A Precise qNMR Method for the Rapid Quantification of Lot-to-Lot Variations in Multiple Quality Attributes of Pentosan Polysulfate Sodium.

Pentosan polysulfate sodium (PPS) is an orphan drug with anticoagulant activity. PPS is prepared from the chemical processing of xylan extracted from beechwood tree to yield a mixture of 4-6 kDa polysaccharides. The chain is mainly composed of sulfated xylose (Xyl) with branched 4-O-methyl-glucuronate (MGA).

Correction: A novel derivative of betulinic acid, SYK023, suppresses lung cancer growth and malignancy.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.3701.

A novel derivative of betulinic acid, SYK023, suppresses lung cancer growth and malignancy.

Herein, we evaluated the anti-cancer effect and molecular mechanisms of a novel betulinic acid (BA) derivative, SYK023, by using two mouse models of lung cancer driven by KrasG12D or EGFRL858R. We found that SYK023 inhibits lung tumor proliferation, without side effects in vivo or cytotoxicity in primary lung cells in vitro. SYK023 triggered endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress.

Perspectives on biologically active camptothecin derivatives.

Camptothecins (CPTs) are cytotoxic natural alkaloids that specifically target DNA topoisomerase I. Research on CPTs has undergone a significant evolution from the initial discovery of CPT in the late 1960s through the study of synthetic small-molecule derivatives to investigation of macromolecular constructs and formulations. Over the past years, intensive medicinal chemistry efforts have generated numerous CPT derivatives.

Design, synthesis, mechanisms of action, and toxicity of novel 20(s)-sulfonylamidine derivatives of camptothecin as potent antitumor agents.

Twelve novel 20-sulfonylamidine derivatives (9a-9l) of camptothecin (1) were synthesized via a Cu-catalyzed three-component reaction. They showed similar or superior cytotoxicity compared with that of irinotecan (3) against A-549, DU-145, KB, and multidrug-resistant (MDR) KBvin tumor cell lines. Compound 9a demonstrated better cytotoxicity against MDR cells compared with that of 1 and 3.

Optimization of the antiviral potency and lipophilicity of halogenated 2,6-diarylpyridinamines as a novel class of HIV-1 NNRTIS.

Nineteen new halogenated diarylpyridinamine (DAPA) analogues modified at the phenoxy C-ring were synthesized and evaluated for anti-HIV activity and certain drug-like properties. Ten compounds showed high anti-HIV activity (EC50 <10 nM). In particular, (E)-6-(2''-bromo-4''-cyanovinyl-6''-methoxy)phenoxy-N(2) -(4'-cyanophenyl)pyridin-2,3-diamine (8 c) displayed low-nanomolar antiviral potency (3-7 nM) against wild-type and drug-resistant viral strains bearing the E138K or K101E mutations, which are associated with resistance to rilvipirine (1 b).

Recent progress on C-4-modified podophyllotoxin analogs as potent antitumor agents.

Podophyllotoxin (PPT), as well as its congeners and derivatives, exhibits pronounced biological activities, especially antineoplastic effects. Its strong inhibitory effect on tumor cell growth led to the development of three of the most highly prescribed anticancer drugs in the world, etoposide, teniposide, and the water-soluble prodrug etoposide phosphate. Their clinical success as well as intriguing mechanism of action stimulated great interest in further modification of PPT for better antitumor activity.

Optimization of 4-(N-cycloamino)phenylquinazolines as a novel class of tubulin-polymerization inhibitors targeting the colchicine site.

The 6-methoxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinoline moiety in prior leads 2-chloro- and 2-methyl-4-(6-methoxy-3,4-dihydroquinolin-1(2H)-yl)quinazoline (1a and 1b) was modified to produce 4-(N-cycloamino)quinazolines (4a-c and 5a-m). The new compounds were evaluated in cytotoxicity and tubulin inhibition assays, resulting in the discovery of new tubulin-polymerization inhibitors. 7-Methoxy-4-(2-methylquinazolin-4-yl)-3,4-dihydroquinoxalin- 2(1H)-one (5f), the most potent compound, exhibited high in vitro cytotoxic activity (GI50 1.

A-ring modified betulinic acid derivatives as potent cancer preventive agents.

Ten new 3,4-seco betulinic acid (BA) derivatives were designed and synthesized. Among them, compounds 7-15 exhibited enhanced chemopreventive ability in an in vitro short-term 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) induced Epstein-Barr virus early antigen (EBV-EA) activation assay in Raji cells. Specifically, analogs with a free C-28 carboxylic acid, including 7, 8, 11, and 13, inhibited EBV-EA activation significantly.

N-aryl-6-methoxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinolines: a novel class of antitumor agents targeting the colchicine site on tubulin.

Structural optimizations of the prior lead 1a led to the discovery of a series of N-aryl-6-methoxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinoline derivatives as a novel class of tubulin polymerization inhibitors targeted at the colchicine binding site. The most active compound 6d showed extremely high cytotoxicity against a human tumor cell line panel (A549, KB, KBvin, and DU145) with GI50 values ranging from 1.5 to 1.

Prodrug design, synthesis and pharmacokinetic evaluation of (3' , 4' )-3-hydroxymethyl-4-methyl-3',4'-di--()-camphanoyl-(+)--khellactone.

3-Hydroxymethyl-4-methyl-DCK (, HMDCK) was discovered previously as a potent HIV non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTIs) (EC: 0.004 μM, TI: 6225) with a novel mechanism of action. It exerts anti-HIV activity by inhibiting the production of HIV-1 double-stranded viral DNA from a single-stranded DNA intermediate, rather than blocking the generation of single-stranded DNA from a RNA template, which is the mechanism of action of current HIV-1 RT inhibitors.

Isolation, structure determination, and anti-HIV evaluation of tigliane-type diterpenes and biflavonoid from Stellera chamaejasme.

Five novel tigliane-type diterpenes, stelleracins A-E (3-7), a novel flavanone dimer, chamaeflavone A (8), and six known compounds were isolated from the roots of Stellera chamaejasme. Their structures were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analyses. The isolated compounds were evaluated for anti-HIV activity in MT4 cells.

Design, synthesis and potent cytotoxic activity of novel podophyllotoxin derivatives.

Twenty new acyl thiourea derivatives of podophyllotoxin and 4'-demethylepipodophyllotoxin were prepared and screened for their cytotoxicity against four human tumor cell lines, A-549, DU-145, KB, and KBvin. With IC50 values of 0.098-1.

New betulinic acid derivatives for bevirimat-resistant human immunodeficiency virus type-1.

Bevirimat (1, BVM) is an anti-HIV agent that blocks HIV-1 replication by interfering with HIV-1 Gag-SP1 processing at a late stage of viral maturation. However, clinical trials of 1 have revealed a high baseline drug resistance that is attributed to naturally occurring polymorphisms in HIV-1 Gag. To overcome the drug resistance, 28 new derivatives of 1 were synthesized and tested against compound 1-resistant (BVM-R) HIV-1 variants.

Synthesis of Lithocholic Acid Derivatives as Proteasome Regulators.

Accumulation of aberrant protein aggregates, such as amyloid beta peptide (Aβ), due to decreased proteasome activities might contribute to the neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease. In this study, lithocholic acid derivatives 3α-O-pimeloyl-lithocholic acid methyl ester (2) and its isosteric isomer (6) were found to activate the chymotrypsin-like activity of the proteasome at an EC(50) of 7.8 and 4.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel spin labeled 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid derivatives.

Eighteen novel spin-labeled 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) derivatives were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for cytotoxicity against four human tumor cell lines (A-549, DU-145, KB and KBvin). Most of the derivatives showed more significant cytotoxicity than that of the parent compound GA. The best compound, 6j, with a tryptophan amino moiety and piperidine nitroxyl radical showed GI(50) values of 13.

Anti-AIDS agents 90. novel C-28 modified bevirimat analogues as potent HIV maturation inhibitors.

In a continuing study of bevirimat (2), the anti-HIV-maturation clinical trials agent, 28 new betulinic acid (BA, 1) derivatives were designed and synthesized. Among these compounds, 17, with a C-28 MEM ester moiety, and 22, with a C-28 ethyl hexanoate, increased the anti-HIV replication activity compared with 2 by 2-fold while compounds 40, 41, 48, and 49, with C-28 piperazine or piperidine amide substitutions, increased the activity by 3- to 15-fold. The best new compound, 41, exhibited an anti-HIV IC(50) of 0.

Design and synthesis of diarylamines and diarylethers as cytotoxic antitumor agents.

Based on a shared structural core of diarylamine in several known anticancer drugs as well as a new cytotoxic hit 6-chloro-2-(4-cyanophenyl)amino-3-nitropyridine (7), 30 diarylamines and diarylethers were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for cytotoxic activity against A549, KB, KB-vin, and DU145 human tumor cell lines (HTCL). Four new leads 11e, 12, 13a, and 13b were discovered with GI(50) values ranging from 0.33 to 3.

Design, synthesis, and preclinical evaluations of novel 4-substituted 1,5-diarylanilines as potent HIV-1 non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) drug candidates.

Twenty-one new 4-substituted diarylaniline compounds (DAANs) (series 13, 14, and 15) were designed, synthesized, and evaluated against wild-type and drug resistant HIV-1 viral strains. As a result, approximately a dozen new DAANs showed high potency with low nano- to subnanomolar EC(50) values ranging from 0.2 to 10 nM.

Synthesis of betulinic acid derivatives as entry inhibitors against HIV-1 and bevirimat-resistant HIV-1 variants.

Betulinic acid derivatives modified at the C28 position are HIV-1entry inhibitors such as compound A43D; however, modified at the C3 position instead of C28 give HIV-1 maturation inhibitor such as bevirimat. Bevirimat exhibited promising pharmacokinetic profiles in clinical trials, but its effectiveness was compromised by the high baseline drug resistance of HIV-1 variants with polymorphism in the putative drug binding site. In an effort to determine whether the viruses with bevirimat resistant polymorphism also altered their sensitivities to the betulinic acid derivatives that inhibit HIV-1 entry, a series of new betulinic acid entry inhibitors were synthesized and tested for their activities against HIV-1 NL4-3 and NL4-3 variants resistant to bevirimat.

Anti-AIDS agents 88. Anti-HIV conjugates of betulin and betulinic acid with AZT prepared via click chemistry.

In the present study, a new strategy to link AZT with betulin/betulinic acid (BA) by click chemistry was designed and achieved. This conjugation via a triazole linkage offers a new direction for modification of anti-HIV triterpenes. Click chemistry provides an easy and productive way for linking two molecules, even when one of them is a large natural product.

Recent discovery of plant-derived anti-diabetic natural products.

Covering: 2005 to 2010. This review covers recent discoveries of anti-diabetic compounds. Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a complex disease affecting patients' daily life and elevating patients' risk of developing other diseases.

Optimization of 2,4-diarylanilines as non-nucleoside HIV-1 reverse transcriptase inhibitors.

The current optimization of 2,4-diarylaniline analogs (DAANs) on the central phenyl ring provided a series of new active DAAN derivatives 9a-9e, indicating an accessible modification approach that could improve anti-HIV potency against wild-type and resistant strains, aqueous solubility, and metabolic stability. A new compound 9e not only exhibited extremely high potency against wild-type virus (EC(50) 0.53 nM) and several resistant viral strains (EC(50) 0.

Antitumor agents 292. Design, synthesis and pharmacological study of S- and O-substituted 7-mercapto- or hydroxy-coumarins and chromones as potent cytotoxic agents.

Thirty-five S- and O-substituted 7-mercaptocoumarin (9-23) and 7-hydroxy- or 7-mercapto-chromone (24-43) analogs were designed, synthesized and evaluated in vitro against four human tumor cell lines [KB (nasopharyngeal), KB-vin (vincristine-resistant subline), A549 (lung) and DU145 (prostate)] with paclitaxel as the positive control. Many of the synthesized compounds exhibited potent cytotoxic activity. Among them, compounds 10 and 18 showed broad spectrum activity with GI(50) values ranging from 0.

Recent Progress of Research on Herbal Products Used in Traditional Chinese Medicine: the Herbs belonging to The Divine Husbandman's Herbal Foundation Canon ( Shén Nóng Běn Cǎo Jīng).

This article will review selected herbal products from Chinese Materia Medica that are used in Traditional Chinese Medicine. The herbs come from the upper, middle, and lower class medicines as listed in The Divine Husbandman's Herbal Foundation Canon ( Shén Nóng Běn Cǎo Jīng). The review will focus on the active constituents of the herbs and their bioactivities, with emphasis on the most recent progress in research for the period of 2003 to 2011.