Publications by authors named "Zhen-feng Chen"

Four lanthanide complexes with 8-hydroxyquinoline-2-aldehyde-2-hydrazinopyridine (H-L), 8-hydroxyquinoline-2-aldehyde-2-hydrazimidazole (H-L): [Sm(L)][Sm(L)(NO)]·CHCl·2CHOH (1), [Gd(L)][Gd(L)(NO)]·CHCl·2CHOH (2), [Sm(L)(NO)]·CHOH (3), and [Eu(L)(NO)]·CHOH (4) were synthesized and characterized. In vitro cytotoxicity evaluation showed that the ligands and four lanthanide complexes exhibited cytotoxicity to the five tested tumor cell lines. Among them, complex 1 showed the best antiproliferative activity against NCI-H460 tumor cells.

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The total syntheses of (±)-quebrachamine and (±)-kopsiyunnanine D are reported. Key transformations include an intermolecular Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons olefination to merge the two fragments convergently and an intramolecular Mitsunobu reaction to introduce the synthetically challenging nine-membered azonane ring efficiently.

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Four copper(II)-plumbagin and -bipyridine complexes (Cu1-Cu4) were synthesized as chemodynamic therapy agents with enhanced antitumor activity. As lipophilic and positively charged compounds, Cu1-Cu4 were preferentially accumulated in mitochondria and activated the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway. Mechanistic studies showed that Cu1-Cu4 reacted with GSH to reduce Cu ions to Cu ions, catalyzed the formation of toxic hydroxyl radicals (˙OH) from hydrogen peroxide (HO) through a Fenton-like reaction, induced mitochondrial dysfunction, and activated caspase-9/3, which eventually led to apoptosis.

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Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Lonicerae Japonicae Flos (LJF) and Lonicerae Flos (LF) were once used as the same herb in China, but they were distinguished by Chinese Pharmacopoeia in 2005 in terms of their medicinal history, plant morphology, medicinal properties and chemical constituents. However, their functions, flavor, and meridian tropism are the same according to the Chinese pharmacopoeia 2020 edition, making researchers and customers confused.

Aim Of The Review: This review aimed to provide a comparative analysis of LJF and LF in order to provide a rational application in future research.

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The combination of mitochondrial targeting and chemodynamic therapy is a promising anti-cancer strategy. Three mitochondria targeting copper(II) complexes (Cu1-Cu3) with plumbagin and bipyridine ligands for enhanced chemodynamic therapy were synthesized and characterized. Their anti-proliferative activity to HeLa cells was higher than that of cisplatin, and their toxicity to normal cells was low.

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Tumor cells and macrophages communicate through the secretion of various cytokines to jointly promote the malignant development of cancers. We synthesized and characterized an oxoaporphine Pr(III) complex (PrL(NO)) and found that it inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression and metastasis by disrupting HCC cell-macrophage crosstalk. PrL(NO) treatment upregulated CD86, TNF-α, and IL-1β and downregulated CD163, CD206, CCL2, and VEGFA in macrophages.

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Article Synopsis
  • Six rhodium(III) and palladium(II) pyrazolopyrimidine complexes were created and tested for their effectiveness against cancer cells.
  • * These complexes demonstrated strong cytotoxic effects, particularly showing greater toxicity than the commonly used drug cisplatin in T-24 cancer cells.
  • * Complexes 5 and 6 worked by causing DNA damage and triggering apoptosis through cell cycle arrest, while complex 5 also affected cell death via mitochondrial dysfunction, with complex 5 displaying more significant tumor growth inhibition in live mice.
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and are Zn-based complexes that activate the immunogenic cell death (ICD) effect by Ca-mediated endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) and mitochondrial dysfunction. Compared with , effectively caused reactive oxidative species (ROS) overproduction in the early phase, leading to ERS response. Severe ERS caused the release of Ca from ER to cytoplasm and further to mitochondria.

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As a continuation of our endeavors in discovering metal-based drugs with cytotoxic and antimetastatic activities, herein, we reported the syntheses of 11 new rhodium(III)-picolinamide complexes and the exploration of their potential anticancer activities. These Rh(III) complexes showed high antiproliferative activity against the tested cancer cell lines in vitro. The mechanism study indicated that ([Rh()(CHCN)Cl]) and ([Rh()(CHCN)Cl]) inhibited cell proliferation by multiple modes of action via cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, and autophagy and inhibited cell metastasis via FAK-regulated integrin β1-mediated suppression of EGFR expression.

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Discovery of small molecule inhibitors targeting Mcl-1 (Myeloid cell leukemia 1) confronts many challenges. Based on the fact that Mcl-1 is mainly localized in mitochondria, we propose a new strategy of targeting mitochondria to improve the binding efficiency of Mcl-1 inhibitors. We report the discovery of complex , the first mitochondrial targeting platinum-based inhibitor of Mcl-1, which selectively binds to Mcl-1 with high binding affinity.

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Six terpyridine ligands(L-L) with chlorophenol or bromophenol moiety were obtained to prepare metal terpyridine derivatives complexes: [Ru(L)(DMSO)Cl] (1), [Ru(L)(DMSO)Cl] (2), [Ru(L)(DMSO)Cl] (3), [Cu(L)Br]·DMSO (4), Cu(L)Br (5), and [Cu(L)Br]⋅CHOH (6). The complexes were fully characterized. Ru complexes 1-3 showed low cytotoxicity against the tested cell lines.

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Three copper(II) complexes C1-C3 were synthesized and fully characterized as chemodynamic therapy (CDT) anticancer agents. C1-C3 showed greater cytotoxicity than their ligands toward SK-OV-3 and T24 cells. Particularly, C2 showed high cytotoxicity toward T24 cells and low cytotoxicity toward normal human HL-7702 and WI-38 cells.

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Three new synthetic terpyridine copper(II) complexes were characterized. The copper(II) complexes induced apoptosis of three cancer cell lines and arrested T-24 cell cycle in G1 phase. The complexes were accumulated in mitochondria of T-24 cells and caused significant reduction of the mitochondrial membrane potential.

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Targeting metabolic reprogramming to treat cancer could increase overall survival and reduce side effects. Here, we put forward a strategy using arene-ruthenium(II)/osmium(II) complexes to potentiate the anticancer effect of metformin (Met.) via glucose metabolism reprogramming.

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Seven undescribed abietane-type diterpenoids, gauleucins A-G, and 11 known ones were isolated from an EtOH extract of the aerial parts of Gaultheria leucocarpa var. yunnanensis. These isolates could be classified into four subtypes: abietanes, 16-nor-abietanes, 16,18-di-nor-abietanes, and 3,4-seco-16-nor-abietane.

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To study the antitumor activity and action mechanism of Ru(II) polypyridyl plumbagin (PLN) complexes, four complexes [Ru(PLN)(DMSO)]Cl (Ru1), [Ru(bpy)(PLN)](PF) (bpy is bipyridine) (Ru2), [Ru(phen)(PLN)](PF) (phen is 1,10-phenanthroline) (Ru3), and [Ru(DIP)(PLN)](PF) (DIP is 4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline) (Ru4) were obtained and fully characterized. Lipophilicity, cellular uptake and cytotoxicity of these Ru(II) complexes are in the order of: Ru1 View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Twelve new complexes - were designed and synthesized to improve their chemotherapeutic properties. They showed considerable antiproliferative activity against T24 cancer cells but lower cytotoxicity to human normal cells HL-7702 and WI-38. A mechanism study indicated that and were reduced to Fenton-like Cu by glutathione depletion, and the resulting Cu catalyzed the generation of highly toxic hydroxyl radicals from excess HO.

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An efficient one-pot reaction for the synthesis of oxoaporphine alkaloids has been developed. Twenty-three compounds of oxoaporphine alkaloids were prepared and assessed for their antitumor activities. Most compounds inhibited the growth of T-24 tumor cells in vitro.

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Four mononuclear terpyridine complexes [Cu(H-L)Cl]·CHOH (1), [Cu(H-L)Cl]ClO (2), [Cu(H-L)Cl]·CHOH (3), and [Cu(H-L)(CHOH)(DMSO)](ClO) (4) were prepared and fully characterized. Complexes 1-4 exhibited higher cytotoxic activity against several tested cancer cell lines especially BEL-7402 cells compared to cisplatin, and they showed low toxicity towards normal human liver cells. ICP-MS detection indicated that the copper complexes were accumulated in mitochondria.

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Three ruthenium(III) complexes with pyrazolopyrimidine [Ru(L)(HO)Cl] (1-3, = 1-3) were prepared and characterized. These Ru(III) compounds show strong cytotoxicity against six cancer cell lines and low toxicity to normal human liver cells. Particularly, they exhibited stronger cytotoxicity to SK-OV-3 cells than cisplatin.

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Three Cu(II) complexes of quinoline derivatives as cancer chemodynamic therapy agents were synthesized and characterized. These complexes were heavily taken up by cells and reacted with cellular glutathione (GSH) to reduce Cu to Fenton-like Cu, which catalyzed endogenous HO to produce the highly toxic hydroxyl radicals (•OH) to kill cancer cells. Cu1 and Cu2 initiated CAT activity declines, mitochondrial membrane potential and ATP concentration decrease, mitochondrial Ca overload and ER stress response, leading to cell cycle arrest in sub-G1 and cancer cell caspase-dependent apoptosis.

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A novel optically pure dinuclear copper(II) complex of a rosin derivative dehydroabietic acid (DHA, HL) was synthesized and fully characterized. The in vitro antitumor activities of the copper(II) complex Cu2(µ2-O)(L)4(DMF)2 (1) were explored and compared with those of a trinuclear iron(III) complex [Fe3(µ3-O)(L)6(CH3OH)2(CH3O)]·H2O (2). 1 was more cytotoxic than 2, and the in vitro cytotoxicity of 1 was comparable to that of cisplatin and oxaliplatin.

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Article Synopsis
  • A new ligand called 9-AQH was synthesized, leading to the creation of four metal complexes, with one (Cu complex 3) demonstrating significant anticancer activity, particularly due to the presence of copper(I).
  • In vitro studies indicated that complex 3 could catalyze hydroxyl free radicals and showed a unique reaction mechanism involving redox properties of copper, contributing to its anticancer effects without obvious Cu(II) formation.
  • The anticancer effect of complex 3 was primarily through inducing apoptosis in MGC-803 cancer cells via the mitochondrial pathway, while also suggesting complex interactions with autophagy processes, needing further exploration.
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Enrofloxacin (EFX) was selected as the medicinal ligand to afford a new copper(ii)-based complex, EFX-Cu, which was structurally characterized by spectroscopic analyses including X-ray single crystal diffraction. It was also stable and could retain the coordination state in aqueous solution. The in vitro antibacterial activity of EFX-Cu against a panel of pathogenic bacteria was about the same as that of EFX, except that it was twice as active against E.

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Two new copper(II) complexes, 9-PMAH-Cu (1) and 9-FPMAH-Cu (2), of anthrahydrazone were synthesized and structurally characterized, in which 9-FPMAH (9-(4'-trifluoromethyl)-pyrimidine anthrahydrazone) is the 4'-CF derivative of 9-PMAH (9-pyrimidine anthrahydrazone). Both complexes 1 and 2 showed similar intercalative binding modes towards DNA and might compete with the typical DNA intercalator, GelRed, in the same binding site. They could also act as topoisomerase (type I) suppressor to effectively inhibit its activity, in which complex 1 was more effective than 2.

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