Structure modification,antialgal,antiplasmodial,and toxic evaluations of a series of new marine-derived 14-membered resorcylic acid lactone derivatives

Marine natural products play critical roles in the chemical defense of many marine organisms and are essential,reputable sources of successful drug leads.Sixty-seven 14-membered resorcylic acid lactone derivatives 3–27 and 30–71 of the natural product zeaenol(1)isolated from the marine-derived fungus Cochliobolus lunatus were semisynthesized by chlorination,acylation,esterification,and acetalization in one to three steps.The structures of these new derivatives were established by HRESIMS and NMR techniques.All the compounds(1–71)were evaluated for their antialgal and antiplasmodial activities.Among them,14 compounds displayed antifouling activities against adhesion of the fouling diatoms.In particular,9 and 34 exhibited strong and selective inhibitory effects against the diatoms Navicula laevissima and Navicula exigua(EC50=6.67 and 8.55μmol/L),respectively,which were similar in efficacy to those of the positive control SeaNine 211(EC50=2.90 and 9.74μmol/L).More importantly,38,39,and 69–71 showed potent antiplasmodial activities against Plasmodium falciparum with IC50 values ranging from 3.54 to 9.72μmol/L.Very interestingly,the five antiplasmodial derivatives displayed non-toxicity in the cytotoxicity assays and the zebrafish embryos model,thus,representing potential promising antiplasmodial drug agents.The preliminary structure–activity relationships indicated that biphenyl substituent at C-2,acetonide at positions C-5′and C-6′,and tri-or tetra-substituted of acyl groups increased the antiplasmodial activity.Therefore,combining evaluation of chemical ecology with pharmacological models will be implemented as a systematic strategy,not only for environmentally friendly antifoulants but also for structurally novel drugs.

Targeted isolation of antitubercular cycloheptapeptides and an unusual pyrroloindoline-containing new analog,asperpyrroindotide A,using LC–MS/MS-based molecular networking

Further insights on the secondary metabolites of a soft coral-derived fungus Aspergillus versicolor under the guidance of MS/MS-based molecular networking led to the isolation of seven known cycloheptapeptides,namely,asperversiamides A–C(1–3)and asperheptatides A–D(4–7)and an unusual pyrroloindoline-containing new cycloheptapeptide,asperpyrroindotide A(8).The structure of 8 was elucidated by comprehensive spectroscopic data analysis,and its absolute configuration was determined by advanced Marfey’s method.The semisynthetic transformation of 1 into 8 was successfully achieved and the reaction conditions were optimized.Additionally,a series of new derivatives(10−19)of asperversiamide A(1)was semi-synthesized and their anti-tubercular activities were evaluated against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra.The preliminary structure−activity relationships revealed that the serine hydroxy groups and the tryptophan residue are important to the activity.

The intriguing chemistry and biology of sulfur-containing natural products from marine microorganisms(1987-2020)

Natural products derived from marine microorganisms have received great attention as a potential resource of new compound entities for drug discovery.The unique marine environment brings us a large group of sulfur-containing natural products with abundant biological functionality including antitumor,antibiotic,anti-inflammatory and antiviral activities.We reviewed all the 484 sulfur-containing natural products(non-sulfated)isolated from marine microorganisms,of which 59.9%are thioethers,29.8%are thiazole/thiazoline-containing compounds and 10.3%are sulfoxides,sulfones,thioesters and many others.A selection of 133 compounds was further discussed on their structure-activity relationships,mechanisms of action,biosynthesis,and druggability.This is the first systematic review on sulfur-containing natural products from marine microorganisms conducted from January 1987,when the first one was reported,to December 2020.

Uncommon Bis-quinolizidine Alkaloids from the Hainan Sponge Neopetrosia chaliniformis

Main observation and conclusion Two new bis-quinolizidine alkaloids,neopetrosiasins A(1)and B(2),possessing cis-and trans-quinolizidine nuclei,one known related analogue petrosin(3)and three known xestospongins(4-6),were isolated from the South China Sea sponge Neopetrosia chaliniformis.

Metabolites from marine invertebrates and their symbiotic microorganisms: molecular diversity discovery, mining, and application

Metabolites from marine organisms have proven to be a rich source for the discovery of multiple potent bioactive moleculeswith diverse structures. In recent years, we initiated a program to investigate the diversity of the secondary metabolites frommarine invertebrates and their symbiotic microorganisms collected from the South China Sea. In this review, representativecases are summarized focusing on molecular diversity, mining, and application of natural products from these marineorganisms. To provide a comprehensive introduction to the field of marine natural products, we highlight typical moleculesincluding their structures, chemical synthesis, bioactivities and mechanisms, structure-activity relationships as well as biogenesis. The mining of marine-derived microorganisms to produce novel secondary metabolites is also discussed through theOSMAC strategy and via partial chemical epigenetic modification. A broad prospectus has revealed a plethora of bioactivenatural products with novel structures from marine organisms, especially from soft corals, gorgonians, sponges, and theirsymbiotic fungi and bacteria.

Identification of marine natural product Pretrichodermamide B as a STAT3 inhibitor for efficient anticancer therapy

The Janus kinase(JAK)/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3(STAT3)regulates the expression of various critical mediators of cancer and is considered as one of the central communication nodes in cell growth and survival.Marine natural products(MNP)represent great resources for discovery of bioactive lead compounds,especially anti-cancer agents.Through the medium-throughput screening of our in-house MNP library,Pretrichodermamide B,an epidithiodiketopiperazine,was identified as a JAK/STAT3 signaling inhibitor.Further studies identified that Pretrichodermamide B directly binds to STAT3,preventing phosphorylation and thus inhibiting JAK/STAT3 signaling.Moreover,it suppressed cancer cell growth,in vitro,at low micromolar concentrations and demonstrated efficacy in vivo by decreasing tumor growth in a xenograft mouse model.In addition,it was shown that Pretrichodermamide B was able to induce cell cycle arrest and promote cell apoptosis.This study demonstrated that Pretrichodermamide B is a novel STAT3 inhibitor,which should be considered for further exploration as a promising anti-cancer therapy.

A combined strategy for the overproduction of complex ergot alkaloid agroclavine

Microbial cell factories(MCFs)and cell-free systems(CFSs)are generally considered as two unrelated approaches for the biosynthesis of biomolecules.In the current study,two systems were combined together for the overproduction of agroclavine(AC),a structurally complex ergot alkaloid.The whole biosynthetic pathway for AC was split into the early pathway and the late pathway at the point of the FAD-linked oxidoreductase EasE,which was reconstituted in an MCF(Aspergillus nidulans)and a four-enzyme CFS,respectively.The final titer of AC of this combined system is 1209 mg/L,which is the highest one that has been reported so far,to the best of our knowledge.The development of such a combined route could potentially avoid the limitations of both MCF and CFS systems,and boost the production of complex ergot alkaloids with polycyclic ring systems.

High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Fingerprint of Marine Traditional Chinese Medicine Haliotidis

Objective: Haliotidis, the dried muscle of abalone, has long been used as a marine traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) due to its high medicinal and nutritive values, whereas few reports contributed to its quality control. This study aimed to establish the high-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) fingerprints of Haliotidis. Materials and Methods: The HPLC fingerprints of Haliotidis, the manufacturing products of dried muscle of abalone, were analyzed by reverse-phase HPLC, using a YMC HPLC C18 column(250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 μm).The gradient elution mode was applied with mobile phase starting from 5% acetonitrile and 0.1% phosphoric acid aqueous solution to 100%acetonitrile in 70 min at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The detection wavelength was set at 190 nm. Results: Through compared the HPLC fingerprint chromatograms of 14 batches of Haliotidis, 25 peaks were assigned as the characteristic common peaks, of which one index component L-phenylalanine was identified by comparison with its standard substance. The established HPLC fingerprint analysis method of Haliotidis was validated with good precision, repeatability, and stability. Based on the above study, a reference HPLC fingerprint chromatogram of Haliotidis was proposed. Conclusions: It is the first time to establish the HPLC fingerprint chromatogram of TCM Haliotidis, which could contribute to the establishment of its quality control system.