Brominated Bisindole Alkaloids from the Celtic Sea Sponge <i>Spongosorites calcicola</i>
Laurence K. Jennings,
Neyaz M. D. Khan,
Navdeep Kaur,
Daniel Rodrigues,
Christine Morrow,
Aoife Boyd,
Olivier P. Thomas
Affiliations
Laurence K. Jennings
Marine Biodiscovery Laboratory, School of Chemistry and Ryan Institute, National University of Ireland Galway, University Road, Galway H91 TK33, Ireland
Neyaz M. D. Khan
Discipline of Microbiology, School of Natural Sciences, Centre for One Health (Ryan Institute), Infection and Immunity Cluster (NCBES), National University of Ireland Galway, University Road, Galway H91 TK33, Ireland
Navdeep Kaur
Marine Biodiscovery Laboratory, School of Chemistry and Ryan Institute, National University of Ireland Galway, University Road, Galway H91 TK33, Ireland
Daniel Rodrigues
Marine Biodiscovery Laboratory, School of Chemistry and Ryan Institute, National University of Ireland Galway, University Road, Galway H91 TK33, Ireland
Christine Morrow
Department of Natural Sciences, National Museums Northern Ireland, 153 Bangor Road, Hollywood BT18 0EU, Ireland
Aoife Boyd
Discipline of Microbiology, School of Natural Sciences, Centre for One Health (Ryan Institute), Infection and Immunity Cluster (NCBES), National University of Ireland Galway, University Road, Galway H91 TK33, Ireland
Olivier P. Thomas
Marine Biodiscovery Laboratory, School of Chemistry and Ryan Institute, National University of Ireland Galway, University Road, Galway H91 TK33, Ireland
As part of an ongoing program to identify new bioactive compounds from Irish marine bioresources, we selected the subtidal sponge Spongosorites calcicola for chemical study, as fractions of this species displayed interesting cytotoxic bioactivities and chemical profiles. The first chemical investigation of this marine species led to the discovery of two new bisindole alkaloids of the topsentin family, together with six other known indole alkaloids. Missing the usual central core featured by the representatives of these marine natural products, the new metabolites may represent key biosynthetic intermediates for other known bisindoles. These compounds were found to exhibit weak cytotoxic activity against HeLa tumour cells, suggesting a specificity towards previously screened carcinoma and leukaemia cells.
