Synthesis of stable analogs in blood and conformational analysis of arenastatin A, a potent cytotoxic spongean depsipeptide

In order to produce stable analogs in blood of arenastatin A, a potent cytotoxic depsipeptide from the marine sponge Dysidea arenaria, we synthesized four analogs in which the 15-20 ester linkage was modified. Among them, the carba analog and 20-deoxo analog showed stability in serum. The conformation of arenastatin A and its three analogs were analyzed by distance-restrained molecular dynamic calculation to elucidate a three-dimensional stereostructure contributing to the extremely potent cytotoxicity of arenastatin A.