Treatment of 5-[2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)vinyl]benzene-1,3-diol (resveratrol) with an equimolar amount of silver(I) acetate in dry MeOH at 50 degrees C for 1 h followed by chromatographic purification with a short silica gel column allowed the isolation of its (E)-dehydrodimer, 5-[5-[2-(3,5-dihydroxyphenyl)vinyl]-2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2,3-dihydrobenzofuran-3-yl]benzene-1,3-diol, as a racemic mixture in high yield. The present method was applicable to the oxidative dimerization of 4-hydroxystilbenes such as trans-styrylphenol and 5-[6-hydroxy-2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-4-[2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)vinyl]-2,3-dihydrobenzofuran-3-yl]benzene-1,3-diol (epsilon-viniferin) leading to the corresponding 2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2,3-dihydrobenzofurans possessing various types of biological activities.

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O. Methoxyflavones protect cells against endoplasmic reticulum stress and neurotoxin. Enhanced endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress leads to cell death in various pathophysiological situations. During a search for compounds that regulate ER stress, we identified methoxyflavones, a group of flavonoids, as strong protective agents against ER stress. Analysis in mouse insulinoma MIN6 cells revealed that methoxyflavones mildly activated the eukaryotic initiation factor 2␣ and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor pathways, but not the XBP1 pathway, and induced downstream genes, including glucose-regulated protein (GRP) 78, a molecular chaperone in the ER. The protective effect of methoxyflavones was enhanced by agents that increase intracellular cAMP levels such as forskolin, dibutyryl-cAMP and IBMX, but suppressed by the protein kinase A (PKA) inhibitor H-89, suggesting involvement of the PKA pathway in the regulation of ER stress by methoxyflavones. Consistent with the results in cultured cells, pretreatment of mice with tangeretin, a methoxyflavone, enhanced expression of GRP78 and HO-1 without causing ER stress in renal tubular epithelium and prevented tunicamycin-induced cell death. Furthermore, preadministration of tangeretin in mice enhanced expression of GRP78 in the substantia nigra pars compacta and protected dopaminergic neurons against 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine, a neurotoxin that induces both oxidative and ER stress. These results suggest that methoxyflavones play an important role in the regulation of ER stress and could be a therapeutic target for the ER stress-related diseases.

O. A dibenzoylmethane derivative protects dopaminergic neurons against both oxidative stress and endoplasmic reticulum stress.

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