Cytotoxic Trichothecene Macrolides Produced by the Endophytic Myrothecium roridum

Six new macrolides named myrothecines D-G (1-4), 16-hydroxymytoxin B (5), and 14'-dehydrovertisporin (6), including four 10,13-cyclotrichothecane derivatives, in addition to 12 known compounds (7-18), were isolated from three endophytic Myrothecium roridum, IFB-E008, IFB-E009, and IFB-E012. The isolated compounds were characterized by MS, NMR, CD, and single-crystal X-ray crystallography. The isolated macrolides exhibited an antiproliferation effect against chronic myeloid leukemia K562 and colorectal carcinoma SW1116 cell lines. Compounds 1-6 were cytotoxic, with IC₅₀ values ranging between 56 nM and 16 μM. Since slight structural changes led to obvious activity differences, the CoMFA (comparative molecular field analysis) and CoMSIA (comparative molecular similarity indices analysis) methods were then used to explore the 3D QSAR (three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship) of these macrolides. The result showed that the steric, electrostatic, hydrophobic, and H-bond acceptor factors were involved in their cytotoxicity and provided an in-depth understanding of the structure-activity relationships of these metabolites.