{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,23]],"date-time":"2026-03-23T17:13:08Z","timestamp":1774285988916,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":30,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,23]],"date-time":"2026-03-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1774224000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["22407147"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["22407147"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["82300963"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["82300963"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Fujian Provincial Science and Technology Planning Project","award":["2024Y0077"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2024Y0077"]}]},{"name":"Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine Active substance screening and Translational Research","award":["ZDSYS20220606100801003"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["ZDSYS20220606100801003"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Marine Drugs"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Five previously undescribed steroids, chrysogenones A\u2013E (1\u20135), were isolated from the deep-sea-derived Penicillium sp. MCCC 3A00121. Their chemical structures were unambiguously established through comprehensive spectroscopic analyses, density functional theory (DFT)-based electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations, and X-ray crystallography. Chrysogenones represent a class of oxidatively modified ergosterone-type derivatives, with 1, 2, and 5 featuring an uncommon malonyl substitution at C-12 of the ergosterone skeleton. Biologically, 1\u20135 exhibited varying degrees of inhibitory activity against renal fibrosis, as evidenced by the downregulation of the key fibrotic markers \u03b1-smooth muscle actin (\u03b1-SMA) and collagen I (COL1A1). Among them, chrysogenone B (2) emerged as the most promising candidate, demonstrating superior potency and pronounced inhibition of activated NRK-49F cell proliferation. Integrated network pharmacology analysis and molecular docking studies further suggested that the anti-renal fibrotic effects of compound 2 may be mediated through its interaction with putative molecular targets, including AKT1, HSP90AA1, and MDM2.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/md24030121","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,23]],"date-time":"2026-03-23T16:40:20Z","timestamp":1774284020000},"page":"121","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Chrysogenones A\u2013E: Malonyl-Modified Ergosterone Derivatives from Deep-Sea-Derived Penicillium sp. MCCC 3A00121 as Inhibitors of Renal Fibroblast Activation"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"24","author":[{"given":"Zeqing","family":"Li","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Marine Genetic Resources, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Sources, 184 Daxue Road, Xiamen 361005, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lei","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine Active Substance Screening and Translational Research, Department of Pharmacy, The Seventh Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Shenzhen 518107, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yuan","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Marine Genetic Resources, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Sources, 184 Daxue Road, Xiamen 361005, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mengjiao","family":"Jiang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine Active Substance Screening and Translational Research, Department of Pharmacy, The Seventh Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Shenzhen 518107, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Siyu","family":"Fang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Marine Genetic Resources, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Sources, 184 Daxue Road, Xiamen 361005, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Rong","family":"Chao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Marine Genetic Resources, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Sources, 184 Daxue Road, Xiamen 361005, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Taizong","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Marine Genetic Resources, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Sources, 184 Daxue Road, Xiamen 361005, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Microbial Pathogenesis and Interventions of Fujian Province University, The Key Laboratory of Inmate Immune Biology of Fujian Province, Biomedical Research Center of South China, College of Life Sciences, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350117, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Tianhua","family":"Zhong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Marine Genetic Resources, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Sources, 184 Daxue Road, Xiamen 361005, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Cong, M., Pang, X., Zhao, K., Song, Y., Liu, Y., and Wang, J. 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