Secondary metabolites of Vietnamese marine fungus Penicillium chermesinum 2104NT-1.3 and their cardioprotective activity

Abstract

The aim of this study was to isolate and identify secondary metabolites from a culture of the Vietnamese marine fungus Penicillium chermesinum 2104NT-1.3, isolated earlier from the brown alga Hormorphysa cuneiformis in Nha Trang Bay, and to investigate their cardioprotective effects in vitro. A known ergosterol derivative, 3β,15β-dihydroxy-(22E, 24 R)-ergosta-5,8(14),22-trien-7-one (diHET), and fatty acid derivatives, glycerol ester of (E,E)9,12-octadienoic acid, hexadeca-5-enoic acid, and glycerol ester, were isolated from the fungal extract and were identified using NMR and MS data. It was discovered that diHET induced the proliferation of H9c2 cardiomyocytes by accelerating the transition from the G1 to S phase of the cell cycle. Moreover, this triterpene derivative protects H9c2 cardiomyocytes from cobalt chloride (II)-induced toxicity, cell cycle arrest, and apoptosis. Using 4-hydroxytamoxifen as an estrogen receptor (ER) antagonist and in silico experiments, it was shown that the effect of diHET may be ER-dependent due to its metabolization in more active derivatives.