Limonoids with Wnt signal inhibitory activity isolated from the fruits of Azadirachta excelsa

The Wnt signal regulates various biological processes, and its aberrant activation is associated with the development of diseases. Thus, inhibiting the Wnt signal provides a promising strategy to treat these diseases. Our cell-based luciferase assay system, which targets the Wnt signal (TOP assay), revealed that Azadirachta excelsa inhibited the Wnt signal. The activity-guided isolation of the MeOH fruit extract of A. excelsa provided one new (1) and seven known (2-8) limonoids. Their structures were elucidated based on their spectroscopic data, and their NMR data were compared with those in the literature. Compounds 3-6 potently inhibited the Wnt signal with IC₅₀ values of 127 nM, 300 nM, 252 nM, and 121 nM, respectively. Compound 4 exhibited selective cytotoxicity against AGS and HCT116. Western blot analysis showed that 4 did not affect the level or localization of β-catenin, but downregulated the level of c-myc. Our results suggested that 4 may have inhibited the Wnt signal by affecting the components downstream of β-catenin.