Significance of agitation-induced shear stress on mycelium morphology and lavendamycin production by engineered Streptomyces flocculus.

Lavendamycin methyl ester (LME) is a derivative of a highly functionalized aminoquinone alkaloid lavendamycin and could be used as a scaffold for novel anticancer agent development. This work demonstrated LME production by cultivation of an engineered strain of Streptomyces flocculus CGMCC4.1223 ΔstnB1, while the wild-type strain did not produce. To enhance its production, the effect of shear stress and oxygen supply on ΔstnB1 strain cultivation was investigated in detail. In flask culture, when the shaking speed increased from 150 to 220 rpm, the mycelium was altered from a large pellet to a filamentous hypha, and the LME production was almost doubled, while no significant differences were observed among varied filling volumes, which implied a crucial role of shear stress in the morphology and LME production. To confirm this suggestion, experiments with agitation speed ranging from 400 to 1,000 rpm at a fixed aeration rate of 1.0 vvm were conducted in a stirred tank bioreactor. It was found that the morphology became more hairy with reduced pellet size, and the LME production was enhanced threefolds when the agitation speed increased from 400 to 800 rpm. Further experiments by varying initial k L a value at the same agitation speed indicated that oxygen supply only slightly affected the physiological status of ΔstnB1 strain. Altogether, shear stress was identified as a major factor affecting the cell morphology and LME production. The work would be helpful to the production of LME and other secondary metabolites by filamentous microorganism cultivation.

Synthesis, metabolism and in vitro cytotoxicity studies on novel lavendamycin antitumor agents.

A series of lavendamycin analogues with two, three or four substituents at the C-6, C-7 N, C-2', C-3' and C-11' positions were synthesized via short and efficient methods and evaluated as potential NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase (NQO1)-directed antitumor agents. The compounds were prepared through Pictet-Spengler condensation of the desired 2-formylquinoline-5,8-diones with the required tryptophans followed by further needed transformations. Metabolism and toxicity studies demonstrated that the best substrates for NQO1 were also the most selectively toxic to NQO1-rich tumor cells compared to NQO1-deficient tumor cells.

Heteroaryl cross-coupling as an entry toward the synthesis of lavendamycin analogues: a model study.

ABC analogues of the antitumor antibiotic lavendamycin, which contain the key metal chelation site and redox-active quinone unit essential for biological activity, were prepared via the palladium(0)-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction of various 2-haloheteroaromatics with 2-stannylated pyridines and quinolines. Using the Stille reaction, 2-bromo substituted quinolines and 1-bromoisoquinolines were found to undergo efficient coupling with 2-pyridinylstannanes to provide unsymmetrical heterobiaryl derivatives. While the Stille reaction using the reverse coupling partners (i.e., 2-quinolinylstannanes and haloheteroaromatics) had not received much attention in the literature, we found that this alternative coupling reaction efficiently provided several new heterobiaryl derivatives. The gold-catalyzed intramolecular cycloisomerization of N-(prop-2-ynyl)-1H-indole-2-carboxamide smoothly afforded a beta-carbolinone derivative that was subsequently used for a Pd(0)-catalyzed cross-coupling directed toward the synthesis of lavendamycin analogues.

Gold-catalyzed cycloisomerization of N-Propargylindole-2-carboxamides: application toward the synthesis of lavendamycin analogues.

A series of N-propargylindole-2-carboxamides were found to undergo a AuCl 3-catalyzed cycloisomerization to give beta-carbolinones in high yield. The corresponding beta-chlorocarboline derivative was prepared and used for Pd(0)-catalyzed cross-coupling chemistry directed toward the synthesis of lavendamycin analogues.

Lavendamycin antitumor agents: structure-based design, synthesis, and NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) model validation with molecular docking and biological studies.

A 1H69 crystal structure-based in silico model of the NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) active site has been developed to facilitate NQO1-directed lavendamycin antitumor agent development. Lavendamycin analogues were designed as NQO1 substrates utilizing structure-based design criteria. Computational docking studies were performed using the model to predict NQO1 substrate specificity. Designed N-acyllavendamycin esters and amides were synthesized by Pictet-Spengler condensation. Metabolism and cytotoxicity studies were performed on the analogues with recombinant human NQO1 and human colon adenocarcinoma cells (NQO1-deficient BE and NQO1-rich BE-NQ). Docking and biological data were found to be correlated where analogues 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16 were categorized as good, poor, poor, poor, and good NQO1 substrates, respectively. Our results demonstrated that the ligand design criteria were valid, resulting in the discovery of two good NQO1 substrates. The observed consistency between the docking and biological data suggests that the model possesses practical predictive power.

Total synthesis of streptonigrone.

A total synthesis of streptonigrone, 1, is described, which incorporates a one-step synthesis of substituted pyridones devised in our laboratory. Other aspects of the synthesis that differentiate the present approach from previous ones are the use of a Conrad-Limpach reaction, rather than the customary Friedländer methodology, to assemble the quinoline segment of 1, and the implementation of an anionic sequence for the functionalization of a key pyridone intermediate.

Synthesis and evaluation of antitumor activity of novel N-acyllavendamycin analogues and quinoline-5,8-diones.

A series of 7-N-acyllavendamycins with zero, one or two substituents at the C-2', C-3', and C-11' were synthesized through short and efficient methods. Pictet-Spengler condensation of 7-N-acylamino-2-formylquinoline-5,8-diones with tryptamine or tryptophans produced the desired lavendamycins. Screening data on a panel of three ras oncogene-transformed cell lines and the non-transformed parent cell line showed that a significant number of these analogues are potent antitumor agents and appear to be particularly active against K-ras transformed cells. Compared with the corresponding quinolinediones, these novel lavendamycins are much more inhibitory toward the transformed cells indicating that the beta-carboline moiety of the lavendamycin analogues plays an important role in its potency and selective toxicity.

Novel lavendamycin analogues as antitumor agents: synthesis, in vitro cytotoxicity, structure-metabolism, and computational molecular modeling studies with NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1.

Novel lavendamycin analogues with various substituents were synthesized and evaluated as potential NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase (NQO1)-directed antitumor agents. Pictet-Spengler condensation of quinoline- or quninoline-5,8-dione aldehydes with tryptamine or tryptophans yielded the lavendamycins. Metabolism studies with recombinant human NQO1 revealed that addition of NH2 and CH2OH groups at the quinolinedione-7-position and indolopyridine-2'-position had the greatest positive impact on substrate specificity. The best and poorest substrates were 37 (2'-CH2OH-7-NH2 derivative) and 31 (2'-CONH2-7-NHCOC3H7-n derivative) with reduction rates of 263 +/- 30 and 0.1 +/- 0.1 micromol/min/mg NQO1, respectively. Cytotoxicity toward human colon adenocarcinoma cells was determined for the lavendamycins. The best substrates for NQO1 were also the most selectively toxic to the NQO1-rich BE-NQ cells compared to NQO1-deficient BE-WT cells with 37 as the most selective. Molecular docking supported a model in which the best substrates were capable of efficient hydrogen-bonding interactions with key residues of the active site along with hydride ion reception.

Total synthesis of novel 6-substituted lavendamycin antitumor agents.

[structure: see text] Novel 6-substituted lavendamycins have been synthesized for the first time. The key step in these syntheses is a Pictet-Spengler condensation (Scheme 1). Efficient methods for the synthesis of each compound, including a novel reaction for the facile introduction of alkylamino groups at the C-6 position of the lavendamycin system, are discussed. Possible mechanisms for these reactions are also presented.

Antitumor antibiotic streptonigrin and its derivatives as inhibitors of nitric oxide-dependent activation of soluble guanylyl cyclase.

The influence of streptonigrin on the activity of human platelet guanylyl cyclase was investigated. Streptonigrin (0.1-5 microM) had no effect on the basal activity of the enzyme, but inhibited in a concentration-dependent manner the sodium nitroprusside-induced activation of human platelet soluble guanylyl cyclase with an IC(50) value of 4.16 microM. Streptonigrin (10 microM) also inhibited (by 28%) the activation of the enzyme by the direct nitric oxide (NO) donor-spermine-NONO (100 microM), but had no influence on the stimulation of soluble guanylyl cyclase by protoporphyrin IX. The absence of a correlation between the inhibition of NO-stimulated guanylyl cyclase activity by streptonigrin (I) and its derivatives (streptonigrone (IV), streptonigrone-2'-imine (V), amide of 1 and 2'-deoxy-2'-amino-D-glucose (VI), amide of 1 and 2'-deoxy-2'-amino-2'-D-galactose (VII), amide of 1 and 1-O-methyl-6-deoxy-6-amino-D-glucose (VIII), diphenylmethyl ester of I (IX), conjugate of I and daunorubicin (X)), and the level of cytotoxic effects of these compounds excludes the involvement of guanylyl cyclase in the mechanism of antitumor action of streptonigrin. Inhibition of guanylyl cyclase activation by NO donors but not by protoporphyrin IX represents a new biochemical effect of streptonigrin, which should be taken into account in addition to its antitumor action.

Novel lavendamycin analogues as potent HIV-reverse transcriptase inhibitors: synthesis and evaluation of anti-reverse transcriptase activity of amide and ester analogues of lavendamycin.

Novel lavendamycins including two water soluble derivatives were synthesized via short and efficient methods. Pictet-Spengler condensation of 7-N-acylamino-2-formylquinoline-5,8-diones with tryptophans produced lavendamycin esters or amides 11-17. Lavendamycins 18-21 were obtained, respectively, by further transformations of 13-15 and 17. Several lavendamycins were found to be potent HIV reverse transcriptase inhibitors with very low toxicity in vitro and in vivo. Several compounds also acted either additively or synergistically to inhibit enzyme activity together with AZT-triphosphate.

Siloxane-based cross-coupling of bromopyridine derivatives: studies for the synthesis of streptonigrin and lavendamycin.

Highly functionalized 4-bromopyridines were prepared and found to undergo fluoride-promoted, Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling with aryltrialkoxysilanes to give sterically demanding biaryls. The 3-nitro-4-bromopyridine derivative coupled in good yield with TBAT (tetrabutylammonium triphenyldifluorosilicate) to provide a biaryl adduct that serves as a model system for the total synthesis of the antitumor antibiotics streptonigrin and lavendamycin. [reaction: see text]

Characterization of the cytotoxic activities of novel analogues of the antitumor agent, lavendamycin.

Lavendamycin is a bacterially derived quinolinedione that displays significant antimicrobial and antitumor activities. However, preclinical development of lavendamycin as an anticancer agent was halted due to the poor aqueous solubility and relatively nonspecific cytotoxic activity of this compound. In this report, we have examined the cytotoxic activities of a series of novel lavendamycin analogues. The cytotoxic activities of these compounds were evaluated in clonogenic survival assays with A549 lung carcinoma cells. Compounds bearing an amide or amine substituent at the R(3) position were the most potent inhibitors of colony formation. MB-97, the most active member of this subgroup, decreased clonogenic outgrowth by 70% at a concentration of 10 n. Treatment of A549 cells with MB-97 led to an increase in p53 protein expression and phosphorylation and a concomitant increase in the expression of the p53 target gene, p21. Exposure of p53-positive cells to MB-97 triggered cell cycle arrest in G(1) and G(2) phases but induced a selective G(2)-phase arrest in p53-negative cells. MB-97 treatment also induced a higher level of apoptosis in p53-null cells relative to their p53-positive counterparts. Finally, MB-97 showed significant cytotoxic activity in the National Cancer Institute's panel of 60 cancer cell lines and antitumor activity in vivo in hollow fiber tumorigenesis assays.

Isolation of streptonigrin and its novel derivative from Micromonospora as inducing agents of p53-dependent cell apoptosis.

Streptonigrin (1) and its novel natural derivative 7-(1-methyl-2-oxopropyl)streptonigrin (2) were isolated from an actinomycete strain, Micromonospora sp. IM 2670. The inductions for 1 and 2 are more potent in the human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells that contain wild-type p53 than in SH-SY5Y-5.6 cells that overexpress a dominant negative mutant of p53, thus suggesting that they induce apoptosis through a p53-dependent pathway.

Ruthenium complexes of analogues of the antitumor antibiotic streptonigrin.

The complexes Ru(L1-CH3)(CO)3Cl, RuL2(CO)2Cl2, and RuL3(CO)2Cl2 (L1= 6-methoxy-5,8-quinolinedione, L2 = 7-amino-6-methoxy-5,8-quinolinedione, L3 = 6,6'-dimethoxycarbonyl-2,2'-bipyridine) were prepared by reaction of L1-L3 with the tricarbonyldichlororuthenium(II) dimer. L1-L3 act as bidentates through the ortho oxygen atoms, the pyridyl nitrogen and the adjacent quinone oxygen, and the bipyridyl nitrogens, respectively. RuL3(CO)2Cl2 is characterized by X-ray crystallography. 15N NMR correlation spectra give upfield shifts of around 60 ppm for the pyridyl nitrogens that are coordinated to the metal, while 13C NMR correlation spectra give a downfield shift of 10 ppm for the quinone carbonyl group that is coordinated to the metal. The electrochemistry of RuL2(CO)2Cl2 is examined, and the implications for the formation of metal complexes of the antitumor antibiotic streptonigrin, which cleaves DNA in the presence of metal ions, are discussed.

The role of ring D in the antitumour antibiotic streptonigrin: metal complexation, DNA binding and topoisomerase inhibition by ABC ring analogues of streptonigrin.

interaction of 7-amino-2-(6'-carboxy-2'-pyridyl)-6-methoxy-5,8-quinolinedione, an ABC ring analogue of the antitumour antibiotic streptonigrin, with zinc(II), oligonucleotides and DNA in the presence of zinc(II), and on the relaxation of DNA by topoisomerase II, has been studied. This ligand contains the key functional groups present in streptonigrin required for biological activity, but lacks the phenolic ring D which confers optical activity on streptonigrin. Variable temperature NMR experiments showed that in the presence of zinc(II) triflate, the methyl ester of the ligand forms a mixture of 1:1 and 1:2 metal:ligand bipyridyl complexes, whose relative stabilities are temperature dependent. Titrations of the water-soluble ligand with zinc(II) nitrate at room temperature showed that the predominant species present in aqueous solution at physiological pH is the 1:1 bipyridyl complex. The interaction of the ligand with the hexanucleotides d(GCATGC)2 and d(ATGCAT)2 was studied by 1H- and 31P-NMR spectroscopy. In the presence of 1 equiv of zinc(II) nitrate and 1 equiv of the ligand, small changes in chemical shifts of the proton resonances associated with the purine resonances were detected consistent with a weak interaction of the zinc(II) complex of the ligand with the oligonucleotides, possibly via a groove binding mechanism. UV-VIS titrations showed a weak interaction of the ligand with calf thymus DNA and poly(dG-dC)2 in the presence of zinc(II) but negligible interaction with poly(dA-dT)2. Gel electrophoresis experiments showed that, in contrast to streptonigrin, the ligand did not inhibit the relaxation of plasmid DNA by human topoisomerase II. These results show that the interaction of the ABC ligand with zinc(II), oligonucleotides, DNA and topoisomerase II is different to streptonigrin and hence the design of biologically active ABC ring analogues of streptongrin that operate via different mechanisms should be possible.

Novel cytocidal compounds, oxopropalines from Streptomyces sp. G324 producing lavendamycin. I. Taxonomy of the producing organism, fermentation, isolation and biological activities.

In the course of our investigation aimed at the discovery of novel antitumor antibiotics from microorganisms, Streptomyces sp. G324 was found to produce the antitumor antibiotic, lavendamycin, and also, to yield the novel beta-carboline compounds, oxopropalines. We isolated five compounds as oxopropalines A, B, D, E and G. Oxopropalines B, D and G showed cytocidal activities against human or murine tumor cell lines in vitro.

Novel cytocidal compounds, oxopropalines from Streptomyces sp. G324 producing lavendamycin. II. Physico-chemical properties and structure elucidations.

Novel cytocidal compounds designated oxopropalines A, B, D, E and G were isolated from the fermentation of an actinomycete named Streptomyces sp. G324, a strain that also produced an antitumor antibiotic, lavendamycin. All these compounds possessed a beta-carboline chromophore. The structures of the oxopropalines were elucidated by several NMR spectral analyses and other spectroscopic experiments.