The modulation by xanthines of the DNA-damaging effect of polycyclic aromatic agents. Part II. The stacking complexes of caffeine with doxorubicin and mitoxantrone

Recently accumulated statistical data indicate the protective effect of caffeine consumption against several types of cancer diseases. There are also reports about protective effect of caffeine and other xanthines against tumors induced by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. One of the explanations of this phenomenon is based on biological activation of such carcinogens by cytochromes that are also known for metabolism of caffeine. In the accompanying paper Kapuscinski et al., this issue] we provide evidence (flow cytometry and the cell cycle analysis) that the cytostatic effects of caffeine (CAF) on two DNA alkylating agents, which do not require the biological activation, depend on their ability to form stacking (pi-pi) complexes. In this study, we use physicochemical techniques (computer aided light absorption and microcalorimetry), and molecular modeling to examine previously published qualitative data. This is published both by our and other group's data, indicates that CAF is able to modify the cytotoxic and/or cytostatic action of the two well known antitumor drugs doxorubicin (DOX) and mitoxantrone (MIT). To obtain the quantitative results from the experimental data we used the statistical-thermodynamical model of mixed aggregation, to find the association constants K(AC) of the CAF-drug interaction (128+/-10 and 356+/-21M(-1) for DOX-CAF and MIT-CAF complex formation, respectively). In addition, the favorable enthalpy change of CAF-MIT (DeltaH=-11.3kcal/mol) was measured by microcalorimetry titration. The molecular modeling (semi-empirical and force field method) allowed us to obtain the geometry of these complexes, which indicated the favorable energy (DeltaE) of complex formation of the protonated drug's molecules in aqueous environment (-7.4 and -8.7kcal/mol for DOX-CAF.5H(2)O and MIT-CAF.8H(2)O complex, respectively). The molecular modeling calculation indicates the existence of CAF-drug complexes in which the MIT molecules are intercalated between two CAF molecules (DeltaE=-29.9kcal/mol). These results indicate that the attenuating effect of caffeine on cytotoxic or mutagenic effects of some polycyclic aromatic mutagens cannot be the result of metabolic activation in the cells, but simply is the physicochemical process of the sequestering of aromatic molecules (e.g. carcinogens or mutagens) by formation of the stacking complexes. The caffeine may then act as the "interceptor" of potential carcinogens (especially in the upper part of digesting track) where its concentration can reach the mM level). There is, however, no indication, both, in the literature or from our experiments, that the xanthines can reverse the damage to nucleic acids at the point when the damage to DNA has already occurred.