Amides of polyene macrolide aureofacin. Synthesis and biological properties

Chemical modification and biological evaluation of new semisynthetic derivatives of 28,29-Didehydronystatin A1 (S44HP), a genetically engineered antifungal polyene macrolide antibiotic

Twenty-three new derivatives of the heptaene nystatin analogue 28,29-didehydronystatin A(1) (1) (S44HP) were obtained by chemical modification of C16 carboxyl and amino groups of mycosamine. These derivatives comprised 15 carboxamides, 4 N-alkyl derivatives, 3 N-derivatives containing additional N-linked monosaccharide or disaccharide moiety (products of Amadori rearrangement), and 1 N-aminoacyl derivative. The derivatives have been tested in vitro against yeasts Candida albicans, Cryptococcus humicolus, and filamentous fungi (molds) Aspergillus niger and Fusarum oxysporum, as well as for hemolytic activity against human erythrocytes. Structure-activity relationships for the compounds obtained are discussed. The most active and least hemolytic derivative 3-(N,N-dimethylamino)propylamide of S44HP (6) was tested for acute toxicity and antifungal activity in animal model. Whereas amphotericin B and S44HP were active in vivo at doses close to the maximal tolerated dose, 6 was considerably less toxic and more active compared to these two antibiotics.

Identification of the structural elements of amphotericin B and other polyene macrolide antibiotics of the hepteane group influencing the ionic selectivity of the permeability pathways formed in the red cell membrane

The selectivity of the transmembrane permeability induced by polyene antibiotics was studied in human erythrocytes and related to the hemolytic potency of the drugs. The selectivity induced was differently, dependent on the antibiotic structure in aromatic (vacidin A, gedamycin) and nonaromatic heptaenes (amphotericin B, candidin). Aromatic heptaenes were more effective than nonaromatic in inducing permeability to K+. For both groups of antibiotics, permeability to K+ was not affected by substitution at the carboxyl group but important differences in the induction of permeability to H+, OH- and Cl- were found. The strongly hemolytic aromatic heptaenes vacidin A and gedamycin exhibited much higher protonophoric activity than the nonaromatic ones: amphotericin B, and candidin. The protonophoric properties of aromatic heptaenes were related to the presence of a free carboxyl group in the antibiotic molecule. Indeed the esterification or amidation of the carboxyl group of vacidin A or gedamycin eliminated the ability of the antibiotic to increase H+ conductance and consequently diminished their hemolytic activity to an important extent. Both groups of antibiotics differed also in the efficiency of anion permeability induction. Only unsubstituted aromatic heptaenes, at high concentration, induced Cl-/OH- exchange and conductive flux of Cl- in a concentration-dependent manner. Substitution at the carboxyl group of vacidin A or gedamycin eliminated this property. Amphotericin B as well as its carboxyl-substituted derivatives formed a pathway characterized by low K+ over Cl- selectivity, whatever the concentration. The hemolytic activity, related to K+ permeability increased by heptaenes was dependent on simultaneous increase of the permeability to anions, and net KCl influx. Carboxyl-substituted derivatives of aromatic heptaenes presenting a remarkably high selectivity for K+, had consequently a very poor hemolytic activity.

Polyene macrolide antibiotics: indirect stimulation of the Na+/H+ exchanger of BALB/c B lymphoid cell line, A20

The fluorescent pH probe, 2'-7'-bis (carboxyethyl) 5-carboxyfluorescein, was used to follow changes in internal pH (pHi) induced by aromatic polyene antibiotics in the BALB/c lymphoid cell line A20. The antibiotics studied were vacidin, which contains a free carboxylic group in the position C18 of the macrolide ring, and vacidin glycyl methyl ester and perimycin, which are without free carboxylic groups. Although all of them induced transmembrane Na+ and K+ movements, only vacidin had protonophoric activity, as previously demonstrated for red blood cells [Cybulska B et al., Biochem Pharmacol 38: 1755-1762, 1989]. However, with all three antibiotics, pHi changes were observed in A20 cells. It was demonstrated that the transmembrane H+ movements resulted to different degrees, principally in the case of perimycin and vacidin glycyl methyl ester, or partially in the case of vacidin, from the stimulation of the Na+/H+ exchanger by the induced Na+ permeability. The non-aromatic polyene antibiotic amphotericin B had a low ability to increase proton permeability.