Higginsianins A and B, Two Diterpenoid α-Pyrones Produced by Colletotrichum higginsianum, with in Vitro Cytostatic Activity

J Nat Prod. 2016 Jan 22;79(1):116-25. doi: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.5b00779. Epub 2015 Dec 23.

Abstract

Two new diterpenoid α-pyrones, named higginsianins A (1) and B (2), were isolated from the mycelium of the fungus Colletotrichum higginsianum grown in liquid culture. They were characterized as 3-[5a,9b-dimethyl-7-methylene-2-(2-methylpropenyl)dodecahydronaphtho[2,1-b]furan-6-ylmethyl]-4-hydroxy-5,6-dimethylpyran-2-one and 4-hydroxy-3-[6-hydroxy-5,8a-dimethyl-2-methylene-5-(4-methylpent-3-enyl)decahydronaphthalen-1-ylmethyl]-5,6-dimethylpyran-2-one, respectively, by using NMR, HRESIMS, and chemical methods. The structure and relative configuration of higginsianin A (1) were confirmed by X-ray diffractometric analysis, while its absolute configuration was assigned by electronic circular dichroism (ECD) experiments and calculations using a solid-state ECD/TDDFT method. The relative and absolute configuration of higginsianin B (2), which did not afford crystals suitable for X-ray analysis, were determined by NMR analysis and by ECD in comparison with higginsianin A. 1 and 2 were the C-8 epimers of subglutinol A and diterpenoid BR-050, respectively. The evaluation of 1 and 2 for antiproliferative activity against a panel of six cancer cell lines revealed that the IC50 values, obtained with cells reported to be sensitive to pro-apoptotic stimuli, are by more than 1 order of magnitude lower than their apoptosis-resistant counterparts (1 vs >80 μM). Finally, three hemisynthetic derivatives of 1 were prepared and evaluated for antiproliferative activity. Two of these possessed IC50 values and differential sensitivity profiles similar to those of 1.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Circular Dichroism
  • Colletotrichum / chemistry*
  • Cytostatic Agents / chemistry
  • Cytostatic Agents / isolation & purification*
  • Cytostatic Agents / pharmacology*
  • Diterpenes / chemistry
  • Diterpenes / isolation & purification*
  • Diterpenes / pharmacology*
  • Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor
  • Humans
  • Mice
  • Molecular Structure
  • Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Biomolecular
  • Pyrones / chemistry
  • Pyrones / isolation & purification*
  • Pyrones / pharmacology*
  • Stereoisomerism
  • Structure-Activity Relationship
  • Trinidad and Tobago

Substances

  • Cytostatic Agents
  • Diterpenes
  • Pyrones
  • higginsianin A
  • higginsianin B