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4-(5'-Dimethylamino)-Naphthalenesulfonyl-2(3H)-Benzoxazolone (W3D) Ameliorated COPD Lung Injury Through Regulating
Qikai Su1, Yichen Yang1, Zhichao Ren1
1School of Pharmacy, Medicinal Basic Research Innovation Center of Chronic Kidney Disease, Ministry of Education, Shanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Drug Synthesis and Novel Pharmaceutical Preparation Technology, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China.
Abstract:
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remains a significant global health challenge, which urges the discovery of novel drugs. In this article, we investigated the therapeutic potential and action mechanism of a new benzoxazolone derivative, 4-(5'-dimethylamino)-naphthalenesulfonyl-2(3H)-benzoxazolone (W3D), synthesized by our research team, against COPD both in vivo and in vitro. The results demonstrated that W3D could down-regulate inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and MMP-9, thereby reducing airway inflammation and improving lung function, which together alleviated lung injury in COPD. Meanwhile, W3D increased the expression of tight junction proteins claudin-1 and occludin and attenuated the activation of the Toll-like receptor 4/nuclear factor kappa B (TLR4)/NF-κB) signaling pathway to maintain the integrity of bronchial epithelial cells. Additionally, W3D restored the expression of glycolytic enzymes such as LDHA, PKM2, and HK2 to modulate lactate levels, thereby correcting glycolytic pathway dysregulation. W3D decreased intracellular lactate content, down-regulated global Kla levels and H3K18la expression, and regulated macrophage polarization in cigarette smoke extract (CSE)-induced macrophages. Furthermore, these therapeutic effects of W3D were compromised in the presence of the glycolytic inhibitor 2-deoxy-d-glucose (2-DG), indicating that W3D regulated macrophage polarization by inhibiting glycolysis. Our results demonstrated that glycolysis was activated in macrophages exposed to CSE and served as a key role in the macrophage polarization process. Inhibiting glycolysis in macrophages might be a potential therapeutic direction for COPD. In addition, given the confirmed protective effect against COPD, W3D could serve as a promising lead compound for further structural modifications of innovative drugs.
