monocillin-i and monorden

Eight new β-resorcylic acid lactones (RALs), including the hypothemycin-type compounds paecilomycins N-P (1-3) and the radicicol-type metabolites dechloropochonin I (4), monocillins VI (5) and VII (6), 4'-hydroxymonocillin IV (7), and 4'-methoxymonocillin IV (8), along with nine known RALs (9-17), were isolated from the cultures of Paecilomyces sp. SC0924. Compounds 1 and 2 feature a novel 6/11/5 ring system, and 3 is the first 5'-keto RAL. The structures of 1-8 were elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analysis, X-ray diffraction analysis, and theoretical calculations of ECD spectra. Compounds 3, 5, and 6 exhibit cytotoxicity against MCF-7, A549, and HeLa cells, and compounds 5 and 7 display antifungal activity against Peronophythora litchii.

Topics: Antifungal Agents; HeLa Cells; Humans; Hydroxybenzoate Ethers; Hydroxybenzoates; Lactones; Macrolides; Molecular Structure; Paecilomyces; Phytophthora; X-Ray Diffraction; Zearalenone

WNT-5A, a secretory glycoprotein, is related to the proliferation of dermal papilla cells. To develop a hair-growth stimulant, we have been searching for inhibitors of WNT-5A expression. We identified radicicol (1) as an active compound, and synthesized several radicicol derivatives. Among them, 6,7-dihydro-10alpha-hydroxy radicicol (31) was found to function as a new potent WNT-5A expression inhibitor with relatively low toxicity and excellent stability.

Topics: Dermis; Gene Expression; Humans; Macrolides; Models, Molecular; Molecular Structure; Proto-Oncogene Proteins; Structure-Activity Relationship; Wnt Proteins; Wnt-5a Protein

Colletotrichum graminicola is a systemic vascular pathogen that causes anthracnose stalk rot and leaf blight of maize. In the course of an effort to explore the potential presence and roles of C. graminicola metabolites in maize, ethyl acetate extracts of solid substrate fermentations of several C. graminicola isolates from Michigan and Illinois were found to be active against Aspergillus flavus and Fusarium verticillioides, both mycotoxin-producing seed-infecting fungal pathogens. Chemical investigations of the extract of one such isolate (NRRL 47511) led to the isolation of known metabolites monorden (also known as radicicol) and monocillins I-III as major components. Monorden and monocillin I displayed in vitro activity against the stalk- and ear-rot pathogen Stenocarpella maydis while only the most abundant metabolite (monorden) showed activity against foliar pathogens Alternaria alternata, Bipolaris zeicola, and Curvularia lunata. Using LC-HRESITOFMS, monorden was detected in steam-sterilized maize stalks and stalk residues inoculated with C. graminicola but not in the necrotic stalk tissues of wound-inoculated plants grown in an environmental chamber. Monorden and monocillin I can bind and inhibit plant Hsp90, a chaperone of R-proteins. It is hypothesized that monorden and monocillins could support the C. graminicola disease cycle by disrupting maize plant defenses and by excluding other fungi from necrotic tissues and crop residues. This is the first report of natural products from C. graminicola, as well as the production of monorden and monocillins by a pathogen of cereals.

Topics: Acremonium; Antibiosis; Antifungal Agents; Ascomycota; Aspergillus flavus; Colletotrichum; Fermentation; Fungi; Fusarium; Illinois; Lactones; Macrolides; Michigan; Plant Diseases; Plant Leaves; Seeds; Soil Microbiology; Zea mays

Fungal polyketides with the resorcylic acid lactone (RAL) scaffold are of interest for growth stimulation, the treatment of cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases. The RAL radicicol is a nanomolar inhibitor of the chaperone Hsp90, whose repression leads to a combinatorial blockade of cancer-causing pathways. Clustered genes for radicicol biosynthesis were identified and functionally characterized from the endophytic fungus Chaetomium chiversii, and compared to recently described RAL biosynthetic gene clusters. Radicicol production is abolished upon targeted inactivation of a putative cluster-specific regulator, or either of the two polyketide synthases that are predicted to collectively synthesize the radicicol polyketide core. Genomic evidence supports the existence of flavin-dependent halogenases in fungi: inactivation of such a putative halogenase from the C. chiversii radicicol locus yields dechloro-radicicol (monocillin I). Inactivation of a cytochrome P450 epoxidase furnishes pochonin D, a deepoxy-dihydro radicicol analog.

Topics: Chaetomium; Cloning, Molecular; Enzyme Inhibitors; HSP90 Heat-Shock Proteins; Lactones; Macrolides; Models, Biological; Molecular Structure; Multigene Family; Zearalenone

In an effort to discover small molecule inhibitors of Hsp90, we have screened over 500 EtOAc extracts of Sonoran desert plant-associated fungi using a two-stage strategy consisting of a primary cell-based heat shock induction assay (HSIA) followed by a secondary biochemical luciferase refolding assay (LRA). Bioassay-guided fractionation of extracts active in these assays derived from Chaetomium chiversii and Paraphaeosphaeria quadriseptata furnished the Hsp90 inhibitors radicicol (1) and monocillin I (2), respectively. In SAR studies, 1, 2, and their analogues, 3-16, were evaluated in these assays, and the antiproliferative activity of compounds active in both assays was determined using the breast cancer cell line MCF-7. Radicicol and monocillin I were also evaluated in a solid-phase competition assay for their ability to bind Hsp90 and to deplete cellular levels of two known Hsp90 client proteins with relevance to breast cancer, estrogen receptor (ER), and the type 1 insulin-like growth factor receptor (IGF-1R). Some inferences on SAR were made considering the crystal structure of the N-terminus of yeast Hsp90 bound to 1 and the observed biological activities of 1-16. Isolation of radicicol and monocillin I in this study provides evidence that we have developed an effective strategy for discovering natural product-based Hsp90 inhibitors with potential anticancer activity.

Topics: Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; Ascomycota; Breast Neoplasms; Desert Climate; HSP90 Heat-Shock Proteins; Humans; Insulin-Like Growth Factor I; Lactones; Luciferases; Macrolides; Molecular Structure; Plants; Rabbits; Receptors, Estrogen; Structure-Activity Relationship; Tumor Cells, Cultured

Radicicol (1) exhibits potent anticancer properties in vitro, which are likely to be mediated through its high affinity (20 nM) for the molecular chaperone Hsp90. Recently, we reported the results of a synthetic program targeting radicicol (1) and monocillin I (2), highlighted by the application of ring-closing metathesis to macrolide formation. These efforts resulted in a highly convergent synthesis of radicicol dimethyl ether but failed in the removal of the two aryl methyl ethers. Simple exchange of these methyl ethers with more labile functionalities disabled a key esterification in the initial route. Through extended experimentation, a successful route to both natural products was secured, along with some intriguing results that emphasize the implications of this design on a broad range of fused benzoaliphatic targets, including analogues of these natural products.

Topics: Antifungal Agents; Antineoplastic Agents; Lactones; Macrolides; Stereoisomerism