A gene cluster for the biosynthesis of a new small cyclic peptide, dubbed trichamide, was discovered in the genome of the global, bloom-forming marine cyanobacterium Trichodesmium erythraeum ISM101 because of striking similarities to the previously characterized patellamide biosynthesis cluster. The tri cluster consists of a precursor peptide gene containing the amino acid sequence for mature trichamide, a putative heterocyclization gene, an oxidase, two proteases, and hypothetical genes. Based upon detailed sequence analysis, a structure was predicted for trichamide and confirmed by Fourier transform mass spectrometry. Trichamide consists of 11 amino acids, including two cysteine-derived thiazole groups, and is cyclized by an NOC terminal amide bond. As the first natural product reported from T. erythraeum, trichamide shows the power of genome mining in the prediction and discovery of new natural products.

Alcyonaria species are among the important marine invertebrate classes that produce a wealth of chemically diverse bioactive diterpenes. Examples of these are the potent microtubule disruptor sarcodictyins and eleutherobin. The genus Cladiella has proven to be a rich source of cytotoxic eunicellin-based diterpenoids. Five new eunicellin diterpenes, pachycladins A-E (1-5), were isolated from the Red Sea soft coral Cladiella pachyclados. The known sclerophytin A Cladiellisin, 3-acetylcladiellisin, 3,6-diacetylcladiellisin, (+)-polyanthelin A, klysimplexin G, klysimplexin E, sclerophytin F methyl ether, (6Z)-cladiellin (cladiella-6Z,11(17)-dien-3-ol), sclerophytin B, and patagonicol were also identified. The structures of the isolated compounds were elucidated by extensive interpretation of their spectroscopic data. These compounds were evaluated for their ability to inhibit growth, proliferation, invasion, and migration of the prostate cancer cells PC-3. Some of the new metabolites exhibited significant anti-invasive activity.

The lipophilic partition of a methanol extract of the Red Sea sponge Hyrtios erecta yielded a novel pentacyclic sesterterpene ester salmahyrtisol A (1), three new scalarane-type sesterterpenes, 3-acetyl sesterstatin 1 (3), 19-acetyl sesterstatin 3 (4), and salmahyrtisol B (5), together with the previously reported sesterterpenes hyrtiosal (2), scalarolide (6), and salmahyrtisol C (7). The structure determination was based on extensive NMR studies and high-resolution mass spectral measurements. In addition, salmahyrtisol A has a previously unknown pentacyclic carbon skeleton. The new compounds show significant cytotoxicity to murine leukemia (P-388), human lung carcinoma (A-549), and human colon carcinoma (HT-29). A biosynthetic relationship between 1 and 2 is briefly discussed.

Nineteen triterpenoids, possessing four different skeletons, have been reported so far from the Red Sea sponge Siphonochalina siphonella. However, no biological activity of these compounds was ever reported. This study describes the isolation of two new triterpenoids, siphonellinol C (3) and sipholenol I (4), along with several known sipholane triterpenoids from the Red Sea sponge Callyspongia (=Siphonochalina) siphonella. Allylic oxidation of the major sipholane triterpenoids, sipholenol A (1) and sipholenone A (2), by selenium dioxide afforded four C-28-oxidized derivatives. Sipholane triterpenoids along with their semisynthetic derivatives were evaluated for their cytotoxicity and effect on reversing P-glycoprotein-mediated MDR to colchicine. Sipholenol A was found to be the most potent, and it increased the sensitivity of resistant KB-C2 cells by 16 times toward colchicine. This is the first report related to reversal of cancer chemotherapy resistance using these triterpenoids.

Investigation of the lipophilic extract of the Red Sea sponge Diacarnus erythraenus revealed one new norsesterterpene cyclic peroxide, aikupikoxide A (1), three new norditerpene cyclic peroxides, aikupikoxide B-D (2-4), and the known norterpene peroxides muqubilin and nuapapuin A methyl ester. In addition, a new sesquiterpene, O-methyl guaianediol, was isolated. Their structures were determined by means of spectroscopic methods. The cytotoxic activities for the isolated compounds have been reported.

Through extensive screening of marine sponge compounds, the authors have found that sipholenol A, a sipholane triterpene isolated from the Red Sea sponge, Callyspongia siphonella, potently reversed multidrug resistance (MDR) in cancer cells that overexpressed P-glycoprotein (P-gp). In experiments, sipholenol A potentiated the cytotoxicity of several P-gp substrate anticancer drugs, including colchicine, vinblastine, and paclitaxel, but not the non-P-gp substrate cisplatin, and significantly reversed the MDR of cancer cells KB-C2 and KB-V1 in a concentration-dependent manner. Furthermore, sipholenol A had no effect on the response to cytotoxic agents in cells lacking P-gp expression or expressing MDR protein 1 or breast cancer resistance protein. O verexpression of P-gp is one of the most common and well-studied causes of MDR in cancer cells. P-gp, a 170-KD transmembrane glycoprotein encoded by the human MDR1 (ABCB1) gene, is a member of the ABC transporters family. It functions as a drug efflux pump that extrudes a wide range of structurally and mechanistically different drugs out of cells. Drugs transported by P-gp include Vinca alkaloids, anthracyclines, epipodophyllotoxins and taxanes, (1) and this process of transport is coupled to the energy provided by ATP hydrolysis via the ATPase domains of P-gp that are stimulated in the presence of transport substrates.(2) Therefore, in theory, inhibition of P-gpmediated drug efflux may re-sensitize MDR cancer cells to treatment with chemotherapeutic agents, and lead to an effective chemotherapy for patients with an MDR tumor. Currently, a few P-gp inhibitors are developed and show potent inhibition of P-gp function to enhance the effect of chemotherapeutic drugs on MDR cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. These compounds include verapamil, quinidine, cyclosporin A, PSC-833 (valspodar),VX-710 (biricodar), (4) R101933 (laniquidar),oc144-093 (ONT-093), (6) LY335979 (zosuquidar),GF-120918 (elacridar),and XR9576 (tariquidar).In clinical trials, the first-generation P-gp inhibitors, including verapamil, quinine and cyclosporin A, failed to show an improvement in therapeutic outcome and toxic side-effects were common.(10) The second-generation inhibitor, PSC-388, albeit tested most frequently in clinical trials, also failed in inducing pharmacokinetic interactions that limited the clearance and metabolism of chemotherapeutic drugs, and this increased plasma concentrations beyond acceptable levels of toxicity. (11) The third-generation inhibitors are currently being studied for their clinical efficacy. Due to the reasons mentioned above, no P-gp inhibitors have been approved for clinical use. Consequently, it is necessary to develop more efficient and non-toxic compounds to reverse MDR in cancer cells. In the course of the authors' search for MDR-reversing agents, several novel P-gp inhibitors and/or strategies have successfully been exploited to target MDR in vitro and/or in vivo, including tetrandrine, (12,13) FG020326 and several of its derivatives, (14,15) ONO-1078,5-O-benz...

Two new grassypeptolides and a lyngbyastatin analogue, together with the known dolastatin 12, have been isolated from field collections and laboratory cultures of the marine cyanobacterium Leptolyngbya sp. collected from the SS Thistlegorm shipwreck in the Red Sea. The overall stereostructures of grassypeptolides D (1) and E (2) and Ibu-epidemethoxylyngbyastatin 3 (3) were determined by a combination of 1D and 2D NMR experiments, MS analysis, Marfey's methodology, and HPLC-MS. Compounds 1 and 2 contain 2-methyl-3-aminobutyric acid (Maba) and 2-aminobutyric acid (Aba), while biosynthetically distinct 3 contains 3-amino-2-methylhexanoic acid (Amha) and the β-keto amino acid 4-amino-2,-2-dimethyl-3-oxopentanoic acid (Ibu). Grassypeptolides D (1) and E (2) showed significant cytotoxicity to HeLa (IC50 = 335 and 192 nM, respectively) and mouse neuro-2a blastoma cells (IC50 = 599 and 407 nM, respectively), in contrast to Ibu-epidemethoxylyngbyastatin 3 (neuro-2a cells, IC50 > 10 μM) and dolastatin 12 (neuro-2a cells, IC50 > 1 μM).

This study reports the isolation of nine new terpenoids (2-10), possessing two novel skeletons, from the Red Sea sponge Callyspongia (=Siphonochalina) siphonella. The identity of these novel skeletons was based on X-ray crystallography and extensive spectral analyses. These compounds were evaluated for their ability to reverse P-glycoprotein (P-gp)-mediated multidrug resistance in human epidermoid cancer cells. Sipholenone E (3) was better than sipholenol A (1), a known P-gp modulator from this sponge, in reversing the P-gp-mediated multidrug resistance. Sipholenol L (6) and siphonellinol D (8) were nearly as active as sipholenol A. On the basis of X-ray crystallographic data and the established identity of 3-7, the structure of sipholenol I (11) is revised. A pharmacophore model of three hydrophobic points and two H-bond acceptors was generated for the active sipholane P-gp modulators.