Cellocidin

DescriptionCellocidin is an antibiotic originally isolated from S. chibaensis. It is active against various bacterial strains including M. tuberculosis and against the trypanosomes T. brucei and T. rhodesiense (IC50s = 150 and 30 ng/ml, respectively). It inhibits proliferation of LCL1 and LCL2 cells transformed by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), activates the c-Myc and NF-κB pathways in BC3 and LCL1 cells, and induces necrotic cell death in B cells infected with gammaherpes virus. Cellocidin (100-200 ppm) is protective against bacterial leaf blight in rice plants and inhibits α-ketoglutarate oxidation in X. oryzae, the bacterium that causes leaf blight, when used at a concentration of 1 ppm, suggesting that it inhibits the citric acid cycle. Formulations containing cellocidin have been used as agricultural pesticides.

UsesCellocidin is a small neutral alkyne produced by a number of Streptomyces species, first discovered by Suzuki and colleagues in 1958. Cellocidin has a broad antibacterial, antifungal and antitumor profile due to its ability to react with endogenous thiols like cysteine and glutathione. Cellocidin occurs as a weak active in many bioassays using actinomycete crude extracts and is thus a useful standard for chemical and bioassay dereplication.