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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you for a contribution to the Special Issue, entitled “Microbial Natural Products: A Promising Source for Medical Application (2nd Edition)”. Microorganisms create a rich reservoir of several natural compounds, displaying a broad spectrum of biological and pharmacological activity, although this remains underexplored. Both primary and secondary microbial metabolites possess potential benefits for human health.

This Special Issue aims to extensively study the significance of microbial natural products and their potential application as food supplements, functional food and/or medicines in the prophylaxis and treatment of several disorders. We are especially interested in treatments for diseases that constitute significant epidemiological problems in the 21st century, e.g., infectious, metabolic and neurological diseases, as well as cancer.

In this Special Issue, we welcome short communications, original research articles and reviews in the field of microbiology, biotechnology, pharmacology, biopharmacy and/or food sciences. Research areas may include, but are not limited to, the following topics: microbial natural compounds as antimicrobial, anticancer and neuroprotective agents, as well as gut microbiota compounds for prevention-related and therapeutic purposes.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Anna Malm
Dr. Izabela Korona-Głowniak
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Molecules is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Related Special Issue

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

10 pages, 4961 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

Bioactive α-Pyrone Analogs from the Endophytic Fungus Diaporthe sp. CB10100: α-Glucosidase Inhibitory Activity, Molecular Docking, and Molecular Dynamics Studies

by Zhong Wang, Qingxian Ma, Guangling Wu, Yani Zhong, Bin Feng, Pingzhi Huang, Aijie Li, Genyun Tang, Xueshuang Huang and Hong Pu

Molecules 2024, 29(8), 1768; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29081768 - 12 Apr 2024

Viewed by 527

Abstract

Two α-pyrone analogs were isolated from the endophytic fungus Diaporthe sp. CB10100, which is derived from the medicinal plant Sinomenium acutum. These analogs included a new compound, diaporpyrone F (3), and a known compound, diaporpyrone D (4). The structure of 3 was identified by a comprehensive examination of HRESIMS, 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic data. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that biosynthetic gene clusters for α-pyrone analogs are common in fungi of Diaporthe species. The in vitro α-glucosidase inhibitory activity and antibacterial assay of 4 revealed that it has a 46.40% inhibitory effect on α-glucosidase at 800 μM, while no antibacterial activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Mycolicibacterium (Mycobacterium) smegmatis or Klebsiella pneumoniae at 64 μg/mL. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations of 4 with α-glucosidase further suggested that the compounds are potential α-glucosidase inhibitors. Therefore, α-pyrone analogs can be used as lead compounds for α-glucosidase inhibitors in more in-depth studies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbial Natural Products: A Promising Source for Medical Application (2nd Edition))

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Figure 1

19 pages, 3873 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Chemical Epigenetic Regulation Secondary Metabolites Derived from Aspergillus sydowii DL1045 with Inhibitory Activities for Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases

by Xuan Shi, Xia Li, Xiaoshi He, Danyang Zhang, Chunshan Quan, Zhilong Xiu and Yuesheng Dong

Molecules 2024, 29(3), 670; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29030670 - 31 Jan 2024

Viewed by 653

Abstract

Protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) are ubiquitous in living organisms and are promising drug targets for cancer, diabetes/obesity, and autoimmune disorders. In this study, a histone deacetylase inhibitor called suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) was added to a culture of marine fungi (Aspergillus sydowii DL1045) to identify potential drug candidates related to PTP inhibition. Then, the profile of the induced metabolites was characterized using an integrated metabolomics strategy. In total, 46% of the total SMs were regulated secondary metabolites (SMs), among which 20 newly biosynthesized metabolites (10% of the total SMs) were identified only in chemical epigenetic regulation (CER) broth. One was identified as a novel compound, and fourteen compounds were identified from Aspergillus sydowii first. SAHA derivatives were also biotransformed by A. sydowii DL1045, and five of these derivatives were identified. Based on the bioassay, some of the newly synthesized metabolites exhibited inhibitory effects on PTPs. The novel compound sydowimide A (A11) inhibited Src homology region 2 domain-containing phosphatase-1 (SHP1), T-cell protein tyrosine phosphatase (TCPTP) and leukocyte common antigen (CD45), with IC₅₀ values of 1.5, 2.4 and 18.83 μM, respectively. Diorcinol (A3) displayed the strongest inhibitory effect on SHP1, with an IC₅₀ value of 0.96 μM. The structure–activity relationship analysis and docking studies of A3 analogs indicated that the substitution of the carboxyl group reduced the activity of A3. Research has demonstrated that CER positively impacts changes in the secondary metabolic patterns of A. sydowii DL1045. The compounds produced through this approach will provide valuable insights for the creation and advancement of novel drug candidates related to PTP inhibition. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbial Natural Products: A Promising Source for Medical Application (2nd Edition))

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