Compound SLXM-2, a derivative of cyclophosphamide （CTX）, has shown potent growth-inhibitory effect on tumor cells with low toxicity in previous studies. However, the mechanism of its anti-tumor effect, especially on DNA damage, remains largely unclear. This study investigated the effect of SLXM-2 on the survival time of mice transplanted with the ascitie fluid-type hepatocarcinoma 22 （H22）. We also evaluated the correlation between DNA damaging effect of SLXM-2 and its anti-tumor effect, and to probe the possible molecular mechanism for its effect on H22 cells. The results suggested that SLXM-2 significantly （P〈0.05） prolonged the survival time of mice bearing the ascitic fluid-type H22. Furthermore, SLXM-2 induced DNA damage in a dose-dependent manner in H22 cells. Further investigation revealed that SLXM-2 significantly （P〈0.05） up-regulated the expression levels of a series of DNA damage-related proteins, such as γH2AX （Ser139）, p-Chkl （Ser296）, p-Chk2 （Thr68）, p-p53 （Ser15）, p-p53 （Ser20） and p21, and down-regulated the expression of p-ATR （Ser428） and p-ATM （Ser1981）. In conclusion, SLXM-2 showed a remarkable anti-tumor activity on ascitic fluid-type H22 cells, and its molecular mechanism is related to its DNA damaging effect.
Nineteen triterpenoids, including eleven ursane triterpenoids and eight olenane triterpenoids, were isolated from the stems of Uncaria macrophylla Wall. by comprehensive chromatographic methods. Structure elucidation of the compounds was succeeded by extensive spectroscopic analysis. Twelve compounds were obtained from this plant for the first time, among which six compounds were obtained from the genus Uncaria for the first time.
A series of polysubstituted tetrahydropyrimidines were synthesized in moderate to good yields via a one-pot, four-component reaction of an alkyne, formaldehyde, and amines in solid media acidic Al2O3. The advantages of this protocol include mild reaction conditions, broad substrate scope, and environmentally friendly reaction media.
ATP-binding cassette（ABC） transporter multidrug resistance protein 4（MRP4, ABCC4） is involved in multidrug resistance（MDR）, which is an increasing challenge to the treatment of cancers and infections. MRP4 is overexpressed in several types of cancers, and MRP4 inhibition shows striking effects against cancer progression and drug resistance. However, the structural knowledge of this protein remains unclear due to lack of an MRP4 X-ray structure, and homology modeling approach is an effective way to obtain three-dimensional structure of MRP4. We constructed three molecular models of human MRP4 mainly based on the inward facing Caenorhabditis elegans P-glycoprotein（P-gp）, the Thermotoga maritima heterodimeric ABC transporter TM287-TM288（TM287/288） and the outward facing Staphylococcus aureus Sav1866 crystal structures, which represented substrate uptake, transport and release state, respectively. The structures were further energy minimized and optimized by molecular dynamic simulations（MDS）. All the models were validated by various tools and servers, and the results showed that the quality of the models was reasonable and acceptable. These MRP4 models could be used as working tools for experimental studies on the structure and functions of MRP4 and designing more specific membrane transport modulating agents（MTMA）.
Chemical constituents of the leaves of Artemisia argyi were investigated. By using a variety of chromatographic techniques and spectroscopic methods, six compounds were isolated and identified as follows： clemaphenol A （1）, aurantiamide acetate （2）, camelliagenin A （3）, japonica acid （4）, labd-13（E）-ene-8α,15-diol （5）, and 313-acetoxy-20-oxo-21-nordammaran-23-oic acid （6）. Among these products, compounds 1 and 3-6 were obtained from the genus Artemisia for the first time and compound 2 was firstly reported from the species. Additionally, compound 5 displayed an inhibitory effect against the lipopolysaccharide （LPS）-induced nitric oxide （NO） production in BV-2 microglial cells with an IC50 value of 6.68 μM.
The present study aimed to investigate the targeting effect of H7K（R2）2-modified pH -sensitive liposomes on U87-MG cells. Using coumarin-6 as a fluorescence probe, we prepared H7K（R2）2-modified p H-sensitive liposomes（designated as coumarin-6-PSL-H7K（R2）2）. The flow cytometry assay was used to evaluate the effect of H7K（R2）2 proportions on the cellular uptake and endocytosis pathways of coumarin--6--PSL--H7K（R2）2 on U87-MG cells. The circular dichroism（CD） spectroscopy assay was used to investigate the secondary structures of H7K（R2）2 peptide at pH 7.4 and H 6.8, respectively. Our results indicated that the 2.5% proportion of H7K（R2）2 in the coumarin-6--PSL-H7K（R2）2 was superior to those of 1% and 3.5% of H7K（R2）2. The uptake of coumarin--6-PSL--H7K（R2）2 on U87--MG cells was not inhibited by filipin, M-β--CD or chlorpromazine. The secondary structure of H7K（R2）2 at pH 6.8 was mostly presented as β--turn. In conclusion, we suggested that the appropriate proportion of H7K（R2）2 in the H7K（R2）2--modified pH--sensitive liposomes could be set at 2.5%. The cellular uptake pathway for H7K（R2）2-modified pH--sensitive liposomes was via the cell penetrating capacity of H7K（R2）2 which responded to acidic condition. The secondary structure of H7K（R2）2 at pH 6.8, which was presented as the shape of hairpin, might be mainly responsible for its targeting and cell penetrating effect.
