Bioactive secondary metabolites from the endophytic fungus Chaetomium sp. isolated from Salvia officinalis growing in Morocco

This study reports the chemical investigation and cytotoxic activity of the secondary metabolites produced by the endophytic fungus Chaetomium sp. isolated from Salvia officinalis growing in Morocco. This plant was collected from the Beni-Mellal Mountain in Morocco and belongs to the Lamiaceae family and is named in Morocco “Salmia”. The endophytic fungus Chaetomium sp. was isolated from the tissues of the stem of this plant. The fungal strain was identified by PCR. The crude organic extract of the fungal strain was proven to be active when tested for cytotoxicity against L5178Y mouse lymphoma cells. Chemical investigation of the secondary metabolites showed that cochliodinol is the main component beside isocochliodinol. The structures of the isolated compounds were determined on the basis of NMR analysis (1H, 13C, COSY and HMBC) as well as by mass spectrometry using ESI (Electron Spray Ionisation) as source

New Natural Product from Botryosphaeria australis, an Endophyte from Mangrove Avicennia marina

Chemical investigation of the endophytic fungus Botryosphaeria australis isolated from Avicennia marina originally from Hainan Province, P.R. China, yielded a new compound botryosphaenin (1), from the class of napthoquinone, together with 5 known compounds, botryosterpene (2) and 5-hydroxy-2,7-dimethoxynaphthalene-1,4-dione (3) and its derivatives, 6-ethyl-5-hydroxy-2,7-dimethoxynaphthalene-1,4-dione (4), O-methylaspmenone (5), O-methylasparvenone (6) and 5-(carboxymethyl)-7-hydroxy-1,4a-dimethyl-6-methylene decahydron aphthalene-1-carboxylic acid (7). Their structures were determined on the basis of spectroscopic methods including 1D (1H, 13C, and DEPT) and 2D (COSY, HMQC, HMBC, and ROESY) NMR experiments and by mass spectroscopic measurements The new compounds, 1 showed activity against the bacterial pathogens Staphylococcus aureus, several Streptococcus species and Bacillus subtilis, but also against the eukaryotic cell lines THP-1 (human leukemia monocyte) and BALB/3T3 (mouse embryonic fibroblast)

Enniatin a Inhibits the Chaperone Hsp90 and Unleashes the Immune System Against Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Low response rates and immune-related adverse events limit the remarkable impact of cancer immunotherapy. To improve clinical outcomes, preclinical studies have shown that combining immunotherapies with N-terminal Hsp90 inhibitors resulted in improved efficacy, even though induction of an extensive heat shock response (HSR) and less than optimal dosing of these inhibitors limited their clinical efficacy as monotherapies. We discovered that the natural product Enniatin A (EnnA) targets Hsp90 and destabilizes its client oncoproteins without inducing an HSR. EnnA triggers immunogenic cell death in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) syngeneic mouse models and exhibits superior antitumor activity compared to Hsp90 N-terminal inhibitors. EnnA reprograms the tumor microenvironment (TME) to promote CD8+ T cell-dependent antitumor immunity by reducing PD-L1 levels and activating the chemokine receptor CX3CR1 pathway. These findings provide strong evidence for transforming the immunosuppressive TME into a more tumor-hostile milieu by engaging Hsp90 with therapeutic agents involving novel mechanisms of action

Detection of Bioactive Exometabolites Produced by the Filamentous Marine Cyanobacterium Geitlerinema sp.

Marine cyanobacteria are noted for their ability to excrete metabolites with biotic properties. This paper focuses on such exometabolites obtained from the culture of the marine filamentous cyanobacterium Geitlerinema sp. strain, their purification and subsequent analyses. By this means the recoveries of the active compounds, a prerequisite for properly determining their concentration, are quantified here for the first time. We demonstrate a new procedure using Amberlite XAD-1180 resin in combination with the eluent isopropanol for extraction of the culture media and gas chromatography as simplified chemical analysis. This procedure reduced necessary bacteria cultivation time (from 150 to 21 days) at low volumes of culture media (300 mL) required for identification of two selected bioactive compounds: 4,4′-dihydroxybiphenyl and harmane

Protein kinase inhibitors from the endophytic fungus stemphylium globuliferum

The endophytic fungus Stemphylium globuliferum was isolated from stem tissues of the Moroccan medicinal plant Mentha pulegium. Extracts of the fungus, which was grown on solid rice medium, exhibited considerable cytotoxicity when tested in vitro against L5178Y cells. Chemical investigation yielded eight new secondary metabolites, alterporriol F, alterporriol G and its atropisomer H, alterporriol I and its atropisomer J, altersolanol K, altersolanol L and stemphypyrone, beside eight known compounds. The structures were determined on the basis of one- and two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. Among the alterporriol-type anthranoid dimers, the mixture of alterporriols G and H exhibited considerable cytotoxicity against L5178Y cells with an EC50 value of 2.7 µg/mL, whereas the other congeners showed only modest activity. The compounds were also tested for protein kinase inhibitory activity in an assay involving 24 different kinases. Compounds methylalaternin, macrosporin, altersolanol A and the mixture of alterporriol G and H were the most potent and also selective inhibitors, displaying EC50 values between 0.64 and 1.4 µg/mL toward individual kinases

New Anthracene Derivatives - Structure Elucidation and Antimicrobial Activity

Three new anthracene derivatives, which include tetrahydroanthraquinone 1 and two tetrahydroanthraquinone heterodimers 2 and 3, were isolated from Stemphylium globuliferum, together with four known metabolites 4-7. Detailed analysis of the spectroscopic data allowed the unambiguous determination of the structures of 1 and 2 and a revision of the structure of alterporriol C and its atropisomer. Furthermore, alterporriol G, previously obtained as part of a mixture, was isolated in its pure form for the first time and its structure was also revised. The absolute configurations of 1, 2 and 3 were assigned by calculation of their CD spectra, which also allowed the configurational assignment of altersolanol A and the determination of the axial chirality of alterporriols D and E. All isolated compounds were analysed for their antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities. Compounds 1 and 5 inhibited the growth of most pathogenic microorganisms tested, whereas 2, 6 and 7 showed selective inhibition of bacteria but were inactive against fungi. Three new anthracene derivatives and four known metabolites were isolated from the extract of the endophytic Stemphylium globuliferum. The structures were determined by comprehensive NMR spectroscopy and MS, and the absolute configurations by TDDFT and ZINDO methods. All isolated compounds were tested for their cytotoxic and antimicrobial activities

Protein kinase inhibitors and other cytotoxic metabolites from the fungal endophyte Stemphylium botryosum isolated from Chenopodium album

The endophytic fungus Stemphylium botryosum was isolated from leaves of the medicinal plant Chenopodium album collected in Egypt. Extracts of the fungus grown on rice exhibited considerable cytotoxicity when tested in vitro against L5178Y mouse lymphoma cells. Upon chemical investigation they afforded the macrocyclic lactones curvularin (1) and dehydrocurvularin (2), as well as altersolanol A (3), tetrahydroaltersolanol B (4), stemphyperylenol (5) and macrosporin (6). The structures of all isolated compounds were determined by 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry as well as by comparison with published data. Compounds 1-3 exhibited considerable cytotoxicity against L5178Y cells with EC50 values of 16, 1.4 and 0.6 μM, respectively, whereas the remaining compounds showed only modest activity. All compounds were further tested for protein kinase inhibitory activity in an assay involving 24 different kinases. Compound 3 was the most potent inhibitor displaying EC50 values ranging between 1.9 and 29.4 μM toward individual kinases, followed by 6 (EC50 = 2.3 - 27.1 μM). Compounds 4 and 5 showed moderate activity, while 1 and 2 were inactive