Yuhong Zhen

Isolation and identification of metabolites of osthole in rats

Osthole (Ost), one of the major components of Cnidium monnieri (L.) Cusson, is had the structure of an isopentenoxy-coumarin with a range of pharmacological activities. In the present study, the metabolism of Ost in male Sprague-Dawley rats was investigated by identifying Ost metabolites excreted in rat urine. Following an oral dose of 40 mg/kg Ost, 10 phase I and 3 phase II metabolites were isolated from the urine of rats, and their structures identified on the basis of a range of spectroscopic data, including 2D-NMR techniques. These metabolites were fully characterized as 5′-hydroxyl-osthole (M-1), osthenol (M-2), 4′-hydroxyl-osthole (M-3), 3, 5′-dihydroxyl-osthole (M-4), 5′-hydroxyl-osthenol (M-5), 4′-hydroxyl-2′, 3′-dihydro-osthenol (M-6), 4′-hydroxyl-osthenol (M-7), 3, 4′-dihydroxyl-osthole (M-8), 2′, 3′-dihydroxyl-osthole (M-9), 5′-hydroxyl-2′, 3′-dihydroosthole (M-10), osthenol-7-O-β-D-glucuronide (M-11), osthole-4′-O-β-D-glucuronide (M-12) and osthole-5′-O-β-D-glycuronate (M-13). This is the first identification of M-1, M-3 to M-13 in vivo. On the basis of the metabolites profile, a possible metabolic pathway for Ost metabolism in rats has been proposed. This is the first systematic study on the phases I and II metabolites of 8-isopentenoxy-coumarin derivative.

Dioscin enhances methotrexate absorption by down-regulating MDR1 in vitro and in vivo

The purpose of this study was to investigate the enhancing effect of dioscin on the absorption of methotrexate (MTX) and clarify the molecular mechanism involved in vivo and in vitro. Dioscin increased MTX chemosensitivity and transepithelial flux in the absorptive direction, significantly inhibiting multidrug resistance 1 (MDR1) mRNA and protein expression and MDR1 promoter and nuclear factor κ-B (NF-κB) activities in Caco-2 cells. Moreover, inhibitor κB-α (IκB-α) degradation was inhibited by dioscin. Dioscin enhanced the intracellular concentration of MTX by down-regulating MDR1 expression through a mechanism that involves NF-κB signaling pathway inhibition in Caco-2 cells. Dioscin strengthened MTX absorption by inhibiting MDR1 expression in rat intestine. In addition, even though MTX is absorbed into the enterocytes, there was no increase in toxicity observed, and that, in fact, decreased toxicity was seen.

PEPT1- and OAT1/3-mediated drug-drug interactions between bestatin and cefixime in vivo and in vitro in rats, and in vitro in human.

The purpose of the present study was to elucidate the transporter-mediated pharmacokinetics mechanism of drug-drug interactions (DDIs) between bestatin and cefixime. The plasma concentrations and bioavailabilities of bestatin and cefixime were decreased after oral co-administration in rats. The uptake in rat everted intestinal sacs of bestatin and cefixime were dramatically declined after co-administration of the two drugs. Bestatin and cefixime can mutually competitively inhibit the uptake by hPEPT1-HeLa cells. The plasma concentrations of bestatin and cefixime were increased; however, the cumulative biliary excretion had no significant change, and the cumulative urinary excretion and renal clearance of the two drugs in rats decreased after intravenous coadministration. Moreover, decreased uptake of the two drugs was observed in human kidney slices, rat kidney slices and hOAT1/hOAT3-transfected HEK293 cells when bestatin and cefixime were coadministered. The accumulation of bestatin and cefixime in kidney slices can be inhibited by p-aminohippurate, benzylpenicillin and probenecid, but not by tetraethyl ammonium. The results suggest that intestinal absorption and renal excretion of bestatin and cefixime can be inhibited when the two drugs were co-administered in rats. The pharmacokinetic mechanism indicates that the DDIs between bestatin and cefixime are mainly mediated by Pept1 and Oat1/3 in rats. PEPT1 and OAT1/3 are the target transporters of DDIs between bestatin and cefixime in human kidney slices and human transfected cells, proposing possible drug-drug interaction in humans.

7-O-Geranylquercetin induces apoptosis in gastric cancer cells via ROS-MAPK mediated mitochondrial signaling pathway activation.

7-O-Geranylquercetin (GQ) is a novel O-alkylated derivate of quercetin. In this study, we evaluated its apoptosis induction effects in human gastric cancer cell lines SGC-7901 and MGC-803 and explored the potential molecular mechanisms. The results demonstrated that GQ lowered viability of SGC-7901 and MGC-803 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner without apparent cytotoxicity to human gastric epithelial cell line GES-1. GQ could induce apoptosis in SGC-7901 and MGC-803cells, and arrest the gastric cancer cells at G2/M phase. Mechanism study showed that GQ triggered generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), then activated p38 and JNK signaling pathways, subsequently led to mitochondrial impairment by regulating the expression of Bcl-2, Bcl-xl and Bax, and finally promoted the release of cytochrome c and the activation of caspases to induce apoptosis. In addition, Z-VAD-FMK (caspase inhibitor) could reverse GQ-induced apoptosis. SB203580 (p38 inhibitor) and SP600125 (JNK inhibitor) could rescue GQ-induced cell death and attenuate mitochondrial signal pathway activation. Furthermore, NAC (ROS inhibitor) could rescue GQ-induced cell death, reduce ROS generation, decrease the phosphorylation of p38 and JNK, and then attenuate the activation of mitochondrial signal pathway. Taken together, GQ induces caspase-dependent apoptosis in gastric cancer cells through activating ROS-MAPK mediated mitochondrial signal pathway. This study highlights the potential use of GQ as a gastric cancer therapeutic agent.

O-Alkylated derivatives of quercetin induce apoptosis of MCF-7 cells via a caspase-independent mitochondrial pathway

The aim of this study was to investigate the antitumor effects of two novel alkylated derivatives of quercetin, 7-O-butylquercetin (BQ) and 7-O-geranylquercetin (GQ), in MCF-7 human breast cancer cells and explore the possible cellular mechanism of the related apoptotic effects. Our data showed that BQ and GQ were more toxic to MCF-7 cells and had better accumulation ability in MCF-7 cells than quercetin. Morphological observations and DNA fragmentation pattern suggested that the derivatives could induce apoptosis in MCF-7 cells. Derivatives-induced apoptosis could not be reversed by Z-VAD-FMK and N-acetyl cysteine demonstrated that the apoptosis was independent on caspase and reactive oxygen species. Western blot assay showed that endonuclease G and apoptosis inducing factor might be relative to the apoptosis. Alkylation of quercetin at 7-O position can enhance the apoptosis inducing effect and cell accumulation ability relative to quercetin. This structural alteration brings changes on apoptosis pathway as well.

Novel Quinazoline Derivatives Bearing Various 4-Aniline Moieties as Potent EGFR Inhibitors with Enhanced Activity Against NSCLC Cell Lines.

A class of novel quinazoline derivatives bearing various C‐4 aniline moieties was synthesized and biologically evaluated as potent epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitors for intervention of non‐small‐cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Most of these inhibitors are comparable to gefitinib in inhibiting these cancer cell lines, and several of them even displayed superior inhibitory activity. In particular, analogue 5b with an IC50 of 0.10 μm against the EGFR wild‐type A431 cells and 5c with an IC50 of 0.001 μm against the gefitinib‐sensitive HCC827 cells (EGFR del E746‐A750) was identified as highly active EGFR inhibitors. It was also significant that the discovered analogue 2f, not only has high potency against the gefitinib‐sensitive cells (IC50 = 0.031 μm), but also possesses remarkably improved activity against the gefitinib‐resistant cells. In addition, the enzymatic assays and the Western blot analysis for evaluating the effects of the typical inhibitors indicated that these molecules strongly interfere with the EGFR target.