Fusacandins A and B; novel antifungal antibiotics of the papulacandin class from Fusarium sambucinum. I. Identity of the producing organism, fermentation and biological activity.

The fuscandins, antifungal agents of the papulacandin class, are produced by a strain of Fusarium sambucinum. Fermentation yielded 60 mg/liter of fusacandin A and minor amounts of fusacandin B. As expected, the fusacandins inhibit (1,3)-beta-glucan synthesis. Fusacandin A is slightly less active than papulacandin B against Candida albicans and, like papulacandin, loses activity in the presence of serum.

Aselacins, novel compounds that inhibit binding of endothelin to its receptor. II. Isolation and elucidation of structures.

Three novel compounds, named the aselacins, which inhibit the binding of endothelin to its receptor have been isolated from two related Acremonium species of fungi grown in stationary culture. These compounds are cyclic pentapeptolides with a ring formed by cyclo[Gly-D-Ser-D-Trp-beta-Ala-L-Thr] and an additional exocyclic D-Gln to which is attached a functionalized long chain fatty acid. The aselacins differ in the functionalization of this acid. The structures of the aselacins were determined by amino acid analysis, mass spectrometry and evaluation of 1-D and 2-D homonuclear and heteronuclear 1H, 13C and 15N NMR spectra in protic and aprotic solvents. The stereochemistry of the amino acids present was elucidated by chiral HPLC of hydrolyzed compound.

5-N-acetylardeemin, a novel heterocyclic compound which reverses multiple drug resistance in tumor cells. I. Taxonomy and fermentation of the producing organism and biological activity.

The ardeemins are a new family of secondary metabolites produced by submerged fermentation of a fungus which was isolated from a soil sample collected in Brazil. Based on taxonomic studies, the producing culture was identified as Aspergillus fischeri var. brasiliensis strain AB 1826M-35. 5-N-Acetylardeemin potentiated the cytotoxicity of the anticancer agent vinblastine in multidrug resistant human tumor cells.

Coloradocin, an antibiotic from a new Actinoplanes. II. Identity with luminamicin and elucidation of structure.

Coloradocin was isolated from a fermentation broth by adsorption onto Amberlite XAD-2. The activity was eluted in MeOH and purified by gel filtration on Shephadex LH-20, followed by liquid-liquid chromatography on diol-bonded silica gel. The last two steps in the purification of this antibiotic included reverse-phase chromatography on C18-bonded silica gel and countercurrent chromatography on an Ito Coil Planet Centrifuge to give material of 90% purity. Analytically pure material was obtained by preparative HPLC. As a result of extensive homo and heteronuclear two-dimensional NMR studies, a structure was proposed for coloradocin. The structure consists of a decalin ring system fused to a 10-membered macrolactone which in turn is fused to a 14-membered macrolactone possessing an enol ether in conjugation with an unsaturated cyclic anhydride functionality. Coloradocin is related to a small class of antibiotics which include nodusmicin and nargenicin and was shown to be identical to luminamicin for which no structure has been reported.

Preparative low-pressure chromatography of antibiotics on a column of diol-bonded silica gel.

Several schemes are presented which illustrate the general utility of column chromatography on diol-bonded silica gel for the purification of various antibiotics. The antibiotics include rosarimicin, rosarimicin dimethylacetal, everninomicin D, Juvenimicin A4, coloradocin and the benzanthrins. A set of partition coefficients, determined in different two-phase solvent systems, for a given antibiotic or antibiotic complex, can be used in selecting appropriate solvent systems for this chromatography as well as for semi-preparative counter-current chromatography on the Ito coil planet centrifuge.

Benzanthrins A and B, a new class of quinone antibiotics. II. Isolation, elucidation of structure and potential antitumor activity.

The benzanthrins, which were produced by Nocardia lurida, were extracted from the fermentation broth with CH2Cl2. Subsequent purification on Sephadex LH-20 and diolbonded silica gel, followed by countercurrent chromatography, afforded analytically pure benzanthrins A and B. FAB-MS revealed that benzanthrins A and B were isomeric. It was demonstrated through degradative and spectroscopic studies that the benzanthrins were di-glycosides of a trihydroxy benz[a]anthraquinone chromophore where one of the sugars was linked through carbon and the other through oxygen. Benzanthrins A and B differed in the stereochemistry of the O-glycosidic sugar. Both compounds inhibited the growth of Gram-positive bacteria and 9KB, 9PS and 9ASK tumor cells in tissue culture.