7200-26-2Relevant articles and documents
Design and characterization of Squalene-Gusperimus nanoparticles for modulation of innate immunity
Navarro Chica, Carlos E.,de Haan, Bart J.,Faas,Smink, Alexandra M.,Sierra, Ligia,de Vos, Paul,López, Betty L.
, (2020/10/02)
Immunosuppressive drugs are widely used for the treatment of autoimmune diseases and to prevent rejection in organ transplantation. Gusperimus is a relatively safe immunosuppressive drug with low cytotoxicity and reversible side effects. It is highly hydrophilic and unstable. Therefore, it requires administration in high doses which increases its side effects. To overcome this, here we encapsulated gusperimus as squalene-gusperimus nanoparticles (Sq-GusNPs). These nanoparticles (NPs) were obtained from nanoassembly of the squalene gusperimus (Sq-Gus) bioconjugate in water, which was synthesized starting from squalene. The size, charge, and dispersity of the Sq-GusNPs were optimized using the response surface methodology (RSM). The colloidal stability of the Sq-GusNPs was tested using an experimental block design at different storage temperatures after preparing them at different pH conditions. Sq-GusNPs showed to be colloidally stable, non-cytotoxic, readily taken up by cells, and with an anti-inflammatory effect sustained over time. We demonstrate that gusperimus was stabilized through its conjugation with squalene and subsequent formation of NPs allowing its controlled release. Overall, the Sq-GusNPs have the potential to be used as an alternative in approaches for the treatment of different pathologies where a controlled release of gusperimus could be required.
Nanolipid-trehalose conjugates and nano-assemblies as putative autophagy inducers
Colombo, Eleonora,Biocotino, Michele,Frapporti, Giulia,Randazzo, Pietro,Christodoulou, Michael S.,Piccoli, Giovanni,Polito, Laura,Seneci, Pierfausto,Passarella, Daniele
, (2019/09/10)
The disaccharide trehalose is an autophagy inducer, but its pharmacological application is severely limited by its poor pharmacokinetics properties. Thus, trehalose was coupled via suitable spacers with squalene (in 1:2 and 1:1 stoichiometry) and with betulinic acid (1:2 stoichiometry), in order to yield the corresponding nanolipid-trehalose conjugates 1-Sq-mono, 2-Sq-bis and 3-Be-mono. The conjugates were assembled to produce the corresponding nano-assemblies (NAs) Sq-NA1, Sq-NA2 and Be-NA3. The synthetic and assembly protocols are described in detail. The resulting NAs were characterized in terms of loading and structure, and tested in vitro for their capability to induce autophagy. Our results are presented and thoroughly commented upon.
Squalene-Hopene Cyclase: On the Polycyclization Reactions of Squalene Analogues Bearing Ethyl Groups at Positions C-6, C-10, C-15, and C-19
Takahashi, Kazunari,Sasaki, Yusuke,Hoshino, Tsutomu
supporting information, p. 1477 - 1490 (2018/04/06)
Squalene-hopene cyclase (SHC) has been found to convert acyclic squalene into 6,6,6,6,5-fused pentacyclic triterpenes hopene and hopanol. The enzymatic reactions of squalene analogues bearing ethyl groups in lieu of methyl groups at positions C-6, C-10, C-15, and C-19 have been examined to investigate whether the larger ethyl substituents (a C1 unit increment) are accepted as substrates and to investigate how these substitutions affect polycyclization cascades. Analogue 6-ethylsqualene 19a did not cyclize, which indicates that substitution with the bulky group at C-6 completely inhibited the polycyclization reaction. In contrast, 19-ethylsqualene 19b afforded a wide spectrum of cyclization products, including mono-, bi-, tetra-, and pentacyclic products in a ratio of 6:6:1:2. The production of tetra- and pentacyclic scaffolds suggests that the reaction cavity for D-ring formation site is somewhat loosely packed and can accept the 19-ethyl group, and that a robust hydrophobic interaction exists between the 19-ethyl group and the binding site. In contrast to 19b, 10-ethylsqualene 20a and 15-ethylsqualene 20b afforded mainly mono- and bicyclic products, that is, the polycyclization cascade terminated prematurely at the bicyclic reaction stage. Therefore, the catalytic domains for the 10- and 15-methyl binding sites are tightly packed and cannot fully accommodate the Et substituents. The cyclization pathways followed by the ethyl-substituted substrates in the presence of SHC and lanosterol and β-amyrin synthases are compared.
