Mithramycin SK, A Novel Antitumor Drug with Improved Therapeutic Index, Mithramycin SA, and Demycarosyl-mithramycin SK: Three New Products Generated in the Mithramycin Producer <i>Streptomyces</i> <i>a</i> <i>rgillaceus</i> through Combinatorial Biosynthesis

Abstract

To gain initial structure-activity relationships regarding the highly functionalized pentyl side chain attached at C-3 of mithramycin (MTM), we focused on a post-polyketide synthase (post-PKS) tailoring step of the MTM biosynthesis by Streptomyces argillaceus ATCC 12956, which was proposed to be catalyzed by ketoreductase (KR) MtmW. In this last step of the MTM biosynthesis, a keto group of the pentyl side chain is reduced to a secondary alcohol, and we anticipated the generation of an MTM derivative with an additional keto group in the 3-side chain. Insertional inactivation of mtmW, a gene located ca. 8 kb downstream of the mithramycin-PKS genes, yielded an S. argillaceus mutant, which accumulated three new mithramycin analogues, namely mithramycin SA, demycarosyl-mithramycin SK, and mithramycin SK (MTM-SK). The structures of these three compounds confirmed indirectly the proposed role of MtmW in MTM biosynthesis. However, the new mithramycin derivatives bear unexpectedly shorter 3-side chains (ethyl or butyl) than MTM, presumably caused by nonenzymatic rearrangement or cleavage reactions of the initially formed pentyl side chain with a reactive beta-dicarbonyl functional group. The major product, MTM-SK, was tested in vitro against a variety of human cancer cell lines, as well as in an in vitro toxicity assay, and showed an improved therapeutic index, in comparison to the parent drug, MTM.