Ammocidin, a new apoptosis inducer in Ras-dependent cells from Saccharothrix sp. I. Production, isolation and biological activity

Discovering the secondary metabolic potential of Saccharothrix

Rare actinomycetes are highly valued as potential sources of novel bioactive secondary metabolites. Among these rare actinomycetes, the genus Saccharothrix is particularly noteworthy due to its ability to produce a diverse range of bioactive secondary metabolites. With the continuous sequencing of bacterial genomes and the rapid development of bioinformatics technologies, our knowledge of the secondary metabolic potential of Saccharothrix can become more comprehensive, but this space has not been reviewed or explored. This review presents a detailed overview of the chemical structures and bioactivities of 138 Saccharothrix-derived secondary metabolites, which are classified into five distinct groups based on their biosynthetic pathways. Furthermore, we delve into experimentally characterized biosynthetic pathways of nine bioactive metabolites. By utilizing a combination of cheminformatic and bioinformatic approaches, we attempted to establish connections between the metabolite families and the biosynthetic gene cluster families encoded by Saccharothrix strains. Our analysis provides a comprehensive perspective on the secondary metabolites that can be linked to corresponding BGCs and highlights the underexplored biosynthetic potential of Saccharothrix. This review also provides guidance for the targeted discovery and biosynthesis of novel natural products from Saccharothrix.

The Marine-Derived Macrolactone Mandelalide A Is an Indirect Activator of AMPK

The mandelalides are complex macrolactone natural products with distinct macrocycle motifs and a bioactivity profile that is heavily influenced by compound glycosylation. Mandelalides A and B are direct inhibitors of mitochondrial ATP synthase (complex V) and therefore more toxic to mammalian cells with an oxidative metabolic phenotype. To provide further insight into the pharmacology of the mandelalides, we studied the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) energy stress pathway and report that mandelalide A is an indirect activator of AMPK. Wild-type mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) and representative human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells showed statistically significant increases in phospho-AMPK (Thr172) and phospho-ACC (Ser79) in response to mandelalide A. Mandelalide L, which also harbors an A-type macrocycle, induced similar increases in phospho-AMPK (Thr172) and phospho-ACC (Ser79) in U87-MG glioblastoma cells. In contrast, MEFs co-treated with an AMPK inhibitor (dorsomorphin), AMPKα-null MEFs, or NSCLC cells lacking liver kinase B1 (LKB1) lacked this activity. Mandelalide A was significantly more cytotoxic to AMPKα-null MEFs than wild-type cells, suggesting that AMPK activation serves as a protective response to mandelalide-induced depletion of cellular ATP. However, LKB1 status alone was not predictive of the antiproliferative effects of mandelalide A against NSCLC cells. When EGFR status was considered, erlotinib and mandelalide A showed strong cytotoxic synergy in combination against erlotinib-resistant 11-18 NSCLC cells but not against erlotinib-sensitive PC-9 cells. Finally, prolonged exposures rendered mandelalide A, a potent and efficacious cytotoxin, against a panel of human glioblastoma cell types regardless of the underlying metabolic phenotype of the cell. These results add biological relevance to the mandelalide series and provide the basis for their further pre-clinical evaluation as ATP synthase inhibitors and secondary activators of AMPK.

Apoptolidin family glycomacrolides target leukemia through inhibition of ATP synthase

Cancer cells have long been recognized to exhibit unique bioenergetic requirements. The apoptolidin family of glycomacrolides are distinguished by their selective cytotoxicity towards oncogene-transformed cells, yet their molecular mechanism remains uncertain. We used photoaffinity analogs of the apoptolidins to identify the F₁ subcomplex of mitochondrial ATP synthase as the target of apoptolidin A. Cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) of apoptolidin and ammocidin-ATP synthase complexes revealed a novel shared mode of inhibition that was confirmed by deep mutational scanning of the binding interface to reveal resistance mutations which were confirmed using CRISPR-Cas9. Ammocidin A was found to suppress leukemia progression in vivo at doses that were tolerated with minimal toxicity. The combination of cellular, structural, mutagenesis, and in vivo evidence defines the mechanism of action of apoptolidin family glycomacrolides and establishes a path to address oxidative phosphorylation-dependent cancers.

Macrolides from rare actinomycetes: Structures and bioactivities

Rare actinomycetes are the sources of numerous biologically active secondary metabolites with diverse structures. Among them are macrolides, which have been shown to display several antibiotic activities. In this review, twenty-six groups of macrolides from rare actinomycetes are presented, with their bioactivities and structures of representatives from each group. It has been divided according to the classes of macrolides. The most interesting groups with a wide range of biological activities are ammocidins, bafilomycins, neomaclafungins, rosaramicins, spinosyns, and tiacumicins. Most macrolides are obtained from the genus, Micromonospora, with smaller contributions from genera such as Saccharothrix, Amycolatopsis, Nocardiopsis and Catenulispora. These macrolides display unique cytotoxic, antibacterial, antifungal, antimicrobial, insecticidal, anti-trypanosomal, antimalarial, antiprotozoal, antimycobacterial and anti-herpetic activity. Based on their noticeable bioactivities and diverse structures, macrolides from rare actinomycetes deserve to be investigated further for future applications in medicine. This work highlights the bioactivities and structures of important classes of macrolides from rare actinomycetes, which could be used in medicine in the future or which are already in the market.

Amycolatopsins A-C: antimycobacterial glycosylated polyketide macrolides from the Australian soil Amycolatopsis sp. MST-108494

A southern Australian soil isolate, Amycolatopsis sp. MST-108494, was subjected to a panel of fermentation and media optimization trials, supported by analytical chemical profiling, to detect and enhance production of a rare class of secondary metabolites. Chemical fractionation of two complementary fermentations yielded three new polyketides, identified by detailed spectroscopic analysis as the glycosylated macrolactones, amycolatopsins A (1), B (2) and C (3), closely related to the ammocidins and apoptolidins. Amycolatopsins 1 and 3 selectively inhibited growth of Mycobacterium bovis (BCG) and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (H37Rv) when compared with other Gram-positive or Gram-negative bacteria, with 3 exhibiting low levels of cytotoxicity toward mammalian cells. Thus, our data reveal promising structure activity relationship correlations where the antimycobacterial properties of amycolatopsins are enhanced by hydroxylation of the 6-Me (that is, 1 and 3), whereas mammalian cytotoxicity is decreased by hydrolysis of the disaccharide moiety (that is, 3).

Isolation and Structure Elucidation of Cytotoxic Saccharothriolides D to F from a Rare Actinomycete Saccharothrix sp. and Their Structure-Activity Relationship

Three new 10-membered macrolides, saccharothriolides D-F (1-3), were isolated from a rare actinomycete, Saccharothrix sp. A1506. The planar structures were determined from analysis of extensive NMR and HR-ESI-MS data, and the absolute configurations were established by ECD spectroscopy analysis. Saccharothriolides D (1) and E (2) were determined to be C-2 epimers of saccharothriolides A (4) and B (5), respectively. Saccharothriolide F (3) was identified to be a demethylated congener of saccharothriolides D (1) and A (4) at the C-2 position. The availability of compounds 1-6 enabled a structure-activity relationship study that revealed the importance of the phenolic hydroxy group at C-2″ and the stereochemistry of C-2 for the inhibition of human fibrosarcoma HT1080 cell growth.

Saccharothriolides A-C, novel phenyl-substituted 10-membered macrolides isolated from a rare actinomycete Saccharothrix sp

Three new 10-membered macrolides, saccharothriolides A-C (1-3), were discovered from a rare actinomycete Saccharothrix sp. A1506. All of the sp(3) carbons in the 10-membered ring had chirality, which was determined by extensive spectroscopic analysis and TDDFT-calculation of ECD spectra. Saccharothriolide B (2) exhibited cytotoxicity against human tumor cell lines HeLa and HT1080.

18O assisted analysis of a γ,δ-epoxyketone cyclization: synthesis of the C16-C28 fragment of ammocidin D

The C16-C28 fragment common to the cytotoxic macrolide ammocidin D has been prepared by a stereospecific 5-exo closure of a γ,δ-epoxyketone followed by a rearrangement to a pyran acetal. The reaction pathway was traced by (18)O labeling of the keto carbonyl and observation of (18)O induced (13)C shifts in the pyran acetal product. NMR data of the synthetic C16-C28 fragment compared favorably to the natural product providing support of the assigned stereochemistry.

Ammocidins B, C and D, new cytotoxic 20-membered macrolides from Saccharothrix sp. AJ9571

Ammocidins B, C and D were isolated from the culture broth of Saccharothrix sp. AJ9571, an ammocidin A-producing strain. Their structures were determined by a detailed spectroscopic analysis and by a comparison of their NMR data with those of ammocidin A. Ammocidins A and B showed potent anti-proliferative activities against human cancer cell lines.

Nocardiopsis and Saccharothrix genera in Saharan soils in Algeria: isolation, biological activities and partial characterization of antibiotics

Twenty-five soil samples were collected in the Algerian Sahara and analyzed to isolate rare actinomycetes. Eighty-six isolates with the same Nocardiopsis or Saccharothrix morphology were isolated on humic-vitamin B agar medium using dilution techniques and several antibiotics as selective agents. Certain of these antibiotics seemed to be very selective for some phenotypes. Morphological and chemotaxonomic characteristics led to identifying 54 isolates belonging to the Nocardiopsis genus and 32 isolates belonging to the Saccharothrix genus. An assessment of the antimicrobial properties of the isolates showed activities against Gram-positive bacteria, fungi and yeasts. Saccharothrix isolates possessed better antifungal activity than Nocardiopsis. One of them, labeled SA 103, was therefore selected for identification of its antifungal antibiotic activities. Production of overall antifungal and antibacterial activities was checked on the complex medium ISP2 and a synthetic medium (SM) that contains glucose or starch as carbon source, and ammonium or nitrate as nitrogen source. The SM medium containing ammonium sulfate (0.2%), supplemented with starch (0.5%) and yeast extract (0.3%), was retained for production of antibiotics. Active substances were purified by a G25-80 Sephadex column and reverse phase HPLC. Two pure substances were obtained and named ZA01 and ZA02; they were characterized on the basis of combined data resulting from chemical tests, UV visibile and IR spectra and mass spectrometry. The two antibiotics were found to be related and were partially characterized as nucleotidic or nucleosidic antibiotics. Their structures consisted of a chain of three sugar units linked to an aromatic base containing a phosphate residue.