Pharmacoscreening, molecular dynamics, and quantum mechanics of inermin from : a crucial molecule inhibiting exosomal protein target associated with coronary artery disease progression.

Background: Exosomes, microvesicles, carry and release several vital molecules across cells, tissues, and organs. Epicardial adipose tissue exosomes are critical in the development and progression of coronary artery disease (CAD). It is hypothesized that exosomes may transport causative molecules from inflamed tissue and deliver to the target tissue and progress CAD.

Multi-Target Effect of Aloeresin-A against Bacterial and Host Inflammatory Targets Benefits Contact Lens-Related Keratitis: A Multi-Omics and Quantum Chemical Investigation.

Contact lens-mediated microbial keratitis caused by and provokes corneal damage and vision loss. Recently, natural phytochemicals have become complementary medicines for corneal destruction. Herein, we aimed to identify multi-targeting -derived phytochemicals capable of inhibiting bacterial and host targets of keratitis through ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion), docking, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, MMGBSA (molecular mechanics generalized Born surface area) and density functional theory (DFT) investigations.

Cancer metastasis: Molecular mechanisms and clinical perspectives.

Metastatic progression combined with non-responsiveness towards systemic therapy often shapes the course of disease for cancer patients and commonly determines its lethal outcome. The complex molecular events that promote metastasis are a combination of both, the acquired pro-metastatic properties of cancer cells and a metastasis-permissive or -supportive tumor micro-environment (TME). Yet, dissemination is a challenging process for cancer cells that requires a series of events to enable cancer cell survival and growth.

Activation of lysosomal mediated cell death in the course of autophagy by mTORC1 inhibitor.

Lysosomal biogenesis plays a vital role in cell fate. Under certain conditions, excessive lysosomal biogenesis leads to susceptibility for lysosomal membrane permeabilization resulting in various pathological conditions including cell death. In cancer cells apoptosis machinery becomes dysregulated during the course of treatment, thus allows cancer cells to escape apoptosis.

Loss-of-function mutation in VCP mimics the characteristic pathology as in FTLD-TARDBP.

VCP (valosin containing protein), a member of the AAA+ protein family, is critical for many cellular processes and functions. Dominant VCP mutations cause a rare neurodegenerative disease known as multisystem proteinopathy (MSP). The spectrum of mechanisms causing fronto-temporal dementia with TARDBP/TDP-43 inclusions (FTLD-TARDBP) by VCP disease mutations remains unclear.

A rohitukine derivative IIIM-290 induces p53 dependent mitochondrial apoptosis in acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells.

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.

Neuronal VCP loss of function recapitulates FTLD-TDP pathology.

The pathogenic mechanism by which dominant mutations in VCP cause multisystem proteinopathy (MSP), a rare neurodegenerative disease that presents as fronto-temporal lobar degeneration with TDP-43 inclusions (FTLD-TDP), remains unclear. To explore this, we inactivate VCP in murine postnatal forebrain neurons (VCP conditional knockout [cKO]). VCP cKO mice have cortical brain atrophy, neuronal loss, autophago-lysosomal dysfunction, and TDP-43 inclusions resembling FTLD-TDP pathology.

IIIM-941, a Stilbene Derivative Inhibits NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation by Inducing Autophagy.

Aberrant activation of NLRP3 inflammasome has been implicated in several inflammatory diseases. Autophagy is one of the primary mechanisms that regulate NLRP3 inflammasome activity. In this study, we attempted to target NLRP3 inflammasome activity by a synthetic compound IIIM-941.

Safranal inhibits NLRP3 inflammasome activation by preventing ASC oligomerization.

NLRP3 inflammasome is involved in several chronic inflammatory diseases. The inflammatory effect of the NLRP3 inflammasome is executed through IL-1β and IL-18. Therefore, IL-1β is one of the primary targets in chronic inflammatory conditions.

Crocetin promotes clearance of amyloid-β by inducing autophagy via the STK11/LKB1-mediated AMPK pathway.

Alzheimer disease (AD) is usually accompanied by two prominent pathological features, cerebral accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques and presence of MAPT/tau neurofibrillary tangles. Dysregulated clearance of Aβ largely contributes to its accumulation and plaque formation in the brain. Macroautophagy/autophagy is a lysosomal degradative process, which plays an important role in the clearance of Aβ.

Naringenin Upregulates AMPK-Mediated Autophagy to Rescue Neuronal Cells From β-Amyloid Evoked Neurotoxicity.

Deposition of an amyloid-β peptide is one of the first events in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and is clinically characterized by Aβ plaques, tau tangles, and behavioral impairments that lead to neuronal death. A substantial number of studies encourage targeting the skewness in the production and degradation of amyloid-β could be among the promising therapies in the disease. Neuronal autophagy has emerged for an essential role in the degradation of such toxic aggregate-prone proteins in various neurodegenerative diseases.

Alborixin clears amyloid-β by inducing autophagy through PTEN-mediated inhibition of the AKT pathway.

Imbalance in production and clearance of amyloid beta (Aβ) is the primary reason for its deposition in Alzheimer disease. Macroautophagy/autophagy is one of the important mechanisms for clearance of both intracellular and extracellular Aβ. Here, through screening, we identified alborixin, an ionophore, as a potent inducer of autophagy.

Artemisia amygdalina Upregulates Nrf2 and Protects Neurons Against Oxidative Stress in Alzheimer Disease.

Alzheimer disease is a complex neurodegenerative disorder. It is the common form of dementia in elderly people. The etiology of this disease is multifactorial, pathologically it is accompanied with accumulation of amyloid beta and neurofibrillary tangles.

Soluble Aβ suppresses TNF-α and activates NLRP3 inflammasome in THP-1 macrophages.

Deposition of amyloid-β in Alzheimer's disease is accompanied by chronic inflammation, which involves raised levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β. However, the role of Aβ- in the inflammatory process, before it gets deposited into aggregates has not been investigated thoroughly. Through this study, we are illustrating the dual role of soluble Aβ- (sAβ) in activating the NLRP3 inflammasome and simultaneously inhibiting TNF-α secretion.

Murrayanine Attenuates Lipopolysaccharide-induced Inflammation and Protects Mice from Sepsis-associated Organ Failure.

Murrayanine (MK) is the main compound isolated from Murraya koenigii, an aromatic plant belonging to the Rutaceae family, also known as curry leaf tree. Murrayanine was reported to possess potential antioxidant, antimycobacterial and antifungal effects. However, its effect in sepsis remains unclear.

The amino analogue of β-boswellic acid efficiently attenuates the release of pro-inflammatory mediators than its parent compound through the suppression of NF-κB/IκBα signalling axis.

Natural product derivatives have proven to be cutting edge window for drug discovery and development. BA-25 (3-α-o-acetoxy-4β-amino-11-oxo-24-norurs-12-ene) an amino analogue of β-boswellic acid exhibited inhibition of TNF-α and IL-6 in THP-1 cells as demonstrated previously, however, the effect on principal inflammatory mediators such as cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and the pathways that mediate this function remains unknown. This study was designed to examine the comparative anti-inflammatory activity of BA-25 with its parent compound, β boswellic acid both in vitro and in vivo.

Arginase purified from endophytic Pseudomonas aeruginosa IH2: Induce apoptosis through both cell cycle arrest and MMP loss in human leukemic HL-60 cells.

Arginase is a therapeutic enzyme for arginine-auxotrophic cancers but their low anticancer activity, less proteolytic tolerance and shorter serum half-life are the major shortcomings. In this study, arginase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa IH2 was purified to homogeneity and estimated as 75 kDa on native-PAGE and 37 kDa on SDS-PAGE. Arginase showed optimum activity at pH 8 and temperature 35 °C.

Functional induction of P-glycoprotein efflux pump by phenyl benzenesulfonamides: Synthesis and biological evaluation of T0901317 analogs.

N-(2,2,2-Trifluoroethyl)-N-[4-[2,2,2-trifluoro-1-hydroxy-1-(trifluoromethyl)ethyl]phenyl]-benzenesulfonamide (T0901317, 6) is a potent activator of pregnane-X-receptor (PXR), which is a nuclear receptor controlling P-gp expression. Herein, we aimed to investigate P-gp induction activity of T0901317 and establish its structure-activity relationship. T0901317 along with a series of N-triazolyl-methylene-linked benzenesulfonamides were synthesized and screened for P-gp induction activity using a rhodamine-123 based efflux assay in the P-gp overexpressing human adenocarcinoma LS-180 cells, wherein several compounds showed potent P-gp induction activity at 5 μM.

Isolation and characterization of alborixin from Streptomyces scabrisporus: A potent cytotoxic agent against human colon (HCT-116) cancer cells.

The ethyl acetate extract from the fermentation broth of an actinomycete strain, identified as Streptomyces scabrisporus isolated from soil of Kashmir Himalayas - India, exhibited significant cytotoxic activity against a panel of human cancer cell lines. The active fraction subjected to column chromatography led to the isolation of pharmacologically potent anticancer compound whose structure was established to be alborixin on the basis of spectral data analysis. The compound exhibited antiproliferative activity against panel of cell lines N2a, MCF-7, MiaPaca-2, PC-3, HCT-116, MDA-MB-231, HL-60 and A-549 cells with IC50 of 9.

Discovery of a marine-derived bis-indole alkaloid fascaplysin, as a new class of potent P-glycoprotein inducer and establishment of its structure-activity relationship.

The screening of IIIM natural products repository for P-gp modulatory activity in P-gp over-expressing human adenocarcinoma LS-180 cells led to the identification of 7 natural products viz. withaferin, podophyllotoxin, 3-demethylcolchicine, agnuside, reserpine, seseberecine and fascaplysin as P-gp inducers. Fascaplysin (6a), a marine-derived bis-indole alkaloid, was the most potent among all of them, showing induction of P-gp with EC50 value of 25 nM.

Meridianin derivatives as potent Dyrk1A inhibitors and neuroprotective agents.

Meridianins are a group of marine-derived indole alkaloids which are reported to possess kinase inhibitory activities. In the present Letter, we report synthesis of N1-substituted and C-ring modified meridianin derivatives and their evaluation as Dyrk1A inhibitors and neuroprotective agents. Among the library of 52 compounds screened, morpholinoyl linked derivative 26b and 2-nitro-4-trifluoromethyl phenyl sulfonyl derivative 29v displayed potent inhibition of Dyrk1A with IC50 values of 0.

Synthesis and P-glycoprotein induction activity of colupulone analogs.

Brain amyloid-beta (Aβ) plaques are one of the primary hallmarks associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology. Efflux pump proteins located at the blood-brain barrier (BBB) have been reported to play an important role in the clearance of brain Aβ, among which the P-glycoprotein (P-gp) efflux transporter pump has been shown to play a crucial role. Thus, P-gp has been considered as a potential therapeutic target for treatment of AD.

Discovery of 4-acetyl-3-(4-fluorophenyl)-1-(p-tolyl)-5-methylpyrrole as a dual inhibitor of human P-glycoprotein and Staphylococcus aureus Nor A efflux pump.

Polysubstituted pyrrole natural products, lamellarins, are known to overcome multi-drug resistance in cancer via the inhibition of p-glycoprotein (P-gp) and breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP) efflux pumps. Herein, a series of simplified polysubstituted pyrroles, prepared via a one-pot domino protocol, were screened for P-gp inhibition in P-gp overexpressing human adenocarcinoma LS-180 cells using a rhodamine 123 efflux assay. Several compounds showed the significant inhibition of P-gp at 50 μM, as indicated by increase in the intracellular accumulation of Rh123 in LS-180 cells.