Tetramic acid-motif natural products from a marine fungus Tolypocladium cylindrosporum FB06 and their anti-Parkinson activities

Tetramic acid-containing natural products are attracting significantly increasing attention from biologists and chemists due to their intriguing structures and biological activities. In the present study, two new tetramic acid alkaloids tolypyridone I (1) and tolypyridone J (2), together with five known ones (3-7), were isolated from cultures of a marine fungus Tolypocladium cylindrosporum FB06 isolate obtained from a marine sediment in Beaufort sea of North Alaska. Their structures were elucidated using 1D, 2D NMR, and HRESIMS. Their configurations were established on the basis of 1H coupling constants, ROESY correlations and DP4 calculations. Compound 2 was isolated as mixtures of rotational isomers with C-3 to C-7 axis between 4-hydroxy-2-pyridone and 1-ethyl-3,5-dimethylcyclohexane, hindering rotation. In our unbiased screening to discover neuroprotective compounds in an in vitro Parkinson's disease (PD) model, SH-SY5Y dopaminergic cells were treated with isolated compounds followed by treatment with 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+), a parkinsonian neurotoxin. Among tested compounds, F-14329 (7) significantly protected cells from MPP+-induced cytotoxicity. MPP+-mediated cell death is known to be related to the regulation of Bcl-2 family proteins, specifically the down-regulation of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 and the up-regulation of pro-apoptotic Bax levels. Treatment with 2 mmol/L of MPP+ for 24 h significantly reduced Bcl-2 levels compared to control treated with vehicle. However, treatment with F-14329 (7) attenuated such reduction. This study demonstrates that tetramic acid-motif compounds could be potential lead compounds for treating PD.

Automated summary

Tetramic acid-containing natural products are becoming increasingly important due to their intriguing structures and biological activities. In this study, two new tetramic acid alkaloids were isolated from a marine fungus and shown to have potential neuroprotective effects in Parkinson's disease.