Sichuan Team Isolates Xylarimides, Fungal Cyclic Depsipeptides That Trigger Lethal Autophagy in Kidney Cancer
Chemists isolated xylarimides A and B, two 21-membered cyclic depsipeptides with a previously undescribed chemical unit, from the fungus Xylaria striata. Xylarimide A slowed the growth of kidney cancer cell lines and 786-O tumors in mice. It binds the autophagy protein ATG7 and suppresses AKT-mTOR signaling, driving cancer cells into lethal autophagy.