Chelerythrine (chloride)

Chelerythrine chloride is a potent, cell-permeable inhibitor of protein kinase C, with an IC₅₀ of 660 nM. Chelerythrine chloride inhibits the Bcl-XL-Bak BH3 peptide binding with IC₅₀ of 1.5 μM and displaces Bax from Bcl-XL. Chelerythrine chloride induces apoptosis and autophagy. IC50 & Target: IC50: 660 nM (protein kinase C) In Vitro: Chelerythrine inhibits the BclXL-Bak BH3 peptide binding with IC₅₀ of 1.5 μM and displaces Bax, a BH3-containing protein, from BclXL. Mammalian cells treated with Chelerythrine undergoes apoptosis with characteristic features that suggest involvement of the mitochondrial pathway^[1]. Chelerythrine treatment inhibits LPS-induced TNF-α level and NO production in LPS-induced murine peritoneal macrophages through selective inhibition of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and extracellular signal-regulated protein kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2) activation. Moreover, the effects of chelerythrine on NO and cytokine TNF-α production can possibly be explained by the role of p38 MAPK and ERK1/2 in the regulation of inflammatory mediators expression^[2]. Chelerythrine shows cytotoxic effect on the human monocytic leukaemia cells with LD₅₀ value of 3.46 μM. Two hours after LPS stimulation, cells influenced by sanguinarine and Chelerythrine significantly decline the CCL-2 expression by a factors of 3.5 and 1.9^[3]. Chelerythrine chloride significantly enhances the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, chelerythrine chloride inhibits the phosphorylation of p38^[4]. In Vivo: Chelerythrine displays significant anti-inflammatory effects in experimentally induced mice endotoxic shock model in vivo through inhibition of LPS-induced tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) level and nitric oxide (NO) production in serum^[2]. Chelerythrine chloride (5 mg/kg/day, i.p.) induces apoptosis of RCC cells without significant toxicity to mice. Chelerythrine Chloride treatment leads to a dose-dependent accumulation of p53^[4].