On the 13th, Professor Kim Choong-seop of Sungkyunkwan University’s Department of Pharmacy announced that his research team, along with Professor Lee Hyo-jong and Professor Lee Won-sik's teams, successfully discovered a new metabolite that selectively inhibits angiogenesis from rare intestinal microorganisms.
The key to this study is the identification of the fact that the antibiotic erythromycin can stimulate the expression of biosynthetic genes in intestinal microorganisms, leading to the production of new active substances. Erythromycin is an antibiotic that interferes with bacterial protein synthesis to treat infections, including respiratory infections and skin diseases.
The research team confirmed that when the antibiotic was administered to the intestinal microorganisms, eight new metabolites were generated, including a new substance named 'aneuristatin,' which possesses a new chemical scaffold. Additionally, analysis of the biosynthetic pathway revealed that aneuristatin is produced from the combination of three molecules of an amino acid called tyrosine.
Aneuristatin inhibited the formation of new blood vessels around cancer cells. This action occurred by regulating proteins that play a significant role in the growth and metastasis of cancer.
The research team demonstrated the effects of aneuristatin using a zebrafish and mouse model. Aneuristatin is expected to be widely used for the treatment of various diseases, including cancer and cardiovascular diseases, as it simultaneously inhibits inflammation and tissue fibrosis.
Professor Kim Choong-seop noted, 'This research is an important case showing how the metabolic capabilities of intestinal microorganisms can be activated by environmental changes, particularly antibiotic stimulation.' He added, 'The development of new drugs based on intestinal microorganisms utilizing the metabolic potential of rare microorganisms can be more actively pursued.'
The research results were published on April 30 in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
References
Journal of the American Chemical Society (2025), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.5c03174