The cyanobacterium Nodularia spumigena often contaminates the drinking water of rural communities in developing countries and accumulates in mussels, flounder, and cod from the northern Baltic Sea. Nodularin is a hepatotoxic monocylic pentapeptide produced by the N. spumigena. It is a potent inhibitor of protein phosphatase types 1 (PP1) and 2A (PP2A), exhibiting IC50 values of 1.8 and 0.026 nM, respectively. PP2B is inhibited to a lesser extent with an IC50 of 1.8 μM. No apparent inhibitory effect is observed with PP2C, alkaline phosphatase, acid phosphatase, insulin receptor tyrosine kinase, protein kinase A, phosphorylase kinase, or protein kinase C.
