Evaluation and SAR analysis of the cytotoxicity of tanshinones in colon cancer cells

Molecular Mechanism of Tanshinone against Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common malignant tumor of the male urinary system in Europe and America. According to the data in the World Cancer Report 2020, the incidence rate of PCa ranks second in the prevalence of male malignant tumors and varies worldwide between regions and population groups. Although early PCa can achieve good therapeutic results after surgical treatment, due to advanced PCa, it can adapt and tolerate androgen castration-related drugs through a variety of mechanisms. For this reason, it is often difficult to achieve effective therapeutic results in the treatment of advanced PCa. Tanshinone is a new fat-soluble phenanthraquinone compound derived from Salvia miltiorrhiza that can play a therapeutic role in different cancers, including PCa. Several studies have shown that Tanshinone can target various molecular pathways of PCa, including the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) pathway, androgen receptor (AR) pathway, phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway, and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, which will affect the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines and affect cell proliferation, apoptosis, tumor metabolism, genomic stability, and tumor drug resistance. Thus, the occurrence and development of PCa cells are inhibited. In this review, we summarized the in vivo and in vitro evidence of Tanshinone against prostate cancer and discussed the effect of Tanshinone on nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB), AR, and mTOR. At the same time, we conducted a network pharmacology analysis on the four main components of Tanshinone to further screen the possible targets of Tanshinone against prostate cancer and provide ideas for future research.

Evaluation of the anti-inflammatory effects of synthesised tanshinone I and isotanshinone I analogues in zebrafish

During inflammation, dysregulated neutrophil behaviour can play a major role in a range of chronic inflammatory diseases, for many of which current treatments are generally ineffective. Recently, specific naturally occurring tanshinones have shown promising anti-inflammatory effects by targeting neutrophils in vivo, yet such tanshinones, and moreover, their isomeric isotanshinone counterparts, are still a largely underexplored class of compounds, both in terms of synthesis and biological effects. To explore the anti-inflammatory effects of isotanshinones, and the tanshinones more generally, a series of substituted tanshinone and isotanshinone analogues was synthesised, alongside other structurally similar molecules. Evaluation of these using a transgenic zebrafish model of neutrophilic inflammation revealed differential anti-inflammatory profiles in vivo, with a number of compounds exhibiting promising effects. Several compounds reduce initial neutrophil recruitment and/or promote resolution of neutrophilic inflammation, of which two also result in increased apoptosis of human neutrophils. In particular, the methoxy-substituted tanshinone 39 specifically accelerates resolution of inflammation without affecting the recruitment of neutrophils to inflammatory sites, making this a particularly attractive candidate for potential pro-resolution therapeutics, as well as a possible lead for future development of functionalised tanshinones as molecular tools and/or chemical probes. The structurally related β-lapachones promote neutrophil recruitment but do not affect resolution. We also observed notable differences in toxicity profiles between compound classes. Overall, we provide new insights into the in vivo anti-inflammatory activities of several novel tanshinones, isotanshinones, and structurally related compounds.