Nonactin

Here we report the production of the cyclic macrotetrolide nonactin from the fermentation culture of Streptomyces griseus subsp. griseus. Nonactin is a member of a family of naturally occurring cyclic ionophores known as the macrotetrolide antibiotics. Our fermentation procedure of Streptomyces griseus was performed at 30 °C and 200 rev·min(-1) for 5 days on a rotary shaker. Diaion HP-20 and Amberlite XAD-16 were added to the fermentation medium. Isolated yield of nonactin was up to 80 mg·L(-1) using our methodology. Nonactin is commonly known as an ammonium ionophore and also exhibits antibacterial, antiviral, and antitumor activities. It is also widely used for the preparation of ion-selective electrodes and sensors. Chemical synthesis of nonactin has been achieved by some groups; however, overall yields are very low, making efficient biosynthesis an attractive means of production.

Nonactin is the parent compound of a group of ionophore antibiotics, known as the macrotetrolides, produced by Streptomyces griseus subsp. griseus ETH A7796. Nonactin is a significant compound because of its inhibitory effects on the P170 glycoprotein-mediated efflux of chemotherapeutic agents in multiple-drug-resistant cancer cells. Nonactin is also significant in that it is a highly atypical polyketide. Very little is presently known about the genes of the nonactin biosynthesis cluster. In this paper we describe our efforts to establish a connection between the product of a gene from the nonactin biosynthesis cluster and a known biochemical transformation in nonactin biosynthesis. Nonactate synthase is the enzyme which catalyzes the formation of nonactic acid from an acyclic precursor in nonactin biosynthesis. We have synthesized the substrate for this enzyme and have detected the in vitro cyclization activity of the substrate in cell-free preparations of S. griseus subsp. griseus ETH A7796. Previous studies by R. Plater and J. A. Robinson (Gene 112:117-122, 1992) had suggested, based on sequence homology, that the product of a partial open reading frame found close to the tetranactin resistance gene of S. griseus could be the nonactate synthase. We have therefore cloned, sequenced, and heterologously expressed this full gene (nonS), and we have shown that the gene product, NonS, does indeed catalyze the formation of the furan ring of nonactic acid as hypothesized.

The ionophore antibiotic nonactin permeabilizes cell membranes to NH4+ and K(+) . Treatment of erythrocytes with nonactin is expected to trigger cellular K(+) loss with subsequent cell shrinkage, which in turn is known to trigger suicidal death of a wide variety of cells including erythrocytes. This study explored whether nonactin exposure induces eryptosis, the suicidal erythrocyte death characterized by cell shrinkage and translocation of cell membrane phosphatidylserine to the erythrocyte surface. Signalling of eryptosis includes increase in cytosolic Ca(2+) activity [(Ca(2+) )i ] and stimulation of protein kinase C (PKC) as well as p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase. Phosphatidylserine abundance at the cell surface was estimated from annexin-V-binding, cell volume from forward scatter (FSC) and (Ca(2+) )i from Fluo3-fluorescence. A 48-hr treatment of human erythrocytes with nonactin significantly decreased FSC (≥10 ng/ml) and significantly increased the percentage of annexin-V-binding cells (≥10 ng/ml), effects paralleled by increase in (Ca(2+) )i (≥50 ng/ml) and virtually abrogated by increase in extracellular K(+) concentration to 120 mM at the expense of Na(+) . The up-regulation of annexin-V-binding after nonactin treatment was significantly blunted but not abolished by the removal of extracellular Ca(2+) and by addition of either PKC inhibitor staurosporine (0.4 μM) or p38 kinase inhibitor SB203580 (2 μM). In conclusion, exposure of erythrocytes to the K(+) ionophore nonactin induces erythrocyte shrinkage and subsequent erythrocyte membrane scrambling, effects involving cellular K(+) loss, Ca(2+) entry and activation of staurosporine as well as SB203580-sensitive kinases.