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A novel diterpenoid, sinueretone A ( 1 ), featuring an unprecedented tricyclo[12.1.0.0 5,9 ]pentadecane carbon framework, along with two new ( 2 and 3 ) and one known ( 4 ) casbane diterpenoids were isolated from the South China Sea soft coral Sinularia erecta . The structures of the new compounds, especially their absolute stereochemistry, were established by extensive spectroscopic analysis, various quantum chemical calculations, and/or X-ray diffraction analyses. A plausible biogenetic relationship of 1 - 4 was proposed, which gave an insight for future biomimetic synthesis of the novel compounds. In a bioassay, compounds 1 and 2 displayed interesting anti-inflammatory activity by the inhibition of lipopolysaccharide-induced tumor necrosis factor-α protein release.

The chemical investigation of the South China Sea soft coral Sinularia humilis has resulted in the isolation of a library of diverse diterpenoids, including four new cembranoids, namely, humilisins A-D ( 1 - 4 ), two new uncommon diterpenoids possessing a tetradecahydrocyclopenta[3',4']cyclobuta[1',2':4,5]cyclonona[1,2- b ]oxirene ring system, namely, humilisins E and F ( 5 and 6 ), and eight known related compounds ( 7 - 14 ). Humilisin A ( 1 ) is the first cembranoid with an ether linkage between C-3 and C-7. The structures and absolute configurations of 1 - 8 were determined by extensive spectroscopic data analyses, chemical reactions, and a series of quantum chemical calculations including quantum mechanical-nuclear magnetic resonance (QM-NMR), time-dependent density functional theory-electronic circular dichroism (TDDFT-ECD), and optical rotatory dispersion (ORD) methods. In bioassay, compound 6 displayed anti-inflammatory activity in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated BV-2 microglia cells.

A novel diterpenoid, sarcomililate A (1), possessing a previously undescribed tricyclo[11.3.0.0 2,16 ]hexadecane scaffold, along with two new cembranoids, sarcomililatols A and B (2 and 3), and two known related diterpenoids (4 and 5), was isolated from the Hainan soft coral Sarcophyton mililatensis. The complete chemical structure including absolute configuration (AC) of 1 was unambiguously determined by a combination of residual dipolar coupling (RDC)-based NMR analysis, TDDFT-ECD (ECD = electronic circular dichroism) calculation, and Snatzke's method. The AC of 1 was further confirmed by a comparison with 2, whose AC was determined by anomalous X-ray diffraction. A plausible biogenetic relationship of 1-3 was further proposed. All the reported compounds exhibited interesting inhibitory effects on the ConA-induced T lymphocytes and/or lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced B lymphocytes proliferation.

Objective: To evaluate the role of serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and urine basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in the differential diagnosis of vascular anomalies by receiver operating characteristic curve., Methods: Using the method of enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), 364 cases of various vascular anomalies (proliferating hemangiomas, n = 146; hemangiomas, n = 106; vascular malformations, n = 112) and 440 cases of various vascular anomalies (proliferating hemangiomas, n = 154; involuting hemangiomas, n = 148; vascular malformations, n = 138) subjects were examined for the serum levels of VEGF and the urine bFGF respectively. Nonparametric statistical tests were used for data analysis. The VEGF levels of proliferating hemangioma, involuting hemangioma, vascular malformation and control groups were analyzed by the Kruskal-Wallis test. When there was significance (P < 0.05), a subgroup analysis was performed by the Mann-Whitney U test. A receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve was constructed for both the serum levels of VEGF and urine bFGF to determine the optimal diagnostic cut-off to differentiate proliferating hemangioma from involuting hemangioma, vascular malformation and controls., Results: The serum level of VEGF and the urine bFGF in proliferating hemangiomas were significantly higher than those in involuting hemangiomas, vascular malformations and negative controls (P < 0.01). And the differences among the latter three groups were not statistically significant (P > 0.05). The optimal diagnostic cut-off point of serum VEGF and urine bFGF to differentiate proliferating hemangioma from involuting hemangioma, vascular malformation and controls was 99.6 pg/mg and 0.16 ng/mmol respectively. The area under ROC curve, the sensitivity and specificity were 99.7%, 99.3%, 99.7% and 91.9%, 98.7%, 71.1% respectively. The differences of the area under ROC curve of serum VEGF and urine bFGF showed no statistical significance (P > 0.05)., Conclusion: Serum VEGF and urine bFGF are helpful for differentiating proliferating hemangioma from involuting hemangioma, vascular malformation and controls. Both parameters have higher values of clinical application.