In the course of our screening for inhibitors of sphingosine kinase, we fou
nd an active compound from a culture broth of a discomycete, Trichopezizell
a barbata SANK 25395. The structure of the compound, named F-12509A, was el
ucidated by a combination of spectroscopic analyses, to be a new sesquiterp
ene quinone consisting of a drimane moiety and a dihydroxybenzoquinone. Enz
yme kinetic analyses showed that F-12509A inhibits sphingosine kinase activ
ity in a competitive manner with respect to sphingosine, with a K-i value o
f 18 mu M.