Brasilicardin A, a New Terpenoid Antibiotic from Pathogenic Nocardia brasiliensis: Fermentation, Isolation and Biological Activity

• Published in: Journal of antibiotics 1999/01/25, Vol.52(1), pp.13-19
• Main Authors: KOMAKI, HISAYUKI, NEMOTO, AKIRA, TANAKA, YASUSHI, TAKAGI, HIROAKI, YAZAWA, KATSUKIYO, MIKAMI, YUZURU, SHIGEMORI, HIDEYUKI, KOBAYASHI, JUN'ICHI, ANDO, AKIKAZU, NAGATA, YOSHIHO
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aminoglycosides; Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents - biosynthesis; Anti-Bacterial Agents - isolation & purification; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Antibiotics (antibacterial agents, antifungal agents); Antibiotics, microbial producers, chemotherapic agents, antiseptics, disinfecting agents; Applied microbiology; Bacteria - drug effects; Biological and medical sciences; Brasilicardin A; Cell Survival - drug effects; Cells, Cultured; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Fermentation; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Fungi - drug effects; Humans; Immunomodulators; Immunophilins - antagonists & inhibitors; Immunosuppressive Agents - isolation & purification; Immunosuppressive Agents - pharmacology; Interleukin-2 - metabolism; Lymphocyte Culture Test, Mixed; Medical sciences; Mice; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Microbiology; Nocardia - metabolism; Nocardia brasiliensis; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; terpenoids
• ISSN: 0021-8820; 1881-1469
• DOI: 10.7164/antibiotics.52.13

A novel tricyclic diterpenoid antibiotic, brasilicardin A, was isolated from the culture broth of Nocardia brasiliensis IFM 0406. The antibiotic exhibited immunosuppressive activity in a mouse mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) assay system and its IC50 value was 0.057 μg/ml. Although the inhibitory activity of cyclosporin A (CyA) against IL-2 production was confirmed in the MLR assay system, brasilicardin A did not have the activity. The results of in vitro toxicity testing of brasilicardin A against various human cell lines were compared with those of CyA.