analogs (1a–1e) of 1 to conduct structure–activity relationship (SAR) study. The result illustrates all the analogues (1a–1e) were more potent than 1 against MDMB-231 and MIAPaCa-2 cancer cell lines. The compound 1d, an n-butanoyl substituent, has been proven to be three-fold more potent than 1 with IC50 values of 0.3 and 3.7 µM against MIAPaCa-2 and MDMB-231 cell lines, respectively.

Senecio graciliflorus DC root extract was studied for secondary metabolite composition following the bioactivity-guided isolation technique. The ethyl acetate extract of Senecio graciliflorus root yielded nine chemical constituents: 3,4-di-tert-butyl toluene, stigmasterol, β-sitosterol, 2β-(angeloyloxy)furanoeremophilane, gallic acid, 2β-{[(Z)-2-hydroxymethylbut-2-enoyl]oxy}furanoeremophilane, 1-hydroxypentan-2-yl-4-methylbenzoate, sarcinic acid, and sitosterol 3-O-β-d-glucopyranoside. The structures of the chemical constituents were elucidated on the basis of spectral data analysis in the light of literature. All the compounds are being reported for the first time from this plant. The isolated constituents were screened for neuroprotective effects against corticosterone-induced impairment in neuroblastoma cell lines (SH-SY5S cells). The viability of SH-SY5S cells was determined using MTT assay. Among various isolated compounds, three natural products (sarcinic acid, gallic acid, and β-sitosterol) displayed robust neurotropic activity. The compounds increased neuronal cell survival in differentiated neuroblastoma cells (SH-SY5Y) from high-dose corticosterone (400 µM)–induced cell death. All the three constituents showed maximum AKT/ERK pathway activation at 20 µM concentration. The studies are aimed to explore small molecules for treating neurodegeneration underlying various neurological disorders to restore neuronal cell plasticity.

Background: Low therapeutic efficacy and drug-induced systemic toxicity of currently used anti-cancerous chemotherapeutic agents are major compelling factors for finding out clinically efficient molecules with high efficiency and less toxicity. Objective: The current research work was undertaken to evaluate the anticancer potential of Myricanol- 9-acetate (MA), a novel naturally occurring derivative of myricanol. Methods: MCF-7, MiaPaCa-2, and HCT 116 were used for cytotoxicity determination of the MA and ML (Myricanol) by MTT assay. The mechanistic study involved the determination of cell cycle arrest, Δψm loss, ROS generation, western blot assay, flow cytometry by reported methods on MCF-7 cells. Results: MA exhibited anticancer activity against all three cell lines, however, the molecule was found most active against the MCF-7 cell line. We observed IC5020 μM with MA treatment as compared to the IC50 of 42 μM for myricanol treatment. Detailed mechanistic studies revealed that MA induces apoptosis of MCF-7 cell line through ROS generation and dose-dependent drop in mitochondrial membrane potential associated with cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 phase. Our results further demonstrated that down-regulation of Bcl2 and activation of the caspase cascade are the events involved in the MA-induced apoptosis. Flow cytometry results indicated an increase in early and late apoptotic population in a dose-dependent manner with an apoptotic population of about 20% at 30 μM of MA, thus, supporting our results. Conclusion: Present findings suggest that MA might serve as a promising novel drug candidate with high scope for taking it to further evaluation in preclinical and clinical studies.

A strategy for construction of medicinally important 1,4-substituted 1H-1,2,3-triazolo-quinazolin-4(3H)-ones has been devised and presented here. The compounds have been synthesized using one-pot multicomponent strategy under microwave assisted conditions. Triazolyl-quinazolinone based D-ring modified analogs are designed based on IC87114 scaffold, which is first known isoform selective inhibitor of PI3Kδ. Herein, we identified two triazolyl-quinazolinone compounds (5a and 5l) based on same scaffold with PI3Kγ specific inhibitory potential, the selectivity towards this isoform is well supported by in silico results, wherein, these compounds show better interaction and affinity and inhibitory activity for PI3Kγ rather than PI3Kδ. This repositioning of scaffold from PI3Kδ to PI3Kγ isoform can be very useful from medicinal chemistry and drug discovery perspective to unravel molecular interactions of this new scaffold in different cellular pathways.

A new series of bakuchiol 1 Mannich derivatives was synthesized by reaction with various substituted secondary amines. The analogs were evaluated for cytotoxicity against a panel of three different human cancer cell lines breast (MCF-7), colon (HCT-116) and lung (A549). Cytotoxicity screening results showed that many compounds displayed significant in vitro cytotoxic effects against different cancer cell lines. Compounds 9, 12, 14, 16, 17 and 21 showed promising cytotoxic effects compared to parent molecule 1 and among them compound 14 was found to be most potent analog with IC50 5 μM against all the cell lines examined. It was about 8-fold more potent against MCF-7 and A549 and 10-fold more potent against HCT-116 cell line in comparison to the parent molecule 1. Structure activity relationship (SAR) study of all synthesized derivatives was carried out. Further, compound 14 induced apoptosis in lung cancer cells (A549) through caspase activation followed by PARP-1 cleavage.

Different natural aromatic/heterocyclic l-amino acids were biotransformed into aryl/heteroaryl ethanol metabolites via oxidative deamination, decarboxylation and reduction cascades using live baker's yeast cells producing intracellular human CYP2D6 enzyme. Among the three yeast strains expressing 3 different CYP2D6 variants, CYP2D6(2) (i.e. CYP2D6 wild-type) provided the best result under neutral pH conditions at RT. We have successfully converted six natural amino acids into their corresponding alcohols, having one carbon atom less, with moderate yields. Some of the downstream products like tryptophol and tyrosol induced the pTrKB (Tropomyosin receptor kinase B) activation pattern similar to that of BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor), thereby depicting potential antidepressant activity. Control experiments and molecular modelling studies revealed that this tandem bio-transformation probably happens via a pyruvate intermediate. This study establishes that CYP2D6-expressing live yeast cells can be a powerful tool for the enzymatic C-N, C-C bond cleavage of amino-acids.

Withania somnifera exhibits different pharmacological activities which mainly stem from its broad range of bioactive molecules. Majority of these bioactive molecules, fall into the groupings of alkaloids, steroidal lactones, phenolic compounds and glycoproteins. In this study, we evaluated a novel protein fraction, named here as WSPF, isolated from Withania somnifera roots for its cytotoxic properties against various human cancer cell lines. WSPF exhibited apoptotic activity for each cancer cell line tested, demonstrating significant activity against MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells with an IC50 value of 92 μg/mL. WSPF induced mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis of MDA-MB-231 cells via extensive reactive oxygen species generation, dysregulation of Bax/Bcl-2, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and caspase-3 activation. Additionally, we observed G2/M-phase cell cycle arrest, cleavage of nuclear lamin A/C proteins, and nuclear morphological changes. The present results highlight the anti-cancer properties of WSPF, indicating that the proteins in this fraction can be potential therapeutic agents for triple negative breast cancer treatment.

Diapolic acid A–B from an endophytic fungus, Diaporthe terebinthifolii depicting antimicrobial and cytotoxic activity

Diverse 11R,13-dihydroamino and 1,10β-epoxy-11R,13-dihydroamino analogs of ludartin were synthesized using a highly diastereoselective Michael addition and epoxidation reaction. The semisynthetic analogs were characterized using rigorous spectral data analysis. All the compounds were subjected to sulphorhodamine B cytotoxicity screening against a panel of three breast cancer cells, viz., T47D, MCF-7, and MDA-MB 231. Among the synthesized analogs, compounds 11, 19, and 20 proved to be active against the breast cancer cell lines. Compound 11 represents an epoxy analog of arglabin (5), which is a noteworthy and clinically significant antitumor agent and exhibited an IC50s of 0.75 µM and 1.20 µM against MCF-7 and MDA MB-231 cell lines, respectively. Compounds 19 and 20 displayed selectivity among the three breast cancer cell lines and were active against MCF-7 cell lines only displaying IC50s of 1.00 and 1.21 µM, respectively. This study provides initial structure-activity relationship data on ludartin and its analogs against breast cancer cell lines based on the previous literature reports of ludartin as an aromatase inhibitor.

In the present study, a series of 2,4-diarylpyrano[3,2-c]chromen-5(4H)-ones were synthesised and evaluated as antiproliferative agents. The compounds were evaluated against a panel of human cancer cell lines. CH-1 exhibited significant cytoxicity against HCT 116 cell lines with an IC50 value of 1.4 and 4.3 µM against "MiaPaCa-2" cell lines. The compound CH-1 was found to induce apoptosis as evidenced by phase contrast microscopy, Hoechst 33258 staining and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) loss. The cell phase distribution studies indicated that the apoptotic population increased from 10.22% in the control sample to 57.19% in a sample treated with 20 µM compound CH-1.

The traditional method of drug discovery process has been surpassed by a rational approach where computer-aided drug designing plays a vital role in the identification of leads from large compound databases. Further, natural products have an important role in drug discovery as these have been the source of most active ingredients of medicines. Herein, in silico structure- and ligand-based approaches have been applied to screen in-house IIIM natural product repository for Akt1 (serine/threonine protein kinases) which is a well-known therapeutic target for cancer due to its overexpression and preventing the cells from undergoing apoptosis. Combined ligand-based and structure-based strategies were applied on to the existing library comprising of about 700 pure natural products, and the compounds identified from screening were biologically evaluated for Akt1 inhibition using Akt1 kinase activity assay. Fourteen promising compounds showed significant inhibition at 500 nM through in vitro screening, and from them, eight were new for Akt1 inhibition. Through the MD studies of Akt1 with the most active compound IN00145, it was inferred that Lys179, Glu191, Glu228, Ala230, Glu234 and Asp292 are the important amino acid residues which provide stability to the Akt1-IN00145 complex. Lead optimization studies were also performed around the actives to design better and selective inhibitors for Akt1. The results emphasized the successful application of virtual screening to identify new Akt1 inhibitor scaffolds that can be developed into a drug candidate in drug discovery programme.

In the present study, a novel series of 3-pyrimidinylazaindoles were designed and synthesized using a bioinformatics strategy as cyclin-dependent kinases CDK2 and CDK9 inhibitors, which play critical roles in the cell cycle control and regulation of cell transcription. The present approach gives new dimensions to the existing SAR and opens a new opportunity for the lead optimizations from comparatively inexpensive starting materials. The study led to the identification of the alternative lead candidate 4ab with a nanomolar potency against CDK2 and CDK9 and potent antiproliferative activities against a panel of tested tumor cell lines along with a better safety ratio of ∼33 in comparison to reported leads. In addition, the identified lead 4ab demonstrated a good solubility and an acceptable in vivo PK profile. The identified lead 4ab showed an in vivo efficacy in mouse triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) syngeneic models with a TGI (tumor growth inhibition) of 90% without any mortality growth inhibition in comparison to reported leads.

Withania somnifera is wonder shrub used traditionally as a folk medicine for several remedies in the Indian subcontinent. During last few decades numerous scientific studies have shown the potential therapeutic prospects of this herb and of its various constituents in different disease models. Several classes of compounds including withanolides, sitoindosides and other useful alkaloids have been isolated from this plant with promising medicinal value. It has been demonstrated that different parts of plant including roots, leaves and fruits exhibit unique biological activities that actually are manifested to the presence and the abundance of specific constituent/s in the respective parts of the plant. It was also established that same plant grown at different locations under varied environmental conditions influences the synthesis of the individual constituents in different parts of the plant, hence their biological activities. Studies conducted in cellular and murine models have shown that extracts made of roots bear immune activating properties, whereas leaf extracts showed anticancer activities. It has been observed that root and leaf extracts of plant characterised with about a dozen markers displayed that root extracts demonstrated Th1 specific immunomodulatory and anti-inflamatory activities, whereas leaf extracts showed anticancer properties, respectively. It was further explored that anti-cancer potential of leaf extracts was mainly due to Withaferin A, a potent cytotoxic withanoloid, existing in abundance and a major constituent in the leaves of the plant. Similarly, anti-inflammatory and Th1 immune skewing properties of the root extract was conferred to the higher amount of Withanolide A, present in the roots of the plant along with other constituents. Meanwhile several studies have deciphered the role of individual constituents in various biological activities with extensive mechanism of action discussed in this review. This review while summarises the potential medicinal benefits of the W.somnifera, it also emphasizes that marketed product of the plant extracts for human consumption should scientifically validated for bioactive constitutents.

Prenylated flavonoids represent a unique class of naturally occurring compounds and have proved to be an important source of chemically diverse novel metabolites. Nevertheless, they possess wild array of biological activities. 4′-Methoxy licoflavanone is a prenylated flavonoid isolated from stem bark of Erytherina subrossa. Herein, we report the synthesis of O-alkyl analogs (2a–2m) and 1,2,3 triazole conjugate (3–14) of 4′-methoxy licoflavanone by selective modification at C-7 position in the chromane nucleus. In addition, all the derivatives were evaluated for in vitro antiproliferative activity against a panel of cancer cell lines including pancreatic cancer (Mia PaCa-2), prostate cancer (PC-3), and human leukemia (HL-60) cells. The results revealed that some analogs including 2e and 2m exhibited better cytotoxicity effect than parent compound, specifically on Mia PaCa-2 cell lines.

PI3K/Akt and ERK pathways are important for growth and proliferation of many types of cancers. Therefore, PI3K inhibitor LY294002 (LY) and MEK1/2 inhibitor PD98059 (PD) are used to sensitize many types of cancer cell lines to chemotherapeutic agents, where AKT and ERK pathways are over activated. However, in this study, we show for the first time that PD could protect the leukemia cells independent of ERK pathway inhibition, besides, we also report a detailed mechanism for antiapoptotic effect of LY in HL-60 cells against the cytotoxicity induced by a boswellic acid analog BA145. Apoptosis induced by BA145 is accompanied by downregulation of PI3K/Akt and ERK pathways in human myelogenous leukemia HL-60 cells, having activating N-Ras mutation. Both LY and PD protected the cells against mitochondrial stress caused by BA145, and reduced the release of cytochrome c and consequent activation of caspase-9. LY and PD also diminished the activation of caspase-8 without affecting the death receptors. Besides, LY and PD also reversed the caspase dependent DNA damage induced by BA145. Further studies revealed that LY and PD significantly reversed the inhibitory effect of BA145 on cell cycle regulatory proteins by upregulating hyperphosphorylated retinoblastoma, pRB (S795) and downregulating p21 and cyclin E. More importantly, all these events were reversed by caspase inhibition by Z-VAD-fmk, suggesting that both LY and PD act at the level of caspases to diminish the apoptosis induced by BA145. These results indicate that inhibitors of PI3K/Akt and ERK pathways can play dual role and act against chemotherapeutic agents.

This study describes the mechanism of trolox and tiron induced potentiation of cytotoxicity caused by Ery5, an analog of magnolol, in human myeloid leukemia HL-60 cells. Ery5 induced cytotoxicity in HL-60 cells by involving activation of bax and cleavage of caspase 3, which contributed towards activation of both apoptotic and autophagic pathways. Trolox and tiron, even at non-toxic concentrations, contributed to the cytotoxicity of Ery5 by activation of autophagic proteins like ATG7, ATG12 and LC3-II. Z-VAD-fmk mediated reduction in the cytotoxicity and expression of autophagic proteins, further suggested that autophagy induced by Ery5 is largely dependent upon caspases. Interestingly, Ery5 induced autophagy was accompanied by the downregulation of PI3K/AKT pathway whereas, trolox and tiron strongly enhanced this effect. In addition to that treatment of cells with Ery5, trolox and tiron individually, displayed a marked upregulation of Bax. The involvement of Bax in trolox and tiron induced enhancement of the cytotoxicity of Ery5 was confirmed, when siRNA induced silencing of Bax led to increased viability of the cells and exerted a strong inhibitory effect on LC3-II accumulation and p62 degradation in case of cells treated by the combination of Ery5 with trolox or tiron. Additionally, an important role of PARP in Ery5 mediated cell death has been suggested by PARP silencing experiments, however, potentiation of autophagic cytotoxicity by trolox and tiron did not seem to be dependent on PARP-1. Therefore, Bax seems to play a vital role in trolox and tiron mediated potentiation of autophagic cell death by Ery5 in HL-60 cells.

Asparaginase is an important antileukemic agent extensively used worldwide but the intrinsic glutaminase activity of this enzymatic drug is responsible for serious life threatening side effects. Hence, glutaminase free asparaginase is much needed for upgradation of therapeutic index of asparaginase therapy. In the present study, glutaminase free asparaginase produced from Enterobacter cloacae was purified to apparent homogeneity. The purified enzyme was found to be homodimer of approximately 106 kDa with monomeric size of approximately 52 kDa and pI 4.5. Purified enzyme showed optimum activity between pH 7-8 and temperature 35-40°C, which is close to the internal environment of human body. Monovalent cations such as Na+ and K+ enhanced asparaginase activity whereas divalent and trivalent cations, Ca2+, Mg2+, Zn2+, Mn2+, and Fe3+ inhibited the enzyme activity. Kinetic parameters Km, Vmax and Kcat of purified enzyme were found to be 1.58×10-3 M, 2.22 IU μg-1 and 5.3 × 104 S-1, respectively. Purified enzyme showed prolonged in vitro serum (T1/2 = ~ 39 h) and trypsin (T1/2 = ~ 32 min) half life, which is therapeutically remarkable feature. The cytotoxic activity of enzyme was examined against a panel of human cancer cell lines, HL-60, MOLT-4, MDA-MB-231 and T47D, and highest cytotoxicity observed against HL-60 cells (IC50 ~ 3.1 IU ml-1), which was comparable to commercial asparaginase. Cell and nuclear morphological studies of HL-60 cells showed that on treatment with purified asparaginase symptoms of apoptosis were increased in dose dependent manner. Cell cycle progression analysis indicates that enzyme induces apoptosis by cell cycle arrest in G0/G1 phase. Mitochondrial membrane potential loss showed that enzyme also triggers the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis. Furthermore, the enzyme was found to be nontoxic for human noncancerous cells FR-2 and nonhemolytic for human erythrocytes.

Pyrano[2,3-c]carbazoles which are biologically valuable and synthetically challenging frameworks are synthesized in high yields over five steps from commercially available resorcinol. Palladium-catalyzed arylation remains a key step in this novel strategy. The versatility of this protocol has been demonstrated by the synthesis of naturally occurring alkaloid clauraila C and 7-methoxyglycomaurin. The anti-proliferative activity of these designed compounds (5a, 5f, and 5l) has been evaluated in a cancer cell line (MOLT-4). The molecular docking study revealed that this pyrano[2,3-c]carbazole class of molecules selectively occupies the colchicine binding site of the tubulin-polymer.

A series of novel magnolol derivatives were synthesised and evaluated for in vitro antimicrobial and antiproliferative activities. We found that most of the compounds were effective inhibitors of Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA and VRE with MIC in the range of 1–64 μg/mL and MBC in the range of 1–128 μg/mL. Few derivatives also exhibited promising antifungal activity. Some magnolol analogues exhibited promising antiproliferative activity than parent magnolol when tested against three human cancer cell lines.

Deregulated apoptosis and suppressed tumour reactive immunity render tumour cells to grow amok in the host body. Traditionally used botanicals may offer potential anticancer chemo-immunotherapeutic leads. We report in this study a chemically standardised herbal formulation (WSF) of Withania somnifera possessing anticancer and Th1 immune up-regulatory activities. WSF produced cytotoxicity in a panel of human cancer cell lines in vitro. The molecular mechanism of cell cytotoxicity, IC(50) 48h approximately 20mug/ml, was investigated in HL-60, where it induced apoptosis by activating both intrinsic and extrinsic signalling pathways. It induced early generation of reactive nitrogen and oxygen species (RNOS), thus producing oxidative stress mediated mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) loss leading to the release of cytochrome c, the translocation of Bax to mitochondria and apoptosis-inducing factor to the nuclei. These events paralleled the activation of caspase-9, -3 and PARP cleavage. WSF also activated caspase-8 through enhanced expression of TNF-R1 and DR-4, suggesting also the involvement of extrinsic pathway of apoptosis. WSF at 150mg/kg, i.p., inhibited >50% tumour growth in the mouse tumour models. In tumour-bearing mice, WSF inhibited the expression of pStat-3, with a selective stimulation of Th1 immunity as evidenced by enhanced secretion of IFN-gamma and IL-2. In parallel, it enhanced the proliferation of CD4(+)/CD8(+) and NK cells along with an increased expression of CD40/CD40L/CD80. In addition, WSF also enhanced T cell activation in camptothecin treated tumour-bearing mice. WSF being safe when given orally up to 1500mg/kg to rats for 6 months may be found useful in the management of malignancy by targeting at multiple pathways.

Oral administration of BOS 2000 (1-10 mg/kg) elicited a dose related increase in the delayed hypersensitivity reaction (early 24 h and delayed 48 h) in mice. It also stimulated the IgM and IgG titre expressed in the form of plaques (PFC) and complement fixing antibody titre. The concentration of cytokines (IL-4, IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha) in serum with respect to T cell interactions, i.e. (CD4/CD8) and the proliferation of lymphocytes were significantly increased at 10 mg/kg compared with the control. The results in these studies demonstrated the immunostimulatory effect of BOS 2000 in a dose-dependent manner with respect to the macrophage activation possibly expressing the phagocytosis and nitrite production by the enhancement of TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma production as a mode of action.

Induction of apoptosis in cancer cells has become the major focus of anti-cancer therapeutics development. WithaferinA, a major chemical constituent of Withania somnifera, reportedly shows cytotoxicity in a variety of tumor cell lines while its molecular mechanisms of action are not fully understood. We observed that withaferinA primarily induces oxidative stress in human leukemia HL-60 cells and in several other cancer cell lines. The withanolide induced early ROS generation and mitochondrial membrane potential (Deltapsi(mt)) loss, which preceded release of cytochrome c, translocation of Bax to mitochondria and apoptosis inducing factor to cell nuclei. These events paralleled activation of caspases -9, -3 and PARP cleavage. WA also activated extrinsic pathway significantly as evidenced by time dependent increase in caspase-8 activity vis-à-vis TNFR-1 over expression. WA mediated decreased expression of Bid may be an important event for cross talk between intrinsic and extrinsic signaling. Furthermore, withaferinA inhibited DNA binding of NF-kappaB and caused nuclear cleavage of p65/Rel by activated caspase-3. N-acetyl-cysteine rescued all these events suggesting thereby a pro-oxidant effect of withaferinA. The results of our studies demonstrate that withaferinA induced early ROS generation and mitochondrial dysfunction in cancer cells trigger events responsible for mitochondrial -dependent and -independent apoptosis pathways.

Adjuvants in vaccines are immune stimulants that play an important role in the induction of effective and appropriate immune responses to vaccine component. In search of a potent vaccine adjuvant, the water-soluble biopolymeric fraction BOS 2000 from Boswellia serrata was evaluated for desired activity. We investigated the ability of BOS 2000 to enhance HBsAg specific immune responses. The effect was determined in the form of protective anti-HBsAg titers, neutralizing antibodies (IgG1 and IgG2a), spleen cell lymphocyte proliferation by using MTT assay, Th1 (IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha) and Th2 (IL-4) cytokines as well as T-lymphocyte subsets (CD4/CD8) and intracellular cytokines (IFN-gamma/IL-4), these responses were highest in BOS 2000 immunized mice. Alum induced only a modest enhancement of antibody responses. Reducing the dose of adjuvant by 18.1-fold in comparison to alum, total IgG and its subtypes (IgG1 and IgG2a) antibodies titer in serum was significantly enhanced. Analysis of HBsAg specific cytokines revealed that alum was associated with a predominantly IL-4 response. In contrast, BOS 2000 was associated with production of both IFN-gamma and IL-4. We conclude that BOS 2000 is a potent enhancer of antigen-specific Th1 and Th2 immune responses in comparison to alum with Th2 limitation and is a promising adjuvant for vaccine applications.

A new series of monomer and dimer derivatives of dihydroartemisinin (DHA) containing substituted chalcones as a linker were synthesized and investigated for their cytotoxicity in human cancer cell lines HL-60 (leukemia), Mia PaCa-2 (pancreatic cancer), PC-3 (prostate cancer), LS180 (colon cancer) and HEPG2 (hepatocellular carcinoma). Some of these derivatives have greater antiproliferative and cytotoxic effects in tested cell lines than parent compound DHA. The structures of the all compounds were confirmed by IR, (1)H NMR and mass spectral data. Among the new derivatives, compounds 8, 14, 15, 20 and 24 were found to be more active than parent DHA against tested human cancer cell lines. DHA derivatives were found to be most active in human leukemia cell lines with compounds 8, 14, 15, 20 and 24 showed IC50 values less than 1 μM for 48 h whereas DHA has IC50 value of 2 μM at same time period. The most potent compounds 8 with IC50 = 0.3 μM (at par with doxorubicin (IC50 = 0.3 μM)) and 15 with IC50 = 0.4 μM, of the series, six and three times active than DHA (with IC50 = 2 μM) respectively were selected for further mechanistic work in human leukemia HL-60 cells.

Pyrano[2,3-c]carbazoles which are biologically valuable and synthetically challenging frameworks are synthesized in high yields over five steps from commercially available resorcinol. Palladium-catalyzed arylation remains a key step in this novel strategy. The versatility of this protocol has been demonstrated by the synthesis of naturally occurring alkaloid clauraila C and 7-methoxyglycomaurin. The anti-proliferative activity of these designed compounds (5a, 5f, and 5l) has been evaluated in a cancer cell line (MOLT-4). The molecular docking study revealed that this pyrano[2,3-c]carbazole class of molecules selectively occupies the colchicine binding site of the tubulin-polymer.

A series of 4-( N -phenyl- N ′-substituted benzenesulfonyl)-6-(4-hydroxyphenyl)quinolines was designed, synthesized and evaluated for their biological potential as anticancer agents by screening the molecules against panel of five human cancer cell lines viz . HL-60, MiaPaCa-2, HCT116, PC-3 and HEP-G2. The series has shown good mTOR inhibitory activity at 0.5 μM concentration. The representative compound 7h was found to be most active with the IC 50 of 613 nM against mTOR. In supportive evidence, the western blotting experiment revealed that compound 7h is more potent in inhibiting p-mTOR (S2448) activity in 2–4 h at 5 and 10 μM concentrations and was selective and specific towards mTORC1 versus mTORC2. Towards understanding the mechanistic aspects we studied cell cycle analysis, mitochondrial membrane potential loss in MiaPaca-2 cells for compound 7h . The docking study for this series was performed to understand the binding mode of the compounds and its consequent effect in biological activity, the initial interaction studies were found to be useful in design of molecules, where compound 7h has shown additional H-bond interaction with Lys2171 apart from Val2240 and also a small hydrophobic cleft was observed with Leu2185, Met2345 and Ile2356.

Asparaginase is an important antineoplastic drug extensively used for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, but the intrinsic glutaminase activity of this enzymatic drug is responsible for several life threatening side effects. This study describes the purification and characterization of glutaminase free asparaginase from Pseudomonas otitidis. The purified enzyme exhibited molecular mass of approximately 205±3 kDa on native-PAGE and ̴34±1 kDa on SDS-PAGE, revealing that the enzyme is homohexamer. The isoelectric point of enzyme was 5.5, calculated by 2D-PAGE. Optimum activity of asparaginase was achieved at 40 °C and pH 7.5, which is close to the internal environment of the human body. Monovalent cations (Na(+) and K(+)) and reducing agents (2-mercaptoethanol and glutathione) has enhanced asparaginase activity. Whereas, divalent (Ca(2+), Mg(2+), Zn(2+) and Mn(2+)), trivalent (Fe(3+)) cations and thiol group blocking agent (iodoacetamide) inhibited the enzyme activity significantly. In vitro serum and trypsin half life of asparaginase is almost 2 and 1.5 fold respectively, which is higher than commercial asparaginase. MTT assay results showed that the anticancer activity of purified asparaginase was comparable or higher than commercial E. coli asparaginase. Microscopic studies and cell cycle analysis suggested that purified enzyme induced apoptotic cell death in dose-dependent manner. Loss of mitochondrial membrane potential suggests that enzyme induces cell death via activation of intrinsic apoptotic pathway. Purified asparaginase was found to be nontoxic for human noncancerous FR-2 cells and human blood lymphocytes, which is a remarkable therapeutic feature.

Cancer remains the leading cause of human mortality worldwide. Despite some decline in the mortality rates from the past two decades, cancer claims millions of deaths each year. Chemotherapy using natural products had proved its potential against cancer in recent times. Currently more than 60 % of Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drugs against different diseases are from either natural products or their synthetic derivatives. Sesquiterpenes are natural products which can be found in essential oils. These compounds have been found to have antitumor activities both in vitro and in vivo. A growing body of evidence suggests that these compounds could induce apoptosis, a non-pathological form of cell death, in different tumors. Many of these sesquiterpenes have also been shown to inhibit tumor progression by inhibiting the process of angiogenesis. Sesquiterpenes from essential oils have been shown to target various critical tumor-driving signaling pathways. Moreover, the most striking feature of sesquiterpenes is that some of these molecules can synergize the effect of current chemotherapeutic agents. Keeping in view the therapeutic potential of the sesquiterpenes from essential oils, more comprehensive per-clinical studies need to be performed in this direction.

Tumor angiogenesis is a validated target for therapeutic intervention, but agents that are more disease selective are needed. Here, we report the isolation of secalonic acid-D (SAD), a mycotoxin from a novel source that exhibits potent antiangiogenic antitumor activity. SAD inhibited multiple HIF1α/VEGF-arbitrated angiogenesis dynamics as scored in human umbilical vascular endothelial cells and human MCF-7 breast tumor xenografts. Similarly, SAD suppressed VEGF-induced microvessel sprouting from rat aortic ring and blood vessel formation in the Matrigel plug assay in C57/BL6J mice. Under normoxic or hypoxic conditions, SAD inhibited cell survival through the Akt/mTOR/p70S6K pathway, with attendant effects on key proangiogenesis factors, including HIF1α, VEGFR, and MMP-2/MMP-9. These effects were reversed by cotreatment with the Akt inhibitors perifosine and GSK69069 or by the addition of neutralizing VEGF antibodies. The apoptotic properties of SAD were determined to be both extrinsic and intrinsic in nature, whereas the cell-cycle inhibitory effects were mediated by altering the level of key G1–S transition-phase proteins. In experimental mouse models of breast cancer, SAD dosing produced no apparent toxicities (either orally or intraperitoneal) at levels that yielded antitumor effects. Taken together, our findings offered a preclinical validation and mechanistic definition of the antiangiogenic activity of a novel mycotoxin, with potential application as a cancer-selective therapeutic agent. Cancer Res; 75(14); 2886–96. ©2015 AACR.

4,6-diarylpyrimidones as constrained chalcone analogues have been synthesised in the present study. The synthesised compounds were evaluated against a panel of human cancer cell lines. Striking selectivity was displayed by the compounds against MiaPaCa (Pancreatic) cell lines while PC-3 (prostate) and A-549 (lung) cell lines were almost resistant to the exposure of the test compounds. Compound SK – 25 exhibited remarkable cytotoxicity against MiaPaca-2 cell line with an IC 50 value of 1.95 µM and was found to induce apoptosis evidenced through phase contrast microscopy, DAPI staining and mitochondrial membrane potential loss. The cell phase distribution studies indicated that the apoptotic population increased from 1.79% in control sample to 30.33 % in sample treated with 20 µM compound SK-25.

A set of nine trans-disubstituted dihydropyran-based medium ring macrolides has been synthesized using d-glucal as chiral pool and evaluated against a panel of three human cancer cell lines and a normal cell line. The synthetic route to the targeted molecule is simple, concise, and high yielding compared to other reported methods. Bioevaluation studies have resulted in the identification of a potent cytotoxic molecule (10) exhibiting dose-dependent growth inhibition against HL-60 cell line with an IC50 value of 1.10 ± 0.075 μM, which is lower than that of naturally occurring molecules of this class and of comparable activity to the synthetic drug fludarubin. Compound 10 inhibits the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway by selectively targeting the p110α subunit of PI3Kα. This leads to mitochondrial stress that causes translocation of cytochrome c from mitochondria to cytosol, which in turn activates caspase-mediated apoptotic cell death. Further in silico docking simulations of four macrolides with p110α subunits have been carried out to visualize the orientation pattern.

We have isolated an essential oil from Monarda citriodora (MC) and characterized its 22 chemical constituents with thymol (82%), carvacrol (4.82%), β-myrcene (3.45%), terpinen-4-ol (2.78%) and p-cymene (1.53%) representing the major constituents. We have reported for the first time the chemotherapeutic potential of MC in human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells by means of apoptosis and disruption of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling cascade. MC and its major constituent, thymol, inhibit the cell proliferation in different types of cancer cell lines like HL-60, MCF-7, PC-3, A-549 and MDAMB-231. MC was found to be more cytotoxic than thymol in HL-60 cells with an IC50 value of 22 μg/ml versus 45 μg/ml for thymol. Both MC and thymol induce apoptosis in HL-60 cells, which is evident by Hoechst staining, cell cycle analysis and immuno-expression of Bcl-xL, caspase-3,-8,-9 and PARP-1 cleavage. Both induce apoptosis by extrinsic and intrinsic apoptotic pathways that were confirmed by enhanced expression of death receptors (TNF-R1, Fas), caspase-9, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and regression of Bcl-2/Bax ratio. Interestingly, both MC and thymol inhibit the downstream and upstream signaling of PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. The degree of apoptosis induction and disruption of the PI3K signaling cascade by MC was significantly higher when compared to thymol.

s: AACR International Conference on Translational Cancer Medicine--; Mar 21-24, 2010; Amsterdam, The Netherlands P19, a semi-synthetic analog of sesquiterpene lactone ‘Parthenin’, is a promising template to develop into novel anti-cancer leads. P19 induced robust cell death in human leukemia cell lines compared to normal cells when observed after 48h treatment with IC50 of 3.5 μM in HL-60 cells to that of 35 μM in human normal gingival fibroblast cells. Mechanistic studies into HL-60 cells death after 6 h exposure to 10 μM P19 were investigated. It killed cells by apoptosis consequent to robust generation of NO through enhanced expression of iNOS. N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) and s-methyl isothiourea (sMIT) suppressed apoptosis equipotently by inhibiting endogenous NO formation. P19 disrupted mitochondrial functions by altering Bax/Bcl2 ratio, cytosolic Bid loss, Drp1 over expression, Bax and cytochrome c translocation leading predominantly to caspase-9 activation. P19 also translocated AIF from mitochondria to the nucleus which may further potentiate caspases-independent cell death, because pan caspase inhibitor offered incomplete protection. On the contrary, activation of caspase-8 was augmented with concomitant selective enhanced expression of apical death receptor DR4 rather than TNFR1 and FASR. Activation of pre-executioner caspases positively regulated the activation of caspase-3 leading to PARP-1 cleavage and therefore, DNA fragmentation. Down-regulation of activator TNFR1 and transactivator PARP-1 of NF-κB with attendant decreased expression of both the subunits p50 and p65 of NF-κB argue against the plausible involvement of NF-κB as a transcription factor in the induction of iNOS. Further, P19 potently inhibited pro-survival proteins pSTAT-3 and survivin that are overtly expressed in cancer cells. The multimodal proapoptotic features of P19 raises its potential usefulness as a promising anti-cancer therapeutic. Citation Information : Clin Cancer Res 2010;16(7 Suppl):A13

Cu (I)-catalyzed alkyne–azide cycloaddition was carried out for the preparation of novel 1,4-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles of D-(+)-pinitol. All the analogs were screened for cytotoxicity against promyelocytic leukemia (HL-60), colorectal carcinoma (HCT 116) and pancreatic carcinoma (Mia-Paca-2) cancer cell lines using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) cytotoxicity assay. Compounds 2, 3 and 7 showed the best activity with IC50 of 19.2, 17.5 and 16.4 μM against leukemia (HL-60), colorectal carcinoma (HCT 116) and pancreatic carcinoma (Mia-Paca-2) cell lines respectively. All the triazolyl analogs were further evaluated for β-glucosidase inhibitory activity, wherein, the deprotected derivatives: 6a, 18a and 25a showed better activity with IC50 of 148.5, 139.2 and 142.4 μM respectively. The structure activity relationship (SAR) studies revealed that the analogs with bromo, nitro or methyl groups in R (substituted phenyl moiety attached to 1,2,3-triazole) moiety exhibited better cytotoxicity, while as, the analogs with N-substituted long chain aliphatic hydrocarbon R moieties displayed effective β-glucosidase inhibition. Keywords: D-(+)-pinitol, Click chemistry, Triazole, Cytotoxicity, β-glucosidases inhibition