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The phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) isozyme involved in C4 photosynthesis is known to undergo reversible regulatory phosphorylation under illuminated conditions, thereby decreasing the enzyme's sensitivity to its feedback inhibitor, L-malate. For the direct assay of this phosphorylation in intact maize leaves, phosphorylation state-specific antibodies to the C4-form PEPC were prepared. The antibodies were raised in rabbits against a synthetic phosphorylated 15-mer peptide with a sequence corresponding to that flanking the specific site of regulatory phosphorylation (Ser15) and subsequently purified by affinity-chromatography. Specificity of the resulting antibodies to the C4-form PEPC phosphorylated at Ser15 was established on the basis of several criteria. The antibodies did not react with the recombinant root-form of maize PEPC phosphorylated in vitro. By the use of these antibodies, the changes in PEPC phosphorylation state were semi-quantitatively monitored under several physiological conditions. When the changes in PEPC phosphorylation were monitored during the entire day with mature (13-week-old) maize plants grown in the field, phosphorylation started before dawn, reached a maximum by mid-morning, and then decreased before sunset. At midnight dephosphorylation was almost complete. The results suggest that the regulatory phosphorylation of C4-form PEPC in mature maize plants is controlled not only by a light signal but also by some other metabolic signal(s). Under nitrogen-limited conditions the phosphorylation was enhanced even though the level of PEPC protein was decreased. Thus there seems to be some compensatory regulatory mechanism for the phosphorylation.

The syntheses of aureobasidin A (AbA) derivatives with alkyl chains and their in vitro structure-biological activity relationships are discussed. The analogs replaced at positions 6, 7, or 8 of AbA with either L-glutamic acid, delta-hydroxy-L-norvaline, or delta-hydroxy-N-methyl-L-norvaline are prepared. The gamma-carboxyl or delta-hydroxyl group of these new amino acids was coupled with acids, alcohols, or amines with alkyl chains. While the analogs having L-glutamic acid residue at positions 6 or 8 showed weak activity, esterification of the gamma-carboxyl group with benzyl or shorter alkyl (C4 or C6) alcohols, significantly enhanced the activities. Introduction of longer alkyl (C14) chain to the same amino acids residues at positions 6, 7, or 8 resulted in total loss of antifungal activity. Among the lipophilic analogs in [L-Glu6] derivatives, the C6 alcohol ester showed the strongest antifungal activity against Candida spp. so far tested. None of the derivatives showed activity against Cryptococcus neoformans.

Chemistry-based investigation is reviewed which led to identification of the active entities responsible for the immunostimulating potencies of peptidoglycan and lipopolysaccharide. Though these glycoconjugates which ubiquitously occur in wide range of bacteria as the essential components of their cell envelopes have long been known to enhance the immunological responses of higher animals, neither the precise chemical structures required nor the mechanism of their action had been [corrected] elucidated until early 1970s. Chemical synthesis of partial structures of peptidoglycan proved N-acetylmuramyl-L-alanyl-D-isoglutamine to be the minimum structure responsible for the activity and led to later identification of its receptor protein Nod2 present in animal cells. Another active partial structure of peptidoglycan, gamma-D-glutamyl-meso-diaminopimelic acid, and its receptor Nod1 were also identified as well. With regard to lipopolysaccharide, its glycolipid part named lipid A was purified and the structure studied. Chemically synthesized lipid A according to the newly elucidated structure exhibited full activity described for lipopolysaccharide known as endotoxin. Synthetic homogeneous lipid A and its structural analogues and labeled derivatives enabled precise studies of their interaction with receptor proteins and the mechanism of their action. Chemical synthesis of homogeneous partial structures of peptidoglycan and lipopolysaccharide gave unequivocal evidences for the concept that definite small molecular parts of these complex macromolecular bacterial glycoconjugates are specifically recognized by their respective receptors and trigger our defense system now widely recognized as innate immunity.

In this paper, we compared the chemical and biological activities of natural and synthetic clavamines, N-[2, 4-dihydroxyphenylacetyl-4-L-asparaginyl)-N'-[N-(L-arginyl-glycyl-L-alanyl)-8-amino-4-azaoctanoyl]-1, 5-pentane-diamine (DPA→Asn→Cad←Ptr←Ala←Gly←Arg)[DPA, 2, 4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid; Cad, 1.5-pentanediamine (cadaverine); Ptr, 8-amino-4-azaoctanoic acid (putreanine, or carboxyethylputrescine)], and found that both were identical. Both compounds showed the same Rf value in thin-layer chromatography and the same retention time in high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Both hydrolyzates consisted of the same components, such as Gly, DPA, Ala, Asp, Arg and Ptr in gas chromatography. The Edman degradation of both compounds also gave exactly the same sequence. The 1H-NMR spectrum and fast atom bombardment (FAB) mass spectrum of the synthetic compound coincided with those of the natural one. Both were active on the insects used. Clavamine was the main component of the insecticidal activity in the crude venom. By this synthetic study, the structure of a new venom insecticide was thus established. The synthetic compound in abundant quantity will be advantageous for practical use as an insecticide over natural ones, because the latter is available only in small amounts. Also, it will be useful for the exploitation of a new field of biochemistry for polyamines.

N-Acetylmuramyl-L-alanyl-D-isoglutamine (muramyl dipeptide [MDP]) injected intraperitoneally significantly increased the number of cells entering the peritoneal cavity of guinea pigs primed with liquid paraffin or thioglycollate. There was a close relationship between peritoneal polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) accumulation and the uptake of glucosamine by macrophages in guinea pigs treated with a variety of bacterial cell surface components such as cell wall peptidoglycan subunits and bacterial or synthetic lipid A. The PMN accumulation was also facilitated by the intraperitoneal transfer of the peritoneal macrophages that had been stimulated by MDP in vitro. Furthermore, cell-free lavage fluids taken from the peritoneum of MDP-treated guinea pigs also initiated the influx of PMNs when introduced into the peritoneal cavities of liquid paraffin-pretreated guinea pigs. These results suggest that a soluble factor which attracts neutrophils is produced by MDP-treated macrophages. Partial characterization of the factor is described.

The ability of synthetic lipid A analogs to induce prostaglandin synthesis in macrophages was compared with that of native lipopolysaccharide. The synthetic preparations comprised monomeric or dimeric derivatives of D-glucosamine with different patterns of substitution by phosphate and tetradecanoic, (R)-3-hydroxytetradecanoic, and (R)-3-tetradecanoyloxytetradecanoic acid. All of these preparations are structurally distinct from native lipid A (principally regarding the position of fatty acid substitution) and hence have been previously shown to be endotoxically inactive in many biological tests. It was found that many of these synthetic samples exhibit strong activity in inducing prostaglandin E2 and prostaglandin F2 alpha, with some of them having activity comparable to that of lipopolysaccharide. Experiments with macrophages of C3H/HeJ mice enabled us to differentiate between endotoxin-specific (in the case of dimeric preparations) and endotoxin-nonspecific (for monomeric preparations) mechanisms for the induction of prostaglandins. These results indicate that there is a difference in the mechanism of induction of prostaglandin synthesis between monomeric lipid A's and dimeric or native lipid A structures.

Ganglioside M5 (NeuGcalpha2-6Glcbeta1-1'Cer), the main ganglioside in sea urchin and sand dollar eggs, exists mainly in the endoplasmic reticulum and yolk granules in unfertilized eggs. To study the localization of ganglioside M5 after fertilization, early embryos were stained with an anti-ganglioside M5 monoclonal antibody. Using immunofluorescent and immunoelectron microscopy, intense label was observed in the outer surface and cytoplasm of embryos. These results indicate that ganglioside M5 was secreted during embryogenesis and localized in the extracellular matrix (ECM). When living embryos were incubated in sea water containing 7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazole labeled-ganglioside M5 (NBD-M5), the ECM and plasma membrane were strongly stained. Since the localization of NBD-M5 in the ECM was similar to that of extracellular M5, NBD-M5 was likely to be useful to examine the fate of extracellular ganglioside M5. Interestingly, NBD-M5 was incorporated in subcortical vesicles during embryogenesis, suggesting that the extracellular ganglioside M5 is transported into the cytoplasm. When fertilized eggs were incubated with NBD-M5 and tetramethylrhodamine dextran (a marker dye for endocytotic vesicles), colocalization of the dyes was observed in the vesicles. Thus, it was concluded that NBD-M5 in the ECM and/or plasma membrane was internalized in the cells by endocytosis, suggesting that extracellular M5 is transported from the ECM to endocytotic vesicles.

GDP-L-Fuc:N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminide alpha1--6fucosyltransferase (alpha1-6FucT; EC 2.4.1.68), which catalyzes the transfer of fucose from GDP-Fuc to N-linked type complex glycopeptides, was purified from a Triton X-100 extract of porcine brain microsomes. The purification procedures included sequential affinity chromatographies on GlcNAcbeta1-2Manalpha1-6(GlcNAcbeta1-2Manalpha1- 2)Manbeta1-4GlcNAcbet a1-4GlcNAc-Asn-Sepharose 4B and synthetic GDP-hexanolamine-Sepharose 4B columns. The enzyme was recovered in a 12% final yield with a 440, 000-fold increase in specific activity. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the purified enzyme gave a major band corresponding to an apparent molecular mass of 58 kDa. The alpha1-6FucT has 575 amino acids and no putative N-glycosylation sites. The cDNA was cloned in to pSVK3 and was then transiently transfected into COS-1 cells. alpha1-6FucT activity was found to be high in the transfected cells, as compared with non- or mock-transfected cells. Northern blotting analyses of rat adult tissues showed that alpha1-6FucT was highly expressed in brain. No sequence homology was found with other previously cloned fucosyltransferases, but the enzyme appears to be a type II transmembrane protein like the other glycosyltransferases.

In this paper, the phrase should be corrected as follows: (page 322, Abstract, line 6) For “remained to be” Read “had been”

Two novel analogs of a biosynthetic precursor of lipid A (2) were synthesized. The one analog (3) has acyl groups identical to those of 2, and the other (4) has tetradecanoyl groups in place of the (R)-3-hydroxytetradecanoyl groups of 2. Both 3 and 4 possess an alpha-glycosidically-bound phosphonooxyethyl group in place of the alpha-glycosyl phosphate group of 2. Compounds 3 and 4 exhibited definite antitumor activity against Meth A fibrosarcoma and low toxicity in rabbits, as the original compound 2 does. The replacement of the hydroxytetradecanoyl groups with tetradecanoyl groups barely affected the antitumor activity, but slightly enhanced the toxicity in rabbits.

A rice bran polysaccharide designated RON was subjected either to partial hydrolysis with formic acid or to partial degradation by ultrasonic irradiation. A significant change in the molecular size was also observed during simple chromatography of RON on a strongly acidic ion exchange resin, although the apparent molecular weight of RON had been assumed to be more than 1 x 10(6) daltons (Da). This fact indicates that RON exists as molecular aggregates, presumably mediated by metal cations. Degradation products with average molecular weights above ca. 1 x 10(4) Da which were obtained by any of the three methods still retained the following activities of RON: in vivo antitumor activity against Meth-A fibrosarcoma in mice by oral administration, and in vitro macrophage stimulatory effects to induce tumoricidal activity and interleukin 1 production. This molecular size was proven to be the minimum requisite for these activities because smaller fragments were scarcely active. The aggregation was characteristic of RON but not essential for its antitumor activity because definite, though slightly reduced, activity was exhibited even by the smaller fragments obtained after the ion exchange resin treatment.

Three novel lipid A analogs, which have an alpha- or beta-glycosidically bound phosphonooxyethyl group instead of the alpha-glycosyl phosphate group of natural lipid A, were synthesized. The first analog (2) had an alpha-phosphonooxyethyl group on the identical acylated disaccharide 4'-phosphate structure found in natural lipid A (from Escherichia coli) and hence differed from the latter only in the nature of the acidic group at position 1. The second one (3) had tetradecanoyl groups in place of the two (R)-3-hydroxytetradecanoyl groups bound to the 2- and 3-hydroxyl function of 2, retaining the alpha-phosphonooxyethyl group. The structure of the third analog (4) was the same as that of 3 except that the phosphonooxyethyl group of the former was beta-oriented. Compounds 2 and 3 exhibited potent activity against Meth A at the same level as natural lipid A, whereas 4 showed less activity. This fact revealed that the glycosidic phosphate is not a prerequisite for the antitumor activity of lipopolysaccharide. It can be replaced with a phosphonooxyethyl group without any loss of activity provided that the alpha-anomeric configuration at C-1 is retained. The replacement of the hydroxytetradecanoyl groups with tetradecanoyl groups does not change the activity either.

N-Acetylmuramyl-L-alanyl-D-isoglutamine corresponding to the minimum structure responsible for the immunoadjuvant activity of bacterial cell walls was acylated at the 6-hydroxyl group with various mycolic acids of long carbon chains in order to test their possible antitumor effects. Mycolic acids used were extracted from cell walls of Mycobacterium, Nocardia, and Corynebacterium. All the mycoloyl derivatives synthesized show antitumor activity based on a principle of immunotherapy.

A synthetic adjuvant, N-acetylmuramyl-L-alanyl-D-isoglutamine (MDP), failed to produce polyarthritis with a wide dose range in a water-in-oil emulsion of mineral oil such as liquid paraffin, Drakeol, or heavy mineral oil. MDP, however, produced moderate to severe arthritis with almost 100% incidence in a water-in-oil emulsion made up of Difco incomplete adjuvant, which consists of Bavol F as an oil vehicle and Arlacel A as an emulsifier. N-acetylmuramyl-L-alanyl-L-isoglutamine did not produce arthritis, whereas 4,6-diacetyl-MDP produced the disease. Bacterial peptidoglycans, such as disaccharide peptides which were N-acetylglucosaminyl-N-acetylmuramyl-L-alanyl-D-isoglutaminyl-meso-diaminopimelyl-D-alanine and N-acetylglucosaminyl-6,o-acetyl-N-acetylmuramyl-L-alanyl-D-isoglutaminyl-meso-diaminopimelyl-D-alanine, also produced polyarthritis with low incidence in Difco oil but not in the other mineral oils described above. MDP and bacterial disaccharide peptides were able to produce the disease even in the latter mineral oil only when the concentration of Arlacel A was increased from 15% to 20 to 30% in the oil. We concluded that one of the minimal essential structures responsible for development of this disease is MDP, although the role of the oil vehicle remained uncertain, and there is no direct correlation between granulona formation and arthritogenicity of MDP.

Six analogs of an antituberculous antibiotic capreomycin were synthesized in order to clarify the structure-activity relationship, especially with regard to the significance of the β-amino group in α,β-diaminopropionic acid residue as well as the position of linkage of the branch residue, β-lysine, to the cyclic peptide moiety. All the synthetic products were found to have the same conformations in solution as those of the natural antibiotics in terms of NMR spectra. It was found from their antibacterial activities that an amino group located at β-position of the α,β-diaminopropionic acid residue adjacent to ureidodehydroalanine residue remarkably strengthens the biological activity, and that the position of a branch does not significantly influence the antibacterial potency.

In the previous paper [Eur. J. Biochem. 124, 405 (1982)], we demonstrated that chemically synthesized lipid-A analogues such as the 1-monophosphate or 1,4'-diphosphate of 6-O-(2-deoxy-2-tetradecanoylamino-6-O-tetradecanoyl-D-glucopyra nos yl)-2-deoxy-2-tetradecanolyamino-3,4-di-O-tetradecanoyl-D-gluco pyr anose enhanced immunogenicity of liposomal model membranes sensitized with amphipathic antigen when they were incorporated in the same liposomes. Here we extend the observation by testing the recently synthesized analogues including diglucosamine analogues carrying hydroxy and acyloxy fatty acids. Among the analogues tested, those which showed higher adjuvant and mitogenic activities in the liposomal system were N-acylated and O-acylated beta-1,6-linked D-glucosamine disaccharides carrying either amide-bound 3-hydroxytetradecanoic acids in addition to phosphate in position 1 of the reducing sugar or amide-bound 3-tetradecanoyloxytetradecanoic acids. The analogue carrying both amide-bound 3-hydroxytetradecanoic acids and phosphate in position 4 of the non-reducing sugar showed weak adjuvant activity and marginal mitogenic activity.

The effects of polyclonal B cell activation (PBA) of cell walls and their cell wall fractions obtained from several kinds of gram-positive bacteria were studied using the anti-sheep red blood cell (SRBC) or anti-trinitrophenylated (TNP) SRBC plaque forming cell (PFC) responses of cultured spleen cells from Balb/c, athymic nu/nu, their littermates (nu/+), C3H/He (LPS-responder), C3H/HeJ (LPS-non-responder), (CBA/N × Balb/c) F1 male with an X-linked defect in B cell function and the F1 female mice. The cell walls of Staphylococcus epidermidis (ATCC 155), Lactobacillus plantarum (ATCC 8014), Micrococcus lysodeikticus (NCTC 2665), Mycobacterium rhodochrous (ATCC 184), Streptomyces gardneri (ATCC 23911) and Nocardia corynebacteriodes (ATCC 14898) had the ability to induce polyclonal B cell responses in the spleen cells of Balb/c, nu/nu, nu/+, C3H/He and C3H/HeJ mice. The cell wall fractions prepared by enzymatic digestion from the cell walls of S. epidermidis, S. gardneri or N. corynebacteriodes were also capable of inducing polyclonal B cell responses. The responses of spleen cells from (CBA/N × Balb/c) F1 male mice to these active preparations, except the cell walls of M. rhodochrous, were much lower than those of the F1 female mice. These findings indicate that the majority of the cell wall preparations lacks PBA ability for spleen cells with the CBA/N defect, except for the cell walls of M. rhodochrous which possess this ability. The PBA-ability of synthetic peptidoglycan, muramyl dipeptide (N-acetylmuramyl-L-alanyl-D-isoglutamine, MDP), was also examined, and a similar activity was observed in MDP.

Thirteen 6-O-acyl-N-acetylmuramyl-L-alanyl-D-isoglutamines (6-O-acyl-MDPs), including four inactive D-isoasparagine and L-isoglutamine analogs, were tested for their pyrogenicity and immunopotentiating activity to stimulate primary humoral and cellular immune responses in guinea pigs to a model protein antigen, ovalbumin, when administered in various vehicles. Among them, derivatives whose muramic acid residue was substituted by alpha-branched (and beta-hydroxylated) higher fatty acids at the carbon-6 position, especially 6-O-(2-tetradecylhexadecanoyl)-MDP (B3O-MDP) and, to a lesser extent, 6-O-(3-hydroxy-2-docosylhexacosanoyl)-MDP (BH48-MDP) and its L-serine analog [BH48-MDP(L-Ser)], were found to exert strong adjuvant activity in both the induction of delayed-type hypersensitivity and the stimulation of circulating precipitating antibody levels when combined with nonirritating vehicles (liposomes, squalene-in-water emulsion, and phosphate-buffered saline). These vehicles did not efficiently support the adjuvant activity of MDP, the parent molecule of the above lipophilic derivatives. Pyrogenicity tests showed that introduction of alpha-branched higher fatty acid groups but not of straight, long-chain fatty acids at the 6-position of the muramic acid residue resulted in marked decrease of the pyrogenicity inherent to MDP via intravenous administration.

On the N,O-acyl migration reaction of β-hydroxy-α-amino acids with concentrated sulfuric acid, a configuration of the carbon atom carrying hydroxyl group was found to be inverted through the reaction. Thus, threonine residue in peptide was converted to allothreonine residue and vice versa in the selective chemical cleavage of threonine peptide employing the N,O-migration with concentrated sulfuric acid. The reaction mechanism involving SNi elimination of O-sulfate formed as an intermediate was suggested. The inversion did not occur in the N,O-acyl migration reaction with other mineral acids than sulfuric acid.

Re-mutant lipopolysaccharide (Re LPS) of Salmonella minnesota profoundly inhibited the growth of murine B-cell lines, designated CYG34 and CYG101, established from long term bone-marrow culture. When CYG101 cells were cultured together with Re LPS at concentrations of 2-100μg/ml, the cell proliferation was dose-dependently suppressed. Re LPS hardly or slightly affected the growth of a murine T-cell line, BW5147, pre-B cell lines, 70Z/3 and CYG 8, and a myeloma cell line, X63Ag8. S-form LPS of Escherichia coli and S. typhimurium, Re-mutant LPS of S. minnesota and natural lipid A of E. coil, S. typhimurium and S. minnesota also inhibited the growth of CYG101 cells. However, degraded polysaccharide of S-form LPS of S. typhimurium did not inhibit the cell growth. Synthetic compounds 406, corresponding to a biosynthetic disaccharide lipid A precursor, and 506, corresponding to lipid A of the E. coli type, also inhibited the growth of CYG101 cells. These results suggest that the growth inhibition of cell lines by LPS is selective or specific to the cell line and that the lipid A portion of LPS is involved in this growth inhibition. Double acyl groups of lipid A may not play any role in the inhibition of cell growth.

N-Acetylmuramyl peptides of successive length corresponding to the partial structures of cell wall in Staphylococcus aureus were synthesized in order to elucidate the minimum effective structure responsible for immunoadjuvant activity of bacterial cell walls. In view of the finding that N-acetylmuramyl-L-alanyl-D-isoglutamine was the least structure moiety for exhibition of the activity, nine analogs of either N-acetylmuramyl amino acid or N-acetylmuramyl dipeptide were also synthesized.

Total Synthesis of antibiotic althiomycin has been achieved starting from D-cysteine. The imide bond between thiazoline and the pyrrolinone part was constructed by coupling reaction of sodium salt of pyrrolinone with cysteine active ester or by photoreaction with diketene. The hydroxymethyl group attached on the carbon adjacent to C-2 of the thiazoline ring, was introduced by aldol condensation posterior to the thiazoline ring formation. The thiazole part was introduced in a final step in whole process of the total synthesis of the antibiotic. The synthetic althiomycin was identical with the natural antibiotic in all respects.

Chemical syntheses are described of polyacylated β(1→6) glucosamine disaccharide 1,4′-bis(phosphate), which corresponds to the proposed structure of E. coli lipid A, and of its dephospho derivatives. The synthetic bisphosphate proved to be identical with the corresponding natural specimen. The chemical structure of lipid A was thus established.

A pentaacyl precursor of lipid A biosynthesis, termed precursor Ib, and a structural isomer have been chemically synthesized. These compounds were, in comparison to synthetic Escherichia-coli type lipid A or lipopolysaccharide, analyzed for their activity in typical endotoxin test systems. It was found that both precursor Ib and the isomer exhibited similar or only slightly lower pyrogenic, lethal and Shwartzman-phenomenon-inducing activity than lipid A. All preparations were comparable in their B-lymphocyte mitogenicity, macrophage-activating capacity and immunoreactivity towards lipid A antisera. The proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of the 1-dephospho derivative of synthetic and bacterial precursor Ib were indistinguishable proving that the previously proposed structure for precursor Ib is correct.

Synthetic and biological studies continued in our laboratories con- tributed to elucidate the chemical structure and biological functions of en- dotoxin, which is lipopolysaccharide (LPS) located at the cell surface of gram-negative bacteria. In this paper the effect of structural variation on the biological activities is discussed of lipophilic part of LPS. The recent result of our synthetic approach toward the most simple LPS isolated and characterized from Escherichia goJ Re mutant cells is also described. ~~~~~~ O-hOH)r

Thirty two semisynthetic tuberactinomycins were prepared by introduction of various amino acids to amino group of tuberactinamine N, a cyclic peptide moiety of tuberactinomycin N and O, which was isolated from natural tuberactinomycin N by acid treatment with liberation of γ-hydroxy-β-lysine of the branched part. Among introduced amino acids, β-amino acids were synthesized from corresponding α-amino acids by modified Arndt-Eistert reaction. After couplings of N-protected amino acids with tuberactinamine N, deprotections were carried out to give semisynthetic tuberactinomycins. From their minimum inhibitory concentrations against many bacteria, it was suggested that a branched part effects significantly to the strength of antimicrobial activities though most important active site must locate in the cyclic peptide moiety, and basicity and/or hydrophobicity of the branched part seemed to strengthen the antibacterial activity especially.

6-Phosphate of N-acetylmuramyl-L-alanyl-D-isoglutamine and its lipophilic derivatives, i.e., 6-(octadecyl hydrogenphosphate) and 6-(2-docosyltetracosyl hydrogenphosphate) were synthesized after the structural feature of mycobacterial cell walls for the purpose to modify and possibly to enhance the immunostimulating activity of the muramyl dipeptide which is the minimum requisite for the activity. As expected, the latter more lipophilic phosphate showed a high activity in a tumor regression test.

A new inhibitor of angiotensin I converting enzyme, I5B2, was isolated from the culture broth of Actinomadura sp. No. 937ZE-1. This compound contains N-methylvaline, tyrosine and 1-amino-2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)ethylphosphonic acid. The microorganism also produced another inhibitor, I5B1, which is identical with K-4 isolated from Actinomadura sp. as an antihypertensive agent.

The binding of 14C-labelled tuberactinomycin O was analysed in equilibrium dialysis cells. The ionic conditions and the concentration of the labelled drug used in the binding assays allowed the binding of just one drug molecule per non-programmed ribosome. Under these conditions, the occupation of the ribosomal P-site by deacylated tRNAPhe in the presence of poly(U) increased the amount of [14C]tuberactinomycin O bound by a factor of two. Kanamycin, gentamicin and neomycin reduced the binding of tuberactinomycin O, whereas chloramphenicol, tetracycline, streptomycin and puromycin had no effect. A stimulation of the binding of tuberactinomycin O was found upon addition of erythromycin.

A synthetic lipid A (preparation 516), containing seven acyl groups and representing one component of natural free lipid A of Salmonella minnesota R595, has been investigated for biological activity in a number of endotoxin test systems. It was found that the synthetic preparation was, in typical in vivo endotoxin tests (lethality, pyrogenicity, Shwartzman reactivity) as well as in its antigenicity and macrophage activation capacity, significantly less active than natural Salmonella lipid A. However, in other in vitro assay systems (B-cell mitogenicity, complement activation, Limulus amoebocyte lysate gelation) it expressed similar activity as Salmonella lipid A.

Interferon-inducing, pyrogenic and proclotting enzyme of horseshoe crab activation activities of chemically synthesized lipid A analogues were investigated and compared with the same activities of a natural lipid A. These analogues are nonphosphorylated, C-1 or C-4′ monophosphorylated and C-1,4′ bisphosphorylated derivatives of β-1,6-linked d-glucosamine disaccharide possessing both ester-bound and amide-bound fatty acid substituents. Fatty acid substituents of the analogues are tetradecanoyl (C14), (R)-3-hydroxytetradecanoyl (C14-OH) or (R)-3-tetradecanoyloxytetradecanoyl [C14-O-(C14)] groups. The biological activities of the samples were assayed after solubilization with triethylamine and complexing with bovine serum albumin. Interferon-inducing activity was exhibited by both the C-1 monophosphorylated compounds examined. Ester-bound and amide-bound fatty acid substituents of these compounds are both C14 or C14 and C14-OH, respectively. Nonphosphorylated, C-4′ monophosphorylated and C-1,4′ bisphosphorylated compounds possessing the same fatty acid substituents as those of the C-1 monophosphorylated compounds showed no detectable interferon-inducing activity. C-4′ monophosphorylated compounds possessing C14-OH as ester-bound and C14-OH or C14-O-(C14) as amide-bound fatty acid substituents exhibited interferon-inducing activity, but nonphosphorylated compounds possessing the same fatty acid substituents did not. None of the analogues exhibited significant pyrogenicity nor proclotting enzyme of horseshoe crab activation activity under the conditions employed in this study.

Synthetic lipid A part structures corresponding structurally to a biosynthetic lipid A disaccharide precursor have been analyzed for endotoxic activity in several systems in vivo and in vitro. It was found that a synthetic beta-1,6-linked D-glucosamine disaccharide, which carries four molar equivalents of (R)-3-hydroxytetradecanoyl residues in positions 2, 3, 2' and 3' and phosphoryl groups in positions 1 and 4' (preparation 406), exhibited lethal toxicity, B lymphocyte mitogenicity, the capacity to engender prostaglandin formation in macrophages and to induce endotoxic tolerance, as well as serological lipid A antigenicity. On a weight basis, preparation 406 was of comparable activity to lipid A precursor and bacterial free lipid A. Preparation 406, like lipid A precursor, lacked, however, the ability to induce the local Shwartzman phenomenon and both preparations were of moderate pyrogenicity. Two further synthetic analogues which contained only one phosphoryl group (preparation 404 at C-4', preparation 405 at C-1) showed comparable or diminished activity depending on the test system employed, except in the capacity to inactivate complement where they exhibited, in contrast to preparation 406, significant activity. The results show that the endotoxic principle of lipopolysaccharides, as postulated previously is embedded in the lipid A component. Our results also suggest initial conclusions on the structural requirements for the expression of endotoxin activities.

Total syntheses of [Ala3, Ala4]-, [Ala3]-, and [Ala4]-tuberactinomycin O corresponding to deoxy analogs of natural antibiotic tuberactinomycin O were achieved for the purpose of elucidation of relationship between chemical structure and biological activity. Cyclization of the pentapeptide intermediates at two different positions was investigated. Minimum inhibitory concentrations of the synthetic analogs against Mycobacterium or Corynebacterium indicated that both hydroxy groups of two serine residues of tuberactinomycins are not required for antibacterial activity, nor participated to drug-resistancy of bacilli. These analogs were found to have the same conformations in solution as those of natural antibiotic from the results of NMR, ORD, and CD measurements.

Synthetic lipid A analogs (compounds 404 through 406) were examined for their immunopharmacological activities. These compounds had two amide-bound and two ester-bound (R)-3-hydroxytetradecanoyl groups at the C-2 and C-2' and the C-3 and C-3' positions, respectively, of beta (1-3)glucosamine disaccharide. In all of the in vitro assays, these synthetic compounds exhibited high activities comparable to those of a reference lipid A prepared from Escherichia coli O8:K27 Re-mutant strain F515. The compounds activated the clotting enzyme cascade of the horseshoe crab, activated the human complement via the classical pathway, caused polyclonal B-cell activation, stimulated the phagocytosis of sheep erythrocytes by murine peritoneal macrophages, and enhanced the migration of human polymorphonuclear leukocytes. They also increased the thymidine uptake of splenocytes of BALB/c nu/nu and C3H/HeN mice but not those of C3H/HeJ (a nonresponder to lipopolysaccharide). A dephosphorylated derivative, compound 403, was barely active in all of the above assays except for the enhancement of polymorphonuclear leukocyte migration. However, compounds 404 through 406 were feeble in pyrogenicity and could not prepare the local Shwartzman reaction, although they were very lethal to galactosamine-loaded mice. Therefore, synthetic lipid A analogs described here were fully immunopharmacologically active in in vitro assays, but all of them were far less active than natural E. coli F515 lipid A regarding the biological activities characteristic of endotoxic lipopolysaccharides and lipid A's. The high lethal toxicity of compound 406 (1,4'-bisphosphate) to the galactosamine-loaded mice may not reflect its real toxicity to normal mice. In all activities examined, compound 406 was quite comparable to a biosynthetic lipid A precursor, a natural counterpart of compound 406. The immunopharmacological activities of these newly synthesized lipid A analogs, especially compound 406, were much stronger than those of compounds that had been synthesized earlier by using the originally proposed model of the lipid A structure. The findings described in this report justify the acylation pattern of a disaccharide backbone of lipid A, revised on the basis of recent analytical studies. The low in vivo endotoxic activities of the present lipid A analogs are most probably due to the fact that the kinds of acyl groups were different from those of the complete lipid A from E. coli, although there were no differences in the acylation positions on the disaccharide backbone.

Various structural analogs of N-acetylmuramyl-L-alanyl-D-isoglutamine, which had been shown to be the minimum structure required for the immunoadjuvant activity of bacterial cell walls, were synthesized in order to investigate in more detail the relationship between the activity and chemical structures. Particularly, the compounds of the structures corresponding to the cell walls of special bacteria without immunoadjuvant activity were prepared in this study. Several novel procedures including the preparation of a branched glutamyl peptide were newly exploited to accomplish the syntheses of muramyl peptides with complicated structures. As a result of this synthetic study, new informations were obtained on the structural requirement for the immunoadjucant activity.

The structure/activity relationship of lipid A, a bioactive center of endotoxic lipopolysaccharides, in the activation of the clotting enzyme cascade of a horseshoe crab amoebocyte lysate (Limulus activity) and the complement system in human serum, was examined using synthetic lipids A and related compounds. Regarding Limulus activity, a newly developed colorimetric method, which utilizes a mixture of recombined clotting factors and a chromogenic substance, was much more sensitive for detecting changes in the chemical structure of test compounds than the conventional gelation method using the amoebocyte whole lysate. (beta 1-6)-D-Glucosamine disaccharide bisphosphates, which had neither 3-hydroxyacyl nor 3-acyloxyacyl groups, and acylglucosamine phosphates, which in structure correspond or are analogous to the non-reducing or reducing moieties of lipids A and biosynthetic disaccharide lipid A precursors showed only negligible activity in the colorimetric tests, but they exhibited a distinct though much weaker gelation activity than the parent disaccharide molecules. The assay results obtained by the colorimetric Limulus test correlate better with the pyrogenicity of the test synthetic compounds than those given by the gelation method, although the dependence of pyrogenicity on chemical structure is greater. The presence of 3-hydroxyacyl groups on the bisphosphorylated (beta 1-6)-D-glucosamine disaccharide backbone is the prerequisite for effective activation of the clotting enzyme cascade of horseshoe crab amoebocyte lysate, while the presence of an adequate number (one or two) of 3-acyloxyacyl groups on the disaccharide bisphosphate backbone is needed for full pyrogenicity. Complement activation, on the other hand, showed structural requirements quite different from those for the colorimetric Limulus activity and the pyrogenicity. The disaccharide compounds that had only non-hydroxylated acyl groups, acylated glucosamine phosphates that had the structure of the non-reducing portion of lipids A and biosynthetic disaccharide precursors, which were scarcely active in the colorimetric Limulus test, caused complement activation comparable to or sometimes stronger than that of the parent disaccharide molecules. Acylglucosamine phosphates, corresponding in structure to the reducing moiety of disaccharide compounds, however, showed little activity.

The experimental system utilized in investigating the correlation between the chemical structures of muramyl peptides and their protective activities in the sepsis type of systemic infections caused by Escherichia coli was applied in evaluating the enhancement of resistance to infection induced by 32 synthetic glycopeptide analogs, including 6-O-acyl derivatives and 1-alpha-O-benzyl derivatives of muramyl dipeptide (N-acetyl muramyl-L-alanyl-D-isoglutamine). In assessing the 6-O-acyl derivatives of muramyl dipeptide, we found that the degree of protective activity was attributable to the kinds of fatty acids introduced. Acylation of the 6-hydroxy group on the muramic acid moiety in muramyl dipeptide with natural mycolic acid or a synthetic fatty acid possessing either an alpha-branched or an alpha-branched, beta-hydroxylated group resulted in a decrease in or a disappearance of the protective activity of muramyl dipeptide. Acylation with a normal fatty acid or an iso fatty acid resulted in a retention or enhancement of muramyl dipeptide activity. The activity of acylated derivatives containing linear fatty acids was stimulated by increasing the chain length up to 18 carbon atoms. The highest degree of protective activity occurred with the derivatives acylated with straight-chain fatty acids, particularly with the derivatives acylated with palmitic acid and arachidic acid. Benzylation of the 1-hydroxy group of muramyl dipeptide resulted in a decrease in or a loss of protective activity.

threo-3-Methyl-D-cysteine as a moiety of β-methyllanthionine in the peptide antibiotic nisin was synthesized stereospecifically. The reaction of (2R,3R)-3-methyl-2-aziridinecarboxylic acid derivative prepared from D-threonine with thiobenzoic acid gave the β-mercapto α-amino acid derivative of the same configuration as the starting material. A stereochemistry of the product was retained as a result of double inversion mechanism through the reactions. Thus, we could prepare threo-3-methyl-D-cysteine, i.e., (2S,3S)-2-amino-3-mercaptobutanoic acid which is required for the synthetic study of nisin.

It has been known since 1892 that a cell wall outermost layer of Gram-negative bacteria possesses an endotoxin which exhibits very multiple biological activities related to a self-defence mechanism of human being. Endotoxin activity is located in lipid A part in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of cell wall. We could propose a chemical structure of E.coli lipid A and achieved a total synthesis of it, resulting in a first clarification of the chemical entity of endotoxin. Furthermore, syntheses of Salmonella and Chromobacterium type lipid As as well as several biosynthetic precursors were also performed. Structure-activity relationship was discussed from biological activities of the synthetic lipid A analogs.