0000000000015135

AUTHOR

Luigi Gomez-paloma

Inhibition of the NF-κB Signaling Pathway Mediates the Anti-inflammatory Effects of Petrosaspongiolide M

Petrosaspongiolide M (PT) is a potent secretory phospholipase A(2) inhibitor and anti-inflammatory agent. This marine metabolite reduced the production of nitrite, prostaglandin E(2), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in the mouse air pouch injected with zymosan. These effects were also observed in mouse peritoneal macrophages stimulated with zymosan. Inhibition of these inflammatory mediators was related to reductions in inducible nitric oxide synthase, cyclo-oxygenase-2, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha expression. Since nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) appears to play a central role in the transcriptional regulation of these proteins by macrophages, we investigated the effects of PT on thi…

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Structure Validation of Natural Products by Quantum-Mechanical GIAO Calculations of 13C NMR Chemical Shifts GIAO=gauge including atomic orbitals.

Geometry optimization and GIAO (gauge including atomic orbitals) 1 3 C NMR chemical shift calculations at Hartree-Fock level, using the 6-31G(d) basis set, are proposed as a tool to be applied in the structural characterization of new organic compounds, thus providing useful support in the interpretation of experimental NMR data. Parameters related to linear correlation plots of computed versus experimental 1 3 C NMR chemical shifts for fourteen low-polar natural products, containing 10-20 carbon atoms, were employed to assess the reliability of the proposed structures. A comparison with the hybrid B3LYP method was carried out to evaluate electron correlation contributions to the calculatio…

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PLA2-mediated catalytic activation of its inhibitor 25-acetyl-petrosaspongiolide M: serendipitous identification of a new PLA2 suicide inhibitor.

Abstract25-Acetyl-petrosaspongiolide M (PMAc) (1), a mild non-covalent PLA2 inhibitor, unexpectedly recovers, after incubation with bvPLA2, the ability to covalently modify the enzyme target. This study demonstrates the catalytic effect of bvPLA2 in converting 1 in its deacetylated congener petrosaspongiolide M (PM) (2), a strong covalent PLA2 inhibitor whose molecular mechanism of inhibition has already been clarified. Moreover, our findings outline the potential role of PMAc as anti-inflammatory pro-drug, by virtue of its ability of delivering the active PM agent at the site of inflammation, functioning as a suicide inhibitor.

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Determination of the Relative Stereochemistry of Flexible Organic Compounds by Ab Initio Methods: Conformational Analysis and Boltzmann-Averaged GIAO 13C NMR Chemical Shifts GIAO=gauge including atomic orbitals.

Ab initio calculations at the Hartree-Fock level with full-geometry optimization using the 6-31G(d) basis set, and GIAO (gauge including atomic orbitals) 1 3 C NMR chemical shifts, are presented here as a support in the study of the stereochemistry of low-polar organic compounds having an openchain structure. Four linear stereoisomers, fragments of a natural product previously characterized by experimental 1 3 C NMR spectra, which possesses three stereogenic centers, 11 carbon atoms, and 38 atoms in total, were considered. Conformational searches, by empirical force-field molecular dynamics, pointed out the existence of 8-13 relevant conformers per stereoisomer. Thermochemical calculations …

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Comparison of different theory models and basis sets in the calculation of 13C NMR chemical shifts of natural products.

The influence of the calculation method in mimicking experimental 13C NMR chemical shifts of 15 low-polarity natural products singularly containing 10–20 carbon atoms was investigated by employing different quantum chemistry approaches and basis sets, both in the preliminary geometry optimizations and in the following single-point 13C GIAO calculations of the NMR chemical shifts. The geometries of the involved species were optimized at the PM3, HF, B3LYP and mPW1PW91 levels whereas the 13C NMR parameters were determined at the HF, B3LYP and mPW1PW91 levels. Different combinations of basis sets were also tested. The consistency and efficiency of the considered combinations of geometry optimi…

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Synthesis, structural aspects and bioactivity of the marine cyclopeptide hymenamide C

Abstract Head-to-tail proline containing cyclopeptide hymenamide C [cyclo(Leu-Trp-Pro 3 -Phe-Gly-Pro 6 -Glu); 1 ], isolated from a marine sponge and for which a preliminary immunomodulating activity was reported, was efficiently synthesized by a three-dimensional orthogonal solid-phase strategy (Fmoc/tBu/Allyl) via anchoring the ω -carboxyl function of the glutamic acid to the solid support (PAC–PEG–PS). The linear precursor was entirely assembled and subsequently cyclized on resin, yielding a major product identical to the natural hymenamide C and a minor one, a geometric isomer of hymenamide C ( 2 ), differing for the geometry of peptide linkages at Pro residues. Both the ‘proline-rich’ c…

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Protection against 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulphonic acid-induced colonic inflammation in mice by the marine products bolinaquinone and petrosaspongiolide M.

Proinflammatory mediators, namely eicosanoids, reactive oxygen and nitrogen species and cytokines, are clearly involved in the pathogenesis of intestinal bowel disease. bolinaquinone (BQ) and petrosaspongiolide M (PT), two marine products with potent anti-inflammatory action, have been shown to control the production of mediators in acute and chronic inflammatory processes. Hence, we have tested here the hypothesis that BQ and PT could ameliorate inflammation and oxidative stress parameters in 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulphonic acid (TNBS)-induced colitis in Balb/c mice. BQ and PT were given orally in doses of 10 or 20mg/kg/day. Treatment of the animals with BQ or PT at the highest dose signifi…

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Synthesis and biological properties of the seven alanine-modified analogues of the marine cyclopeptide hymenamide C

The synthesis and biological activity of the marine cyclopeptide hymenamide C(1), showing an inhibitory effect on human neutrophil elastase degranulation release, were recently described. Based on this result, it was decided to undertake a systematic structure-activity relationship study of this cyclopeptide, based on the Ala-scan technique, in order to obtain useful information for the rational design of additional analogues. The synthesis and characterization of the seven Ala modified analogues are reported and their biological and pharmacological properties are described.

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Cycloamphilectenes, a new type of potent marine diterpenes: inhibition of nitric oxide production in murine macrophages.

The inhibitory effect of a series of 6 cycloamphilectenes, novel marine diterpenes based on amphilectene skeletons and isolated from the Vanuatu sponge Axinella sp., on NO, PGE(2) and TNFalpha production in murine peritoneal macrophages was studied. These compounds reduced potently nitric oxide production in a concentration-dependent manner with IC(50) values in the submicromolar range (0.1-4.3 microM). Studies on intact cells and Western blot analysis showed that the more potent cycloamphilectenes reduced the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase without affecting cyclo-oxygenase-2 expression. Among them cycloamphilectene 2, the unique compound bearing an exocyclic methylene group,…

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