Synthesis, antimicrobial and antiproliferative properties of epi-oligomycin A, the (33)-diastereomer of oligomycin A.

We describe the synthesis of epi-oligomycin A, a (33)-diastereomer of the antibiotic oligomycin A. The structure of (33)-oligomycin A was determined by elemental analysis, spectroscopic studies, including 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry. Isomerization of C33 hydroxyl group led to minor changes in the potency against , , and filamentous fungi whereas the activity against decreased by approximately 20-fold compared to oligomycin A. We observed that 33-epi-oligomycin A had the same activity on the human leukemia cell line K562 as oligomycin A but was more potent for the multidrug resistant subline K562/4. Non-malignant cells were less sensitive to both oligomycin isomers. Finally, our results pointed at the dependence of the cytotoxicity of oligomycins on oxygen supply.