phomopsin and rhizoxin

This paper summarizes published data on the interactions of tubulin with antimitotic compounds that inhibit the binding of vinca alkaloids to the protein. These are all relatively complex natural products isolated from higher plants, fungi and marine invertebrate animals. These agents are maytansine, rhizoxin, phomopsin A, dolastatins 10 and 15 and halichondrin B and their congeners. Effects on tubulin polymerization, ligand binding interactions and structure-activity relationships are emphasized.

Topics: Animals; Antibiotics, Antineoplastic; Antineoplastic Agents; Depsipeptides; Ethers, Cyclic; Lactones; Macrolides; Maytansine; Mycotoxins; Oligopeptides; Tubulin; Vinca Alkaloids

Biochemical and electron microscopic studies demonstrated that ustiloxins A-D, which are antimitotic 13-membered cyclic peptides produced by the rice plant pathogen Ustilaginoidea virens, strongly inhibited the polymerization of porcine brain tubulin in vitro and depolymerized pre-formed microtubules. The IC50 values of polymerization inhibited by ustiloxins A-D were determined to be 0.7, 2.8, 4.4 and 6.6 microM, respectively, under the experimental conditions used, indicating that ustiloxin A is the most potent inhibitor of tubulin polymerization currently known. Ustiloxins A-C were found to inhibit the binding of radiolabelled rhizoxin to tubulin with inhibition constants (Ki) of 0.08, 0.13 and 0.23 microM, respectively, and also inhibited the binding of radiolabelled phomopsin A as strongly as rhizoxin. These results suggest that the binding site of ustiloxins is identical with that of rhizoxin.

Topics: Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Binding Sites; Brain; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Lactones; Macrolides; Molecular Sequence Data; Mycotoxins; Peptides; Peptides, Cyclic; Swine; Tubulin

Dolastatin 10, a cytostatic peptide containing several unique amino acid subunits, was isolated from the marine shell-less mollusk Dolabella auricularia. It inhibits microtubule assembly at concentrations below 5.0 microM (IC50, 3.0 microM) and causes formation of tubulin aggregates at higher (> 10 microM) concentrations in a somewhat different manner from that caused by vinblastine. Electron microscopical analysis showed irregular aggregates of microtubule proteins in the presence of 10 microM dolastatin 10. Dolastatin 10 inhibited the binding of both radiolabeled rhizoxin and phomopsin A to tubulin with inhibition constants (Ki) of 7 x 10(-8) M and 1 x 10(-7) M, respectively. The results suggest that at least one of the binding sites of dolastatin 10 on tubulin is the rhizoxin binding site.

Topics: Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; Binding Sites; Binding, Competitive; Brain; Depsipeptides; Lactones; Macrolides; Microscopy, Electron; Microtubules; Mollusca; Mycotoxins; Oligopeptides; Polymers; Swine; Tubulin

The binding of four potent antimitotic agents, rhizoxin (RZX), phomopsin A (PMS-A), ansamitocin P-3 (ASMP-3), and vinblastine (VLB), to tubulins from RZX-sensitive and -resistant strains of Aspergillus nidulans, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae was investigated. Mycelial extracts to which RZX could bind contained beta-tubulin with Asn as the 100th amino acid residue (Asn-100) in all cases, and those without affinity for RZX contained beta-tubulins with either Ile-100 or Val-100. Though PMS-A shares the same binding site as RZX and ASMP-3 on porcine brain tubulin (Asn-100), only ASMP-3 bound Asn-100 fungal tubulins in a competitive manner with respect to RZX. PMS-A and VLB, which strongly bind to porcine brain tubulin, did not bind to any of the fungal mycelial extracts examined. The results indicate differential interactions of these antimitotic agents with brain and fungal tubulins.

Topics: Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; Aspergillus nidulans; Binding Sites; Binding, Competitive; Brain; Brain Chemistry; Fungi; Lactones; Macrolides; Maytansine; Mycotoxins; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Schizosaccharomyces; Swine; Tubulin; Vinblastine

Phomopsin A is an antimitotic cyclic peptide containing a 13-member ring including an ether linkage. It was isolated from the fungus Phomopsis leptostromiformis as the causal agent of lupinosis. Phomopsin A strongly inhibited microtubule assembly (IC50: 2.4 microM). Our study using radiolabeled phomopsin A, prepared biosynthetically by feeding L-[U-14C]isoleucine to the culture of P. leptostromiformis, indicated that at least two binding sites of phomopsin A exist on tubulin on the basis of a Scatchard analysis; i.e. the dissociation constants of a high affinity site (Kd1) and a low affinity site (Kd2) at 37 degrees were determined to be 1 x 10(-8) and 3 x 10(-7) M, respectively. Phomopsin A inhibited the binding of radiolabeled rhizoxin to tubulin with an inhibition constant (Ki) of 0.8 x 10(-8) M. This showed that the high affinity site of phomopsin A is identical to the rhizoxin binding site. The binding of the radiolabeled phomopsin A was also inhibited by rhizoxin and ansamitocin P-3, with an inhibition constant of 10(-7) M, and to a lesser extent by vinblastine. Phomopsin A had no inhibitory effect on colchicine binding to tubulin.

Topics: Animals; Binding Sites; Binding, Competitive; Brain; Colchicine; Kinetics; Lactones; Macrolides; Maytansine; Microtubule Proteins; Mycotoxins; Polymers; Protein Conformation; Structure-Activity Relationship; Swine; Tubulin; Tubulin Modulators; Vinblastine

Rhizoxin is an antitumor drug prepared from the fungus Rhizopus chinensis. It is an inhibitor of microtubule assembly and a potent competitive inhibitor of the binding of tubulin of ansamitocin P-3, a maytansine analogue. Rhizoxin also weakly inhibits vinblastine binding to tubulin. We have previously found that maytansine and vinblastine differ strikingly from each other in many ways, including their effects on tubulin sulfhydryl groups and on tubulin decay. Since the structure of rhizoxin is very different from that of vinblastine and only slightly resembles that of maytansine, we decided to compare its interaction with tubulin with those of the other two drugs, using systems which discriminate between the effects of the latter two drugs. We found that rhizoxin acts like maytansine in that it completely prevents formation of an intrachain cross-link in beta-tubulin by N,N'-ethylenebis(iodoacetamide), whereas vinblastine only partially inhibits this. Half-maximal inhibition of formation of this cross-link was observed at 2.5 microM rhizoxin. We found previously that the rate of binding of tubulin to the fluorescent probe bis(8-anilinonaphthalene 1-sulfonate) is a good indicator of tubulin decay and that vinblastine strongly inhibits this, whereas maytansine has no effect. We here report that rhizoxin acts like maytansine in that it has no effect on decay. Thus, despite the fact that its resemblance to maytansine is small, rhizoxin appears to interact with tubulin in very much the same way as does maytansine.

Topics: Animals; Antibiotics, Antineoplastic; Brain; Cattle; Colchicine; Cross-Linking Reagents; Ethylenediamines; Kinetics; Lactones; Macrolides; Maytansine; Molecular Structure; Mycotoxins; Podophyllotoxin; Tubulin; Vinblastine