title: Micafungin: a sulfated echinocandin.
abstract: Micafungin is the second approved antifungal agent in the echinocandin series and is now used worldwide in chemotherapy for life-threatening fungal infections. It is water-soluble and is semi-synthesized from the acylated cyclic hexapeptide FR901379, a natural product from the fungus Coleophoma empetri F-11899, through enzymatic deacylation of FR901379, followed by chemical reacylation with the optimized N-acyl side chain. The water solubility of micafungin is ascribed to a sulfate moiety in the molecule. This feature differentiates micafungin from other echinocandin members. Micafungin is a potent inhibitor of 1,3-beta-glucan synthase, an enzyme necessary for cell-wall synthesis of several fungal pathogens.
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Research Center, Faculty of Engineering, Toyama Prefectural University, Imizu, Toyama, Japan. hashimot@pu-toyama.ac.jp
authors.forename: Seiji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002175:Candida / Q000187:drug effects; D015195:Drug Design; D054714:Echinocandins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D008055:Lipids / Q000737:chemistry; D055666:Lipopeptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000077551:Micafungin; D009181:Mycoses / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D054714:Echinocandins; D008055:Lipids; D055666:Lipopeptides; D000077551:Micafungin