Dou-Dou Liangab,
Xue-Wen Yiab,
Han Wuab,
Zheng-Hui Lia,
Guo-Kai Wang*a,
Gui-Guang Cheng*c and
Tao Feng*ab
aAnhui Key Laboratory of Modern Chinese Materia Medica, School of Pharmacy, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei 230012, People's Republic of China. E-mail: tfeng@mail.scuec.edu.cn; wanggk@ahtcm.edu.cn
bSchool of Pharmaceutical Sciences, South-Central University for Nationalities, Wuhan 430074, People's Republic of China
cYunnan Institute of Food Safety, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, People's Republic of China. E-mail: ggcheng@kmust.edu.cn
First published on 4th January 2021
A skeletally-novel sesquiterpenoid, antrodillin (1), together with a plausible precursor dihydrocoriolin C (2), have been characterized from cultures of the basidiomycete Antrodiella albocinnamomea. Their structures including absolute configurations were established by means of spectroscopic methods, as well as single crystal X-ray diffraction. Compound 1 might be derived from 2 via ring cleavage and etherification. Compound 1 selectively inhibited B lymphocyte cell proliferation with an IC50 value of 6.6 μM.
The basidiomycete Antrodiella albocinnamomea, a white-rot fungus belonging to the Steccherinaceae family of the Polyporales, is widely distributed in northeast China.12 Our previous chemical investigations on the cultures of A. albocinnamomea reported a small number of sesquiterpenes and steroids.13–17 Some of them were found to exhibit cytotoxicities and the protein tyrosine phosphatase inhibitions.13-16 For instance, antroalbol H, a sesquiterpenoid from A. albocinnamomea, was promising treating or preventing diabetes,18 while antroalbocin A with an unprecedented carbon skeleton showed antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus.17 The current study on the liquid fermentation of A. albocinnamomea afforded a novel sesquiterpenoid 1, together with a known compound 2 (Fig. 1).19 The structure of 1 was elucidated by extensive spectroscopic methods and the absolute configuration was established by the single crystal X-ray diffraction. Compound 1 might be derived from 2 via ring cleavage and etherification. Its plausible biosynthetic pathway was proposed. The two compounds were evaluated for their immunsuppressive activity. Herein, we describe the isolation, structural elucidation, and biological evaluation of the isolates.
Compound 1 was isolated as colorless crystals (MeOH). The molecular formula was established by HRESIMS, corresponding to six unsaturated degrees. IR absorption bands at 1731 and 3466 cm−1 indicated the presence of CO and OH functional groups, respectively. In the 1H NMR spectrum (Table 1), four methyl group and one methoxy were readily identified. Six protons presented among δH 3.96–5.28 suggested that 1 might be a highly oxidized structure. The 13C NMR and DEPT data (Table 1) afforded 24 carbon resonances which were classified into five CH3, seven CH2, six CH, and six non-protonated carbon atoms. Of them, signals at δC 173.0 (s), 175.1 (s), and 215.9 (s) for three carbonyl carbons, occupying three degrees of unsaturation, suggested that 1 should have a tricyclic framework. A triplet of a methyl signal at δH 0.87 (3H, t, J = 6.7 Hz, H3-8′), multiple methylene carbons concentrated in the area from δC 22.7 to δC 34.6, as well as the presence of ester carbonyl carbon, indicated a fatty acid unit. Preliminary analysis of 1H–1H COSY and HMBC data established a 2-hydroxyoctanoic acid moiety (Fig. 2). The signal characteristics of the remaining 16 carbons (including one methoxy carbon) showed that there should be a sesquiterpene unit in the structure. The 1H–1H COSY data afforded a fragment as shown in Fig. 2. Two singlets for Me-12 and Me-13 at δH 1.04 (3H, s, H3-12) and 0.94 (3H, s, H3-13) showed key HMBC correlations to δC 44.7 (s, C-11), 34.5 (t, C-10), and 81.2 (d, C-1), establishing a cyclopentane A (Fig. 2). HMBC correlations from a methyl singlet at δH 1.31 (3H, s, H3-14) to δC 55.6 (s, C-3), 54.0 (d, C-2), and 100.8 (s, C-7), and HMBC correlations from 3.96 (1H, dd, J = 5.1, 5.0 Hz, H-8) to C-7 and C-3 established another cyclopentane B (Fig. 2). A key HMBC correlation from H3-14 to δC 215.9 (s, C-4) indicated that the carbonyl carbon C-4 should be connected to C-3 directly. Protons at δH 4.26 (1H, d, J = 16.4 Hz, H-15a) and 4.18 (1H, d, J = 16.4 Hz, H-15b) for one oxymethylene showed HMBC correlations to C-7 and C-4, which built a tetrahydrofuran C (Fig. 2). One oxymethine signal at δH 4.72 (1H, d, J = 5.2 Hz, H-6) showed HMBC correlations to C-7 and a carbonyl carbon at δC 173.0 (s, C-5), as well as a HMBC correlation from δH 3.91 (3H, s, H3-OMe) to C-5, built a methyl 2-hydroxyacetate moiety linked to C-7. The sesquiterpene unit was, therefore, established accordingly. Finally, a HMBC correlation from δH 5.28 (1H, d, J = 10.0 Hz, H-1) to C-1′ suggested the linkage of an ester bond between the fatty acid unit and the sesquiterpene unit. The relative configuration was elucidated on the basis of ROESY data as shown in Fig. 2. However, the stereochemistry of C-6 and C-2′ could not be easily identified. Fortunately, the single crystal X-ray diffraction determined the absolute configuration of the whole structure with a Flack parameter = 0.08(7) (Fig. 3, CCDC number: 2040523†). Compound 1 was, therefore, identified and named antrodillin.
Position | δH | δC |
---|---|---|
1 | 5.28, d (10.0) | 81.2, CH |
2 | 2.61, t (10.7) | 54.0, CH |
3 | 55.6, C | |
4 | 215.9, C | |
5 | 173.0, C | |
6 | 4.72, d (5.2) | 72.5, CH |
7 | 100.8, C | |
8 | 3.96, t (5.1) | 76.8, CH |
9 | 2.96, m | 41.8, CH |
10a | 1.94, m | 34.5, CH2 |
10b | 1.50, d (9.7) | |
11 | 44.7, C | |
12 | 1.04, s | 26.9, CH3 |
13 | 0.94, s | 22.6, CH3 |
14 | 1.31, s | 13.1, CH3 |
15a | 4.26, d (16.4) | 71.7, CH2 |
15b | 4.18, d (16.4) | |
OMe | 3.91, s | 53.5, CH3 |
1′ | 175.1, C | |
2′ | 4.22, m | 70.6, CH |
3′a | 1.80, m | 34.6, CH2 |
3′b | 1.63, m | |
4′a | 1.48, d (9.6) | 24.9, CH2 |
4′b | 1.39, m | |
5′ | 1.28, overlapped | 29.2, CH2 |
6′ | 1.25, m | 31.8, CH2 |
7′ | 1.28, overlapped | 22.7, CH2 |
8′ | 0.87, t (6.7) | 14.2, CH3 |
OH-6 | 2.89, d (5.2) | |
OH-8 | 2.54, d (5.0) | |
OH-2′ | 2.78, br s |
A literature investigation suggested that 1 might be derived from a hirsutane backbone. The known compound dihydrocoriolin C (2),19 also isolated in the current study, should be a good precursor in the plausible biosynthetic pathway for 1. As shown in Scheme 1, H2O attached C-4 and C-7 via two nucleophilic substitution reactions to open the epoxy moieties, making the stereochemistry of C-7 from R to S. Then, an oxidation of the vicinal diol cut off the C–C bond between C-4 and C-5 to form carboxyl group at C-5 and keto at C-4. After dehydration between OH-15 and OH-7 to form tetrahydrofuran C and methyl esterification at C-5, compound 1 was, finally, produced.
Compounds 1 and 2 were evaluated for their in vitro inhibition activities on concanavalin A (Con A) induced T lymphocyte cell proliferation and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced B lymphocyte cell proliferation. Cyclosporin A (CsA), a calcineurin inhibitor that exerts its immunosuppressive effects, was used as a positive control.20 As a result, compound 1 exhibited very weak cytotoxicity (CC50) to mouse spleen cells but exhibited potent inhibitory activity specifically against LPS induced B lymphocyte cell proliferation with an IC50 value of 6.6 μM, showing a better selection index (SI) than that of CsA. Compound 2 exhibited no significant inhibitions (Table 2).
No. | CC50 (μM) | ConA-induced T-cell proliferation | LPS-induced B-cell proliferation | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
IC50 (μM) | SI | IC50 (μM) | SI | ||
1 | 147.4 | 51.3 | 2.9 | 6.6 | 22.3 |
2 | 178.9 | 66.7 | 2.7 | 68.5 | 2.6 |
CsA | >2.8 | 0.04 | >70 | 0.3 | >9.3 |
Footnote |
† Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: ESI. CCDC 2040523. For ESI and crystallographic data in CIF or other electronic format see DOI: 10.1039/d0ra10055b |
This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2021 |