DFT study on Thiotepa and Tepa interactions with their DNA receptor

Glutathione-Mediated Conjugation of Anticancer Drugs: An Overview of Reaction Mechanisms and Biological Significance for Drug Detoxification and Bioactivation

The effectiveness of many anticancer drugs depends on the creation of specific metabolites that may alter their therapeutic or toxic properties. One significant route of biotransformation is a conjugation of electrophilic compounds with reduced glutathione, which can be non-enzymatic and/or catalyzed by glutathione-dependent enzymes. Glutathione usually combines with anticancer drugs and/or their metabolites to form more polar and water-soluble glutathione S-conjugates, readily excreted outside the body. In this regard, glutathione plays a role in detoxification, decreasing the likelihood that a xenobiotic will react with cellular targets. However, some drugs once transformed into thioethers are more active or toxic than the parent compound. Thus, glutathione conjugation may also lead to pharmacological or toxicological effects through bioactivation reactions. My purpose here is to provide a broad overview of the mechanisms of glutathione-mediated conjugation of anticancer drugs. Additionally, I discuss the biological importance of glutathione conjugation to anticancer drug detoxification and bioactivation pathways. I also consider the potential role of glutathione in the metabolism of unsymmetrical bisacridines, a novel prosperous class of anticancer compounds developed in our laboratory. The knowledge on glutathione-mediated conjugation of anticancer drugs presented in this review may be noteworthy for improving cancer therapy and preventing drug resistance in cancers.

In Vitro Anticancer Activity and Mechanism of Action of an Aziridinyl Galactopyranoside

We recently screened a series of new aziridines β-D-galactopyranoside derivatives for selective anticancer activity and identified 2-methyl-2,3-[N-(4-methylbenzenesulfonyl)imino]propyl 2,3-di-O-benzyl-4,6-O-(S)-benzylidene-β-D-galactopyranoside (AzGalp) as the most promising compound. In this article, we explore the possible mechanisms involved in the cytotoxicity of this aziridine and evaluate its selective anticancer activity using cancer cells and normal cells from a variety of tissues. Our data show that AzGalp induces DNA damage (comet assay). Cells deficient in the nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathway were hypersensitive to the cytotoxicity of this compound. These results suggest that AzGalp induces bulky DNA adducts, and that cancer cells lacking a functional NER pathway may be particularly vulnerable to the anticancer effects of this aziridine. Several experiments revealed that neither the generation of oxidative stress nor the inhibition of glycolysis played a significant role in the cytotoxicity of AzGalp. Combinations of AzGalp with oxaliplatin or 5-fluorouracil slightly improved the ability of both anticancer drugs to selectively kill cancer cells. AzGalp also showed selective cytotoxicity against a panel of malignant cells versus normal cells; the highest selectivity was observed for two acute promyelocytic leukemia cell lines. Additional preclinical studies are necessary to evaluate the anticancer potential of AzGalp.

Theoretical investigation of the regioselective ring opening of 2-methylaziridine. Lewis acid effect

The formation of substituted 1,2-diamines via the regiospecific nucleophilic ring opening of 2-methylaziridine with methylamine was performed by nucleophilic attack at aziridine carbon atoms. A detailed theoretical study was investigated by density functional theory (DFT) at the B3LYP level and second order Moller Plesset perturbation theory (MP2) by using the 6-311G(d,p) basis set. The third Grimme correction term (D3) was used to take into account weak interactions. Solvent effects were computed in methanol and dimethylsulfoxide using the polarizable continuum model (PCM). Emphasis was placed on the ring opening mechanisms of neutral aziridines and aziridinium ions obtained through N-complexation with the BF₃ Lewis acid. Moreover, the effect of substituent groups on the regioselectivity of the ring opening was investigated. The nucleophilic attack was carried out via two pathways (frontside attack M1 and backside attack M2) where activation barriers proved the preference for ring opening through the backside attack at the C3 aziridine carbon atom. The obtained results showed that the frontside attack with methylamine takes place along a concerted mechanism that leads to formation of products through one transition state. However, the backside attack is carried via a stepwise process in which the methylamine attack takes place in an S_N2 fashion where the leaving group is the ring nitrogen. It first conduces a ring opening considered as the rate-determining step followed by formation of a zwitterionic intermediate. This latter undergoes a rotation to allow the proton transfer step and finally leads to formation of the thermodynamic products.

Probing the binding of thioTEPA to human serum albumin using spectroscopic and molecular simulation approaches

The present work is devoted to probing the molecular interaction of N,N′,N″-triethylenethiophosphoramide (thioTEPA) with human serum albumin (HSA) using UV-visible and fluorescence spectroscopies. Further, molecular dynamics and molecular docking simulations were used to investigate the binding site of thioTEPA. The outcomes of the spectroscopic observations and also the Stern−Volmer and van’t Hoff equations were employed to determine the binding thermodynamic parameters. It was found out that the interaction of thioTEPA with HSA is enthalpy driven through a quenching mechanism that is both static and dynamic at domain I of HSA. No significant changes in the local and overall secondary structure, polarity, and hydrophobicity of HSA were observed. The low values of binding free energies and binding constants are evidence for necessary high dosage of thioTEPA in chemotherapies. These results may be attributed to the spherical geometry and steric hindrance of the free vibrating aziridinyl groups of thioTEPA.