Expression, purification, and biological activity evaluation of cathepsin L in mammalian cells

Cathepsin L (CTSL) could cleave and activate SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein to promote viral entry, making it a hopeful therapeutic target for COVID-19 prevention and treatment. So CTSL inhibitors are considered to be a promising strategy to SARS-CoV-2 infection. CTSL has previously been expressed in inclusion body in Escherichia coli. In order to prepare CTSL with high purity and activity in soluble active form, we transformed HEK-293T cells with a recombinant mammalian expression plasmid. CTSL was purified to a purity about 95%, found to migrate at approximately 43 kDa and exhibited substrate specificity against Z-Phe-Arg-AMC with specific activity of no less than 85 081 U/mg, characteristic of active CTSL. Although eukaryotic purified CTSL is commercially available, our study for the first time reported the details of the expression, purification, and characterization of active, recombinant CTSL in eukaryocyte system, which laid an experimental foundation for the establishment of high-throughput screening model for anti-coronavirus drugs targeting CTSL.

Discovery a series of novel inhibitors of human dihydroorotate dehydrogenase: Biological activity evaluation and molecular docking

Human dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (hDHODH) is a key enzyme that catalyzes the de novo synthesis of pyrimidine. In recent years, various studies have shown that inhibiting this enzyme can treat autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and cancer. This study designed and synthesized a series of novel thiazolidone hDHODH inhibitors. Through biological activity evaluation, Compound 14 was found to have high inhibitory activity, with an IC50 value reaching nanomolar level. Preliminary structure-activity relationship studies found that the carboxyl group in R1 and the naphthalene in R2 are key factors in improving activity. Through molecular docking, the binding mode between inhibitors and proteins was elucidated. This study provides an important reference for further optimizing hDHODH inhibitors.

Synthesis and Evaluation of 2-Amine-4-oxyphosaniline Pyrimidine Derivatives as EGFR L858R/T790M/C797S Mutant Inhibitors

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) C797S mutation leads to Osimertinib drug resistance by disturbing the covalent biding of Michael acceptor group to the Cys797 residue in the ATP biding cleft. In this manuscript, a class of 2-amine-4-oxyphosaniline pyrimidine derivatives were designed, synthesized and evaluated as new noncovalent reversible EGFR inhibitors against L858R/T790M/C797S (CTL) triple mutant. The kinases inhibitiory activity evaluation showed that four compounds exhibited significant inhibitory activities against CTL (IC₅₀ < 30 nM). In particularly, the most promising compound 7a showed excellent enzymatic inhibitory activity against CTL with IC₅₀ value of 9.9 nM, which was more potent than control compound Osimertinib. Moreover, cell proliferation assays indicated that 7a effectively inhibited H1975-EGFR L858R/T790M/C797S with IC₅₀ value of 0.33 µM. Furthermore, compound 7a displayed good metabolic stabilities in human, rat and mouse liver microsomes, and the putative biding mode of compound 7a with ATP was revealed by molecular docking study. These findings strongly indicated that compound 7a was a promising L858R/T790M/C797S mutant EGFR inhibitor.

[Comprehensive evaluation system for quality of Chinese medicinal decoction pieces based on "experience-ingredients-activity-electronic sensing"]

Quality evaluation of Chinese medicinal decoction pieces is vital for the development of the downstream industries, and is an important channel for implementing the strategy of &quot;higher quality, higher price, and priority for the high quality&quot; for traditional Chinese medicine. At the moment, the quality of Chinese medicinal decoction pieces is mainly evaluated based on chemical component examination. Considering the weak preliminary research foundation and poor research conditions, traditional experience-based evaluation is undervalued in the quality rating of Chinese medicinal decoction pieces. However, traditional experience is a summary of the quality of Chinese medicinal materials based on clinical experience, which thus can be a potential basis for the quality evaluation of the decoction pieces. It is a challenge in the evaluation of Chinese medicinal decoction pieces to objectify the traditional experience-based evaluation from multiple aspects such as chemistry, effect, and characterization via modern techniques. Therefore, this study developed the &quot;experience-ingredients-activity-electronic sensing&quot; evaluation system for Chinese medicinal decoction pieces on the basis of experience-based assessment, chemical ingredients that can truly reflect the traditional experience, biological effect assessment, and electronic sensory evaluation, which is expected to quantify the traditional experience of quality evaluation of Chinese medicinal decoction pieces via chemistry, biology, and sensory simulation. The evaluation system can serve as a reference for clinical experience-based quality evaluation of Chinese medicinal decoction pieces.

Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles from grape and tomato juices and evaluation of biological activities

The biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) is substantial for its application in lots of fields. Tomato and grape fruit juices were used as a reducing and capping agents for the biosynthesis of AgNPs. Ultraviolet spectroscopic analysis offered peaks in the range of 396‒420 nm that indicate the production of AgNPs. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis revealed attachment of different functional groups with Ag ion in both tomato and grape fruit extracts NPs. The X‒ray diffraction analysis confirmed that the synthesised AgNPs have a face centred cubic confirmation. Scanning electron microscopy confirms the size of NPs that varies from 10 to 30 nm. The DPPH free radical scavenging assay, total antioxidant capacity, reducing power assay, total flavonoid contents and total phenolic contents determination confirmed that synthesised AgNPs are potent antioxidant agents; can be used as an effective scavenger of free radicals. Biosynthesised AgNPs also showed good antibacterial activity against Pseudomonas septica, Staphylococcus aureus, Micrococcus luteus, Enterobacter aerogenes, Bacillus subtilis and Salmonella typhi. Protein kinase inhibition activity showed a clear zone which indicates anticancerous potential of biosynthesised AgNPs. The efficacious bioactivities indicate that the tomato and grape derived AgNPs can be used efficiently in pharmaceutical and medical industries.