Total Syntheses and Chemical Biology Studies of Hymeglusin and Fusarilactone A, Novel Circumventors of β-Lactam Drug Resistance in Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Isolation of microorganisms from the feces of Kitasato Yakumo beef cattle as bioactive natural product producers

We envisioned that the rumen of Kitasato Yakumo beef cattle would contain unique microorganisms which produce bioactive compounds as their defense response to the external environment. The variety of microorganisms were collected from the feces of Kitasato Yakumo beef cattle. We evaluated the biological activity of the culture broth of the isolated strains, proving the utility of our approach.

The potentiation activity of β-lactam by phomoidrides and oxasetin against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) causes a global health threat and enormous damage for humans. Among them, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) resistant to first-line therapeutic β-lactam drugs such as meropenem (MEPM) is problematic. Therefore, we focus on combination drug therapy and have been seeking new potentiators of MEPM to combat MRSA. In this paper, we report the isolation of phomoidrides A-D and its new analog, phomoidride H along with a polyketide compound, oxasetin from the culture broth of Neovaginatispora clematidis FKI-8547 strain as potentiators of MEPM against MRSA.

Synergistic effect of secondary metabolites isolated from Pestalotiopsis sp. FKR-0115 in overcoming β-lactam resistance in MRSA

Six aromatic secondary metabolites, pestalone (1), emodin (2), phomopsilactone (3), pestalachlorides B (4), C (5), and D (6), were isolated from Pestalotiopsis sp. FKR-0115, a filamentous fungus collected from white moulds growing on dead branches in Minami Daito Island. The efficacy of these secondary metabolites against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) with and without meropenem (β-lactam antibiotic) was evaluated using the paper disc method and broth microdilution method. The chemical structures of the isolated compounds (1-6) were characterised using spectroscopic methods, including nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometry. All six isolated compounds exhibited synergistic activity with meropenem against MRSA. Among the six secondary metabolites, pestalone (1) overcame bacterial resistance in MRSA to the greatest extent.

Ligustilide covalently binds to Cys129 of HMGCS1 to ameliorate dyslipidemia

Dyslipidemia is characterized by elevated levels of total cholesterol and triglycerides in serum, and has become the primary human health killer because of the major risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. Although there exist plenty of drugs for dyslipidemia, the number of patients who could benefit from lipid-lowering drugs still remains a concern. Ligustilide (Lig), a natural phthalide derivative, was reported to regulate lipid metabolic disorders. However, its specific targets and underlying molecular mechanism are still unclear. In this study, we found that Lig alleviated high fat diet-induced dyslipidemia by inhibiting cholesterol biosynthesis. Furthermore, a series of chemical biological analysis methods were used to identify its target protein for regulating lipid metabolism. Collectively, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A synthetase 1 (HMGCS1) of hepatic cells was identified as a target for Lig to regulate lipid metabolism. The mechanistic study confirmed that Lig irreversibly binds to Cys129 of HMGCS1 via its metabolic intermediate 6,7-epoxyligustilide, thereby reducing cholesterol synthesis and improving lipid metabolism disorders. These findings not only systematically elucidated the lipid-lowering mechanism of Lig, but also provided a new structural compound for the treatment of dyslipidemia.

A new isomaneonene derivative from the red alga Laurencia cf. mariannensis

Determining the structures of new natural products from marine species not only enriches our understanding of the diverse chemistry of these species, but can also lead to the discovery of compounds with novel and/or important biological activities. Herein, we describe the isolation of isomaneonene C (1), a new halogenated C₁₅ acetogenin, and three known compounds, α-snyderol (2), cis-maneonene D (3), and isomaneonene B (4), from the organic extract obtained from the red alga Laurencia cf. mariannensis collected from Iheya Island, Okinawa, Japan. The structures of these secondary metabolites were elucidated spectroscopically. All compounds were inactive at 30 μg/disc against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in combination treatment with a β-lactam drug, meropenem.

Mono-/Bis-Alkenoic Acid Derivatives From an Endophytic Fungus Scopulariopsis candelabrum and Their Antifungal Activity

During a screening for antifungal secondary metabolites, six new mono-/bis-alkenoic acid derivatives (2–7) and one known alkenoic acid derivative (1) were isolated from an endophytic fungi Scopulariopsis candelabrum. Their chemical structures were identified by 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, 2D NMR, and high-resolution mass spectrometry, as well as comparisons with previously reported literatures. Among them, fusariumesters C‒F (2–5) are bis-alkenoic acid derivatives dimerized by an ester bond, while acetylfusaridioic acid A (6) and fusaridioic acid D (7) are alkenoic acid monomers. All the isolates were submitted to an antifungal assay against Candida albicans and the corn pathogen Exserohilum turcicum using the filter paper agar diffusion method. As a result, only compound 1 decorating with β-lactone ring turned out to be active against these two tested fungi. The broth microdilution assay against Candida albicans showed the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of 1 to be 20 μg/ml, while the minimum inhibitory concentration value of the positive control (naystatin) was 10 μg/ml. And the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) value (21.23 μg/ml) of 1 against Exserohilum turcicum was determined by analyzing its inhibition effect on the mycelial growth, using cycloheximide (IC50 = 46.70 μg/ml) as the positive control.