Aetheramides A and B, Potent HIV-Inhibitory Depsipeptides from a Myxobacterium of the New Genus “<i>Aetherobacter</i>”

Aetheramides are structurally distinctive cyclic peptides isolated from a novel myxobacterial genus proposed to be termed “<i>Aetherobacter”</i>. The structures were solved by a combination of NMR analyses, quantum mechanical calculations, and chemical derivatizations. Aetheramides which contain a unique polyketide moiety and two amino acid residues potently inhibited HIV-1 infection with IC₅₀ values of ∼0.015 μM. Furthermore aetheramides showed cytostatic activity against human colon carcinoma (HCT-116) cells with IC₅₀ values of 0.11 μM