Isolation of Sphinin, an Inhibitor of Sphingomyelinase, from Streptomyces sp. F50970

Sphingomyelinase (SMase EC:3.l.4.l2) has been suggested to play important roles in the cell cycle, differentiation, apoptosis, inflammation, and the regulation of eukaryotic stress responses. SMase inhibitors may be a powerful tool to elucidate and regulate these cellular responses in which SMase involves. We first isolated an SMase inhibitor, named sphinin, from a strain of soil actinomycetes, F50970. Sphinin inhibited Mg/sup 2+/ -dependent neutral SMase from chicken embryo at 1.2 ㎍/㎖ of IC/sub 50/ Sphinin also inhibited acidic SMase, but it had no inhibitory activity on PI-PLC and PC-PLC, suggesting that sphinin is a specific inhibitor of SMase. The strain F50970 was identified as a Streptomyces sp. by its spiral spore chain, LL-diaminopimelic acid, menaquinone patterns of MK-9 (H'6) and MK-9 (H'8), FA-2c type of fatty acid pattern, and other morphological, physiological, and cultural characteristics.