title: Brusatol isolated from Brucea javanica (L.) Merr. induces apoptotic death of insect cell lines.
abstract: Brucea javanica (L.) Merr. is a medicine plant distributed widely throughout Asia where its bitter fruits have been used traditionally in medicine for treating various ailments and controlling some pests. In recent years, concerns over the potential impact of synthetic pesticides on human health and environment have now become more pressing to develop environmentally friendly pesticides. In this paper, brusatol, a quassinoid, was isolated from the fruit of B. javanica, and identified using X-ray crystallographic analysis. Results showed that brusatol has potent contact toxicity (LD50, 2.91 μg/larva, 72 h) and anfieedant activity (AFC50, 17.4 mg/L, 48 h) against the third-instar larvae of Spodoptera exigua. Brusatol demonstrated cytotoxic effects to the tested insect cell lines, IOZCAS-Spex-II and Sf21, in a time- and dose-dependent manner. After brusatol treatment, apoptotic cell death with the DNA fragmentation, activation of caspase-3 and release of cytochrome c was preliminarily observed in both IOZCAS-Spex-II and Sf21. These results indicated the existence of apoptotic death with the mitochondrial-dependent pathway induced by brusatol in Sf21 and IOZCAS-Spex-II cell lines. Our studies will provide important knowledge to understand mechanisms of action of brusatol and to develop brusatol and its derivatives as insecticides.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, PR China.
authors.forename: Lan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, PR China.
authors.forename: Xuehuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, PR China.
authors.forename: Dejun
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, PR China.
authors.forename: Jingjing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, PR China. Electronic address: hyjiang6281@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Hongyun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, PR China.
authors.forename: Yanning
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, PR China.
authors.forename: Weizhi
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: He
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D032269:Brucea; D053148:Caspase 3 / Q000378:metabolism; D002460:Cell Line; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D045304:Cytochromes c / Q000378:metabolism; D053938:DNA Fragmentation; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000187:drug effects; D005638:Fruit; D007313:Insecta; D007306:Insecticides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000633:toxicity; D007814:Larva / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D015394:Molecular Structure; D036702:Quassins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000633:toxicity; D012639:Seeds / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D007306:Insecticides; D036702:Quassins; C020237:brusatol; D045304:Cytochromes c; D053148:Caspase 3
keywords: Apoptosis; Brucea javanica; Brusatol; Insecticidal activities; Spodoptera exigua