9-Hydroxycrisamicin A

9-Hydroxycrisamicin A, a new cytotoxic isochromanquinone antibiotic, was isolated from a soil microorganism SA246 which was identified as Micromonospora sp. The molecular formula of 9-hydroxycrisamicin A was determined as C32H22O13 based on the HRFAB-MS analysis, and the structure was determined by various NMR experiments. 9-Hydroxycrisamicin A showed weak antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria and strong cytotoxic activity against some human cancer cell lines such as SK-OV-3 (ovarian), HCT15 (colon), SK-MEL-2 (melanoma), A549 (lung), XF498 (central nervous system) with ED50 of 0.47-0.65 microgram/ml.

A new compound from Micromonospora sp. SA246, 9-hydroxycrisamicin-A (9-HCA-A), showed potential for activating hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication. To define the mechanism of 9-HCA-A, we used HepG2 2.2.15 cells which support HBV replication. 9-HCA-A activated HBV replication, increased episomal and integrated HBV DNA content, and increased secretions of HBV antigens (HBsAg and HBeAg) into culture medium. 9-HCA-A also activated HBV transcription in Hep2 2.2.15 cell line. To examine transcriptional control mechanisms, we analyzed the effect of 9-HCA-A on four different HBV promoters (Core, PreS1, PreS2, and X) in hepatoma cell line. 9-HCA-A responsive element was located at HBx promoter. By EMSA, we showed that 9-HCA-A activated the HBx promoter by detaching the 9-HCA-A responsive element binding protein (9H-REBP). Protein phosphatase (PP2A1) treatment detaches the 9H-REBP from the HBx promoter, similar to 9-HCA-A, while protein kinase A treatment does not detach the 9H-REBP from the HBx promoter. Our results showed that 9H- REBP functions as a repressor of HBV replication while 9-HCA-A activated protein phosphatase released the BP on the HBx promoter, thus activating HBV replication.