Pregnane-10,2-carbolactones from a Hawaiian Marine Sponge in the Genus Myrmekioderma

Naturally Occurring Organohalogen Compounds-A Comprehensive Review

The present volume is the third in a trilogy that documents naturally occurring organohalogen compounds, bringing the total number-from fewer than 25 in 1968-to approximately 8000 compounds to date. Nearly all of these natural products contain chlorine or bromine, with a few containing iodine and, fewer still, fluorine. Produced by ubiquitous marine (algae, sponges, corals, bryozoa, nudibranchs, fungi, bacteria) and terrestrial organisms (plants, fungi, bacteria, insects, higher animals) and universal abiotic processes (volcanos, forest fires, geothermal events), organohalogens pervade the global ecosystem. Newly identified extraterrestrial sources are also documented. In addition to chemical structures, biological activity, biohalogenation, biodegradation, natural function, and future outlook are presented.

New Spiro-Sesquiterpenoids from the Marine Sponge Myrmekioderma sp

Three new spiro-sesquiterpenoids, myrmekiones A-C (1-3), were isolated from the marine sponge Myrmekioderma sp. collected from the South China Sea. The structures of 1-3 were experimentally illuminated though comprehensive NMR spectra, X-ray diffraction analysis and calculated ECD. These three compounds possessed a special spiro skeleton. Compound 1 was characterized by a chamigrane-type structure, it is the first time to obtain the single-crystal of this type of oil compounds. 2 and 3 were a pair of diastereoisomers that possessed an acorane skeleton. This study expands the chemical diversity of marine origin spiro-metabolites.

Four New Pregnane-10,2-carbolactones from an Epipolasis sp. Marine Sponge

Four new pregnane steroids, 3β,4β,16β-trihydroxypregna-5,17-diene-10,2-carbolactone (1), 16β-acetoxy-3β,4β-dihydroxypregna-5,17-diene-10,2-carbolactone (2), 12β-acetoxy-3β,4β,16β-trihydroxypregna-5,17-diene-10,2-carbolactone (3), and 12β,16β-diacetoxy-3β,4β-dihydroxypregna-5,17-diene-10,2-carbolactone (4) were isolated from an extract of an Epipolasis sp. marine sponge. The structures of the new compounds were determined by extensive NMR spectroscopic analysis and comparison with data from previously reported compounds.

Chemical Diversity of β-Secretase Inhibitors From Natural Resources

Reports on β-secretase inhibitors of natural origin are listed in order to reveal their chemical diversity. Various types of compounds were found to inhibit β-secretase, and natural resources included a wide spectrum of biological species. Among them, some triterpenes and moracin derivatives, which are nonpeptidic compounds, were determined to be competitive inhibitors. In addition, no peptide compounds were reported from natural resources. These points will be clarified in future studies.

Marine Ligands of the Pregnane X Receptor (PXR): An Overview

Pregnane X Receptor (PXR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor which binds many structurally different molecules. The receptor is able to regulate the expression of a wide array of genes and is involved in cancer and different key physiological processes such as the metabolism of drugs/xenobiotics and endogenous compounds including lipids and carbohydrates, and inflammation. Algae, sponges, sea squirts, and other marine organisms are some of the species from which structurally new molecules have been isolated that have been subsequently identified in recent decades as ligands for PXR. The therapeutic potential of these natural compounds is promising in different areas and has recently resulted in the registration of trabectedin by the FDA as a novel antineoplastic drug. Apart from being potentially novel drugs, these compounds can also serve as models for the development of new molecules with improved activity. The aim of this review is to succinctly summarize the currently known natural molecules isolated from marine organisms with a proven ability to interact with PXR.

Myrmenaphthol A, Isolated from a Hawaiian Sponge of the Genus Myrmekioderma

Four compounds (1-4) were isolated from a Hawaiian sponge of the genus Myrmekioderma. Myrmenaphthol A (1) incorporates two unusual elements into an oxidized steroidal core: a naphthyl AB-ring system and a hydroxy group at C-2. A comparison of the experimental and predicted electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra of 1 assigned an S configuration to the lone stereocenter (Δ_ESI = 0.75; similarity factor 0.8137). Known compounds, cinanthrenol A (2), 3,4-dihydroxypregna-5,17-diene-10,2-carbolactone (3), and 3,4-dihydroxypregna-5,20-diene-10,2-carbolactone (4), were also isolated. Despite literature reports of competitive inhibition at nanomolar levels for 2, neither 2 nor the structurally related 1 showed any activity against estrogen receptors at the concentrations tested.

Hexafluoroisopropanol-Mediated Domino Reaction for the Synthesis of Thiazolo-androstenones: Potent Anticancer Agents

A cascade reaction of thioamides with 6β-bromoandrostenedione in hexafluoroisopropanol formed substituted thiazolo-androstenones. This is a simple and mild protocol to synthesize novel molecules by using readily available reagents and substrates. Feasibility of the reaction has been rationalized by density functional theory calculations. Moreover, these compounds are potent growth inhibitors of colon, central nervous system, melanoma, ovarian, and renal cancer cell lines with 50% growth inhibition values as low as 1.04 μM.

Benign Synthesis of Thiazolo-androstenone Derivatives as Potent Anticancer Agents

An unprecedented reaction of thiourea derivatives with 6β-bromoandrostenedione has been discovered for the formation of aminothiazolo-androstenones via a simple, safer, cascade protocol that enables the syntheses of novel molecules by using readily available reagents. The reaction mechanism of product formation has been rationalized by density functional theory calculations. This benign methodology accentuates a domino protocol deploying a renewable solvent, ethanol, while generating novel compounds that display potent growth inhibitory effects in in vitro studies for several cancer cell lines at submicromolar concentrations.

Marine natural products

Covering: 2016. Previous review: Nat. Prod. Rep., 2017, 34, 235-294This review covers the literature published in 2016 for marine natural products (MNPs), with 757 citations (643 for the period January to December 2016) referring to compounds isolated from marine microorganisms and phytoplankton, green, brown and red algae, sponges, cnidarians, bryozoans, molluscs, tunicates, echinoderms, mangroves and other intertidal plants and microorganisms. The emphasis is on new compounds (1277 in 432 papers for 2016), together with the relevant biological activities, source organisms and country of origin. Reviews, biosynthetic studies, first syntheses, and syntheses that led to the revision of structures or stereochemistries, have been included.