Himeic acid A:: a new ubiquitin-activating enzyme inhibitor isolated from a marine-derived fungus, Aspergillus sp.

A new ubiquitin-activating enzyme (E1) inhibitor, himeic acid A, was isolated from a culture of marine-derived fungus, Aspergillus sp. The structure was determined by spectroscopic analysis. The formation of an E1-ubiquitin (Ub) intermediate was 65% inhibited by himeic acid A at the concentration of 50 muM, while two new related compounds, himeic acids B and C, showed little inhibitory activity even at 100 muM. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.