Chartreusin

Chartreusin is an antibiotic originally isolated from S. chartreusis with diverse biological activities.¹ It inhibits growth of S. aureus, B. subtilis, M. luteus, M. flavus, B. fragilis, C. difficile, C. perfringens, and P. acnes (MICs = 0.4-12.5 μg/ml).² Chartreusin binds to DNA and induces electrophoretic shifts in both supercoiled and nicked plasmid DNA.³ It also inhibits strand-passing activity of topoisomerase II in a P4 unknotting assay. Chartreusin inhibits protein synthesis in chick embryo fibroblasts (CEFs) and mouse fibroblast 3T6 cells (IC₅₀s = 7 and 70 μM, respectively).⁴ It is cytotoxic to human lung carcinoma A549 cells in vitro (IC₅₀ = 95 nM) and increases median survival in P388 leukemia and B16 melanoma mouse tumor models when administered at a dose of 10 mg/kg per day.^2,3

WARNING This product is not for human or veterinary use.

1. Leach, B.E., Calhoun, K.M., Johnson, L.E., et al. Chartreusin, a new antibiotic produced by Streptomyces chartreusis, a new species. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 75(16), 4011-4012 (1953).

2. Konishi, M., Sugawara, K., Kofu, F., et al. Elsamicins, new antitumor antibiotics related to chartreusin. I. Production, isolation, characterization and antitumor activity. J. Antibiot. (Tokyo) 39(6), 784-791 (1986).

3. Lorico, A., and Long, B.H. Biochemical characterisation of elsamicin and other coumarin-related antitumour agents as potent inhibitors of human topoisomerase II. Eur. J. Cancer 29A(14), 1985-1991 (1993).

4. Contreras, A., Vazquez, D., and Carrasco, L. Inhibition, by selected antibiotics, of protein synthesis in cells growing in tissue cultures. J. Antibiot. (Tokyo) 31(6), 598-602 (1978).