Bioassay to investigate the biological activity of flavonoids and research to discover the foamyviral receptor

Aufgrund ihrer gut dokumentierten, umfangreichen gesundheitsfördernden biologischen Aktivitäten wird den Flavonoiden eine große Bedeutung zugeordnet. Die Ergebnisse von in vitro- und Tierstudien deuten zudem darauf hin, dass diese Verbindungen bei der Prävention und Therapie von Erkrankungen wie Krebs oder Alzheimer Krankheit (AD) positive Effekte zeigen. Zur besseren Charakterisierung der Interaktion von Flavonoiden mit Krebszellen wurden von uns die Cytotoxizität verschiedener Flavonoide auf T-Lymphoblastomzellen untersucht und Strukturelemente identifiziert, welche für einen Flavonoid-induzierten Zelltod relevant sind. Weitere Studien waren der potentiell neuroprotektiven Wirkung von Flavonoiden gewidmet. Die sowohl in neuronalen Zellkulturen als auch in transgenen Alzheimer-Mäusen (TgAPPsw) festgestellte Erhöhung der sAPPα Produktion und Reduktion von Aβ-Bildung wurden mit Aktivitäts- und Expressionssteigerung der α-Sekretase ADAM-10 assoziiert. Um herauszufinden, ob Flavonoide eine neuroprotektive Wirkung zeigen, wurden erste Vorbereitungen für ein Flavonoid-Screening mit einer sowohl hAPP alsauch ADAM-10 stabil transfizierten HT1080 Zellen getroffen. Dies beinhaltete die Suche nach einer potenten siRNA/shRNA und einem effektiven Flavonoid. Im zweiten Teil der Arbeit wurden Experimente durchgeführt, um die Rolle von Heparansulfat (HS) bei der foamyviralen Anbindung an die Wirtszelle zu untersuchen. Foamyviren (FV) sind Spumaviren und gehören zur Familie der Retroviren. Bei unseren Studien wurde die Bindung von FV an Heparin, die Korrelation der Suszeptibilität verschiedener Zellen mit zellulärem HS und die Reduktion der Infektion durch lösliches Heparin sowie durch enzymatischen HS-Abbau festgestellt.Flavonoids have well-documented, beneficial biological effects. Furthermore different in vitro- and animal-experiments indicate that these compounds demonstrate positive effects in prevention and therapy of diseases, like cancer or neurodegenerative diseases. In order to characterize the interactionsbetween flavonoids and cancer cells, we examined the cytotoxicity of different flavonoids on a human leukemia cell line and identified structure elements that could be associated to flavonoid-induced cell death. Our further studies were dedicated to the potentially neuroprotective activity of flavonoids. It has been described that in neuronal cells as well as in transgenic AD mice EGCG increases levels of sAPPα- and reduces Aβ-production. This influence of EGCG was associated with enhanced activity and expression of the α-secretase, ADAM-10. To find out, if flavonoids showed neuroprotective activity, preliminary work for a later flavonoid screening on hAPP and ADAM-10 wit stably-transfected HT1080 cells was done. This includes the determination of flavonoid candidates and research of effective siRNAs towards ADAM-10. Furtherrmore we investigated the role of heparansulfat (HS) in attachment of FV to host cell. Foamyviruses (FV) are retroviruses and belong to the subfamily of spumaretroviruses. In our studies we discovered the binding of FV on heparin, the correlation between susceptibility of different cells and cellular HS and the reduction of infectivity through soluble heparin and through enzymatic HS-degradation

Chemopreventive Potential of Flavones, Flavonols, and their Glycosides.

Collaboration between Leicester Institute for Pharmaceutical Innovation and the Institute for Allied Heath Sciences Research.Epidemiological studies have long indicated a possible role for dietary flavonoids, notably flavones and flavonols, in the prevention of a range of degenerative diseases, e.g. cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and neurological disorders like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. The flavonoids are a large and variable group of compounds, comprising thousands of different structures. The bulk of the dietary flavonoids occur as glycosides. The effect of flavonoid aglycones and their corresponding glycosides on cell metabolism and aetiology of degenerative diseases has been a topic of interest for a number of decades. In contrast, the role of the metabolic products of dietary flavonoid that reach all parts of the human body through systemic circulation, has received much less attention. Studies on animal and human metabolism have shown that the amount flavone and flavonol glycosides is absorbed intact is negligible; the bulk is absorbed only after deglycosylation. Thus, dietary glycosides are not likely to play a direct role in chemoprevention. However, the sugar groups on glycosides can greatly affect the bioavailability of flavones and flavonols. Flavonoids linked with indigestible sugars are not absorbed in the small intestine, but are transported through the digestive tract to be degraded by gut bacteria in the large intestine. The compounds that directly play a tole in the prevention of degenerative diseases are most likely not dietary flavones themselves, but rather their metabolites and conjugation products