Discovery of highly oxygenated cytochalasans with antiproliferative activity from an endophytic fungus Boeremia exigua

Chun Tian; Yuanyuan Feng; Hanqi Zhang; Xinyu Mao; Xinyao Zhu; Xiang Wang; Chang Hou; Xiaoyang Han; Huixiang Yang; Jikai Liu

doi:10.1016/j.bioorg.2025.108198

Discovery of highly oxygenated cytochalasans with antiproliferative activity from an endophytic fungus Boeremia exigua

Bioorg Chem. 2025 Jan 21:156:108198. doi: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2025.108198. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Chun Tian¹, Yuanyuan Feng², Hanqi Zhang², Xinyu Mao¹, Xinyao Zhu¹, Xiang Wang¹, Chang Hou¹, Xiaoyang Han³, Huixiang Yang⁴, Jikai Liu⁵

Affiliations

¹ Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Bioactive Natural Products, School of Pharmacy, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei 230012 China.
² Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Bioactive Natural Products, School of Pharmacy, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei 230012 China; Science & Technology Industrial Parks of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei 230012 China.
³ Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Bioactive Natural Products, School of Pharmacy, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei 230012 China; Science & Technology Industrial Parks of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei 230012 China. Electronic address: hanxy@ahtcm.edu.cn.
⁴ Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Bioactive Natural Products, School of Pharmacy, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei 230012 China; Science & Technology Industrial Parks of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei 230012 China. Electronic address: yanghuixiang@ahtcm.edu.cn.
⁵ Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Bioactive Natural Products, School of Pharmacy, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei 230012 China; Science & Technology Industrial Parks of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei 230012 China. Electronic address: liujikai@ahtcm.edu.cn.

PMID: 39864369
DOI: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2025.108198

Abstract

Eleven cytochalasans (1-11), including six undescribed analogues (1-3 and 5-7) and a new natural product (4), were obtained from the endophytic fungus Boeremia exigua. Their structures and absolute configurations were determined by a combination of extensive spectroscopic techniques, electron circular dichroism (ECD), and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Boerelasin E (1) represented the first cytochalasan possessing a cis-configured Δ²¹⁽²²⁾ double bond. The growth-inhibitory activities of all the isolates 1-11 against five human tumor cells were examined. Boerelasin E (1) exhibited the most potent inhibitory effect on MCF-7 cells with an IC₅₀ value of 4.89 μM, even about four times lower than positive control cis-platin (IC₅₀ = 20.52 μM). Further mechanistic investigations revealed that 1 could inhibit the complete cell division of MCF-7 cells by arresting them in the G2/M phase and induced apoptosis.

Keywords: Antiproliferative activity; Boeremia exigua; Cytochalasans; Endophytic fungi.