Jeong Yoon Kim

Abnormal activation of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) contributes to tumorigenesis, while protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) contribute to tumor control. One of the most representative PTPs is Src homology region 2 (SH2) domain-containing phosphatase 1 (SHP-1), which is associated with either an increased or decreased survival rate depending on the cancer type. Hypermethylation in the promoter region of PTPN6, the gene for the SHP-1 protein, is a representative epigenetic regulation mechanism that suppresses the expression of SHP-1 in tumor cells. SHP-1 comprises two SH2 domains (N-SH2 and C-SH2) and a catalytic PTP domain. Intramolecular interactions between the N-SH2 and PTP domains inhibit SHP-1 activity. Opening of the PTP domain by a conformational change in SHP-1 increases enzymatic activity and contributes to a tumor control phenotype by inhibiting the activation of the Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK/STAT3) pathway. Although various compounds that increase SHP-1 activation or expression have been proposed as tumor therapeutics, except sorafenib and its derivatives, few candidates have demonstrated clinical significance. In some cancers, SHP-1 expression and activation contribute to a tumorigenic phenotype by inducing a tumor-friendly microenvironment. Therefore, developing anticancer drugs targeting SHP-1 must consider the effect of SHP-1 on both cell biological mechanisms of SHP-1 in tumor cells and the tumor microenvironment according to the target cancer type. Furthermore, the use of combination therapies should be considered.

This study aimed to isolate bacterial neuraminidase (BNA) inhibitory O-methylated quercetin derivatives from the aerial parts of S. pubescens. All the isolated compounds were identified as O-methylated quercetin (1–4), which were exhibited to be noncompetitive inhibitors against BNA, with IC50 ranging from 14.0 to 84.1 μM. The responsible compounds (1–4) showed a significant correlation between BNA inhibitory effects and the number of O-methyl groups on quercetin; mono (1, IC50 = 14.0 μM) > di (2 and 3, IC50 = 24.3 and 25.8 μM) > tri (4, IC50 = 84.1 μM). In addition, the binding affinities between BNA and inhibitors (1–4) were also examined by fluorescence quenching effect with the related constants (KSV, KA, and n). The most active inhibitor 1 possessed a KSV with 0.0252 × 105 L mol−1. Furthermore, the relative distribution of BNA inhibitory O-methylated quercetins (1–4) in S. pubescens extract was evaluated using LC-Q-TOF/MS analysis.