Hideko Nagasawa

Facile synthesis of 1,2,4-triazoles via a copper-catalyzed tandem addition-oxidative cyclization.

A simple one-step synthesis of 1,2,4-triazole derivatives is provided by a copper-catalyzed oxidative coupling reaction under an atmosphere of air. The process should consist of sequential N-C and N-N bond-forming copper-catalyzed oxidative coupling reactions. Starting materials and the copper catalyst are readily available and inexpensive. A wide range of functional groups are tolerated to achieve chemical diversity.

Anti-inflammatory effects of a bioavailable compound, Artepillin C, in Brazilian propolis

Artepillin C is the major compound in the Brazilian green propolis from Baccharis dracunculifolia. Our aim in this study was to investigate the anti-inflammatory effects, absorption, and bioavailability of Artepillin C in mice. The animals used were male Swiss mice subjected to: paw oedema by carrageenan (300 microg/paw), carrageenan-induced peritonitis, and prostaglandin E(2) determination. We also measured in vitro nitric oxide production by RAW 264.7 cells and NF-kappaB activity in HEK 293 cells. Finally, we measured the absorption and bioavailability of Artepillin C in plasma from mice by means of GC-MS after a single oral dose (10 mg/kg). In vivo, Artepillin C produced a maximal inhibition of 38% after 360 min on paw oedema. Artepillin C also decreased the number of neutrophils during peritonitis (IC(50): 0.9 (0.5-1.4) mg/kg). Treatment with Artepillin C decreased prostaglandin E(2) by 29+/-3% and 58+/-5% at 1 and 10 mg/kg, respectively, with a mean ID(50) of 8.5 (8.0-8.7) mg/kg). Similarly, in in vitro models, Artepillin C (3, 10, or 100 microM) decreased nitric oxide production by RAW 264.7 cells with a mean IC(50) of 8.5 (7.8-9.2) microM. In HEK 293 cells, Artepillin C reduced NF-kappaB activity with a mean IC(50) of 26 (22-30) mug/ml), suggesting anti-inflammatory activity, particularly during acute inflammation. Lastly, Artepillin C was absorbed after an oral dose (10 mg/kg) with maximal peaks found at 1 h (22 microg/ml). Collectively, Artepillin C showed anti-inflammatory effects mediated, at least in part, by prostaglandin E(2) and nitric oxide inhibition through NF-kappaB modulation, and exhibited bioavailability by oral administration.

Copper-Catalyzed Synthesis of Benzoxazoles via a Regioselective C−H Functionalization/C−O Bond Formation under an Air Atmosphere

An efficient method for the synthesis of functionalized benzoxazoles is described that involves a copper(II)-catalyzed regioselective C-H functionalization/C-O bond formation protocol. The use of dichlorobenzene as a solvent at 160 degrees C allows the use of air as the terminal oxidant in the catalytic synthesis of benzoxazoles in a process that has high functional group tolerance. The presence of a directing group at the meta position markedly improves the reaction efficacy and a variety of 7-substituted benzoxazoles are selectively produced under mild reaction conditions. The mechanism of the reaction is also discussed in this report.

Expression of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1 in bone marrow-derived mesenchymal cells is dependent on hypoxia-inducible factor 1.

Bone marrow-derived cells are recruited to sites of ischemia, where they promote tissue vascularization. This response is dependent upon the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor 1 (VEGFR1), which mediates cell migration in response to VEGF or placental growth factor (PLGF). In this study, we found that exposure of cultured mouse bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) to hypoxia or an adenovirus encoding a constitutively active form of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) induced VEGFR1 mRNA and protein expression and promoted ex vivo migration in response to VEGF or PLGF. MSC in which HIF-1 activity was inhibited by a dominant negative or RNA interference approach expressed markedly reduced levels of VEGFR1 and failed to migrate or activate AKT in response to VEGF or PLGF. Thus, loss-of-function and gain-of-function approaches demonstrated that HIF-1 activity is necessary and sufficient for basal and hypoxia-induced VEGFR1 expression in bone marrow-derived MSC.

Correlation between antiangiogenic activity and antioxidant activity of various components from propolis

Propolis possesses various physiological activities. In this study, we examined the antiangiogenic and antioxidant activities of various components from propolis: acacetin, apigenin, artepillin C, caffeic acid phenethyl ester, chrysin, p-coumaric acid, galangin, kaempferol, pinocembrin, and quercetin. The effects of these components were tested on in vitro models of angiogenesis, tube formation and growth of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Furthermore, these components were evaluated for their antioxidant activities by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical-scavenging and ferric reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP) assays. Two propolis components, caffeic acid phenethyl ester, and quercetin, possessed strong inhibitory effects on tube formation and on endothelial cell proliferation and, coincidentally, showed strong antioxidant activity. Artepillin C, galangin, and kaempferol also possessed strong antiangiogenic and antioxidant activities to a slightly less degree. In contrast, acacetin, apigenin, and pinocembrin possessed a considerable degree of antiangiogenic activities, although they showed very low antioxidant activities. From these results, we propose that components from propolis such as artepillin C, caffeic acid phenethyl ester, galangin, kaempferol, and quercetin might represent a new class of dietary-derived antioxidative compounds with antiangiogenic activities. These propolis components may have the potential to be developed into pharmaceutical drugs for the treatment of angiogenesis-dependent human diseases such as tumors.

A highly selective turn-on fluorescent probe for iron(II) to visualize labile iron in living cells

Although labile iron plays critical roles in diverse biological processes in living cells, the physiological and pathophysiological functions of iron have not been sufficiently explored, partially due to a lack of methods for visualizing intracellular labile iron. In this edge article, we present a novel turn-on fluorescent probe (RhoNox-1) for the selective detection of Fe2+ based on N-oxide chemistry. Spectroscopic studies combined with DFT calculations and electrochemical studies revealed that fluorescence quenching of RhoNox-1 occurred in physiological conditions, which was attributed to non-radiative deactivation of the excited state of tertiary amine N-oxide substituted xanthene involving a twisted internal charge transfer (TICT) process and partially due to photo-induced electron transfer (PET) from the N-oxide group. RhoNox-1 showed significant enhancement of the fluorescence signal in Fe2+-loaded cells via selective Fe2+-mediated deoxygenation of the N-oxide group and also successfully detected basal and endogenous labile Fe2+ in living cells.

2-Nitroimidazole-Tricarbocyanine Conjugate as a Near-Infrared Fluorescent Probe for in Vivo Imaging of Tumor Hypoxia

We developed a novel near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent probe, GPU-167, for in vivo imaging of tumor hypoxia. GPU-167 comprises a tricarbocyanine dye as an NIR fluorophore and two 2-nitroimidazole moieties as exogenous hypoxia markers that undergo bioreductive activation and then selective entrapment in hypoxic cells. After treatment with GPU-167, tumor cells contained significantly higher levels of fluorescence in hypoxia than in normoxia. In vivo fluorescence imaging specifically detected GPU-167 in tumors 24 h after administration. Ex vivo analysis revealed that fluorescence showed a strong correlation with hypoxia inducible factor (HIF)-1 active hypoxic regions. These data suggest that GPU-167 is a promising in vivo optical imaging probe for tumor hypoxia.

Inhibition of green tea catechins against the growth of cancerous human colon and hepatic epithelial cells

The ability of (-)-epicatechin (EC), (-)-epigallocatechin (EGC) and (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) to inhibit the growth of HCT 116 colorectal and Hep G2 hepatocellular carcinoma cells was examined by MTT and clonogenic assays (CA). The respective catechins inhibited the growth of HCT 116 more strongly than Hep G2. In MTT assay, IC(50) values of EGC and EGCG against HCT 116 grew smaller on prolongation of the exposure times of the cells to the catechins. In CA, however, these two catechins had IC(50) values ranging between 7.6+/-0.4 and 11.2+/-0.5 microM against the same cells regardless of the exposure times. EC showed much weaker growth inhibitions relative to the two aforementioned catechins.

Pharmacological inhibition of TLR4-NOX4 signal protects against neuronal death in transient focal ischemia

Recent data have shown that TLR4 performs a key role in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury which serves as the origin of the immunological inflammatory reactions. However, the therapeutic effects of pharmacological inhibitions of TLR4 and its immediate down-stream pathway remain to be uncovered. In the present study, on mice, intracerebroventricular injection of resatorvid (TLR4 signal inhibitor; 0.01 μg) significantly reduced infarct volume and improved neurological score after middle cerebral artery occlusion and reperfusion. The levels of phospho-p38, nuclear factor-kappa B, and matrix metalloproteinase 9 expressions were significantly suppressed in the resatorvid-treated group. In addition, NOX4 associates with TLR4 after cerebral ischemia-reperfusion seen in mice and human. Genetic and pharmacological inhibitions of TLR4 each reduced NOX4 expression, leading to suppression of oxidative/nitrative stress and of neuronal apoptosis. These data suggest that resatorvid has potential as a therapeutic agent for stroke since it inhibits TLR4-NOX4 signaling which may be the predominant causal pathway.

Elucidation of strict structural requirements of Brefeldin A as an inducer of differentiation and apoptosis

Brefeldin A (BFA) can induce a wide variety of human cancer cells to differentiation and apoptosis and is in development as an anticancer agent. To elucidate structural requirements for cytotoxicity and induction of differentiation and apoptosis, BFA was structurally modified into various derivatives including 4-epi-BFA in this study. Their inducing activities of apoptosis were evaluated with their cytotoxicities, DNA fragmentation and morphological changes in human colon cancer cell HCT 116. The cytotoxicity of 4-epi-BFA (TX-1923) (IC50 = 60 microM) was 300 times lower than that of BFA (IC50 = 0.2 microM). Furthermore, 4-epi-BFA induced DNA fragmentation and apoptotic morphological changes at much higher concentrations (70 and 50 microM, respectively) than BFA (0.11 and 0.36 microM, respectively). These results indicated that the configuration of 4-hydroxyl group of brefeldin A plays a key role in the cytotoxicity and induction of apoptosis. On the other hand, 7-O-acetyl-BFA, 4-O-acetyl-BFA, and 4,7-di-O-acetyl-BFA exhibited potential activities in cytotoxicity and inducibility of apoptosis. We suggested that the structural determinants for BFA include the moiety of the Michael acceptor, the conformational rigidity of the 13-membered ring, and the configuration of 4-hydroxyl group.