Topoisomerase II-mediated DNA cleavage activity induced by ellipticines on the human tumor cell line N417

Ellipticine derivatives have been shown to induce DNA strand breaks by trapping DNA-topoisomerase II (Topo II) in an intermediary covalent complex between Topo II and DNA which could be related to their cytotoxic effects. We report here that Celiptium and Detalliptinium, two ellipticine derivatives clinically used for their antitumoral properties against breast cancer, exhibit the highest in vitro activity on Topo II DNA cleavage reaction and decatenation among a series of 14 ellipticine derivatives. The in vitro cleavage site specificity in pBR 322 plasmid DNA and in a human c-myc gene inserted in a lambda phage DNA is identical for both ellipticines, but different from m-AMSA, another Topo II related antitumoral agent. Recently, it has been shown that the ellipticine derivative Celiptium presents a strong cytotoxic activity in vitro on different human tumors including small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC). However, the studies that involved Topo II as a target for ellipticine derivatives have been performed only by using animal tumor cell lines. Therefore we have studied the in vivo DNA cleavage activity of Celiptium and Detalliptinium on a human SCLC cell line, NCI N417, comparatively to that obtained with m-AMSA. The respective IC50 on cell growth are 9, 8 and 1 microM for Celiptium, Detalliptinium and m-AMSA, respectively. Using the alkaline elution technique, we have observed that Celiptium and Detalliptinium exhibit a weak cleavage activity on genomic DNA from whole cells. The ellipticines are about 50 times less potent than m-AMSA in inducing DNA strand breaks. Analysis of in vivo c-myc gene cleavage by Southern blot hybridization also demonstrates a lack of activity of the ellipticine derivatives as no gene cleavage could be detected up to 50 microM of the drug. With m-AMSA, c-myc gene cleavage is detected at a concentration of 0.2 microM, which indicates that this methodology is less sensitive in detecting DNA strand breaks than is the alkaline elution. Further studies of the drug effect on isolated nuclei by alkaline elution also show that the DNA cleavage activity of Celiptium and Detalliptinium is increased when compared to whole cells. Our data indicate that these two drugs have a weaker cytotoxic effect than m-AMSA on NCI N417 cell line, due to a limited access to the cell nucleus rather than to a lack of activity on Topo II as assessed by in vitro and isolated nuclei experiments.     

Topoisomerase II-mediated DNA cleavage activity and irreversibility of cleavable complex formation induced by DNA intercalator with alkylating capability.

A group of chrysophanol and emodin derivatives with DNA-intercalating capability and with or without alkylating potential have been synthesized and shown to have antitumor activity in vitro. The topoisomerase II (Topo II)-mediated DNA cleavage activities induced by representative compounds 3-(2-chloroethylamino) methyl-1,8-dihydroxy-9,10-anthraquinone (SK-31690), 3-bis [(2-chloroethyl)amino]methyl-1,8-dihydroxy-9,10-anthraquinone (SK-31662), and 3-(2-hydroxyethylamino)methy-1,8-dihydroxy-9,10-anthraquinon e (SK-31694), and their cytotoxicities, have been investigated. All three compounds inhibited the kinetoplast DNA decatenation catalyzed by DNA Topo II. These compounds inhibited leukemia cell growth and stimulated, in a dose-dependent manner from 0.5 to 60 microM, the formation of Topo II-DNA cleavable complexes, when 3'-32P-labeled DNA was used. The mapping of Topo II-mediated DNA cleavage sites using HindIII-digested 3'-32P-labeled DNA showed that, at 10 microM, these compounds induced protein-linked DNA breaks that correlated with cytotoxicity, with respect to their maximal efficacy or the reciprocal concentration for the half-maximal effect. The reversibility study showed that the amounts of protein-linked DNA cleavage induced by 4'-(9-acridinylamino)methanesulfon-m-anisidide and VP-16 as well as SK-31694, which lacks alkylating potential, were markedly decreased during 30-sec exposure to 65 degrees or 0.5 M NaCl. In contrast, protein-linked DNA cleavages induced by SK-31662, which has two alkylating functionalities, and by SK-31690, which has one alkylating functionality in its structure, cannot be reversed during the 15-min exposure to 65 degrees or 0.5 M NaCl. These data suggest that Topo II is a major cellular target for cytotoxicity of these compounds. Furthermore, DNA intercalators with alkylating potential interact with Topo II-DNA cleavable complexes in an irreversible manner, with enhanced toxicity.     

Stimulation of topoisomerase II-mediated DNA cleavage by an indazole analogue of lucanthone.

Lucanthone is an antitumour drug used as an adjuvant in radiation therapy. The drug intercalates into DNA and inhibits topoisomerase II. An indazole analogue of lucanthone (IA-5) was examined for its ability to modulate topoisomerase II-DNA cleavable complex formation in vitro. The drug contains a methylbenzothiopyranoindazole chromophore instead of the methyl-thioxanthenone nucleus of lucanthone. Using a radiolabelled linear plasmid DNA as a substrate, both lucanthone and the indazole analogue were shown to promote the cleavage of DNA by human topoisomerase II. Sequencing experiments with different restriction fragments indicated that the indazole drug promoted DNA cleavage primarily at sites having a C on the 3' side of the cleaved bond (-1 position). By contrast, in the same sequencing methodology lucanthone exerted a much weaker effect on topoisomerase II. The sequence selectivity of IA-5 is reminiscent of that of the anticancer drug mitoxantrone and its anthrapyrazole analogue losoxantrone, which is structurally close to IA-5. Binding to DNA and topoisomerase II inhibition are two distinct processes contributing separately to the cytotoxic activity of the indazole drug.     

Stimulation of topoisomerase II-mediated DNA cleavage by ellipticine derivatives: structure-activity relationship.

Ellipticines are aromatic compounds that intercalate between DNA base pairs and display significant antitumor activity. The cytotoxicity of these compounds is mediated by DNA topoisomerase II, and the presence of a hydroxy group at position 9 of the pyridocarbazole ring system of ellipticines has been found to be essential for high levels of cytotoxicity. The ability of 13 ellipticine derivatives to stabilize the topoisomerase II-DNA covalent complex in vitro was studied, and the data obtained with five pairs of hydroxylated and nonhydroxylated analogues indicate that the hydroxy group at position 9 plays a crucial role in the stabilization of the complex. The influence, upon the complex stabilization, of various substituents at positions 1, 2, 5, and 6 of the pyridocarbazole ring system was investigated. The interaction with DNA of four ellipticine derivatives was studied in the topoisomerase II standard medium. Results suggest that the degree of unwinding might be a determinant of topoisomerase II-DNA-drug complex stability. In addition, the 5-ethyl derivative was observed to induce covalent complex stabilization by a cooperative mechanism.     

Effects of albaconol from the basidiomycete Albatrellus confluens on DNA topoisomerase II-mediated DNA cleavage and relaxation

The effect of albaconol on the growth of human tumor cell, DNA topoisomerase (topo)-mediated DNA cleavage and direct DNA breakage was investigated. Albaconol inhibited significantly the growth of the human tumor cell lines K562, A549, BGC-823 and Bcap-37, the IC5s values were 7.99 +/- 0.4, 3.17 +/- 0.89, 4.18 +/- 0.14 and 7.45 +/- 2.5 microM, respectively. Albaconol stabilized and increased the topo 11-mediated DNA cleavable complex and inhibited the religation activity of topo II in a dose-dependent manner, but it failed to affect the activity of topo I. Albaconol directly broke pBR322 DNA at high concentrations, but there was no effect on the macromolecule of K562 cells. These results strongly suggest that albaconol targeted specifically to DNA topo II and that this is one of the mechanisms of its antitumor action; the direct action of albaconol on DNA may partly contribute to its anti-tumor activity at high concentrations.     

DNA structural alterations induced by bis-netropsins modulate human DNA topoisomerase I cleavage activity and poisoning by camptothecin

Bis-netropsins (bis-Nts) are efficient catalytic inhibitors of human DNA topoisomerase I (top I). These DNA minor groove binders are considered to serve as suppressors of top I-linked DNA breaks, which is generally believed to be related to their affinity to DNA. In this study, it was found that bis-Nts exhibit sequence-specificity of suppression of the strong top I-specific DNA cleavage sites and that this sequence-specificity is determined by differential ligand-induced structural alterations of DNA. Raman scattering analysis of bis-Nts interactions with double-stranded oligonucleotides, each containing the site of specific affinity to one of bis-Nts and a distinctly located top I degenerate consensus, demonstrated that bis-Nts induce not only structural changes in duplex DNA at their loading position, but also conformational changes in a distant top I-specific DNA cleavage site. The ability to alter the DNA structure correlates with the anti-top I inhibitory activities of the ligands. In addition, DNA structural alterations induced by bis-Nts were shown to be responsible for modulation of the camptothecin (CPT)-mediated DNA cleavage by top I. This effect is expressed in the bis-Nts-induced enhancement of some of the CPT-dependent DNA cleavage sites as well as in the CPT-induced enhancement of some of the top I-specific DNA cleavage sites suppressed by bis-Nts in the absence of CPT.     

Synthesis of some bisindolyl analogs for in vitro cytotoxic and DNA cleavage studies

One-pot, three components, conventional and microwave-assisted synthesis of bisindolyl analogs is described. Michael addition of preformed 2,5-disubstituted indole-3-carboxaldehydes and 3-methyl-1H-pyrazol-5(4H)-one with 2,5-disubstituted indoles under solvent and catalyst-free conditions afforded the hitherto unreported 2,5-disubstituted bisindolyl analogs bearing a pyrazolone moiety in excellent yields. All the synthesized compounds were characterized using IR, ¹H NMR, mass spectral, and analytical data. The analogs were screened for in vitro cytotoxic and DNA cleavage studies. Among the screened compounds 4c, 4f, and 4h–4j have emerged as most potent cytotoxic and 4c and 4f–4h as active DNA cleavage analogs.     

Hypnogenic properties of the delta-sleep peptide and its structural analogs

It has been demonstrated in unrestrained rabbits that the delta-sleep-inducing peptide (DSIP, 60 micrograms, intraventricularly) produced sleep lasting 55-65 min. At that time the amount of delta-waves on the EEG was 230 % of the initial level. Of the 22 structural analogs of DSIP, the DPhe-containing compound compared favourably with the delta-sleep-inducing peptide as regards the activity. Other analogs were either less active or had no hypnogenic activity at all.     

The spasmolytic activity of propiverine and some of its structural analogs

The spasmolytic activity of propiverine and its corresponding methyl ether analogue was investigated in the isolated ileum and urinary bladder of the rat. It could be demonstrated that the antispasmodic properties of propiverine were, in contrast to its methyl ether analogue, not only based on a blockade of muscarinic receptors but were also a consequence of nonspecific papaverine-like effects. Investigations with three putative metabolites showed that the alcohol derivative O-desalkylpropiverine was about two orders of magnitude more potent than propiverine itself in blocking spasmogenic effects of the agonist arecaidine propargyl ester. In contrast no spasmolytic effect could be observed after application of the corresponding carboxylic acids (benzilic acid propyl ether; benzilic acid 2-hydroxypropyl-ether.     

Effect of bryostatin 1 on drug-induced, topoisomerase II-mediated DNA cleavage and topoisomerase II gene expression in human leukemia cells.

Unlike PMA, bryostatin 1 has been found to have a minimal effect on drug-induced topoisomerase II-mediated DNA cleavage and no effect on topoisomerase II mRNA levels. Furthermore, bryostatin 1 overcame the down-regulatory effects of PMA treatment on (1) drug-induced, topoisomerase II-mediated DNA cleavage, (2) drug-induced cytotoxicity, and (3) topoisomerase II gene expression. Thus, it is unlikely that the effects of phorbol ester treatment on topoisomerase II-mediated events are a direct consequence of protein kinase C activation per se. Rather, the results with bryostatin 1 suggest that the phorbol ester effects are related to more distal effects of phorbol ester treatment that may be related to monocytoid differentiation.     

Relative mutagenicity and teratogenicity of cyclophosphamide and two of its structural analogs

In this report, cyclophosphamide was compared to two of its structural analogs, 5,5-dimethylcyclophosphamide and diethylcyclophosphamide, with respect to mutagenic and teratogenic activities. Mutagenicity was assessed using Salmonella typhimurium TA 1535; teratogenicity was assessed in Sprague-Dawley rats on day 20 of gestation after intra-amniotic drug administration on day 13. After metabolic activation, cyclophosphamide caused base substitution mutations in S. typhimurium TA 1535 and major structural defects in both intra-amniotically injected and contralateral uninjected fetuses. 5,5-Dimethylcyclophosphamide was neither mutagenic nor teratogenic. Diethylcyclophosphamide was not mutagenic but was teratogenic. However, diethylcyclophosphamide was less potent as a teratogen than cyclophosphamide and, unlike cyclophosphamide, caused malformations only in the intra-amniotically injected fetuses. Diethylcyclophosphamide does liberate acrolein after metabolic activation. If acrolein is responsible for the teratogenic effects of diethylcyclophosphamide, the other major cytotoxic metabolite of cyclophosphamide, phosphoramide mustard, may account for the difference in teratogenic potency between cyclophosphamide and diethylcyclophosphamide. These results would suggest that acrolein, although apparently not mutagenic, mediates the teratogenicity of diethylcyclophosphamide and a significant proportion of the teratogenicity of cyclophosphamide.     

Effect of temperature on the inhibition of rat brain synaptosomal ATPases by DDT and its structural analogs

In vitro effects of DDT and its isomers or metabolites were studied on Na+-K+-ATPase and oligomycin-sensitive (OS) Mg++-ATPase activities at 17, 27 and 37 degrees C in rat brain synaptosomes. Dicofol and methoxychlor were found to be more effective inhibitors of Na+-K+-ATPase and OS Mg++-ATPase than DDT, DDD and DDE. Inhibition of OS Mg++-ATPase by the compounds tested (except DDE) was found to be greater at 17 degrees C than at higher temperatures (17 greater than 27 greater than 37 degrees C), suggesting a negative temperature correlation trend Na+-K+-ATPase was less sensitive to these compounds when compared with OS Mg++-ATPase and the inhibition was greater at higher temperatures (37 greater than 27 greater than 17 degrees C), suggesting a positive temperature correlation trend. Other DDT isomers and metabolites showed variable effects on Na+-K+-ATPase and OS Mg++-ATPases. DDD, but not DDE, inhibited both enzyme activities and the inhibition was independent of temperature. No significant differences were observed in the inhibitory potencies of the various DDT, DDD or DDE ring substitutes studied. The present data indicate that DDT, dicofol and methoxychlor were more effective inhibitors of OS Mg++-ATPase than Na+-K+-ATPase and that the inhibition of the former enzyme had a negative temperature dependence, a feature which parallels toxicity results in insects.     

DNA cleavage by metabolites of butylated hydroxytoluene

The effect of butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and its metabolites on DNA cleavage in vitro was studied with supercoiled plasmid DNA, pUC18, by agarose gel electrophoresis. Among several BHT metabolites, 2,6-di -t-butyl-p-benzoquinone (BHT-quinone) caused cleavage of supercoiled DNA (form I) at a concentration as low as 1 × 10^–6 M. The relative amount of linear form (form III) was increased with increasing concentration of BHT-quinone. 2,6-Di-t-butyl-4-hydroperoxy-4-methyl-2,5-cyclohexadienone (BHT-peroxyquinol) and 3,5-di-t-butyl-4-hydroxybenzaldehyde (BHT-CHO) also cleaved DNA, but to a lesser extent than BHT-quinone. No DNA cleavage was detected by BHT, 2,6-di-t-butyl-4-hydroxymethyl phenol (BHT-OH), 3,5-di-t-butyl-4-hydroxybenzoic acid (BHT-COOH), 2,6-di-t-butyl-4-hydroxy-4-methyl-2,5-cyclohexadienone (BHT-quinol) or 2,6-di-t-butyl-4-methylene-2,5-cyclohexadienone (BHT-quinone methide). The DNA cleavage by BHT-quinone was inhibited by oxygen radical scavengers including Superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, polyethylene glycol,t-butyl alcohol, dimethyl sulfoxide, sodium azide, sodium benzoate, bovine serum albumin and methionine, while it was enhanced by the addition of FeCl₂. The production of Superoxide radical in a solution of BHT-quinone was confirmed by cytochrome c reduction assay. Superoxide was not produced by BHT or other BHT metabolites except for BHT-quinone. These results suggest that BHT-quinone, one of the principal metabolites of BHT, cleaves DNA strands via its generation of oxygen radicals. Such modification of DNA observed in vitro may be relevant to genotoxicity by BHT after metabolic activation in vivo.     

Modulation of ascorbic acid-induced DNA cleavage by polyamide: cleavage manner, kinetics and mechanism

Manipulation of DNA presents a great interest in biotechnology and therapeutics. The molecules that damage DNA selectively offer new prospects for controlled manipulation of DNA. The conjugations of DNA-code reading molecules such as polyamides to reagents that induce DNA damages provide an approach to reach this goal. In this work, a new compound which contained polyamide and ascorbic acid conjugated by flexible linker (polyamide-Vc), was successfully synthesized, characterized, and evaluated as DNA cleavage agent, compared with that by using ascorbic acid molecule. The kinetics data showed that polyamide-Vc successfully promoted the cleavage of plasmid DNA, with k(max) of 0.314 h(-1) and K(d) of 0.105 mM. The evaluation of DNA linearization elicited that the activity of cleaving double-strand in the supercoiled pUC18 plasmid DNA by polyamide-Vc was enhanced remarkably, achieving n1/n2 ratio of 13.9 at 1.2 mM for 1 h. The introduction of polyamide to Vc could also partially weaken the inhibition of hydrogen radical to double-strand cleavage process because of its good binding activity to DNA. We anticipate that this work could provide a method for improving the efficiency of double-strand cleavage, especially to oxidative cleavage agents.     

Topoisomerase I-DNA complex stability induced by camptothecins and its role in drug activity

The mechanism of cytotoxicity of the camptothecin family of antitumor drugs is thought to be the consequence of a collision between moving replication forks and camptothecin-stabilized cleavable DNA-topoisomerase I complexes. One property of camptothecin analogs relevant to their potent antitumor activity is the slow reversal of the cleavable complexes formed with these drugs. The persistence of cleavable complexes with time may be an essential property for increasing the likelihood of a collision between the replication fork and a cleavable complex, giving rise to lethal DNA lesions. In this paper, we examined a number of camptothecin analogs forming cleavable complexes with distinctly different stabilities. Absolute reaction rate analysis was carried out for each derivative. Our results indicate that the stability of the cleavable complex is dominated by the activation entropy (DeltaS++) of the reversal process. We measured the relative lipophilicity of the CPT analogs by reverse-phase HPLC, but the DeltaS++ of complex reversal is not directly related to the lipophilicity of the CPT analog being used. We suggest that solvent ordering around the 7- through 10-position of the CPT ring may be responsible for reversal rate's dependence on DeltaS++. We demonstrate that the cleavable complex stability conferred by each camptothecin analog is directly correlated with the induction of apoptosis and cytotoxicity to tumor cells.     

Free radical production and DNA cleavage by copper chelating peptide-anthraquinones

Two pseudopeptides incorporating a peptide metal-chelating moiety (Gly-His-Lys) and a polyhydroxy anthraquinone ring related to the nuclei of anti-tumor drugs such as mitoxantrone and ametantrone, have been synthesized. The goal was to conjugate the redox effects of a quinone ring with the iron-chelating properties of the peptide in order to generate free radical species capable of damaging DNA. Indeed quinone-containing drugs undergo, in vivo, one-electron reduction to the corresponding semiquinone radicals which, in the presence of molecular oxygen, produce a superoxide anion radical, hydrogen peroxide and ultimately, in the presence of metal, hydroxyl radical (Fenton reaction). Hydroxyl radicals (OH.) are short-lived and extremely reactive with their bioenvironment. The interaction of both drugs with DNA has been studied by fluorescence quenching and DNA melting experiments. Spectroscopic and e.s.r. studies demonstrated that several types of Cu-complex are formed depending on the copper-drug ratio. The production of free radicals, as evidenced by spin-trapping, is optimum with a Cu/drug ratio of 0.1; in this case the metal ion is chelated by the peptide moiety. This latter complex is able to induce DNA breakage at a high level. Thus, it appears that the proposed concept works but that care must be taken in the choice of the relative concentration of copper.