Jiyan Su

Cytotoxic lanostane-type triterpenoids from the fruiting bodies of Ganoderma lucidum and their structure–activity relationships

We conducted a study of Ganoderma lucidum metabolites and isolated 35 lanostane-type triterpenoids, including 5 new ganoderols (1-5). By spectroscopy, we compared the structures of these compounds with known related compounds in this group. All of the isolated compounds were assayed for their effect against the human breast carcinoma cell line MDA-MB-231 and hepatocellular carcinoma cell line HepG2. Corresponding three-dimensional quantitative structure–activity relationship (3D-QSAR) models were built and analyzed using Discovery Studio. These results provide further evidence for anti-cancer constituents within Ganoderma lucidum, and may provide a theoretical foundation for designing novel therapeutic compounds.

Hypouricemic Effects of Ganoderma applanatum in Hyperuricemia Mice through OAT1 and GLUT9

Ganoderma applanatum (G. applanatum) dispels wind to eliminate dampness and exhibited nephron- and liver-protective effects as noted in Chinese herbal classic literature; it might also affect hyperuricemia. Therefore, we examined the hypouricemia effects and mechanisms underlying G. applanatum on chemical-induced hyperuricemia in mice. Ethanol (GAE) and water (GAW) extracts were prepared by extracting G. applanatum in ethanol (GAE), followed by bathing the remains in water to yield GAW. GAE and GAW were administered orally at different doses to hyperuricemia mice, while allopurinol and benzbromarone served as positive controls. Both GAE and GAW showed remarkable hypouricemia activities, rendering a substantial decline in the SUA (serum uric acid) level in hyperuricemia control (P < 0.01). Moreover, the urine uric acid (UUA) levels were enhanced by GAE and GAW. In contrast to the evident renal toxicity of allopurinol, GAE and GAW did not show a distinct renal toxicity. Almost no suppressing effect was observed on the XOD activities. However, compared to the hyperuricemia control, OAT1 was elevated remarkably in mice drugged with GAE and GAW, while GLUT9 was significantly decreased. Similar to benzbromarone, GAE decreased the URAT1 protein levels significantly (P < 0.01), while GAW did not display a similar effect. GAE and GAW downregulated the level of CNT2 proteins in the gastrointestinal tract of hyperuricemia mice. Thus, G. applanatum produced outstanding hypouricemic effects, mediated by renal OAT1, GLUT9, and URAT1 and gastrointestinal CNT2 that might elevate urine uric secretions and decline in the absorption of purine in the gastrointestinal tracts. G. applanatum showed little negative influence on inner organs. By docking screening, four top-ranked compounds were identified that necessitated further investigation. Compounds: potassium oxonate, hypoxanthine, allopurinol, benzbromarone.

Anti-tumor and Anti-angiogenic Ergosterols from Ganoderma lucidum

This study was carried out to isolate chemical constituents from the lipid enriched fraction of Ganoderma lucidum extract and to evaluate their anti-proliferative effect on tumor cells and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Ergosterol derivatives (1–14) were isolated and purified from the lipid enriched fraction of G. lucidum. Their chemical structures were established by spectroscopic analyses or by comparison of mass and NMR spectral data with those reported previously. Amongst, compound 1 was purified and identified as a new one. All the compounds were evaluated for their anti-proliferative effect on human tumor cells and HUVECs in vitro. Compounds 9–13 displayed inhibitory activity against two types of human tumor cells and HUVECs, which indicated that these four compounds had both anti-tumor and anti-angiogenesis activities. Compound 2 had significant selective inhibition against two tumor cell lines, while 3 exhibited selective inhibition against HUVECs. The structure–activity relationships for inhibiting human HepG2 cells were revealed by 3D-QASR. Ergosterol content in different parts of the raw material and products of G. lucidum was quantified. This study provides a basis for further development and utilization of ergosterol derivatives as natural nutraceuticals and functional food ingredients, or as source of new potential antitumor or anti-angiogenesis chemotherapy agent.

Hypouricemic Effects of Armillaria mellea on Hyperuricemic Mice Regulated through OAT1 and CNT2

Ethanol and water extracts of Armillaria mellea were prepared by directly soaking A. mellea in ethanol (AME) at 65[Formula: see text]C, followed by decocting the remains in water (AMW) at 85[Formula: see text]C. Significantly, AME and AMW at 30, 60 and 120[Formula: see text]mg/kg exhibited excellent hypouricemic actions, causing remarkable declines from hyperuricemic control (351[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]mol/L, [Formula: see text]) to 136, 130 and 115[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]mol/L and 250, 188 and 152[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]mol/L in serum uric acid, correspondingly. In contrast to the evident renal toxicity of allopurinol, these preparations showed little impacts. Moreover, they showed some inhibitory effect on XOD (xanthine oxidase) activity. Compared with hyperuricemic control, protein expressions of OAT1 (organic anion transporter 1) were significantly elevated in AME- and AMW-treated mice. The levels of GLUT9 (glucose transporter 9) expression were significantly decreased by AMW. CNT2 (concentrative nucleoside transporter 2), a key target for purine absorption in gastrointestinal tract was involved in this study, and was verified for its innovative role. Both AME and AMW down-regulated CNT2 proteins in the gastrointestinal tract in hyperuricemic mice. As they exhibited considerable inhibitory effects on XOD, we selected XOD as the target for virtual screening by using molecular docking, and four compounds were hit with high ranks. From the analysis, we concluded that hydrogen bond, Pi-Pi and Pi-sigma interactions might play important roles for their orientations and locations in XOD inhibition.

Hypouricemic Effects of Extracts From Agrocybe aegerita on Hyperuricemia Mice and Virtual Prediction of Bioactives by Molecular Docking

Agrocybe aegerita has long been utilized for promoting diuresis in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with a close correlation to hypouricemia. Ethanol (AAE) and water (AAW) extracts of the compound led to a remarkable decrease in serum uric acid levels (SUA) in hyperuricemia mice, approaching that of the normal control. Both AAE and AAW exhibited suppression effects on hepatic xanthine oxidase (XOD) activities and elevation effects on renal OAT1 (organic anion transporter 1). However, only little negative impact was observed on the inner organ functions. The molecular docking was used to screen our in-home compound database for A. aegerita, and four compounds including 2-formyl-3,5-dihydroxybenzyl acetate, 2,4-dihydroxy-6-methylbenzaldehyde, 2-(6-hydroxy-1H-indol-3-yl)acetamide, and 6-hydroxy-1H-indole-3-carbaldehyde (HHC) were identified as potential active compounds. Their inhibitory mechanism on XOD might be attributed to their localization in the tunnel for the entrance of substrates to XOD active site, preventing the entrance of the substrates. To confirm the activity of the screened compounds experimentally, HHC was selected due to its high ranking and availability. The assaying result suggested the significant inhibitory activity of HHC on XOD. Also, these compounds were predicted to carry good ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion) properties, thereby necessitating further investigation. The current results provided an insight into the hypouricemic effects of macrofungi and their bioactives, which might provide the significant theoretical foundation for identifying and designing novel hypouricemia compounds.

Antitumor Activity of Extract From the Sporoderm-Breaking Spore of Ganoderma lucidum: Restoration on Exhausted Cytotoxic T Cell With Gut Microbiota Remodeling

As breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women population worldwide, ongoing endeavor has been made for alternative regimens with improved efficacy but fewer adverse effects. Recently, active components from the spores of Ganoderma lucidum have attracted much attention for their versatile biological activities owing to the advance in sporoderm-breaking technology. Here, anticancer potential of an extract derived from the sporoderm-breaking spores of G. lucidum (ESG) was explored in a 4T1-breast cancer xenograft mice model. Results showed that ESG was able to suppress 4T1 tumor growth in vivo rather than in vitro. Flowcytometry analysis revealed that ESG could significantly increase both cytotoxic T cell (Tc) population and the ratio of Tc to helper T cell (Th) in peripheral blood of the tumor-bearing mouse; similar promotion on Tc was also found in tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte. Moreover, ESG evidently downregulated the two immune checkpoints, programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1, in the spleen) and cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4, in the tumor), suggesting that ESG could effectively restore the T cell paradigm by recovering the exhaustion status via suppressing the co-inhibitory checkpoints. By 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis on the fecal microbiota, it was found that ESG would remodeling the overall structure of the samples from tumor-bearing mice toward that of the normal counterparts, including 18 genera in 5 phyla, together with regulations on several genes that are responsible for signaling pathways involved in metabolism, cellular processes, and environmental information processing. Collectively, this study demonstrated that ESG would serve as a natural anticancer adjuvant via a restoration on the exhausted Tc, highlighting important clinical implications for the treatment of breast cancer.

Homology modeling and molecular docking of URAT1 with chemotherapeutic agents in hyperuricemia and gout

Uric acid transporter 1 (URAT1), a protein involved in uric acid reabsorption, has been linked to pathogenesis of hyperuricemia and gout. Hence, targeting this protein is essential for improving drug design and preventing adverse interactions. The present study was aimed to build URAT1 3D structures by homology modeling and to examine chemotherapeutic drugs binding to URAT1 and the interactions therein. Based upon BLAST results, glucose transporter GLUT1 (PDB ID: 4PYP) was considered as a template for homology modeling. Homology models were constructed and refined using MODELLER program and validated using PROCHECK in which 99.2% of residues present in the favored regions of the Ramachandran plots. To examine the response of proteins toward various inhibitors, molecular docking study was carried out and binding affinities was evaluated between -151 to -305 kcal/mol using MMGBSA method. Analysis of docked conformers showed that the residues ARG172, ARG325, LYS145 and ARG477 were involved with the most number of interactions with the drugs tested. *Corresponding author: Tianqiao Yong; State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Microbial Culture Collection and Application and Guangdong Open Laboratory of Applied Microbiology, Guangdong Institute of Microbiology, Guangzhou 510070, China; Tel: +86-20-32059602; Fax: +86-20-32079392; E-mail: tianqiao@mail.ustc.edu.cn Received Date: March 10, 2017 Accepted Date: March 21, 2017 Published Date: March 25, 2017