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Chemistry of Mycolactones, the Causative Toxins of Buruli Ulcer

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Chembiomolecular Science

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Abstract

Buruli ulcer is a severe and devastating skin disease caused by Mycobacterium ulceransinfection, yet it is one of the most neglected diseases (Fig. 1) (for recent reviews on Buruli ulcer, see [1–3]). Among the diseases caused by mycobacterial infection, Buruli ulcer occurs less frequently than tuberculosis (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) and leprosy (Mycobacterium leprae). However, it is noted that the occurrence of Buruli ulcer is increasing and spreading in tropical countries, and that the incidence of the disease may exceed that of leprosy and tuberculosis in highly affected areas. Infection with M. ulcerans, probably carried by aquatic insects and mosquitoes [4, 5], results in painless necrotic lesions that, if untreated, can extend to 15% of a patient’s skin surface. Surgical intervention has been the only practical curative therapy for Buruli ulcer.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the National Institutes of Health (CA 22215) and Eisai USA Foundation for generous financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, 12 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA

    Yoshito Kishi

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  1. Yoshito Kishi
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Correspondence to Yoshito Kishi .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Microbial Chemistry, Kamioosaki 3-14-23, Tokyo, 141-0021, Japan

    Masakatsu Shibasaki

  2. The University of Tokyo, Department of Pharmacology, Graduate School of Medicine, Hongo 7-3-1, Bunkyo-ku, 113-0033, Japan

    Masamitsu Iino

  3. RIKEN Advanced Science Institute, Antibiotics Laboratory, Chemical Biology Core Facility, 2-1, Hirosawa, Wako, 351-0198, Saitama, Japan

    Hiroyuki Osada

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Kishi, Y. (2012). Chemistry of Mycolactones, the Causative Toxins of Buruli Ulcer. In: Shibasaki, M., Iino, M., Osada, H. (eds) Chembiomolecular Science. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-54038-0_1

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