The aggregation response of Trichostrongylus colubriformis: a basis for the rapid interpretation of in vitro anthelmintic screens

Parasitology ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 93 (3) ◽  
pp. 531-537 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. C. Jenkins ◽  
E. B. Rapson ◽  
P. Topley
Keyword(s):  
Natural Products ◽  
Mass Screening ◽  
Broad Spectrum ◽  
Culture Medium ◽  
Intrinsic Activity ◽  
Trichostrongylus Colubriformis ◽  
Synthetic Compounds ◽  
Aggregation Response ◽  
Blood Sucking

SUMMARYAn in vitro anthelmintic primary screen in which the effects of compounds on the aggregation response of newly moulted adult worms of Trichostrongylus colubriformis was monitored is described. Representatives of all the major classes of the anti-trichostrongyle anthelmintics all inhibited worm aggregation completely when present in the culture medium either at or at less than micromolar concentrations. The screen proved highly selective for these broad-spectrum agents, much higher concentrations of the narrower spectrum anthelmintics, active only against blood-sucking nematodes, trematodes and/or cestodes, having little or no effect on this response. This in vitro assay, based solely on the occurrence or absence of worm aggregation following the final moult in culture, proved very easy to interpret rapidly and accurately. It can be recommended therefore for the primary mass screening of synthetic compounds or natural products for intrinsic activity against the trichostrongylid helminths of ruminants.

Potential for Treatment of Neurodegenerative Diseases with Natural Products or Synthetic Compounds that Stabilize Microtubules

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (35) ◽  
pp. 4362-4372
Author(s):  
John H. Miller ◽  
Viswanath Das
Keyword(s):  
Natural Products ◽  
Neurodegenerative Diseases ◽  
In Vivo Models ◽  
Synthetic Compounds ◽  
Stabilizing Agents ◽  
Animal Models Of Disease ◽  
Model Studies ◽  
Models Of Disease

No effective therapeutics to treat neurodegenerative diseases exist, despite significant attempts to find drugs that can reduce or rescue the debilitating symptoms of tauopathies such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Pick’s disease. A number of in vitro and in vivo models exist for studying neurodegenerative diseases, including cell models employing induced-pluripotent stem cells, cerebral organoids, and animal models of disease. Recent research has focused on microtubulestabilizing agents, either natural products or synthetic compounds that can prevent the axonal destruction caused by tau protein pathologies. Although promising results have come from animal model studies using brainpenetrant natural product microtubule-stabilizing agents, such as paclitaxel analogs that can access the brain, epothilones B and D, and other synthetic compounds such as davunetide or the triazolopyrimidines, early clinical trials in humans have been disappointing. This review aims to summarize the research that has been carried out in this area and discuss the potential for the future development of an effective microtubule stabilizing drug to treat neurodegenerative disease.

scholarly journals Antifungal In Vitro Activity of Pilosulin- and Ponericin-Like Peptides from the Giant Ant Dinoponera quadriceps and Synergistic Effects with Antimycotic Drugs

Antibiotics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hilania Valéria Dodou Lima ◽  
Carolina Sidrim de Paula Cavalcante ◽  
Gandhi Rádis-Baptista
Keyword(s):  
Antifungal Activity ◽  
Antimicrobial Peptides ◽  
Broad Spectrum ◽  
Culture Medium ◽  
Fungal Infections ◽  
Synergistic Effects ◽  
Antifungal Drugs ◽  
Clinical Strain ◽  
Onset Of Action

Venoms from ants comprise a rich source of bioactive peptides, including antimicrobial peptides. From the proteome and peptidome of the giant ant Dinoponera quadriceps venom, members of five known classes of antimicrobial peptides were disclosed (e.g., dermaseptin-, defensin-, ICK-, pilosulin- and ponericin-like types). Based on comparative analysis, these family members have structural determinants that indicate they could display antimicrobial activities. In previous works, pilosulin- and ponericin-like peptides were demonstrated to be active against bacteria, fungi, and parasites. Herein, the antifungal activity of ponericin- and pilosulin-like peptides were assessed, aiming at the expansion of the knowledge about AMPs in predatory ants and the development of new microbicide strategies to deal with difficult-to-treat fungal infections. Synthetic pilosulin- (Dq-2562, Dq-1503, and Dq-1319) and ponericin-like (Dq-3162) peptides were evaluated for their fungicide and fungistatic activities against different species of Candida, including a drug-resistant clinical strain. The MICs and MLCs were determined for all peptides individually and in combination with general antifungal drugs by the microdilution method. The time-kill kinetic curves were set up by means of a luminescent reagent, of which the light signal is proportional to the number of viable cells. The candicidal synergism observed by the combination of subinhibitory concentrations of peptides and general antimycotic drugs were quantified by the checkerboard test and fluorescent dye permeation assay. The influence of ergosterol on the antifungal activity was verified by supplementation of culture medium. The pilosulin- (Dq-2562 and Dq-1503) and ponericin-like (Dq-3162) were the most active peptides, displaying a broad spectrum of antifungal activity in vitro, with MICs in the range of 0.625 to 10 µM. The combination of peptides and conventional antimycotic drugs displayed a synergistic reduction in the MIC values of individual peptides and drugs, while soluble ergosterol in the culture medium increased the MICs. The fungicide and fungistatic activity of the individual peptides and peptides in combination with antimycotics were time-dependent with a rapid onset of action and long-lasting effect, which involved membrane disruption as an underlying mechanism of their action. Altogether, pilosulin- and ponericin-like peptides from the giant ant D. quadriceps venom display a broad-spectrum of candicidal activity, what allows their inclusion in the row of the antifungal peptides and gives support for further studies on the development of strategies to fight candidiasis.

scholarly journals Expanding the Fluorine Chemistry of Living Systems Using Engineered Polyketide Synthase Pathways

Science ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 341 (6150) ◽  
pp. 1089-1094 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark C. Walker ◽  
Benjamin W. Thuronyi ◽  
Louise K. Charkoudian ◽  
Brian Lowry ◽  
Chaitan Khosla ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Products ◽  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Natural Product ◽  
Polyketide Synthase ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Living Systems ◽  
Synthetic Compounds ◽  
Fluorinated Building Blocks

Organofluorines represent a rapidly expanding proportion of molecules that are used in pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, agrochemicals, and materials. Despite the prevalence of fluorine in synthetic compounds, the known biological scope is limited to a single pathway that produces fluoroacetate. Here, we demonstrate that this pathway can be exploited as a source of fluorinated building blocks for introduction of fluorine into natural-product scaffolds. Specifically, we have constructed pathways involving two polyketide synthase systems, and we show that fluoroacetate can be used to incorporate fluorine into the polyketide backbone in vitro. We further show that fluorine can be inserted site-selectively and introduced into polyketide products in vivo. These results highlight the prospects for the production of complex fluorinated natural products using synthetic biology.

scholarly journals Identification of Novel Natural Products as Effective and Broad-Spectrum Anti-Zika Virus Inhibitors

Viruses ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gao ◽  
Tai ◽  
Wang ◽  
Li ◽  
Jiang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Products ◽  
Broad Spectrum ◽  
Zika Virus ◽  
The Other ◽  
Protein Domain ◽  
Mechanistic Study ◽  
Zikv Infection ◽  
Domain Iii ◽  
Almost All

Zika virus (ZIKV) infection during pregnancy leads to severe congenital Zika syndrome, which includes microcephaly and other neurological malformations. No therapeutic agents have, so far, been approved for the treatment of ZIKV infection in humans; as such, there is a need for a continuous effort to develop effective and safe antiviral drugs to treat ZIKV-caused diseases. After screening a natural product library, we have herein identified four natural products with anti-ZIKV activity in Vero E6 cells, including gossypol, curcumin, digitonin, and conessine. Except for curcumin, the other three natural products have not been reported before to have anti-ZIKV activity. Among them, gossypol exhibited the strongest inhibitory activity against almost all 10 ZIKV strains tested, including six recent epidemic human strains. The mechanistic study indicated that gossypol could neutralize ZIKV infection by targeting the envelope protein domain III (EDIII) of ZIKV. In contrast, the other natural products inhibited ZIKV infection by targeting the host cell or cell-associated entry and replication stages of ZIKV. A combination of gossypol with any of the three natural products identified in this study, as well as with bortezomib, a previously reported anti-ZIKV compound, exhibited significant combinatorial inhibitory effects against three ZIKV human strains tested. Importantly, gossypol also demonstrated marked potency against all four serotypes of dengue virus (DENV) human strains in vitro. Taken together, this study indicates the potential for further development of these natural products, particularly gossypol, as the lead compound or broad-spectrum inhibitors against ZIKV and other flaviviruses, such as DENV.

scholarly journals Identification of Broad-Spectrum MMP Inhibitors by Virtual Screening

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (15) ◽  
pp. 4553
Author(s):  
Aleix Gimeno ◽  
Doretta Cuffaro ◽  
Elisa Nuti ◽  
María José Ojeda-Montes ◽  
Raúl Beltrán-Debón ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Extracellular Matrix ◽  
Natural Products ◽  
Virtual Screening ◽  
Broad Spectrum ◽  
In Silico ◽  
Mmp Inhibitors ◽  
Bioactivity Assay ◽  
The Family ◽  
Skin Wrinkling

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are the family of proteases that are mainly responsible for degrading extracellular matrix (ECM) components. In the skin, the overexpression of MMPs as a result of ultraviolet radiation triggers an imbalance in the ECM turnover in a process called photoaging, which ultimately results in skin wrinkling and premature skin ageing. Therefore, the inhibition of different enzymes of the MMP family at a topical level could have positive implications for photoaging. Considering that the MMP catalytic region is mostly conserved across different enzymes of the MMP family, in this study we aimed to design a virtual screening (VS) workflow to identify broad-spectrum MMP inhibitors that can be used to delay the development of photoaging. Our in silico approach was validated in vitro with 20 VS hits from the Specs library that were not only structurally different from one another but also from known MMP inhibitors. In this bioactivity assay, 18 of the 20 compounds inhibit at least one of the assayed MMPs at 100 μM (with 5 of them showing around 50% inhibition in all the tested MMPs at this concentration). Finally, this VS was used to identify natural products that have the potential to act as broad-spectrum MMP inhibitors and be used as a treatment for photoaging.

scholarly journals Elicitation effects of synthetic 1,2,4,5-tetraoxane and 2,5-diphenyltiophene in shoot cultures of two Nepeta species

2016 ◽  
Vol 81 (9) ◽  
pp. 999-1012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Slavica Dmitrovic ◽  
Marijana Skoric ◽  
Jelena Boljevic ◽  
Neda Anicic ◽  
Dragana Bozic ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Metabolites ◽  
Rosmarinic Acid ◽  
Culture Medium ◽  
Shoot Cultures ◽  
Synthetic Compounds ◽  
Nepeta Cataria ◽  
In Vitro Shoots ◽  
Metabolites Production

The present study was aimed to investigate the elicitation possibility of the main secondary metabolites production in Nepeta cataria L. and N. pannonica L. plants, by exposing them to synthetic compounds from the group of tetraoxanes and tiophenes. The effect of DO63 (1,2,4,5-tetraoxane) and DOVF15 (2,5-diphenyl-tiophene) on the production of cis,trans-nepetalactone (NL) and rosmarinic acid (RA) in two Nepeta species, was investigated in shoots grown on culture medium with addition of synthetic compounds in concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 2 mg L-1. The content of targeted metabolites in tested in vitro shoots depended on the type and the concentration of applied synthetic compounds. Application of DO63, primarily in concentration of 0.1 mg L-1 to 1 mg L-1, affected only NL production in both Nepeta species resulting in increased NL content in treated shoots, while production of RA was not influenced. Addition of DOVF15 caused decrease of RA content in N. pannonica shoots and increase in N. cataria shoots, whereas NL production was not affected. The presented results highlight the possibility of DO63 and DOVF15 application for the elicitation of the main secondary metabolites production in species from the genus Nepeta.

Investigation of in vitro antifungal efficacy of selected extracts of Greek natural products on Malassezia sps

Planta Medica ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 81 (S 01) ◽  
pp. S1-S381
Author(s):  
A Velegraki ◽  
K Graikou ◽  
S Kritikou ◽  
M Varsani ◽  
I Chinou
Keyword(s):  
Natural Products ◽  
Antifungal Efficacy

The Mechanism of Platelet Aggregation Induced by HLA-Related Antibodies

1996 ◽  
Vol 76 (05) ◽  
pp. 774-779 ◽  
Author(s):  
John T Brandt ◽  
Carmen J Julius ◽  
Jeanne M Osborne ◽  
Clark L Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Platelet Aggregation ◽  
Platelet Activation ◽  
Complement Activation ◽  
Thromboembolic Disease ◽  
Clinical Samples ◽  
Hla Antigen ◽  
Aggregation Response ◽  
Immune Mediated ◽  
Dependent Pathway

SummaryImmune-mediated platelet activation is emerging as an important pathogenic mechanism of thrombosis. In vitro studies have suggested two distinct pathways for immune-mediated platelet activation; one involving clustering of platelet FcyRIIa, the other involving platelet-associated complement activation. HLA-related antibodies have been shown to cause platelet aggregation, but the mechanism has not been clarified. We evaluated the mechanism of platelet aggregation induced by HLA-related antibodies from nine patients. Antibody to platelet FcyRIIa failed to block platelet aggregation with 8/9 samples, indicating that engagement of platelet FcyRIIa is not necessary for the platelet aggregation induced by HLA-related antibodies. In contrast, platelet aggregation was blocked by antibodies to human C8 (5/7) or C9 (7/7). F(ab’)2 fragments of patient IgG failed to induce platelet activation although they bound to HLA antigen on platelets. Intact patient IgG failed to aggregate washed platelets unless aged serum was added. The activating IgG could be adsorbed by incubation with lymphocytes and eluted from the lymphocytes. These results indicate that complement activation is involved in the aggregation response to HLA-related antibodies. This is the first demonstration of complement-mediated platelet aggregation by clinical samples. Five of the patients developed thrombocytopenia in relationship to blood transfusion and two patients developed acute thromboembolic disease, suggesting that these antibodies and the complement-dependent pathway of platelet aggregation may be of clinical significance.

The Effects of Some Synthetic Compounds on In Vitro Fibrinolytic Activity Measured by Different Methods and the Relevance to Activity In Vivo

1972 ◽  
Vol 28 (03) ◽  
pp. 351-358
Author(s):  
A.J Baillie ◽  
A. K Sim
Keyword(s):  
Inhibitory Activity ◽  
Substrate Concentration ◽  
Fibrinolytic Activity ◽  
Synthetic Compounds ◽  
In Vitro Methods ◽  
Narrow Concentration Range

SummaryThe activity of several synthetic compounds, rated from good to poor (or inactive) fibrinolytic activators, has been assessed by two different commonly-used in vitro methods. Compounds shown to be active over a narrow concentration range in the hanging clot test were shown to be inhibitors of plasmin and trypsin in the casein-olytic test. The inhibitory activity of these compounds was shown to increase with increasing substrate concentration and apparent activity in the hanging clot test. Possible explanations and relevance of these observations are discussed.

In Vitro Incorporation and Metabolism of Icosapentaenoic and Docosahexaenoic Acids in Human Platelets - Effect on Aggregation

1986 ◽  
Vol 56 (01) ◽  
pp. 057-062 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martine Croset ◽  
M Lagarde
Keyword(s):  
Arachidonic Acid ◽  
Fatty Acid ◽  
Platelet Aggregation ◽  
Fatty Acid Distribution ◽  
Thromboxane A2 ◽  
Human Platelets ◽  
Aggregation Response ◽  
Docosahexaenoic Acids ◽  
Membrane Level

SummaryWashed human platelets were pre-loaded with icosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) or EPA + DHA and tested for their aggregation response in comparison with control platelets. In fatty acid-rich platelets, an inhibition of the aggregation could be observed when induced by thrombin, collagen or U-46619. The strongest inhibition was observed with DHA-rich platelets and it was reduced when DHA was incorporated in the presence of EPA.Study of fatty acid distribution in cell lipids after loading showed that around 90% of EPA or DHA taken up was acylated into phospholipids and a very small amount (less than 2%) remained in their free and hydroxylated forms. DHA was more efficiently acylated into phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) than into phosphatidylinositol (PI) in contrast to what observed with EPA, and both acids were preferentially incorporated into phosphatidylcholine (PC). EPA inhibited total incorporation of DHA and increased its relative acylation into PE at the expense of PC. In contrast, DHA did not affect the acylation of EPA. Upon stimulation with, thrombin, EPA was liberated from phospholipids and oxygenated (as judged by the formation of its monohydroxy derivative) whereas DHA was much less metabolized, although consistently transferred into PE.It is concluded that EPA and DHA might affect platelet aggregation via different mechanisms when pre-loaded in phospholipids. Whereas EPA is known to alter thromboxane A2 metabolism from endogenous arachidonic acid, by competing with it, DHA might act directly at the membrane level for inhibiting aggregation.

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