Lycopodine, a bioactive compound derived from Lycopodium clavatum spores, effectively inhibits the proliferation of HeLa cells through the induction of apoptosis. This process is mediated by caspase-3 activation. In refractory prostate cancer cells, Lycopodine triggers apoptosis by modulating 5-lipoxygenase and depolarizing the mitochondrial membrane potential, without altering p53 activity.
Cholic acid anilide is a synthetic bile acid and derivative of cholic acid that inhibits the germination of C. difficile strain R20291 spores in vitro (IC50 = 1.8 μM).1 |1. Sharma, S.K., Yip, C., Esposito, E.X., et al. The design, synthesis, and characterizations of spore germination inhibitors effective against an epidemic strain of Clostridium difficile. J. Med. Chem. 61(15), 6759-6778 (2018).
Germicidin A is a pyranone originally derived from S. viridochromogenes that acts as a reversible, autoregulative inhibitor of spore germination and hyphal elongation in the genus Streptomyces at concentrations as low as 200 pM. During germination, spores of Streptomyces excrete germicidin A along with other germicidin homologs, which inhibit germination of its own arthrospores. At higher concentrations, germicidin A can inhibit the porcine Na+/K+-activated ATPase (ID50 = 100 μM) and prevent the germination of the cress L. sativum.