Cephamycin

Occurrence, Fermentation, and Biosynthesis. Although a large number of Streptomjces species have been shown to produce carbapenems, only S. cattkja (2) and S. penemfaciens (11) have been reported to give thienamycin (2). Generally the antibiotics occur as a mixture of analogues or isomers and are often co-produced with penicillin N and cephamycin C. Yields are low compared to other P-lactams produced by streptomycetes, and titres are of the order of 1—20 p-g sohdusmL despite, in many cases, a great deal of effort on the optimization of the media and fermentation conditions. The rather poor stabiUty of the compounds also contributes to a low recovery in the isolation procedures. The fermentation and isolation processes for thienamycin and the olivanic acids has been reviewed in some detail (12). 

Fig. 1. Biosynthesis of cephalosporins and cephamycins. a, Cephalosporium acremonium, b, Penicillium chjsogenum, c, Streptomjces clavuligerus-, d, Streptomjces lipmanir, e, Streptomjces wadajamensis, REX is a ring expansion en2yme (deacetoxycephalosporin C synthethase).

At present all of the cephalosporins ate manufactured from one of four P-lactams, cephalosporin C (2), penicillin V [87-08-17, penicillin G [113-98-4] and cephamycin C (8), which ate all produced in commercial quantities by fermentation (87). The manufacturing process consists of three steps fermentation, isolation, and chemical modification. 

Fermentation. The commercial P-lactam antibiotics which act as starting material for all of the cephalosporins ate produced by submerged fermentation. The organisms used for the commercial production of the penicillins and cephalosporins ate mutants of PenicU/in chTysogenum and Cephalosporium acremonium respectively (3,153,154). Both ate tme fungi (eucaryotes). In contrast, the cephamycins ate produced by certain species of procaryotic Streptomyces including Streptomyces clavuligerus and Streptomyces lipmanii (21,103). 

Isolation. Isolation procedures rely primarily on solubiHty, adsorption, and ionic characteristics of the P-lactam antibiotic to separate it from the large number of other components present in the fermentation mixture. The penicillins ate monobasic catboxyHc acids which lend themselves to solvent extraction techniques (154). Pencillin V, because of its improved acid stabiHty over other penicillins, can be precipitated dkecdy from broth filtrates by addition of dilute sulfuric acid (154,156). The separation process for cephalosporin C is more complex because the amphoteric nature of cephalosporin C precludes dkect extraction into organic solvents. This antibiotic is isolated through the use of a combination of ion-exchange and precipitation procedures (157). The use of neutral, macroporous resins such as XAD-2 or XAD-4, allows for a more rapid elimination of impurities in the initial steps of the isolation (158). The isolation procedure for cephamycin C also involves a series of ion exchange treatments (103). 

In organisms which produce cephalosporin and cephamycins, the configuration of the O -aminoadipyl side chain of (30) is D, while penicillin producers yield the l isomer. The exact point at which the configuration is inverted is unknown. Subsequent steps in cephalosporin biosynthesis are believed to involve ring expansion to deacetoxycephalosporin C (31), which may proceed by a mechanism analogous to the chemical pathway (see Section 5.10.4.2), followed by hydroxylation and acetylation at C-3 to produce cephalosporin C (32). 

Cefmetazole (78) is a cephamycin-inspired cephalosporin differing from the mainstream compounds in having an aliphatic amide moiety attached to C-7. Its antibacterial spectrum is similar to the second generation agent cefoxitin. The synthesis starts with 7-aminocephalosporan-... 

Figure 6.10 Biosynthetic pathways from isopenicillin N to penicillin G and cephalosporin C. Some strains have the ability to convert deacetylcephalosporin C into cephamycin C.

The biosynthetic route to cephalosporin C is identical to that of the penicillins as far as isopeniciUin N (section 3.4.3). The further route to cephalosporin C is shown on p. 160. Note the branch into a third series of /3-lactam drugs, the cephamycins (see Chapter 5). 

While screening for p-lactam antibiotics stable to p-lactamases, a strain of Streptomyces lactamdurans was found to contain several such agents which have a 6-a-methoxy group whose electronic and steric properties protect the antibiotic from enzymatic attack. Cephamycin C (29a), one of these substances, is not of commercial value, but side chain exchange has led to much more potent materials. Of the various ways of effecting this transformation, one of the more direct is to react cephamycin C with nitrous acid so that the aliphatic diazo product (29b) decomposes by secondary amide participation giving cyclic iminoether 30. The imino ether moiety solvolyzes more readily than the p-lactam to produce 7-aminocephamycinic... 

There has also been extensive activity towards the replacement of the entire chemical route to 7-ADCA (Scheme 1.14) with a biocatalytic one. This is somewhat more complex than the above example, as the penicillin fermentation product requires ring expansion as well as side-chain hydrolysis in order to arrive at the desired nucleus. The penicillin nucleus can be converted to the cephalosporin nucleus using expandase enzymes, a process that occurs naturally during the biosynthesis of cephalosporin C by Acremonium chryso-genum and cephamycin C by Streptomyces clavuligems from isopenicUhn N (6-APA containing a 6-L-a-aminoadipoyl side chain). ... 

The ribosome-associated ppGpp synthetase (RelA) is required for antibiotic production under the conditions of nitrogen limitation in S. coelicolor A3 and for cephamycin C production in S. clavuligerus. Deletion of the relA in S. coelicolor A3 results in the loss of production of the antibiotics actinorhodin (Act) and undecylprodigiosin (Red) and... 

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