scholarly journals A specialized flavone biosynthetic pathway has evolved in the medicinal plant,Scutellaria baicalensis

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. e1501780 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qing Zhao ◽  
Yang Zhang ◽  
Gang Wang ◽  
Lionel Hill ◽  
Jing-Ke Weng ◽  
...  

Wogonin and baicalein are bioactive flavones in the popular Chinese herbal remedy Huang-Qin (Scutellaria baicalensisGeorgi). These specialized flavones lack a 4′-hydroxyl group on the B ring (4′-deoxyflavones) and induce apoptosis in a wide spectrum of human tumor cells in vitro and inhibit tumor growth in vivo in different mouse tumor models. Root-specific flavones (RSFs) fromScutellariahave a variety of reported additional beneficial effects including antioxidant and antiviral properties. We describe the characterization of a new pathway for the synthesis of these compounds, in which pinocembrin (a 4′-deoxyflavanone) serves as a key intermediate. Although two genes encoding flavone synthase II (FNSII) are expressed in the roots ofS.baicalensis, FNSII-1 has broad specificity for flavanones as substrates, whereas FNSII-2 is specific for pinocembrin. FNSII-2 is responsible for the synthesis of 4′-deoxyRSFs, such as chrysin and wogonin, wogonoside, baicalein, and baicalin, which are synthesized from chrysin. A gene encoding a cinnamic acid–specific coenzyme A ligase (SbCLL-7), which is highly expressed in roots, is required for the synthesis of RSFs by FNSII-2, as demonstrated by gene silencing. A specific isoform of chalcone synthase (SbCHS-2) that is highly expressed in roots producing RSFs is also required for the synthesis of chrysin. Our studies reveal a recently evolved pathway for biosynthesis of specific, bioactive 4′-deoxyflavones in the roots ofS.baicalensis.

2013 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 701-705
Author(s):  
P. Skopiński ◽  
D.M. Radomska-Leśniewska ◽  
I. Sokolnicka ◽  
B.J. Bałan ◽  
A.K. Siwicki ◽  
...  

Abstract PADMA 28, a natural herbal multi-compound remedy originates from traditional Tibetan medicine and possesses a variety of beneficial effects on experimental and clinical models of inflammation and atherosclerosis, as well as angioprotecive, antioxidative and wound - healing properties. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the in vivo influence of this remedy on the in vitro mitogen- induced proliferation of murine splenic lymphocytes and their chemokinetic activity in cell culture. The study was performed on 6-8 weeks old inbred Balb/c mice. PADMA28 was administered to mice per os in daily doses 5.8 mg (calculated from the highest dose recommended for human) or 0.085 mg (dose from the range of active doses of other herbal extracts containing polyphenolic substances used previously by us in experiments with mice), for 7 days. Control groups received water. Results: No substantial differences were observed between groups of mice fed with low and high PADMA doses. In both of them, response of splenic lymphocztes to mitogen PHA (p < 0.001) and their in vitro chemokinetic activity (p < 0.001 for low dose and p < 0.01 for high dose) were highly significantly increased as compared to the controls. Conclusion: The results of our investigations suggest that PADMA 28 can stimulate cell-mediated immunity in mice and might be used for this purpose in the wide spectrum of doses.


2022 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. e1010200
Author(s):  
Aparna Jorapur ◽  
Lisa A. Marshall ◽  
Scott Jacobson ◽  
Mengshu Xu ◽  
Sachie Marubayashi ◽  
...  

The Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) is involved in the etiology of multiple hematologic and epithelial human cancers. EBV+ tumors employ multiple immune escape mechanisms, including the recruitment of immunosuppressive regulatory T cells (Treg). Here, we show some EBV+ tumor cells express high levels of the chemokines CCL17 and CCL22 both in vitro and in vivo and that this expression mirrors the expression levels of expression of the EBV LMP1 gene in vitro. Patient samples from lymphoblastic (Hodgkin lymphoma) and epithelial (nasopharyngeal carcinoma; NPC) EBV+ tumors revealed CCL17 and CCL22 expression of both tumor cell-intrinsic and -extrinsic origin, depending on tumor type. NPCs grown as mouse xenografts likewise showed both mechanisms of chemokine production. Single cell RNA-sequencing revealed in vivo tumor cell-intrinsic CCL17 and CCL22 expression combined with expression from infiltrating classical resident and migratory dendritic cells in a CT26 colon cancer mouse tumor engineered to express LMP1. These data suggest that EBV-driven tumors employ dual mechanisms for CCL17 and CCL22 production. Importantly, both in vitro and in vivo Treg migration was effectively blocked by a novel, small molecule antagonist of CCR4, CCR4-351. Antagonism of the CCR4 receptor may thus be an effective means of activating the immune response against a wide spectrum of EBV+ tumors.


2008 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 411-418
Author(s):  
Nicole Zache ◽  
Jeremy M. R. Lambert ◽  
Klas G. Wiman ◽  
Vladimir J. N. Bykov

Reactivation of the tumor suppressor activity to mutant p53 should trigger massive apoptosis and eliminate tumors. The low molecular weight compounds PRIMA-1 and the structural analog PRIMA-1MET reactivate human mutant p53 in vitro and suppress growth of human tumor xenografts in SCID mice. However, little is known about their effect on mouse mutant p53 in mouse tumor cells. We have examined the effect of PRIMA-1MET on mouse sarcomas, mammary carcinomas and chemically induced fibrosarcomas. PRIMA-1MET showed potent growth suppression in mutant p53-carrying mouse tumors in vitro and a significant anti-tumor effect in syngeneic mice in vivo. These results demonstrate that PRIMA-1MET targets mouse tumors carrying mutant p53 and provide strong support for the anti-tumor efficiency of PRIMA-1METin vivo.


2018 ◽  
Vol 64 (6) ◽  
pp. 697-707 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Korman ◽  
Larisa Ostrovskaya ◽  
Vladimir Kuzmin

Gold complexes (GC) reveal antitumor activity against xenografts of human tumors as well as against transplantable animal tumors in vivo and demonstrate cytotoxic effect against the wide spectrum of human tumor cells in vitro. GC had been effective against tumors with the acquired resistance to the platinum compounds. It is revealed the strong difference between mechanism of action of GC and platinum derivatives. Proteins, mainly thioredoxin reductase and proteasoma 26S, are the principal targets for the GC action but not for the platinum derivatives impact. Thioredoxin reductase and proteasoma 26S activity inhibition by GC leads to the development of the apoptosis mainly by the mitochondrial way in tumor cells.


2009 ◽  
Vol 191 (11) ◽  
pp. 3685-3697 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazutake Hirooka ◽  
Yusuke Danjo ◽  
Yuki Hanano ◽  
Satoshi Kunikane ◽  
Hiroshi Matsuoka ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT DNA microarray analysis revealed that transcription of the Bacillus subtilis yetM gene encoding a putative flavin adenine dinucleotide-dependent monooxygenase was triggered by certain flavonoids during culture and was derepressed by disruption of the yetL gene in the opposite orientation situated immediately upstream of yetM, which encodes a putative MarR family transcriptional regulator. In vitro analyses, including DNase I footprinting and gel retardation analysis, indicated that YetL binds specifically to corresponding single sites in the divergent yetL and yetM promoter regions, with higher affinity to the yetM region; the former region overlaps the Shine-Dalgarno sequence of yetL, and the latter region contains a perfect 18-bp palindromic sequence (TAGTTAGGCGCCTAACTA). In vitro gel retardation and in vivo lacZ fusion analyses indicated that some flavonoids (kaempferol, apigenin, and luteolin) effectively inhibit YetL binding to the yetM cis sequence, but quercetin, galangin, and chrysin do not inhibit this binding, implying that the 4-hydroxyl group on the B-ring of the flavone structure is indispensable for this inhibition and that the coexistence of the 3-hydroxyl groups on the B- and C-rings does not allow antagonism of YetL.


Author(s):  
M.J. Murphy ◽  
R.R. Price ◽  
J.C. Sloman

The in vitro human tumor cloning assay originally described by Salmon and Hamburger has been applied recently to the investigation of differential anti-tumor drug sensitivities over a broad range of human neoplasms. A major problem in the acceptance of this technique has been the question of the relationship between the cultured cells and the original patient tumor, i.e., whether the colonies that develop derive from the neoplasm or from some other cell type within the initial cell population. A study of the ultrastructural morphology of the cultured cells vs. patient tumor has therefore been undertaken to resolve this question. Direct correlation was assured by division of a common tumor mass at surgical resection, one biopsy being fixed for TEM studies, the second being rapidly transported to the laboratory for culture.


2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (5) ◽  
pp. 760-765
Author(s):  
Margarita Tyndyk ◽  
Irina Popovich ◽  
A. Malek ◽  
R. Samsonov ◽  
N. Germanov ◽  
...  

The paper presents the results of the research on the antitumor activity of a new drug - atomic clusters of silver (ACS), the colloidal solution of nanostructured silver bisilicate Ag6Si2O7 with particles size of 1-2 nm in deionized water. In vitro studies to evaluate the effect of various ACS concentrations in human tumor cells cultures (breast cancer, colon carcinoma and prostate cancer) were conducted. The highest antitumor activity of ACS was observed in dilutions from 2.7 mg/l to 5.1 mg/l, resulting in the death of tumor cells in all studied cell cultures. In vivo experiments on transplanted Ehrlich carcinoma model in mice consuming 0.75 mg/kg ACS with drinking water revealed significant inhibition of tumor growth since the 14th day of experiment (maximally by 52% on the 28th day, p < 0.05) in comparison with control. Subcutaneous injections of 2.5 mg/kg ACS inhibited Ehrlich's tumor growth on the 7th and 10th days of the experiment (p < 0.05) as compared to control.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 285-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdullah M. Alnuqaydan ◽  
Bilal Rah

Background:Tamarix Articulata (T. articulata), commonly known as Tamarisk or Athal in Arabic region, belongs to the Tamaricaece species. It is an important halophytic medicinal plant and a good source of polyphenolic phytochemical(s). In traditional medicines, T. articulata extract is commonly used, either singly or in combination with other plant extracts against different ailments since ancient times.Methods:Electronic database survey via Pubmed, Google Scholar, Researchgate, Scopus and Science Direct were used to review the scientific inputs until October 2018, by searching appropriate keywords. Literature related to pharmacological activities of T. articulata, Tamarix species, phytochemical analysis of T. articulata, biological activities of T. articulata extracts. All of these terms were used to search the scientific literature associated with T. articulata; the dosage of extract, route of administration, extract type, and in-vitro and in-vivo model.Results:Numerous reports revealed that T. articulata contains a wide spectrum of phytochemical(s), which enables it to have a wide window of biological properties. Owing to the presence of high content of phytochemical compounds like polyphenolics and flavonoids, T. articulata is a potential source of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antiproliferative properties. In view of these pharmacological properties, T. articulata could be a potential drug candidate to treat various clinical conditions including cancer in the near future.Conclusion:In this review, the spectrum of phytochemical(s) has been summarized for their pharmacological properties and the mechanisms of action, and the possible potential therapeutic applications of this plant against various diseases discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 499-508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rémi Safi ◽  
Marwan El-Sabban ◽  
Fadia Najjar

Ferula hermonis Boiss, is an endemic plant of Lebanon, locally known as “shilsh Elzallouh”. It has been extensively used in the traditional medicine as an aphrodisiac and for the treatment of sexual impotence. Crude extracts and isolated compounds of ferula hermonis contain phytoestrogenic substances having a wide spectrum of in vitro and in vivo pharmacological properties including anti-osteoporosis, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial and anti-fungal, anti-cancer and as sexual activity enhancer. The aim of this mini-review is to highlight the traditional and novel applications of this plant’s extracts and its major sesquiterpene ester, ferutinin. The phytochemical constituents and the pharmacological uses of ferula hermonis crude extract and ferutinin specifically will be discussed.


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