New verticilides, inhibitors of acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase, produced by Verticillium sp. FKI-2679.

Verticillium sp. FKI-2679, a soil isolate, was found to produce inhibitors of acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT) in a cell-based assay using ACAT1- and ACAT2-expressing CHO cells. Three new compounds, verticilides A2, A3 and B1, were isolated along with a known compound, verticilide A1, from the fermentation broth of the fungus by solvent extraction, ODS column chromatography, silica gel column chromatography and preparative HPLC. Structure elucidation showed that these compounds were new cyclic depsipeptide. Verticilides A1, A2, A3 and B1 showed a degree of selectivity towards ACAT2, with IC(50)s 8.5-11-fold more potent than observed against ACAT1.