Thiochondrilline C (4) was previously isolated from Verrucisispora sp. and reported to have moderate cytotoxicity against human lung adenocarcinoma cells. Herein, we report the synthesis of thiochondrilline C by N-terminal peptide extension, oxidative disulfide bond formation, and heterocycle installation as key steps. Antiproliferative activities for the prepared natural product and several derivatives against the NCI 60 cancer cell line panel are also described. Derivative 22 was identified as a moderately potent antiproliferative agent (50% growth inhibition (GI50) = 0.2-12.2 μM) with leukemia (average GI50 = 1.8 ± 0.1 μM) and colon (average GI50 = 2.4 ± 0.3 μM) cells being most sensitive.

A synthesis of gombamide A (1) using N-terminal peptide extension, oxidative disulfide bond formation, and late-stage 4-hydroxystyrylamide installation has been achieved. This divergent method was also utilized to synthesize several gombamide A derivatives with modification to the 4-hydroxystyrylamide via cyclic peptide 2. The natural product and four derivatives were found to be devoid of Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase activity at 10 μM. In addition, the compounds were not cytotoxic at 10 μM against a panel of cancer cells.

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Many bacterial pathogens, including Staphylococcus aureus, require inosine 5′-monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH) for infection, making this enzyme a promising new target for antibiotics. Although potent selective inhibitors of bacterial IMPDHs have been reported, relatively few have displayed antibacterial activity. Here we use structure-informed design to obtain inhibitors of S. aureus IMPDH (SaIMPDH) that have potent antibacterial activity (minimal inhibitory concentrations less than 2 μM) and low cytotoxicity in mammalian cells. The physicochemical properties of the most active compounds were within typical Lipinski/Veber space, suggesting that polarity is not a general requirement for achieving antibacterial activity. Five compounds failed to display activity in mouse models of septicemia and abscess infection. Inhibitor-resistant S. aureus strains readily emerged in vitro. Resistance resulted from substitutions in the cofactor/inhibitor binding site of SaIMPDH, confirming on-target antibacterial activity. These mutations decreased the binding of all inhibitors tested, but also decreased catalytic activity. Nonetheless, the resistant strains had comparable virulence to wild-type bacteria. Surprisingly, strains expressing catalytically inactive SaIMPDH displayed only a mild virulence defect. Collectively these observations question the vulnerability of the enzymatic activity of SaIMPDH as a target for the treatment of S. aureus infections, suggesting other functions of this protein may be responsible for its role in infection.