ophiobolin A C21-ethyl ketone

Ophiobolin A C21-ethyl ketone is a synthetic small molecule derivative of the sesterterpenoid fungal metabolite ophiobolin A. It was developed by researchers at Texas State University and collaborating institutions to investigate the structure-activity relationship (SAR) of the C21-aldehyde group, which is considered a potential metabolic liability due to its susceptibility to oxidation. While the parent compound, ophiobolin A, demonstrates potent anti-tumor activity against glioblastoma (GBM) and glioma stem cells (GSCs) by inducing paraptosis (a non-apoptotic cell death pathway), the C21-ethyl ketone derivative showed significantly reduced cytotoxic potency in patient-derived GSC models. This suggests that the steric environment at the C21 position is critical for the biological activity of ophiobolins in brain cancer models, and increasing steric bulk from a hydrogen to an ethyl group is detrimental to potency.

Other names

ophiobolin A C21-Et ketoneC21-ethyl ketone ophiobolin AC-21-ethyl ketone ophiobolin AC 21-ethyl ketone ophiobolin A