New Micropeptins with Anti-Neuroinflammatory Activity Isolated from a Cyanobacterial Bloom

Metabolite mining of environmentally collected aquatic and marine microbiomes offers a platform for the discovery of new therapeutic lead molecules. Combining a prefractionated chromatography library with liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)-based molecular networking and biological assays, we isolated and characterized two new micropeptins (1 and 2) gong with the previously characterized micropeptin 996. These metabolites showed potency in anti-neuroinflammatory assays using BV-2 mouse microglial cells, showing a 50% reduction in inflammation in a range from 1 to 10 mu M. These results show promise for cyanobacterig peptides in the therapeutic realm apart from their impact on environmental health and provide another example of the utility of large prefractionated natural product libraries for therapeutic hit and lead identification.

Automated summary

Metabolite mining of environmentally collected aquatic and marine microbiomes led to the discovery of two new micropeptides with anti-neuroinflammatory properties. These findings demonstrate the therapeutic potential of cyanobacterial peptides and the utility of large prefractionated natural product libraries for drug screening and identification.