In vitro: |
Bioorg Med Chem. 2006 Nov 1;14(21):7138-45. | (+/-)-3'-O, 4'-O-dicynnamoyl-cis-khellactone, a derivative of (+/-)-praeruptorin A, reverses P-glycoprotein mediated multidrug resistance in cancer cells.[Pubmed: 16875827] | P-glycoprotein (Pgp) is an ATP-driven membrane exporter for a broad spectrum of hydrophobic xenobiotics. Pgp-overexpression is a common cause of multidrug resistance (MDR) in cancer cells and could lead to chemotherapeutic failure.
METHODS AND RESULTS:
Through an extensive herbal drug screening program we previously showed that (+)-praeruptorin A/(-)-Praeruptorin A (PA), a naturally existing pyranocumarin isolated from the dried root of Peucedanum praeruptorum Dunn., re-sensitizes Pgp-mediated MDR (Pgp-MDR) cancer cells to cancer drugs. A number of PA derivatives were synthesized and one of these, (+/-)-3'-O, 4'-O-dicynnamoyl-cis-khellactone (DCK), was more potent than PA or verapamil in the reversal of Pgp-MDR. In Pgp-MDR cells DCK increased cellular accumulation of doxorubicin without affecting the expression level of Pgp. In Pgp-enriched membrane fractions DCK moderately stimulated basal Pgp-ATPase activity, suggesting some transport substrate-like function. However, DCK also inhibited Pgp-ATPase activity stimulated by the standard substrates verapamil or progesterone with decreased V(max)s but K(m)s were relatively unchanged, suggesting a primarily non-competitive mode of inhibition. While the binding of substrates to active Pgp would increase the reactivity of the Pgp-specific antibody UIC2, DCK decreased UIC2 reactivity. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that DCK could bind simultaneously with substrates to Pgp but perhaps at an allosteric site and thus affect Pgp-substrate interactions. | Chem Biol Interact. 2010 Jul 30;186(2):239-46. | (+/-)-Praeruptorin A enantiomers exert distinct relaxant effects on isolated rat aorta rings dependent on endothelium and nitric oxide synthesis.[Pubmed: 20433815 ] | Praeruptorin A is a coumarin compound naturally occurring in the roots of Peucedanum praeruptorum Dunn., a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of certain respiratory diseases and hypertension. Although previous studies indicated the relaxant effects of (+/-)-praeruptorin A on tracheal and arterial preparations, little is known about the functional characteristics of the enantiomers. METHODS AND RESULTS: In the present study, the two enantiomers were successfully isolated and identified by using a preparative Daicel Chiralpak AD-H column, and their relaxant effects on aorta rings were observed and compared. (+)-Praeruptorin A showed more potent relaxation than (-)-Praeruptorin A against KCl- and phenylephrine-induced contraction of rat isolated aortic rings with intact endothelium. Removal of the endothelium remarkably reduced the relaxant effect of (+)-praeruptorin A but not that of (-)-Praeruptorin A. Pretreatment of aortic rings with N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase) or methylene blue (MB, a soluble guanylyl cyclase inhibitor) resulted in similar changes of the relaxant effects of the two enantiomers to endothelium removal. Molecular docking studies also demonstrated that (+)-praeruptorin A was in more agreement to nitric oxide synthase pharmacophores than (-)-Praeruptorin A. On the other hand, the two enantiomers of praeruptorin A could slightly attenuate the contraction of rat aortic rings induced by internal Ca(2+) release from sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR).
CONCLUSIONS:
These findings indicated that (+)-praeruptorin A and (-)-Praeruptorin A exerted distinct relaxant effects on isolated rat aorta rings, which might be mainly attributed to nitric oxide synthesis catalyzed by endothelial nitric oxide synthase. |
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