Cytotoxicity, Antimicrobial Activity, Molecular Docking, Drug likeness and DFT Analysis of Benzo[c]phenanthridine Alkaloids from Roots of Zanthoxylum chalybeum

Zanthoxylum chalybeum (Rutaceae) is traditionally used to treat malaria, tuberculosis, intestinal problems and pneumonia. Roots extract was subjected to silica gel column chromatographic separation to afford four benzo[c]phenanthridines alkaloids (1-4), of which compounds (2) and (3) are reported herein for the first time from the species. Cytotoxicity analysis revealed chelerythrine (1) and dihydrochelerythrine (4) induced a significant reduction of cell growth of MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 breast cancer cell lines in a dose-dependent manner. Chelerythrine (1) showed the highest potency against the aggressive and metastatic MDA-MB-231 cell line (IC50 = 3.616 ± 0.51 µM). The compounds showed the influence in the cell cycle in the MDA-MB-231 cell line by arresting some cells in the G2/M phase, preventing cells with damaged DNA from entering mitosis. Chelerythrine (1) showed promising antibacterial and antifungal activity against S. aureus and C. albicans with IC50 = 12.5 µg/mL and IC50 = 50 µg/mL, respectively. Molecular docking analysis of alkaloids (1-4) revealed lowest binding energy ranged from -6.5 to -7.5 and -6.1 to -6.4 Kcal/mol targeting E.coli DNA gyrase B and topoisomerase II α, respectively. The results obtained from molecular docking, drug-likeness properties, ADMET and DFT analysis agree with those obtained from experimental studies. Hence, chelerythrine (1) and dihydrochelerythrine (4) have proved to have promising activity against infectious diseases caused by microorganisms and human breast cancer cells, suggesting the potential use of the compounds as medicine which corroborate the traditional uses of the plant.

Transcriptomic Signatures of Exacerbated Progression in Leptospirosis Subclinical Chronic Kidney Disease with Secondary Nephrotoxic Injury

High-incidence regions of Leptospirosis caused by Leptospira spp., coincide with chronic kidney disease. This study investigates whether asymptomatic leptospirosis is an emerging culprit that predispose to progressive chronic kidney disease when superimposed on secondary nephrotoxic injury. Kidney histology/function and whole-transcriptomic profiles were evaluated for leptospira-infected C57/BL6 mice with adenine-induced kidney injury. The extent of tubulointerstitial kidney lesions and the expression of inflammation/fibrosis genes in infected mice with low-dose (0.1%) adenine, particularly in high-dose (0.2%) adenine-fed superimposed on leptospira-infected mice, were significantly increased compared with mice following infection or adenine diet alone and the findings are consistent with renal transcriptome analysis. Pathway enrichment findings showed integrin β- and fibronectin-encoding genes had distinct expression within the integrin-linked kinase signaling pathway which were up-regulated in 0.2% adenine-fed leptospira-infected mice but not in 0.2% adenine-fed mice, indicating background subclinical leptospiral infection indeed enhanced subsequent secondary nephrotoxic kidney injury and potential pathogenic molecules associated with secondary nephrotoxic leptospirosis. Comparative analysis of gene-expression patterns with UUO-induced mouse renal fibrosis and patients with chronic kidney disease showed that differentially expressed orthologous genes such as hemoglobin α, PDZ binding kinase and DNA topoisomerase II α were identified in infected mice fed with low-dose and high-dose adenine, respectively, revealing differentially expressed signatures identical to those found in the datasets and may serve as markers of aggravated kidney progression. This study indicates that background subclinical leptospirosis, when subjected to various degrees of subsequent secondary nephrotoxic injury, may predispose to exacerbated fibrosis, mimicking the pathophysiological process of progressive chronic kidney disease.