Ikarugamycin inhibits pancreatic cancer cell glycolysis by targeting hexokinase 2.

Mangrove-derived actinobacteria strains are well-known for producing novel secondary metabolites. The polycyclic tetramate macrolactam (PTM), ikarugamycin (IKA) isolated from Streptomyces xiamenensis 318, exhibits antiproliferative activities against pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) in vitro. However, the protein target for bioactive IKA is unclear. In this study, whole transcriptome-based profiling revealed that the glycolysis pathway is significantly affected by IKA. Metabolomic studies demonstrated that IKA treatment induces a significant drop in glucose-6-phosphate and a slight increase in intracellular glucose level. Analysis of glucose consumption, lactate production, and the extracellular acidification rate confirmed the inhibitory role of IKA on the glycolytic flux in PDAC cells. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) experiments and docking studies identified the key enzyme of glycolysis, hexokinase 2 (HK2), as a molecular target of IKA. Moreover, IKA reduced tumor size without overt cytotoxicity in mice with PDAC xenografts and increased chemotherapy response to gemcitabine in PDAC cells in vitro. Taken together, IKA can block glycolysis in pancreatic cancer by targeting HK2, which may be a potential drug candidate for PDAC treatment.

Three transcriptional regulators positively regulate the biosynthesis of polycyclic tetramate macrolactams in Streptomyces xiamenensis 318.

Polycyclic tetramate macrolactams (PTMs) are a widely distributed class of structurally complex natural products, and most of them exhibit multiple biological activities. However, the transcriptional regulators (TRs) involved in the regulation of PTM production have seldom been reported. Here, we identified three TRs, i.e., Sxim_22880, CvnABCSx, and WblASx, and revealed their positive roles in the regulation of PTM biosynthesis in mangrove-derived Streptomyces xiamenensis 318. This strain produces a considerable amount of PTMs at 30 °C, but the production of PTMs is mostly blocked at 37 °C. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis confirmed that the transcriptions of PTM biosynthetic genes were downregulated. We determined that the transcriptions of several putative TRs, i.e., WblASx, Sxim_22880, and CvnCSx, were significantly downregulated under such heat-shock conditions. We showed that the transcription of PTM biosynthetic genes and the production of PTMs could be restored at 37 °C if the impaired transcriptions of wblASx, sxim_22880, and cvnABCSx were restored. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays showed that none of these TRs could bind to the promoter region of the PTM gene cluster, suggesting their indirect but positive involvement in the regulation on PTM production. Moreover, concurrent overexpression of the three TRs in S. xiamenensis 318 resulted in a 242.5% increase in PTM production when the strain was cultured at 30 °C. Furthermore, overexpression of these three TRs in Streptomyces sp. FR-008 and S. albus J1074 stimulated the production of new secondary metabolites, indicating that these conserved TRs could be used to activate cryptic secondary metabolite gene clusters in Streptomyces.

New alkylated benzoquinones from mangrove plant Aegiceras corniculatum with anticancer activity.

Three new alkylated benzoquinones, 2-hydroxy-5-ethoxy-3-nonyl-1,4-benzoquinone (1), 5-O-butyl-embelin (2), and 2,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl-3-pentadecyl-1,4-benzoquinone (3), together with seven known analogues (4-10), were isolated from the stems and twigs of mangrove plant, Aegiceras corniculatum. Their structural elucidation was achieved by spectroscopic methods, chemical exchanging experiments, and semisynthesis method. The cytotoxic activities of all the isolated compounds were evaluated by MTT assay. Compounds 1, 2, 8, 9, and 10 possess varying degrees of selective cytotoxicity against HL-60, HepG2, BGC-823, and A2780 cell lines.[Formula: see text].

A Novel AdpA Homologue Negatively Regulates Morphological Differentiation in Streptomyces xiamenensis 318.

The pleiotropic transcriptional regulator AdpA positively controls morphological differentiation and regulates secondary metabolism in most Streptomyces species. Streptomyces xiamenensis 318 has a linear chromosome 5.96 Mb in size. How AdpA affects secondary metabolism and morphological differentiation in such a naturally minimized genomic background is unknown. Here, we demonstrated that AdpA Sx , an AdpA orthologue in S. xiamenensis, negatively regulates cell growth and sporulation and bidirectionally regulates the biosynthesis of xiamenmycin and polycyclic tetramate macrolactams (PTMs) in S. xiamenensis 318. Overexpression of the adpASx gene in S. xiamenensis 318 had negative effects on morphological differentiation and resulted in reduced transcription of putative ssgA, ftsZ, ftsH, amfC, whiB, wblA1, wblA2, wblE, and a gene encoding sporulation-associated protein (sxim_29740), whereas the transcription of putative bldD and bldA genes was upregulated. Overexpression of adpASx led to significantly enhanced production of xiamenmycin but had detrimental effects on the production of PTMs. As expected, the transcriptional level of the xim gene cluster was upregulated, whereas the PTM gene cluster was downregulated. Moreover, AdpA Sx negatively regulated the transcription of its own gene. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays revealed that AdpA Sx can bind the promoter regions of structural genes of both the xim and PTM gene clusters as well as to the promoter regions of genes potentially involved in the cell growth and differentiation of S. xiamenensis 318. We report that an AdpA homologue has negative effects on morphological differentiation in S. xiamenensis 318, a finding confirmed when AdpA Sx was introduced into the heterologous host Streptomyces lividans TK24.IMPORTANCE AdpA is a key regulator of secondary metabolism and morphological differentiation in Streptomyces species. However, AdpA had not been reported to negatively regulate morphological differentiation. Here, we characterized the regulatory role of AdpA Sx in Streptomyces xiamenensis 318, which has a naturally streamlined genome. In this strain, AdpA Sx negatively regulated cell growth and morphological differentiation by directly controlling genes associated with these functions. AdpA Sx also bidirectionally controlled the biosynthesis of xiamenmycin and PTMs by directly regulating their gene clusters rather than through other regulators. Our findings provide additional evidence for the versatility of AdpA in regulating morphological differentiation and secondary metabolism in Streptomyces.

In vivo metabolism study of xiamenmycin A in mouse plasma by UPLC-QTOF-MS and LC-MS/MS.

Xiamenmycin A is an antifibrotic leading compound with a benzopyran skeleton that is isolated from mangrove-derived Streptomyces xiamenensis. As a promising small molecule for fibrotic diseases, less information is known about its metabolic characteristics in vivo. In this study, the time-course of xiamenmycin A in mouse plasma was investigated by relative quantification. After two types of administration of xiamenmycin A at a single dose of 10 mg/kg, the plasma concentrations were measured quantitatively by LC-MS/MS. The dynamic changes in the xiamenmycin A concentration showed rapid absorption and quick elimination in plasma post-administration. Four metabolites (M1-M4) were identified in blood by UPLC-QTOF-MS, and xiamenmycin B (M3) is the principal metabolite in vivo, as verified by comparison of the authentic standard sample. The structures of other metabolites were identified based on the characteristics of their MS and MS/MS data. The newly identified metabolites are useful for understanding the metabolism of xiamenmycin A in vivo, aiming at the development of an anti-fibrotic drug candidate for the therapeutic treatment of excessive fibrotic diseases.

Structural and mechanistic investigations on CC bond forming α-oxoamine synthase allowing L-glutamate as substrate.

Carbon­carbon (C-C) bonds serve as the fundamental structural backbone of organic molecules. As a critical CC bond forming enzyme, α-oxoamine synthase is responsible for the synthesis of α-amino ketones by performing the condensation reaction between amino acids and acyl-CoAs. We previously identified an α-oxoamine synthase (AOS), named as Alb29, involved in albogrisin biosynthesis in Streptomyces albogriseolus MGR072. This enzyme belongs to the α-oxoamine synthase family, a subfamily under the pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) dependent enzyme superfamily. In this study, we report the crystal structures of Alb29 bound to PLP and L-Glu, which provide the atomic-level structural insights into the substrate recognition by Alb29. We discover that Alb29 can catalyze the amino transformation from L-Gln to L-Glu, besides the condensation of L-Glu with ß-methylcrotonyl coenzyme A. Subsequent structural analysis has revealed that one flexible loop in Alb29 plays an important role in both amino transformation and condensation. Based on the crystal structure of the S87G mutant in the loop region, we capture two distinct conformations of the flexible loop in the active site, compared with the wild-type Alb29. Our study offers valuable insights into the catalytic mechanism underlying substrate recognition of Alb29.

Harnessing the potential of halogenated natural product biosynthesis by mangrove-derived actinomycetes.

Mangrove-derived actinomycetes are promising sources of bioactive natural products. In this study, using homologous screening of the biosynthetic genes and anti-microorganism/tumor assaying, 163 strains of actinomycetes isolated from mangrove sediments were investigated for their potential to produce halogenated metabolites. The FADH2-dependent halogenase genes, identified in PCR-screening, were clustered in distinct clades in the phylogenetic analysis. The coexistence of either polyketide synthase (PKS) or nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) as the backbone synthetases in the strains harboring the halogenase indicated that these strains had the potential to produce structurally diversified antibiotics. As a validation, a new enduracidin producer, Streptomyces atrovirens MGR140, was identified and confirmed by gene disruption and HPLC analysis. Moreover, a putative ansamycin biosynthesis gene cluster was detected in Streptomyces albogriseolus MGR072. Our results highlight that combined genome mining is an efficient technique to tap promising sources of halogenated natural products synthesized by mangrove-derived actinomycetes.

Identification of two novel anti-fibrotic benzopyran compounds produced by engineered strains derived from Streptomyces xiamenensis M1-94P that originated from deep-sea sediments.

The benzopyran compound obtained by cultivating a mangrove-derived strain, Streptomyces xiamenensis strain 318, shows multiple biological effects, including anti-fibrotic and anti-hypertrophic scar properties. To increase the diversity in the structures of the available benzopyrans, by means of biosynthesis, the strain was screened for spontaneous rifampicin resistance (Rif), and a mutated rpsL gene to confer streptomycin resistance (Str), was introduced into the S. xiamenensis strain M1-94P that originated from deep-sea sediments. Two new benzopyran derivatives, named xiamenmycin C (1) and D (2), were isolated from the crude extracts of a selected Str-Rif double mutant (M6) of M1-94P. The structures of 1 and 2 were identified by analyzing extensive spectroscopic data. Compounds 1 and 2 both inhibit the proliferation of human lung fibroblasts (WI26), and 1 exhibits better anti-fibrotic activity than xiamenmycin. Our study presents the novel bioactive compounds isolated from S. xiamenensis mutant strain M6 constructed by ribosome engineering, which could be a useful approach in the discovery of new anti-fibrotic compounds.

Identification and characterization of an anti-fibrotic benzopyran compound isolated from mangrove-derived Streptomyces xiamenensis.

An anti-fibrotic compound produced by Streptomycesn xiamenensis, found in mangrove sediments, was investigated for possible therapeutic effects against fibrosis. The compound, N-[[3,4-dihydro-3S-hydroxy-2S-methyl-2-(4'R-methyl-3'S-pentenyl)-2H-1-benzopyran-6-yl]carbonyl]-threonine (1), was isolated from crude extracts and its structure, including the absolute configuration was determined by extensive spectroscopic data analyses, Mosher's method, Marfey's reagent and quantum mechanical calculations. In terms of biological effects, this compound inhibits the proliferation of human lung fibroblasts (WI26), blocks adhesion of human acute monocytic leukemia cells (THP-1) to a monolayer of WI26 cells, and reduces the contractile capacity of WI26 cells in three-dimensional free-floating collagen gels. Altogether, these data indicate that we have identified a bioactive alkaloid (1) with multiple inhibitory biological effects on lung excessive fibrotic characteristics, that are likely involved in fibrosis, suggesting that this molecule might indeed have therapeutic potential against fibrosis.

Identification of an α-Oxoamine Synthase and a One-Pot Two-Step Enzymatic Synthesis of α-Amino Ketones.

Alb29, an α-oxoamine synthase involved in albogrisin biosynthesis in Streptomyces albogriseolus MGR072, was characterized and responsible for the incorporation of l-glutamate to acyl-coenzyme A substrates. Combined with Alb29 and Mgr36 (an acyl-coenzyme A ligase), a one-pot enzymatic system was established to synthesize seven α-amino ketones. When these α-amino ketones were fed into the alb29 knockout strain Δalb29, respectively, the albogrisin analogs with different side chains were observed.

A novel benzo[f][1,7]naphthyridine produced by Streptomyces albogriseolus from mangrove sediments.

Mangrove Streptomyces represent a rich source of novel bioactive compounds in medicinal research. A novel alkaloid, named 1-N-methyl-3-methylamino-[N-butanoic acid-3'-(9'-methyl-8'-propen-7'-one)-amide]-benzo[f][1,7]naphthyridine-2-one (1) was isolated from Streptomyces albogriseolus originating from mangrove sediments. The structure of compound 1 was elucidated by extensive spectroscopic data analyses and verified by the ¹³C-NMR calculation at the B3LYP/6-311+G(2d,p) level of theory.

Constructing Microbial Hosts for the Production of Benzoheterocyclic Derivatives.

Natural products containing benzoheterocyclic skeletons are widely found in plants and exhibit various pharmacological activities. To address the current limited availability of these compounds, we herein demonstrate the production of benzopyran, furanocoumarins, and pyranocoumarins in Streptomyces xiamenensis by employing prenyltransferases and two substrate-promiscuous enzymes, XimD and XimE. To avoid the degradation in S. xiamenensis, furanocoumarins and pyranocoumarins were also successfully produced in Escherichia coli. The production of linear furanocoumarins (marmesin) and angular pyranocoumarins (decursinol) reached 3.6 and 3.7 mg/L in shake flasks, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the microbial production of the plant metabolites furanocoumarins and pyranocoumarins. Our study complements the missing link in the biosynthesis of pyranocoumarins by leveraging the catalytic promiscuity of microbial enzymes.

Characterization and Nonenzymatic Transformation of Three Types of Alkaloids from Streptomyces albogriseolus MGR072 and Discovery of Inhibitors of Indoleamine 2,3-Dioxygenase.

The known benzonaphthyridine alkaloid, albogrisin A (1), and six new compounds, including two pyrazinone stereoisomers, albogrisin B (2)/B' (2'), together with four 4H-pyrroloquinolinones, two diastereoisomers, albogrisin C (3)/C' (3'), and their methyl esters, albogrisin D (4)/D' (4'), were isolated from mangrove-derived Streptomyces albogriseolus MGR072. 2 and 2' are converted into 1 in acidic aqueous solution but into 3/3' and 4/4' in 0.05% trifluoroacetic acid acetonitrile. 4 and 4' are new indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 inhibitors.

Rational engineering of amide synthetase enables bioconversion to diverse xiamenmycin derivatives.

XimA is a unique amide synthetase that belongs to the ANL superfamily of adenylating enzymes, but with a special structural fold. In order to improve the enzyme promiscuity, we engineered XimA by site-directed mutagenesis at a specific position based on our theoretical model of XimA. Thus, we were able to produce diverse benzopyran derivatives with up to 15 different l-form and d-form amino acid substitutions, catalyzed by several XimA variants. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations conducted for various XimA systems provide further structural insights into the substitution effects of the phenylalanine-201 as an active site residue on protein dynamics and enzyme catalysis.

Dynamical modelling of secondary metabolism and metabolic switches in Streptomyces xiamenensis 318.

The production of secondary metabolites, while important for bioengineering purposes, presents a paradox in itself. Though widely existing in plants and bacteria, they have no definite physiological roles. Yet in both native habitats and laboratories, their production appears robust and follows apparent metabolic switches. We show in this work that the enzyme-catalysed process may improve the metabolic stability of the cells. The latter can be responsible for the overall metabolic behaviours such as dynamic metabolic landscape, metabolic switches and robustness, which can in turn affect the genetic formation of the organism in question. Mangrove-derived Streptomyces xiamenensis 318, with a relatively compact genome for secondary metabolism, is used as a model organism in our investigation. Integrated studies via kinetic metabolic modelling, transcriptase measurements and metabolic profiling were performed on this strain. Our results demonstrate that the secondary metabolites increase the metabolic fitness of the organism via stabilizing the underlying metabolic network. And the fluxes directing to NADH, NADPH, acetyl-CoA and glutamate provide the key switches for the overall and secondary metabolism. The information may be helpful for improving the xiamenmycin production on the strain.

Correction to: 'Dynamical modelling of secondary metabolism and metabolic switches in Streptomyces xiamenensis 318'.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1098/rsos.190418.].

Combinatory Biosynthesis of Prenylated 4-Hydroxybenzoate Derivatives by Overexpression of the Substrate-Promiscuous Prenyltransferase XimB in Engineered E. coli.

Prenylated aromatic compounds are important intermediates in the biosynthesis of bioactive molecules such as 3-chromanols from plants, ubiquinones from prokaryotes and meroterpenoids from sponges. Biosynthesis of prenylated aromatic compounds using prokaryotic microorganisms has attracted increasing attention in the field of synthetic biology. In this study, we demonstrated that the production of 3-geranyl-4-hydroxybenzoic acid (GBA) and a variety of GBA analogues was feasible in a metabolically engineered E. coli by using XimB, a special prenyltransferase involved in the biosynthesis of xiamenmycin A in Streptomyces xiamenensis 318. XimB exhibits broad substrate specificity and can catalyze the transfer reaction of prenyl moieties with different carbon chain lengths to both the natural substrate 4-hydroxybenzoate (4-HBA) and to different substituted 4-HBA derivatives at C-2 and C-3. Feeding 4-HBA to an engineered E. coli equipped with a hybrid mevalonate pathway increased the production of GBA up to 94.30 mg/L. Considerable amounts of other GBA derivatives, compounds 4, 5, 6, 7, and 9, can be achieved by feeding precursors. The plug-and-play design for inserting C5, C15, and C20 prenyl diphosphate synthetases under the control of the T7 promoter resulted in targeted production of 3-dimethylallyl, 3-farnesyl-, and 3-geranylgeranyl-4-hydroxybenzoic acid, respectively. Furthermore, the valuable benzopyran xiamenmycin B was successfully produced in E. coli R7-MVA by coexpression of a complete biosynthetic gene cluster, which contains ximBDE.

The simultaneous separation and determination of six flavonoids and troxerutin in rat urine and chicken plasma by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet-visible detection.

The method of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV-vis detection was used and validated for the simultaneous determination of six flavonoids (puerarin, rutin, morin, luteolin, quercetin, kaempferol) and troxerutin in rat urine and chicken plasma. Chromatographic separation was performed using a VP-ODS column (150 mm x 4.6 mm, 5.0 microm) maintained at 35.0 degrees C. The mobile phase was a mixture of water, methanol and acetic acid (57:43:1, v/v/v, pH 3.0) at the flow rate of 0.8 mL/min. Six flavonoids and troxerutin were analyzed simultaneously with good separation. On optimum conditions, calibration curves were found to be linear with the ranges of 0.10-70.00 microg/mL (puerarin, rutin, morin, luteolin, quercetin, kaempferol) and 0.50-350.00 microg/mL (troxerutin). The detection limits were 0.010-0.050 microg/mL. The method was validated for accuracy and precision, and it was successfully applied to determine drug concentrations in rat urine and chicken plasma samples from rat and chicken that had been orally administered with six flavonoids and troxerutin.

Structural diversity of anti-pancreatic cancer capsimycins identified in mangrove-derived Streptomyces xiamenensis 318 and post-modification via a novel cytochrome P450 monooxygenase.

Polycyclic tetramate macrolactams (PTMs) were identified as distinct secondary metabolites of the mangrove-derived Streptomyces xiamenensis 318. Together with three known compounds-ikarugamycin (1), capsimycin (2) and capsimycin B (3)-two new compounds, capsimycin C (4) with trans-diols and capsimycin D (5) with trans-configurations at C-13/C-14, have been identified. The absolute configurations of the tert/tert-diols moiety was determined in 4 by NMR spectroscopic analysis, CD spectral comparisons and semi-synthetic method. The post-modification mechanism of the carbocyclic ring at C-14/C-13 of compound 1 in the biosynthesis of an important intermediate 3 was investigated. A putative cytochrome P450 superfamily gene, SXIM_40690 (ikaD), which was proximally localized to the ikarugamycin biosynthetic pathway, was characterized. In vivo gene inactivation and complementation experiment confirmed that IkaD catalysed the epoxide-ring formation reaction and further hydroxylation of ethyl side chain to form capsimycin G (3'). Binding affinities and kinetic parameters for the interactions between ikarugamycin (1) and capsimycin B (3) with IkaD were measured with Surface Plasmon Resonance. The intermediate compound 3' was isolated and identified as 30-hydroxyl-capsimycin B. The caspimycins 2 and 3, were transferred to methoxyl derivatives, 6 and 7, under acidic and heating conditions. Compounds 1-3 exhibited anti-proliferative activities against pancreatic carcinoma with IC50 values of 1.30-3.37 µM.