The long term goal of this research is to discover new antitumor drugs from blue-green algae (cyanobacteria). The research will be concerned primarily with searching for and finding cytotoxins that are significantly active against slow-growing solid tumors which account for most of the cancer deaths in the United States. Not only will it be important to discover new agents that are effective against solid tumors, but one which are capable of overcoming two major problems that develop in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, viz. multiple-drug- resistance (MDR) and myelosuppression. Two types of anti-MDR drugs are needed: (1) ones that are equally efficacious toward drug-sensitive and drug-resistant tumors and (2) ones that are able to potentiate the cytotoxicity of standard antitumor drugs like vinblastine and adriamycin toward drug-resistant cells, i.e. reverse MDR. Using disk diffusion assays to screen a large number of extracts of cultured blue-green algae for selective cytotoxicity, it has been found that 0.8 percent of the extracts are solid tumor selective, i.e. more cytotoxic toward murine and/or human solid tumor cells that leukemia cells, and that an additional 0.8 percent of the extracts are tumor selective, i.e. more cytotoxic toward tumor (e.g. leukemia) cells than normal cells such as CFU-GM, the stem cell of murine hematopoietic tissue. Several solid tumor selective and tumor selective cytotoxins have already been isolated and identified from these extracts, but relatively few of them have been evaluated in vivo. The first task of this project in the in vivo evaluation of several natural and semi-synthetic analogs of tantazoles, mirabazoles, scytophycins and mirabimide E from Scytonema mirabile BY-8-1 and S. pseudohormanni BC-1-2 and aulosirazole from Aulosira fertillissima DO-8-1. The next task is the isolation, structure determination, and pharmacological evaluation of the solid tumor selective cytotoxins in Calothrix gloeocola DT-21-1, Hapalosiphon hibernicus DU-56-1, Tolypothrix scytonematoides HZ-48-1, Scytonema hofmanni HZ-50-1, T. byssoidea IA-5-1, Plectonema radiosum IA-82-2, Scytonema fremyii IA-90-1, and Stigonema sp. II-1 and the tumor selective cytotoxins in Oscillatoria foreaui ATCC 27935, Lyngbya lagerheimii ATCC 29125, Ctenocladus cincinnatus BN-11-1, Nostoc sp. BR-8-2, Phormidium tenue CB-1-1, Calothrix viguieri CCAP 1410/6, Plectonema hansgirgi CN-2-2, Plectonema radiosum DT-65-1, Phormidium rubroterricola DV-8-1, Phormidium bohneri IC-58-1, Nostoc sp. IE-87-1 and IE-87-3, and Porphyrosiphon notarisii UTEX 1816. The next tasks are the isolation, identification and pharmacological evaluation of the taxol-like cytotoxins in five cyanophytes, the non-selective cytotoxins in nine more cyanophytes, and the MDR-reversing agents in still another 17 blue-greens. The last tasks are the isolation, identification and evaluation of the potent cytotoxin in Aulosira fertillisima DU-18-1 and the potent fungicidal cytotoxins in five cyanophytes.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01CA012623-26
Application #
2871645
Study Section
Bio-Organic and Natural Products Chemistry Study Section (BNP)
Program Officer
Fu, Yali
Project Start
1977-08-01
Project End
2003-01-31
Budget Start
1999-02-01
Budget End
2000-01-31
Support Year
26
Fiscal Year
1999
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Hawaii
Department
Chemistry
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
121911077
City
Honolulu
State
HI
Country
United States
Zip Code
96822
Magarvey, Nathan A; Beck, Zachary Q; Golakoti, Trimurtulu et al. (2006) Biosynthetic characterization and chemoenzymatic assembly of the cryptophycins. Potent anticancer agents from cyanobionts. ACS Chem Biol 1:766-79
Liang, Jian; Moore, Richard E; Moher, Eric D et al. (2005) Cryptophycins-309, 249 and other cryptophycin analogs: preclinical efficacy studies with mouse and human tumors. Invest New Drugs 23:213-24
Chaganty, Sreedhara; Golakoti, Trimurtulu; Heltzel, Carl et al. (2004) Isolation and structure determination of cryptophycins 38, 326, and 327 from the terrestrial cyanobacterium Nostoc sp. GSV 224. J Nat Prod 67:1403-6
Becker, Julia E; Moore, Richard E; Moore, Bradley S (2004) Cloning, sequencing, and biochemical characterization of the nostocyclopeptide biosynthetic gene cluster: molecular basis for imine macrocyclization. Gene 325:35-42
Williams, Philip G; Yoshida, Wesley Y; Moore, Richard E et al. (2004) Micromide and guamamide: cytotoxic alkaloids from a species of the marine cyanobacterium Symploca. J Nat Prod 67:49-53
Williams, Philip G; Moore, Richard E; Paul, Valerie J (2003) Isolation and structure determination of lyngbyastatin 3, a lyngbyastatin 1 homologue from the marine cyanobacterium Lyngbya majuscula. Determination of the configuration of the 4-amino-2,2-dimethyl-3-oxopentanoic acid unit in majusculamide C, dolastatin J Nat Prod 66:1356-63
Williams, Philip G; Yoshida, Wesley Y; Moore, Richard E et al. (2003) Tasipeptins A and B: new cytotoxic depsipeptides from the marine cyanobacterium Symploca sp. J Nat Prod 66:620-4
Williams, Philip G; Yoshida, Wesley Y; Moore, Richard E et al. (2003) The isolation and structure elucidation of Tasiamide B, a 4-amino-3-hydroxy-5-phenylpentanoic acid containing peptide from the marine Cyanobacterium Symploca sp. J Nat Prod 66:1006-9
Williams, Philip G; Yoshida, Wesley Y; Quon, Michael K et al. (2003) Ulongapeptin, a cytotoxic cyclic depsipeptide from a Palauan marine cyanobacterium Lyngbya sp. J Nat Prod 66:651-4
Luesch, Hendrik; Hoffmann, Dietmar; Hevel, Joan M et al. (2003) Biosynthesis of 4-methylproline in cyanobacteria: cloning of nosE and nosF genes and biochemical characterization of the encoded dehydrogenase and reductase activities. J Org Chem 68:83-91

Showing the most recent 10 out of 42 publications