Opaliferin, a polyketide with a unique partial structure in which a cyclopentanone and tetrahydrofuran were connected with an external double bond, was isolated from the insect pathogenic fungus Cordyceps sp. NBRC 106954. The structure and relative configuration of opaliferin were determined by spectroscopic analysis and X-ray crystallography. The absolute configuration was established by anomalous dispersion effects in X-ray diffraction measurements on the crystal of di(p-bromobenzoyl) ester of opaliferin. A plausible biosynthetic pathway for opaliferin is proposed.

During the search for new antitrypanosomal drug leads, three new antitrypanosomal compounds, cardinalisamides A–C (1–3), were isolated from cultures of the insect pathogenic fungus Cordyceps cardinalis NBRC 103832. Their structures were elucidated using MS analyses and extensive 2D-heteronuclear NMR. The absolute configurations of 1–3 were addressed by chemical degradation and Marfey’s analysis. 1–3 showed in vitro antitrypanosomal activity against Trypanosoma brucei brucei with IC50 values of 8.56, 8.65 and 8.63 μg ml−1, respectively.

A screening of 30 crude extracts of marine sponges against human promyelocytic leukemia cells (HL-60) yielded an EtOAc extract of the sponge Callyspongia sp. (Callyspongiidae) with significant activity. Further bioassay-guided fractionation of the EtOAc extract led to the isolation of three polyacetylene metabolites: a new polyacetylene diol, callyspongidiol (1), along with two known compounds, siphonodiol (2) and 14,15-dihydrosiphonodiol (3). Their structures were determined by a combination of spectroscopic analyses. Compounds 1–3 exhibited antiproliferative activity against HL-60 with IC50 values of 6.5, 2.8, and 6.5 µg/ml, respectively. These metabolites induce apoptosis in HL-60 cells. Dendritic cells (DC) differentiated with 1–3 enhance the differentiation of naïve T cells towards the Th1 type.

Dendritic cells (DC) are key antigen-presenting cells that link innate and adaptive immunity and ultimately activate antigen-specific T cells. In the current study, we demonstrated that two triterpene esters, uncarinic acid C (1) and uncarinic acid D (2), which are isolated from the hooks of Uncaria rhynchophylla, activate phenotypic and cytokine production alterations in DC. We also show that 1 and 2 modulate human DC function in a fashion that favors Th1 cell polarization. The effect of 1 (E configuration at the 2′ position) was approximately 20 times more potent than that of 2 (Z configuration at 2′). These results indicated that the configuration of the 2′ double bond greatly effects activity. Thus, 1 and 2 may prove useful as DC-based vaccines for cancer immunotherapy.