Amphiphilic Polyamine α-Synuclein Aggregation Inhibitors from the Sponge .

Bioassay-guided investigation of the sponge resulted in the isolation and identification of two new amphiphilic polyamines, aaptolobamines A () and B (). Their structures were determined through analysis of NMR and MS data. MS analysis also indicated that contained a complex mixture of aaptolobamine homologues. Both aaptolobamines A () and B () show broad bioactivity, including cytotoxicity against cancer cell lines, moderate antimicrobial activity against a methicillin-resistant strain of , and weak activity against a strain. The mixtures of aaptolobamine homologues were shown to contain compounds that bind to the Parkinson's disease associated amyloid protein α-synuclein and inhibit its aggregation.