Synthesis of potentially anti-inflammatory IPL576,092-contignasterol and IPL576,092-manoalide hybrids
The synthesis of two potentially anti-inflammatory steroidal hybrid compounds has been accomplished through a 16- and 17-step sequence, respectively, starting from commercially available androst-5-en-3β-ol-17-one. The synthetic strategies are based both on stereoselective side chains elaboration and high yielding functional group transformations.
SCSA Code: Applications on the Cyclopeptide Renieramide
SCSA is an algorithm designed to get information on molecular conformational properties. The most stable conformers are determined by the homemade SCSA code, performing a multistep systematic conformational search, which involves energy and structure quantum chemical optimizations at low-level and high-level. The SCSA method was employed to analyze the conformational space of the in vacuo cyclopeptide renieramide at AMI and B3LYP/6-31G(d) levels. Calculations at B3LYP level of the GIAO 13C NMR chemical shifts were also performed on the final conformers. In fact, to validate the conformational search results experimental and calculated 13C NMR spectra of renieramide were compared. Slight dis…
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.
Chemoecological study of the invasive alga Caulerpa taxifolia var. distichophylla from the Sicilian coast
Marine invasive species and their bioactive metabolites have become critical ecological issues in the Mediterranean Sea. In particular, the highly invasive green algae Caulerpa taxifolia and Caulerpa cylindracea are known to contain the bioactive sesquiterpene caulerpenyne (1) and the bisindolic alkaloid caulerpin (2), potentially acting as chemical stressors for native species. The recent spread of a variety of C. taxifolia, Caulerpa taxifolia var. distichophylla, also raises urgent questions about its chemical composition. Indeed, the only chemical data available for this alga are limited to the seasonal variations of caulerpenyne (1) in samples collected in the Eastern Mediterranean. In …
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,…
Identification of Cysteine Ubiquitylation Sites on the Sec23A Protein of the COPII Complex Required for Vesicle Formation from the ER
Background COPII is a multiprotein complex that surrounds carrier vesicles budding from the Endoplasmic Reticulum and allows the recruitment of secretory proteins. The Sec23a protein plays a crucial role in the regulation of the dynamics of COPII formation ensuring the proper function of the secretory pathway. Objective Since few evidences suggest that ubiquitylation could have a role in the COPII regulation, the present study was aimed to establish whether the Sec23a component of the vesicular envelope COPII could be ubiquitylated. Method Sec23a ubiquitylation was revealed by co-immunoprecipitation experiments. Recombinant Sec23a was gel-purified and analyzed by mass spectrometry subjected…
Chemical Proteomics-Guided Identification of a Novel Biological Target of the Bioactive Neolignan Magnolol
Understanding the recognition process between bioactive natural products and their specific cellular receptors is of key importance in the drug discovery process. In this outline, some potential targets of Magnolol, a natural bioactive compound, have been identified by proteomic approaches. Among them, Importin-β1 has been considered as the most relevant one. A direct binding between Magnolol and this nuclear chaperone has been confirmed by DARTS and molecular docking, while its influence on Importin-β1 translocation has been evaluated by in vitro assays.