Novel nitric oxide (NO) releasing derivatives (7a-7l) of 3-n-butylphthalide (NBP) were designed and synthesized. Compound 7e inhibited the adenosine diphosphate (ADP), thrombin (TH) and arachidonic acid (AA)-induced in vitro platelet aggregation, superior to NBP and aspirin, released moderate levels of NO, and improved aqueous solubility relative to NBP. Furthermore, 7e exhibited greater antithrombotic activity than NBP and aspirin in rats, and protected against collagen and adrenaline-induced thrombosis in mice. Therefore, NO-releasing NBP derivatives possessed potent antiplatelet aggregation and antithrombotic activity. Our findings may aid in the design of new therapeutic agents for the treatment of thrombosis-related ischemic stroke.

1. Current studies indicate that nitric oxide (NO) plays a dual role as both a protective and pathogenic factor in focal cerebral ischaemia depending on the level, location, source and environment. The present study hypothesized that the NO donor ZJM-289 could inhibit cerebral ischaemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury and investigated the mechanism of the beneficial events. 2. Adult male rats were randomly divided into four groups: (i) sham operated; (ii) I/R (ischaemia for 90 min and reperfusion for 24 h) treated with vehicle; (iii) I/R treated with 0.1 mmol/kg body weight ZJM-289; and (iv) I/R treated with 0.2 mmol/kg body weight ZJM-289. We evaluated the changes in brain infarction, brain-water content, neurological deficits and histopathology. Western blot analysis was used to study the expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) in the brain after I/R. The levels of NO and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) were also determined. 3. ZJM-289 reduced infarct volume and brain-water content in ischemic brains and promoted functional recovery. Western blotting showed significant inhibition of nNOS in ZJM-289 treated rats compared with untreated rats. However, eNOS expression in the ischemic brain was enhanced in the ZJM-289 groups. The cGMP and NO levels increased in the ZJM-289 groups after I/R. The study showed that ZJM-289 could alleviate cerebral injury after I/R through inhibition of nNOS and stimulation of the NO/soluble guanylate cyclase/cGMP pathway. Therefore, a suitable NO donor might be an effective candidate for the treatment of acute stroke by neuroprotection.

The monocarbonyl analogs of curcumin (MCACs) have been widely studied for their promising antitumor activity. Pyrazole is a five-membered aromatic heterocyclic system with various bioactivities incorporated frequently in drugs. However, few of MCACs inspired pyrazole analogues were investigated. To search for more potent cytotoxic agents based on MCACs, a series of new 1,5-diaryl/heteroaryl-1,4-pentadien-3-ones inspired pyrazole moiety was synthesized and evaluated on their anti-colon cancer activities. Methods: Fifteen new compounds were synthesized and characterized by spectral datum, and then they were tested preliminarily by MTT assay for their cytotoxic activities against a panel of four human cancer cell lines, namely, gastric (SGC-7901), liver (HepG2), lung (A549), and colon (SW620) cancer cells. Compound 7h exhibited excellent selectivity and outstanding anti-proliferation activity against SW620 cells among these 15 compounds. Further, the mechanisms were investigated by transwell migration and invasion assay, clonogenic assay, cell apoptosis analysis, cell cycle analysis, Western blot analysis. Results: The IC 50 value of 7h against SW620 cells was 12 nM, being more potent than curcumin (IC 50 = 9.36 μM), adriamysin (IC 50 = 3.28 μM) and oxaliplatin (IC 50 = 13.33 μM). Further assays showed that 7h inhibited SW620 cell migration, invasion and colony formation obviously, which was due to its ability to induce cell cycle arrest in the G2/M and S phases and apoptosis. Western blot assay revealed that 7h decreased the protein expression of ATM gene, which may primarily contribute to its anticancer activity against SW620 cells. Conclusion: A new MCACs 7h was synthesized and found to exhibit excellent antiproliferation activity against SW620 cells. Further studies indicated that 7h exerted its anticancer activity against SW620 cells probably via decreasing the ATM protein expression. The present study suggested that 7h was a promising candidate as an anti-colon cancer drug for future development.

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