Kodaistatin A

Two novel compounds, kodaistatin A, C35H34O11, molecular weight 630, and kodaistatin C, C35H34O12, molecular weight 646, have been isolated from cultures of Aspergillus terreus Thom DSM 11247 by solid-phase extraction, size-exclusion chromatography, and various preparative HPLC steps. The use of a range of 2D NMR measurements, in particular 13C-13C correlation measurements, has led to the clarification of the structure of kodaistatin A. Kodaistatin C is a hydroxylated derivative of kodaistatin A. Both natural products contain hydroxylated aspulvinones and identical highly substituted polyketide units. An X-ray single crystal structure analysis of aspulvinon E demonstrated the z-configuration at the central double bond. The kodaistatins are effective inhibitors of the glucose-6-phosphate translocase component of the glucose-6-phosphatase system (EC 3.1.3.9), an enzyme system which is important for the control of blood glucose levels. The IC50 is 80 nM for kodaistatin A and 130 nM for kodaistatin C.

The kodaistatins A-D are strongly anti-diabetic natural products from Aspergillus terreus that hold some promise of a novel diabetes cure. However, considerations of that kind face two drawbacks: 1) The kodaistatins A-D contain a heavily substituted pulvinone/cyclopentenone combination; 2) they are 1,2-diols, the 3D structures of which have not been assigned yet. However, we can exclude two of the four possible stereostructures. We conclude that kodaistatin A is a trans-, not a cis-diol from NMR comparisons with a pair of cis, trans-isomeric kodaistatin models, which we synthesized in 11 and 12 steps, respectively. The stereocenters of the diol moiety arose from stereocomplementary, highly diastereoselective aldol additions of a lithium enolate or the corresponding silyl ketene acetal. The cyclopentenone moieties stemmed from intramolecular aldol additions and ensuing dehydrations. The requisite enolates were obtained by the reduction of α-bromoketones with samarium diiodide.