Psychoactive Plant Database - Neuroactive Phytochemical Collection

1. J Control Release. 2024 Nov;375:47-59. doi: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2024.08.052.
Epub  2024 Sep 4.

Exploring the optimal chain length of modification module in disulfide bond 
bridged paclitaxel prodrug nanoassemblies for breast tumor treatment.

Wang D(1), Huang Y(1), Yuan J(1), Wang S(1), Sheng J(1), Zhao Y(1), Zhang H(1), 
Wang X(1), Yu Y(2), Shi X(3), He Z(4), Liu T(5), Sun B(6), Sun J(7).

Author information:
(1)Wuya College of Innovation, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang 
110016, China.
(2)School of Pharmacy, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang 110016, 
China.
(3)Department of Pharmacy, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinzhou Medical 
University, Jinzhou 121001, China.
(4)Wuya College of Innovation, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang 
110016, China; Joint International Research Laboratory of Intelligent Drug 
Delivery Systems, Ministry of Education, Shenyang 110016, China.
(5)Wuya College of Innovation, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang 
110016, China. Electronic address: liutian@syphu.edu.cn.
(6)Wuya College of Innovation, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang 
110016, China; Joint International Research Laboratory of Intelligent Drug 
Delivery Systems, Ministry of Education, Shenyang 110016, China. Electronic 
address: sunbingjun@syphu.edu.cn.
(7)Wuya College of Innovation, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang 
110016, China; Joint International Research Laboratory of Intelligent Drug 
Delivery Systems, Ministry of Education, Shenyang 110016, China. Electronic 
address: sunjin@syphu.edu.cn.

In the prodrug-based self-assembled nanoassemblies, prodrugs usually consist of 
drug modules, response modules, and modification modules. Modification modules 
play a critical role in regulating the nano-assembly ability of the prodrugs. 
Herein, we carried out a "fatty alcoholization" strategy and chose various 
lengths of aliphatic alcohol chains (AC) as modification modules to construct 
disulfide bond bridged paclitaxel (PTX) prodrug nanoassemblies. The PTX-AC 
prodrugs would self-assemble into nanoassemblies (PTX-AC PNs) with higher drug 
loading, stability, and tumor selectivity than commercial preparations. After 
comprehensive exploration, we found the chain length (AC12, AC16, AC20, AC24) of 
modification modules affected the assembly of PTX-AC PNs, further leading to 
disparate in vivo fate and antitumor efficacy. With the increase of the chain 
length of the modification modules (from AC12 to AC20), the assembly ability of 
the nanoassemblies was improved, attributed to the appropriate enhancement of 
hydrophobic force. When the chain length was further increased to AC24, the 
excessive hydrophobic force will lead to the aggregation of prodrugs and weaken 
the assembly ability. Therefore, PTX-AC20 PNs with proper chain length may solve 
the paradox of efficacy and tolerance in 4 T1 breast tumor owing to their 
optimal nano-assembly stability and modest redox-sensitivity. In short, this 
work highlighted the importance of screening optimal modification modules in 
developing prodrug nanoassemblies.

Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2024.08.052
PMID: 39222794 [Indexed for MEDLINE]

Conflict of interest statement: Declaration of competing interest The authors 
report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the 
content and writing of this article.


2. J Chem Ecol. 2024 Aug;50(7-8):330-337. doi: 10.1007/s10886-024-01506-w. Epub 
2024 May 13.

Sex Pheromone of the Saturniid Moth Hemileuca nevadensis from Southern 
California.

McElfresh JS(1), Millar JG(2).

Author information:
(1)Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA, 92521, 
USA.
(2)Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA, 92521, 
USA. millar@ucr.edu.

The major and possibly only component of the sex attractant pheromone of the 
moth Hemileuca nevadensis (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) from southern California 
was determined to be (E10,Z12)-hexadecadienal (E10,Z12-16:Ald). Detectable 
quantities of the analogs (E10,Z12)-hexadecadien-1-yl acetate (E10,Z12-16:Ac) 
and (E10,Z12)-hexadecadien-1-ol (E10,Z12-16:OH) were also present in solvent 
extracts of sex pheromone glands, and stimulated male antennae in coupled gas 
chromatography-electroantennogram detector (GC-EAD) assays. GC-EAD traces from 
solid phase microextraction (SPME) wipe samples of sex pheromone glands of 
calling females confirmed the presence of E10,Z12-16:Ald and traces of 
E10,Z12-16:OH on the gland surface, but E10,Z12-16:Ac was not detected. Despite 
evidence for the presence of all three compounds in extracts, behavioral 
responses to synthetic compounds in the field suggested that only E10,Z12-16:Ald 
is required for optimal attraction.

© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business 
Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

DOI: 10.1007/s10886-024-01506-w
PMID: 38739336 [Indexed for MEDLINE]


3. Cancer Rep (Hoboken). 2024 Apr;7(4):e2057. doi: 10.1002/cnr2.2057.

Comparison of programmed death-ligand 1 expression in adenocarcinoma and 
squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix in paraffin blocks of patients with 
cervical cancer.

Hosseini MS(1), Shafizadeh F(2), Bahremani MH(3), Farzaneh F(1), Ashrafganjoei 
T(1), Arab M(2), Talayeh M(2), Jafari F(4)(5), Abdshah A(6).

Author information:
(1)Preventative Gynecology Research Center, Department of Obstetrics and 
Gynecology, Imam Hossein Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical 
Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
(2)Department of Gynecology Oncology, Imam Hossein Medical Center, Shahid 
Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
(3)Department of Pathology, Imam Hossein Medical Center, Shahid Beheshti 
University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
(4)Radiation Oncology Research Center (RORC), Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex, 
Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
(5)Radiation Oncology Department, Cancer Institute, Imam-Khomeini Hospital 
Complex, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
(6)School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

AIMS: Cervical cancer (CC) is a common malignancy in women, predominantly caused 
by human papillomavirus. The most subtypes are adenocarcinomas (AC) and squamous 
cell carcinomas (SCC), which show various features and treatment responses. 
Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) and programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) as 
Immune checkpoint molecules, play a role in immune evasion. We investigated 
PD-L1 expression in AC and SCC of the cervix and explored its link to clinical 
characteristics.
METHODS AND RESULTS: The present cross-sectional research was done between 2016 
and 2022 on samples in Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences-affiliated 
hospitals in Iran. Histological tissue samples of CCs (16 AC and 48 SCC) were 
assessed, and clinical information was obtained by reviewing their medical 
documents. PD-L1 expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry and we used 
the combined positive score. SCC cases showed a higher (not significant) PD-L1 
expression. The PD-L1 expression and clinical characteristics were not 
significantly correlated in both subgroups.
CONCLUSION: Although SCC cases exhibited higher PD-L1 expression, this 
difference was non-significant. More investigations should highlight the role of 
PD-L1 in CC and the potential benefits of immunotherapy.

© 2024 The Authors. Cancer Reports published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.

DOI: 10.1002/cnr2.2057
PMCID: PMC11044915
PMID: 38662366 [Indexed for MEDLINE]

Conflict of interest statement: The authors have stated explicitly that there 
are no conflicts of interest in connection with this article.


4. Insect Sci. 2024 Oct;31(5):1503-1518. doi: 10.1111/1744-7917.13367. Epub 2024 
Apr 14.

Functional types of long trichoid sensilla responding to sex pheromone 
components in Plutella xylostella.

Li XF(#)(1), Qie XT(#)(1), Mo BT(2)(3), Wang CF(1), Xing ZH(1), Zhao JY(1), Wang 
CZ(2)(3), Hao C(1), Ma L(1), Yan XZ(1).

Author information:
(1)College of Plant Protection, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu, Shanxi 
Province, China.
(2)State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, 
Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
(3)CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese 
Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
(#)Contributed equally

Sex pheromones, which consist of multiple components in specific ratios promote 
intraspecific sexual communications of insects. Plutella xylostella (L.) is a 
worldwide pest of cruciferous vegetables, the mating behavior of which is highly 
dependent on its olfactory system. Long trichoid sensilla on male antennae are 
the main olfactory sensilla that can sense sex pheromones. However, the 
underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, 3 sex pheromone components 
from sex pheromone gland secretions of P. xylostella female adults were 
identified as Z11-16:Ald, Z11-16:Ac, and Z11-16:OH in a ratio of 9.4 : 100 : 17 
using gas chromatography - mass spectrometry and gas chromatography with 
electroantennographic detection. Electrophysiological responses of 581 and 385 
long trichoid sensilla of male adults and female adults, respectively, to the 3 
components were measured by single sensillum recording. Hierarchical clustering 
analysis showed that the long trichoid sensilla were of 6 different types. In 
the male antennae, 52.32%, 5.51%, and 1.89% of the sensilla responded to 
Z11-16:Ald, Z11-16:Ac, and Z11-16:OH, which are named as A type, B type, and C 
type sensilla, respectively; 2.93% named as D type sensilla responded to both 
Z11-16:Ald and Z11-16:Ac, and 0.34% named as E type sensilla were sensitive to 
both Z11-16:Ald and Z11-16:OH. In the female antennae, only 7.53% of long 
trichoid sensilla responded to the sex pheromone components, A type sensilla 
were 3.64%, B type and C type sensilla were both 0.52%, D type sensilla were 
1.30%, and 1.56% of the sensilla responded to all 3 components, which were named 
as F type sensilla. The responding long trichoid sensilla were located from the 
base to the terminal of the male antennae and from the base to the middle of the 
female antennae. The pheromone mixture (Z11-16:Ald : Z11-16:Ac : Z11-16:OH = 9.4 
: 100 : 17) had a weakly repellent effect on female adults of P. xylostella. Our 
results lay the foundation for further studies on sex pheromone communications 
in P. xylostella.

© 2024 Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

DOI: 10.1111/1744-7917.13367
PMID: 38616579 [Indexed for MEDLINE]


5. Pestic Biochem Physiol. 2024 Mar;200:105832. doi:
10.1016/j.pestbp.2024.105832.  Epub 2024 Feb 19.

Knockout of the delta11-desaturase SfruDES1 disrupts sex pheromone biosynthesis, 
mating and oviposition in the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda.

Shi L(1), Liu X(1), Liu H(1), Shan S(2), Shen S(3), Bai M(4), Lan H(1), 
Khashaveh A(1), Gu S(5), Zhang Y(6).

Author information:
(1)State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, 
Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 
100193, China.
(2)State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, 
Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 
100193, China; State Key Laboratory of Resource Insects, Institute of 
Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, 
China.
(3)State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, 
Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 
100193, China; College of Agronomy & Reseources and Enviroment, Tianjin 
Agricultural University, Tianjin 300384, China.
(4)State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, 
Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 
100193, China; College of Plant Science &Technology, Huazhong Agricultural 
University, Wuhan 430070, China.
(5)College of Plant Protection, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, 
China.
(6)State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, 
Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 
100193, China. Electronic address: yjzhang@ippcaas.cn.

Moth insects rely on sex pheromones for long distance attraction and searching 
for sex partners. The biosynthesis of moth sex pheromones involves the catalytic 
action of multiple enzymes, with desaturases playing a crucial role in the 
process of carbon chain desaturation. However, the specific desaturases involved 
in sex pheromone biosynthesis in fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda, 
have not been clarified. In this study, a Δ11 desaturase (SfruDES1) gene in FAW 
was knocked out using the CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing system. A homozygous mutant 
of SfruDES1 was obtained through genetic crosses. The gas chromatography-mass 
spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis results showed that the three main sex pheromone 
components (Z7-12:Ac, Z9-14:Ac, and Z11-16:Ac) and the three minor components 
(Z9-14:Ald, E11-14:Ac and Z11-14:Ac) of FAW were not detected in homozygous 
mutant females compared to the wild type. Furthermore, behavioral assay 
demonstrated that the loss of SfruDES1 resulted in a significant reduction in 
the attractiveness of females to males, along with disruptions in mating 
behavior and oviposition. Additionally, in a heterologous expression system, 
recombinant SfruDES1 could introduce a cis double bond at the Δ11 position in 
palmitic acid, which resulted in the changes in components of the synthesized 
products. These findings suggest desaturase plays a key role in the biosynthesis 
of sex pheromones, and knockout of the SfruDES1 disrupts sex pheromone 
biosynthesis and mating behavior in FAW. The SfruDES1 could serve as tool to 
develop a control method for S. frugiperda.

Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

DOI: 10.1016/j.pestbp.2024.105832
PMID: 38582595 [Indexed for MEDLINE]

Conflict of interest statement: Declaration of competing interest The authors 
declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal 
relationships.