Suppressive effects of total alkaloids of Lycopodiastrum casuarinoides on adjuvant-induced arthritis in rats

New Lycopodium alkaloids with neuroprotective activities from Lycopodium japonicum Thunb

One new lycopodine-type alkaloid (1), one new natural product (2), and eight known analogs (3-10) were isolated from the whole plants of Lycopodium japonicum Thunb. The structures of 1-10 were determined based on extensive comprehensive spectroscopic analyses, including UV, IR, NMR, and HRESIMS. Moreover, the isolated alkaloids were evaluated for their neuroprotective activity against Hemin-induced HT22 cell damage. Notably, compounds 1 and 10 exhibited potential neuroprotective activities, with 21.45% and 20.55% increase in cell survival at 20 μM, respectively. Moreover, compounds 1 and 10 revealed protective effects on Hemin-induced apoptosis in HT22 cells.

Anti-inflammatory natural products as potential therapeutic agents of rheumatoid arthritis: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease causing severe locomotor disability and deterioration in the quality of life. Existing treatments for RA mainly focus on the use of immunomodulators and the suppression of synovial inflammation, and many have significant side effects. Medicinal plants are regarded as important alternative sources for treating RA.

PURPOSE

This review summarizes the bioactive compounds of medicinal plants, which have been shown to modulate the immune response by regulating interleukins in vitro and in vivo experimental models, and that may be promising substances for use in the treatment of RA.

METHODS

Articles on natural products used for the management of arthritis were retrieved from PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science through electronic and manual search in English. In total, 576 publications were identified, and 34 were included in this systematic review.

RESULTS

Two articles presented findings on the role of natural components in the treatment of arthritis in both in vitro and in vivo studies. Nine reports defined the role of plant-derived natural molecules in the treatment of arthritis using cell lines, and 27 in vivo studies assessed the anti-arthritic efficacy and immunomodulation effects of phytoconstituents on interleukin production and inflammatory responses.

CONCLUSION

This systematic review broadly reports that, in contrast to other classes of phytochemicals, flavonoids have the greatest therapeutic potential against arthritis by modulating the expression of pro-inflammatory TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and IL-17, as well as anti-inflammatory IL-2 and IL-10 cytokines, through the suppression of dynamic inflammatory biomarkers.

Construction of the tetracyclic core of the Lycopodium alkaloid annotinolide C

A concise approach to the tetracyclic core of annotinolide C has been developed which contains two key reactions epoxidation/1,2-migration to construct an aza [6.5] spiro ring (A and B) and semireduction/cyclization to construct lactone ring D.

Amelioration of adjuvant-induced arthritis by exposure to low dose gamma radiation and resveratrol administration in rats

Purpose: Low dose radiation has been reported as an effective treatment for rheumatoid arthritis via multiple dose exposures. The present study was designed to increase the therapeutic efficacy of low dose radiation with the minimum exposure level in arthritic rats by concurrent administration of resveratrol (RSV) as an adjunctive therapy with anti-inflammatory properties.Materials and methods: Rats were rendered arthritic by sub-plantar injection of Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA) and exposed to low dose radiation at a total exposure level of 0.5 Gy (2 × 0.25). During the exposure course, RSV (50 mg/kg) was orally administered once daily for two weeks. Diclofenac (3 mg/kg) was administered as a standard anti-inflammatory drug. Paw volume was measured every 4 days. After 28 days of induction, rats were sacrificed and serum was collected for estimation of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1beta (IL-1β), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), and total nitrate/nitrite (NO_x). Furthermore, paws were dissected for histopathological examinations and immuno-histochemical estimation of nuclear factor-kappa B p65 (NF-κB p65) expression.Results: Administration of RSV during the low dose radiation exposure course produced a significant decrease in the paw swelling and a potentiated inhibition in the serum levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, TBARs, and NO_x. The dual treatment strategy alleviated the histopathological damage to a greater extent than that produced by each treatment. Moreover, a pronounced suppression of NF-κB p65 expression in the synovial tissue was observed in the combination group. The combination treatment showed a nearly similar potency to that observed in the diclofenac treated group.Conclusion: Administration of RSV augmented the modulatory activity of low dose radiation with minimum exposure level on the disease progression.

Mining lycodine-type alkaloid biosynthetic genes and genetic markers from transcriptome of Lycopodiastrum casuarinoides

Objective

Lycopodiastrum casuarinoides, a fern of the Lycopodiaceae family, is a traditional Chinese medicine, which has similar efficacy to that of Huperzia serrata in treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, they are different in the contents and compositions of lycopodium alkaloids. In this study, the biosynthesis related genes of lycopodium alkaloids and genetic markers are discovered in L. casuarinoides transcriptome.

Methods

The plant of L. casuarinoides was collected and was subjected to the RNA isolation, cDNA library construction, high throughput RNA sequencing and bioinformatics analysis.

Results

Totally 124, 524 high-quality unigenes were assembled from RNA sequencing reads, with an average sequence length of 601 bp. Among the L. casuarinoides transcripts, 61,304 shared the significant similarity (E-value < 10⁻⁵) with existing protein sequences in the public databases. From 124,524 unigenes, 47,538 open reading frames (ORFs) were predicted. Based on the bioinformatics analysis, all possible enzyme genes involved in the lycodine-type alkaloids biosynthetic pathway of L. casuarinoides were identified, including lysine decarboxylase (LDC), primary amine oxidase (PAO), malonyl-CoA decarboxylase, etc. Sixty-four putative cytochrome p450 (CYP) and 827 putative transcription factors were selected from the transcriptome unigenes as the candidates of lycodine-type alkaloids biosynthesis modifiers. Furthermore, 13,352 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were identified from 124,524 unigenes, of which dinucleotide motifs AG/CT were the most abundant (50.1%). Meanwhile, we confirmed the amplification effectiveness of 25 PCR primer pairs for randomly selected SSRs.

Conclusion

We obtained the comprehensive transcriptomic information from the high throughput RNA sequencing and bioinformatics analysis, which provided a valuable resource of transcript sequences of L. casuarinoides in public databases.

Anti-cholinesterase activities of constituents isolated from Lycopodiastrum casuarinoides

Phytochemical investigation of the ethyl acetate extract of Lycopodiastrum casuarinoides (Spring) Holub (Lycopodiaceae) led to the isolation of nine compounds, including two new serratene triterpenoids, serrat-14-en-3α,21α-diol (1), 26-nor-8-oxo-21-one-α-onocerin (6), one new abietane diterpenoid, lycocasuarinone A (7), one new sesquiterpene acid, 7, 9-diene-1,4-epoxy-2-hydroxy-10-carboxylic acid (8) and one new chromone derivative, 5,7-dihydroxy-2-methyl esterchromone (9), together with four known serratene triterpenoids (2-5). Abietane diterpenoid (7) and sesquiterpene acid (8) from Lycopodiastrum casuarinoides are reported for the first time. Their structures and stereochemistry were unambiguously elucidated by spectroscopic analysis and comparison with known ones. All the compounds were tested for acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrocholinesterase (BuChE) inhibitory activities. Bioactivity assays revealed that compound 6 exhibited the most potent AChE inhibitory effect.

Ketoprofen and MicroRNA-124 Co-loaded poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) microspheres inhibit progression of Adjuvant-induced arthritis in rats

Ketoprofen, a non-steroid anti-inflammatory drug, is widely used for relieving the pain and swelling caused by rheumatoid arthritis. However, ketoprofen can't suppress disease progression effectively. In this study, in an effort to improve the therapeutic effect for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), microRNA-124 (miR-124), a promising new therapeutic agent for RA, was co-loaded with ketoprofen into poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microspheres and administrated to adjuvant-induced arthritis rats. PLGA microspheres loaded with ketoprofen and miR-124 were prepared by a modified multiple emulsion-solvent evaporation method. In vivo pharmacodynamics experimental results indicated ketoprofen in co-loaded microspheres could significantly reduce inflammation of the joints and miR-124 in the microspheres could reduce bone damage. In addition, ketoprofen and miR-124 co-loaded PLGA microspheres had a remarkable advanced activity over delivery of either miR-124 or ketoprofen in suppressing adjuvant-induced arthritis (AA) in rats. Results of western blot and immunohistochemistry revealed that miR-124 could reduce the level of receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand (RANKL). These results suggested co-delivery of ketoprofen and miR-124 could achieve synergistic effects on preventing inflammation and bone damage caused by AA. Ketoprofen and miR-124 co-loaded PLGA microspheres could be a promising combined therapeutic strategy against RA.

Lycodine-type alkaloids from Lycopodiastrum casuarinoides and their cholinesterase inhibitory activities

Four new trace alkaloids with lycodine-related structures, Lycocasuarinines A-D (1-4), together with seven known analogues (5-11), were isolated from the chloroform extract of Lycopodiastrum casuarinoides. The structures and stereochemistry of 1-4 were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis (IR, UV, MS, NMR, HRESIMS and CD) and comparison with known ones. The acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrocholinesterase (BuChE) inhibitory activities of nine isolates were evaluated. Lycocasuarinine D (4) showed the most potent AChE inhibitory effect. In addition, a plausible biogenetic pathway of compound 4 was proposed.