Cylindrospermopsin, a tricyclic uracil derivative, is a cyanobacterial toxin that was first discovered in an algal bloom contaminating a local drinking supply on Palm Island in Queensland, Australia after an outbreak of a mysterious disease. Cylindrospermopsin targets protein and glutathione synthesis in hepatocytes (IC50s = 1.3 and 2.4 μM, respectively), leading to cell death. It has been shown to inhibit the activity of the uridine monophosphate synthase complex with a Ki value of 10 μM. Cylindrospermopsin is genotoxic, inducing DNA damage as evidenced by double strand breaks and reducing cell viability in HepG2 cells at 0.1-0.5 μg/ml.
ChEBI: A triazaacenaphthylene that is 2,2a,3,4,5,5a,6,7-octahydro-1H-1,8,8b-triazaacenaphthylene which is substituted at positions 3, 4, and 7 by methyl, sulfooxy, and (2,6-dioxo-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyrimidin-4-yl)(hydroxy)methyl groups, respecti
ely (the 2aS,3R,4S,5aS,7R stereoisomer in which the carbon bearing the hydroxy group has R configuration). It is a cyanotoxin produced by several species
f freshwater cyanobacteria, such as Aphanizomenon ovalisporum.
