Published papers

Kinenzoline (1), a new linear depsipeptide, was isolated from a marine Salileptolyngbya sp. cyanobacterium. Its structure was elucidated by spectroscopic analyses and degradation reactions. In addition, we achieved a total synthesis of 1 and confirmed its structure. Kinenzoline (1) showed highly selective antiproliferative activity against the causative organism of sleeping sickness, Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense (IC50 4.5 μM), compared to normal human cells (WI-38, IC50 > 100 μM). Kinenzoline (1) is a promising lead compound for the development of new antitrypanosomal drugs.

Hoshinoamide C (1), an antiparasitic lipopeptide, was isolated from the marine cyanobacterium Caldora penicillata. Its planar structure was elucidated by spectral analyses, mainly 2D NMR, and the absolute configurations of the α-amino acid moieties were determined by degradation reactions followed by chiral-phase HPLC analyses. To clarify the absolute configuration of an unusual amino acid moiety, we synthesized two possible diastereomers of hoshinoamide C and determined its absolute configuration based on a comparison of their spectroscopic data with those of the natural compound. Hoshinoamide C (1) did not exhibit any cytotoxicity against HeLa or HL60 cells at 10 μM, but inhibited the growth of the parasites responsible for malaria (IC50 0.96 μM) and African sleeping sickness (IC50 2.9 μM).

Lingaoamide (1), a new cyclic heptapeptide natural product, was isolated from a freshwater Oscillatoria cyanobacterium. The producing organism was collected in Chinese water spinach paddy farm fields in Lingao County, Hainan, China. The structure of 1 was determined by conventional mass spectrometry, NMR spectroscopy, and chemical degradation studies. Lingaoamide concentration-dependently up-regulates the biogenesis of pro-pathogenic melanin pigments (melanogenesis) in the rice blast fungus, Magnaporthe grisea, when tested in vitro. This molecule also exhibits weak in vitro inhibition (MIC 32 μg/mL) of Gram-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Gram-positive Bacillus pumilus, and does not appear to impact plant growth or immune response in vivo using the model organism, Arabidopsis thaliana.

Metabolomics can be used to study complex mixtures of natural products, or secondary metabolites, for many different purposes. One productive application of metabolomics that has emerged in recent years is the guiding direction for isolating molecules with structural novelty through analysis of untargeted LC-MS/MS data. The metabolomics-driven investigation and bioassay-guided fractionation of a biomass assemblage from the South China Sea dominated by a marine filamentous cyanobacteria, cf. Neolyngbya sp., has led to the discovery of a natural product in this study, wenchangamide A (1). Wenchangamide A was found to concentration-dependently cause fast-onset apoptosis in HCT116 human colon cancer cells in vitro (24 h IC50 = 38 µM). Untargeted metabolomics, by way of MS/MS molecular networking, was used further to generate a structural proposal for a new natural product analogue of 1, here coined wenchangamide B, which was present in the organic extract and bioactive sub-fractions of the biomass examined. The wenchangamides are of interest for anticancer drug discovery, and the characterization of these molecules will facilitate the future discovery of related natural products and development of synthetic analogues.

Motobamide (1), a new cyclic peptide containing a C-prenylated cyclotryptophan residue, was isolated from a marine Leptolyngbya sp. cyanobacterium. Its planar structure was established by spectroscopic and MS/MS analyses. The absolute configuration was elucidated based on a combination of chemical degradations, chiral-phase HPLC analyses, spectroscopic analyses, and computational chemistry. Motobamide (1) moderately inhibited the growth of bloodstream forms of Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense (IC50 2.3 μM). However, it exhibited a weaker cytotoxicity against normal human cells (IC50 55 μM).

Sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA) is a membrane protein on the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) that transports Ca2+ from the cytosol into the ER. As its function is associated with various biological phenomena, SERCA has been recognized as a promising druggable target. Here, we report the second-strongest SERCA-inhibitory compound known to date, which we isolated from the marine cyanobacterium Leptochromothrix valpauliae and named iezoside (1). The structure of iezoside (1) is fundamentally different from that of any other SERCA inhibitor, and its potency is the strongest among marine natural products (Ki 7.1 nM). In this article, we report our comprehensive analysis of iezoside (1), which covers its isolation, structural characterization supported by density functional theory (DFT) calculations and statistical analysis, total synthesis, and clarification of the mode of action of its potent antiproliferative activity (IC50 6.7 ± 0.4 nM against HeLa cells).

Caldorazole (1) is a novel polyketide that was isolated from a marine cyanobacterium in 2022. It is a unique natural product that exhibits potent inhibitory activity against mitochondrial respiratory chain complex I despite having no chiral centers. To establish a method for obtaining caldorazole without relying on biological resources and for constructing a useful synthetic route for studies of its structure-activity relationship, we achieved the first total synthesis of caldorazole using a convergent synthetic route.