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Drug Design, Development and Therapy 2023Streptonigrin is an aminoquinone alkaloid isolated from and is gaining attention as a drug molecule owing to its potential antitumor and antibiotic effects. It was... (Review)
Review
Streptonigrin is an aminoquinone alkaloid isolated from and is gaining attention as a drug molecule owing to its potential antitumor and antibiotic effects. It was previously used as an anticancer drug but has been discontinued because of its toxic effects. However, according to the most recent studies, the toxicity of streptonigrin and its structurally modified derivatives has been reduced while maintaining their potential pharmacological action at lower concentrations. To date, many investigations have been conducted on this molecule and its derivatives to determine the most effective molecule with low toxicity to enable new drug discovery. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to provide a comprehensive review and to discuss the prospects for streptonigrin and its derived compounds, which may boost the molecule as a highly interesting target molecule for new drug design, development and therapy. To complete this review, relevant literature was collected from several scientific databases, including Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus and ScienceDirect. Following a complete screening, the obtained information is summarized in the present review to provide a good reference and accelerate the development and utilization of streptonigrin and its derivatives as pharmaceuticals.
Topics: Streptonigrin; Antineoplastic Agents; Drug Design
PubMed: 37064433
DOI: 10.2147/DDDT.S388490 -
Anticancer Research Mar 2023Cachexia - a wasting disorder of adipose and skeletal muscle tissue - is the most common driver of poor prognosis in patients with advanced lung cancer. Parathyroid...
BACKGROUND/AIM
Cachexia - a wasting disorder of adipose and skeletal muscle tissue - is the most common driver of poor prognosis in patients with advanced lung cancer. Parathyroid hormone-like hormone (PTHLH) is potentially a critical factor in cancer-associated cachexia. We previously showed that streptonigrin - an aminoquinone with antitumor effects - inhibited the interaction between TCF4 and TWIST1. This study aimed to determine the anti-cachectic performance of streptonigrin in lung cancer.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
We assessed the effect of streptonigrin on the interaction of TCF4 and TWIST1 using co-immunoprecipitation and a mammalian-two hybrid luciferase assay, which was confirmed by an in vitro GST pull-down assay using recombinant bHLH domain-containing TCF4 and TWIST1. We assessed the anti-cachectic effect of streptonigrin in vivo using an LLC1 cell-induced tumour-bearing mouse model. Changes in the degree of skeletal muscle and adipose tissue wasting were determined by measuring the weights of gastrocnemius and epidydimal white adipose tissue.
RESULTS
Streptonigrin was found to inhibit the interaction of TCF4 with TWIST1 in a dose-dependent manner. The in vitro GST pull-down assay revealed that streptonigrin directly inhibited the interaction between TCF4 and TWIST1. The expression of PTHLH mRNA, which is transcriptionally regulated by the TCF4/TWIST1 complex in response to TGF-β1 signalling, was decreased in streptonigrin-treated lung cancer cells. Streptonigrin significantly decreased the expression of proteolysis-related genes in skeletal muscle and browning-related genes in white adipose tissues of LLC1-induced tumour-bearing mice.
CONCLUSION
Streptonigrin exerts potent therapeutic effects on lung cancer-induced cachexia by suppressing TCF4/TWIST1-mediated PTHLH expression.
Topics: Animals; Mice; Adipose Tissue; Adiposity; Cachexia; Lung Neoplasms; Mammals; Streptonigrin
PubMed: 36854496
DOI: 10.21873/anticanres.16260 -
Proceedings of the National Academy of... Dec 2023Natural products that possess antibiotic and antitumor qualities are often suspected of working through oxidative mechanisms. In this study, two quinone-based small...
Natural products that possess antibiotic and antitumor qualities are often suspected of working through oxidative mechanisms. In this study, two quinone-based small molecules were compared. Menadione, a classic redox-cycling compound, was confirmed to generate high levels of reactive oxygen species inside . It inactivated iron-cofactored enzymes and blocked growth. However, despite the substantial levels of oxidants that it produced, it was unable to generate significant DNA damage and was not lethal. Streptonigrin, in contrast, was poorer at redox cycling and did not inactivate enzymes or block growth; however, even in low doses, it damaged DNA and killed cells. Its activity required iron and oxygen, and in vitro experiments indicated that its quinone moiety transferred electrons through the adjacent iron atom to oxygen. Additionally, in vitro experiments revealed that streptonigrin was able to damage DNA without inhibition by catalase, indicating that hydrogen peroxide was not involved. We infer that streptonigrin can reduce bound oxygen directly to a ferryl species, which then oxidizes the adjacent DNA, without release of superoxide or hydrogen peroxide intermediates. This scheme allows streptonigrin to kill a bacterial cell without interference by scavenging enzymes. Moreover, its minimal redox-cycling behavior avoids alerting either the OxyR or the SoxRS systems, which otherwise would block killing. This example highlights qualities that may be important in the design of oxidative drugs. These results also cast doubt on proposals that bacteria can be killed by stressors that merely stimulate intracellular O and HO formation.
Topics: Oxidants; Hydrogen Peroxide; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Streptonigrin; Oxidative Stress; Escherichia coli; Oxygen; Iron; DNA; Quinones
PubMed: 38109539
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2312110120 -
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Jul 2023This review uses the National Cancer Institute (NCI) COMPARE program to establish an extensive list of heterocyclic iminoquinones and quinones with similarities in... (Review)
Review
This review uses the National Cancer Institute (NCI) COMPARE program to establish an extensive list of heterocyclic iminoquinones and quinones with similarities in differential growth inhibition patterns across the 60-cell line panel of the NCI Developmental Therapeutics Program (DTP). Many natural products and synthetic analogues are revealed as potential NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) substrates, through correlations to dipyridoimidazo[5,4-]benzimidazoleiminoquinone (DPIQ), and as potential thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) inhibitors, through correlations to benzo[1,2,4]triazin-7-ones and pleurotin. The strong correlation to NQO1 infers the enzyme has a major influence on the amount of the active compound with benzo[]perimidines, phenoxazinones, benz[]pyrido[1,2-]indole-6,11-quinones, seriniquinones, kalasinamide, indolequinones, and furano[2,3-]naphthoquinones, hypothesised as prodrugs. Compounds with very strong correlations to known TrxR inhibitors had inverse correlations to the expression of both reductase enzymes, NQO1 and TrxR, including naphtho[2,3-][1,4]oxazepane-6,11-diones, benzo[]carbazole-1,4-diones, pyranonaphthoquinones (including kalafungin, nanaomycin A, and analogues of griseusin A), and discorhabdin C. Quinoline-5,8-dione scaffolds based on streptonigrin and lavendamycin can correlate to either reductase. Inhibitors of TrxR are not necessarily (imino)quinones, e.g., parthenolides, while oxidising moieties are essential for correlations to NQO1, as with the mitosenes. Herein, an overview of synthetic methods and biological activity of each family of heterocyclic imino(quinone) is provided.
Topics: United States; National Cancer Institute (U.S.); Quinones; Indolequinones; Oxidoreductases; NAD(P)H Dehydrogenase (Quinone); Antineoplastic Agents; Neoplasms
PubMed: 37446864
DOI: 10.3390/molecules28135202 -
ACS Chemical Biology Dec 2022β-Carboline (βC) alkaloids constitute a large family of indole alkaloids that exhibit diverse pharmacological properties, such as antitumor, antiviral, antiparasitic,...
β-Carboline (βC) alkaloids constitute a large family of indole alkaloids that exhibit diverse pharmacological properties, such as antitumor, antiviral, antiparasitic, and antimicrobial activities. Here, we report that a flavoprotein StnP2 catalyzes the dehydrogenation at C1-N2 of a tetrahydro-β-carboline (THβC) generating a 3,4-dihydro-β-carboline (DHβC), and the DHβC subsequently undergoes a spontaneous dehydrogenation to βC formation involved in the biosynthesis of the antitumor agent streptonigrin. Biochemical characterization showed that StnP2 catalyzed the highly regio- and stereo-selective dehydrogenation, and StnP2 exhibits promiscuity toward different THβCs. This study provides an alternative kind of enzyme catalyzing the biosynthesis of βC alkaloids and enhances the importance of flavoproteins.
Topics: Streptonigrin; Flavoproteins; Carbolines; Alkaloids; Indole Alkaloids
PubMed: 36409520
DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.2c00704 -
Scientific Reports Feb 2020Heterochromatin is essential for regulating global gene transcription and protecting genome stability, and may play a role in tumor suppression. Drugs promoting...
Heterochromatin is essential for regulating global gene transcription and protecting genome stability, and may play a role in tumor suppression. Drugs promoting heterochromatin are potential cancer therapeutics but very few are known. In order to identify drugs that can promote heterochromatin, we used a cell-based method and screened NCI drug libraries consisting of oncology drugs and natural compounds. Since heterochromatin is originally defined as intensely stained chromatin in the nucleus, we estimated heterochromatin contents of cells treated with different drugs by quantifying the fluorescence intensity of nuclei stained with Hoechst DNA dye. We used HeLa cells and screened 231 FDA-approved oncology and natural substance drugs included in two NCI drug libraries representing a variety of chemical structures. Among these drugs, streptonigrin most prominently caused an increase in Hoechst-stained nuclear fluorescence intensity. We further show that streptonigrin treated cells exhibit compacted DNA foci in the nucleus that co-localize with Heterochromatin Protein 1 alpha (HP1α), and exhibit an increase in total levels of the heterochromatin mark, H3K9me3. Interestingly, we found that streptonigrin promotes heterochromatin at a concentration as low as one nanomolar, and at this concentration there were no detectable effects on cell proliferation or viability. Finally, in line with a previous report, we found that streptonigrin inhibits STAT3 phosphorylation, raising the possibility that non-canonical STAT function may contribute to the effects of streptonigrin on heterochromatin. These results suggest that, at low concentrations, streptonigrin may primarily enhance heterochromatin formation with little toxic effects on cells, and therefore might be a good candidate for epigenetic cancer therapy.
Topics: Antibiotics, Antineoplastic; Cell Nucleus; Cell Proliferation; Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly; Chromobox Protein Homolog 5; Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone; HeLa Cells; Heterochromatin; Histones; Humans; Phosphorylation; STAT3 Transcription Factor; Streptonigrin
PubMed: 32103104
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-60469-6 -
Proceedings of the National Academy of... Jan 2024
Topics: Streptonigrin; Bacteria
PubMed: 38227663
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2320942121 -
Biochemistry Mar 2018Streptonigrin (CAS no. 3930-19-6) is a natural product shown to have antitumor activities in clinical trials conducted in the 1960s-1970s. However, its use in clinical...
Streptonigrin (CAS no. 3930-19-6) is a natural product shown to have antitumor activities in clinical trials conducted in the 1960s-1970s. However, its use in clinical studies eventually faded, and the molecular mechanisms of streptonigrin antitumor effects remain poorly defined. Despite its lack of current clinical use, efforts on its total synthesis have continued. Here, we show that streptonigrin binds and inhibits the SUMO-specific protease SENP1. NMR studies identified that streptonigrin binds to SENP1 on the surface where SUMO binds and disrupts SENP1-SUMO1 interaction. Site-directed mutations in combination with NMR chemical shift perturbation suggest key roles of aromatic π stacking interactions in binding streptonigrin. Treatment of cells with streptonigrin resulted in increased global SUMOylation levels and reduced level of hypoxia inducible factor alpha (HIF1α). These findings inform both the design of SENP1 targeting strategy and the modification of streptonigrin to improve its efficacy for possible future clinical use.
Topics: Cell Line, Tumor; Cysteine Endopeptidases; Humans; Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; SUMO-1 Protein; Streptonigrin; Sumoylation
PubMed: 29481054
DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.7b00947 -
Natural Product Research Jul 2022Streptonigrin (STN) is a highly functionalized aminoquinone alkaloid with broad and potent antitumor activities. Previously, the biosynthetic gene cluster of STN was...
Streptonigrin (STN) is a highly functionalized aminoquinone alkaloid with broad and potent antitumor activities. Previously, the biosynthetic gene cluster of STN was identified in CGMCC 4.1223, revealing an α/β-hydrolase (StnA) and a methyltransferase (StnQ2). In this work, a double mutant Δ was constructed by genetic manipulation and produced a novel derivative of STN, named as streptonigramide. Structure of streptonigramide was established by spectroscopic analyses. Its biosynthetic pathway has been proposed as well.
Topics: Alkaloids; Antineoplastic Agents; Streptomyces; Streptonigrin
PubMed: 33280413
DOI: 10.1080/14786419.2020.1856840 -
Accounts of Chemical Research Mar 2019Proteins are well-known to undergo a variety of post-translational modifications (PTMs). One such PTM is citrullination, an arginine modification that is catalyzed by a...
Proteins are well-known to undergo a variety of post-translational modifications (PTMs). One such PTM is citrullination, an arginine modification that is catalyzed by a group of hydrolases called protein arginine deiminases (PADs). Hundreds of proteins are known to be citrullinated and hypercitrullination is associated with autoimmune diseases including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), lupus, ulcerative colitis (UC), Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis (MS), and certain cancers. In this Account, we summarize our efforts to understand the structure and mechanism of the PADs and to develop small molecule chemical probes of protein citrullination. PAD activity is highly regulated by calcium. Structural studies with PAD2 revealed that calcium-binding occurs in a stepwise fashion and induces a series of dramatic conformational changes to form a catalytically competent active site. These studies also identified the presence of a calcium-switch that controls the overall calcium-dependence and a gatekeeper residue that shields the active site in the absence of calcium. Using biochemical and site-directed mutagenesis studies, we identified the key residues (two aspartates, a cysteine, and a histidine) responsible for catalysis and proposed a general mechanism of citrullination. Although all PADs follow this mechanism, substrate binding to the thiolate or thiol form of the enzyme varies for different isozymes. Substrate-specificity studies revealed that PADs 1-4 prefer peptidyl-arginine over free arginine and certain citrullination sites on a peptide substrate. Using high-throughput screening and activity-based protein profiling (ABPP), we identified several reversible (streptomycin, minocycline, and chlorotetracycline) and irreversible (streptonigrin, NSC 95397) PAD-inhibitors. Screening of a DNA-encoded library and lead-optimization led to the development of GSK199 and GSK484 as highly potent PAD4-selective inhibitors. Furthermore, use of an electrophilic, cysteine-targeted haloacetamidine warhead to mimic the guanidinium group in arginine afforded several mechanism-based pan-PAD-inhibitors including Cl-amidine and BB-Cl-amidine. These compounds are highly efficacious in various animal models, including those mimicking RA, UC, and lupus. Structure-activity relationships identified numerous covalent PAD-inhibitors with different bioavailability, in vivo stability, and isozyme-selectivity (PAD1-selective: D-Cl-amidine; PAD2-selective: compounds 16-20; PAD3-selective: Cl4-amidine; and PAD4-selective: TDFA). Finally, this Account describes the development of PAD-targeted and citrulline-specific chemical probes. While PAD-targeted probes were utilized for identifying off-targets and developing high-throughput inhibitor screening platforms, citrulline-specific probes enabled the proteomic identification of novel diagnostic biomarkers of hypercitrullination-related autoimmune diseases.
Topics: Animals; Aspartic Acid; Catalysis; Catalytic Domain; Citrullination; Cysteine; Enzyme Inhibitors; HEK293 Cells; Histidine; Humans; Mice; Models, Chemical; Mutation; Protein Processing, Post-Translational; Protein-Arginine Deiminases; Proteins
PubMed: 30844238
DOI: 10.1021/acs.accounts.9b00024