Olivanic acid

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). 

Properties. Thienamycin is isolated as a colorless, hygroscopic, zwitterionic soHd, although the majority of carbapenems have been obtained as sodium salts and, in the case of the sulfated olivanic acids, as disodium salts (12). Concentrated aqueous solutions of the carbapenems are generally unstable, particularly at low pH. AH the substituted natural products have characteristic uv absorption properties that are often used in assay procedures. The ir frequency of the P-lactam carbonyl is in the range 1760 1790 cm . ... 

In the case of thienamycin (Fig. lb) the absolute stereochemistry at C-5 was unambiguously deterrnined from the ene-lactam (16). The resultant (R)-aspartic acid (17) demonstrated that the absolute stereochemistry at C-5 of thienamycin is (R), corresponding to that found in the C-5 position of both penicillins and cephalosporins. Confirmation of the stereochemical assignments in both thienamycin (2) and the olivanic acid MM 13902 (3, n = 0) has been confirmed by x-ray crystallography (19,21,22). The stmctural determination of the nonsulfated derivatives from S. olivaceus (23), PS-5 (5) (5), the carpetimycins (6), and the asparenomycins (7) followed a similar pattern. 

In the olivanic acid series of carbapenems the ( )-acetamidoethenyl grouping can be isomerised to the (Z)-isomer (19) (22) and reaction with hypobromous acid provides a bromohydrin that fragments to give a thiol of type (20) when R = H, SO H, or COCH. The thiol is not isolated but can react to provide new alkyl or alkenyl C-2 substituents (28). In the case of the nonsulfated olivanic acids, inversion of the stereochemistry at the 8(3)-hydroxyl group by way of a Mitsunobu reaction affords an entry to the 8(R)-thienamycin series (29). An alternative method for introducing new sulfur substituents makes use of a displacement reaction of a carbapenem (3)-oxide with a thiol (30). Microbial deacylation of the acylamino group in PS-5 (5) has... 

The sulfated compounds MM 13902 (3, n = (5) and MM 17880 (4) are also broad-spectmm agents, but not as potent as thienamycia and all lack any significant activity against Pseudomonas (73). Many carbapenems are excellent inhibitors of isolated P-lactamases, particularly the olivanic acid sulfoxide MM 4550 (3, n = 1) (3). The possible mechanism of action of the carbapenems as inhibitors of P-lactamases has been discussed in some detail (74). Other carbapenems such as PS-5 (5) (75), the carpetimycins (76), asparenomycins (77), and pluracidomycins (8) are all highly active as antibiotics or P-lactamase inhibitors. The parent nucleus itself (1, X = CH2) is intrinsically active, but chemically unstable (9). 

There are several examples of intramolecular reactions of monocyclic /3-lactams with carbenes or carbenoids most of these involve formation of olivanic acid or clavulanic acid derivatives. Thus treatment of the diazo compound (106) with rhodium(II) acetate in benzene under reflux gives (107), an intermediate in the synthesis of thienamycin (80H(14)1305, 80TL2783). 

Fig. 5.5 A, clavulanic acid B, latamoxef C, 1-carbapenems D, olivanic acid (general structure) E, thienamycin F, meropenem G, 1-carbacephems H, loracarbef.

The 1-caibapenems (Fig. 5.5C) comprise a new family of fused /3-lactam antibiotics. They are analogues of penicillins or clavams, the snlphur (penicilhns) or o gen (calvams) atom being replaced by carbon. Examples are the olivanic acids (section 2.5.1) and thienamycin and imipenem (section 2.5.2). 

The olivanic acids (general structure, Fig. 5.5D) are naturally-occurring /3-lactam antibiotics which have, with some difficulty, been isolated from culture fluids of Strep, olivaceus. They are broad-spectrum antibiotics and are potent inhibitors of various types of/3-lactamases. 

The first clinical application of the second strategy (to overcome bacterial resistance by neutralizing the /3-lactamases) was the combination of clav-ulanic acid (5.12) and amoxicillin. The efficacy of clavulanic acid has stimulated research on other inhibitors of /3-lactamases, leading to the discovery of a number of other inactivators such as sulbactam (5.13), 6/3-bromopenic-illanic acid (5.14), and olivanic acid (5.15) [44] [45],... 

Mechanistic investigations have shown that these compounds behave as suicide inhibitors (preferably called mechanism-based inactivators) in the sense that they are recognized by /3-lactamases as substrates, but the great stability of the acyl-enzyme intermediate blocks turnover of the enzyme [46] [47]. /3-Lactamase inhibitors can be divided into two classes, class I and class II class-I inhibitors (e.g., clavulanic acid (5.12)), in contrast to those of class II (e.g., olivanic acid (5.15)), have a heteroatom at position 1 that can lead to ring opening at C(5). The mechanistic consequences of this difference in structure are illustrated by the general scheme in Fig. 5.3. 

C. J. Easton, J. R. Knowles, Inhibition of the RTEM /3-Lactamase from Escherichia coli. Interaction of the Enzyme with Derivatives of Olivanic Acid , Biochemistry 1982, 21, 2857-2862. 

Carbapenems are representatives of another class of antibiotics that differ from penems in the absence of a sulfur atom in the penem ring. They include thienamicin (R = CH2CH2NH2), olivanic acid (R = CH=CHNH2>, and imipenem (R = CH2CH2NHC=NH). 

Olivanic acid MM22381 trans (5R,6S) Me(OH)CH— (85) -SCH2CH2NHAc 79MI51201... 

---