Cephalomycin, An Antiviral Antibiotic. III Further Purification of Cephalomycin

Abstract

It has been found that not a few antibiotics isolated from streptomyces and other species of microorganisms, such as mutomycin, violarin B, statolon and others, have antiviral and antiphage activities.

During screening for antiviral antibiotics in our laboratory, the strain, Streptomyces tanashiensis var. cephalomyceticus, which produces an active substance against Japanese B encephalitis virus in vivo, was isolated from a soil sample obtained in Tokyo. This active product was concluded to be a new substance and was named cephalomycin by Hata et al.¹⁾

Matumae and Onuma reported mycological characteristics of the producing strain, biological and chemical properties of cepholomycin²⁾, and activities against Japanese B encephalitis virus in mice³⁾. According to those previously reported data, cephalomycin, although not homogeneous, was supposed to be an acidic polypeptide, being precipitated at the pH range 2～5 as a brownish amorphous powder. It is non-dialysable, insoluble in organic solvents, and is inactivated when incubated with trypsin. It is positive in Sakaguchi, biuret, ninhydrin, diazo and Folin’s reactions. Acid hydrolysates gave ninhydrin positive spots by paper chromatography.

Cephalomycin was not only active against Japanese B encephalitis virus in the contact experiment, but was effective if given within 24 hours following to inoculation of Japanese B encephalitis virus. Also, the mice which have survived by treatment with cephalomycin gained a significant immunity against Japanese B encephalitis reinfection.

The object of the present work is to isolate a further purified sample of cephalomycin and to investigate its physicochemical and ultimately its biological properties.