Modifying aroylhydrazone prochelators for hydrolytic stability and improved cytoprotection against oxidative stress

Design of Tetrazolium Cations for the Release of Antiproliferative Formazan Chelators in Mammalian Cells

Cancer cells generally present a higher demand for iron, which plays crucial roles in tumor progression and metastasis. This iron addiction provides opportunities to develop broad spectrum anticancer drugs that target iron metabolism. In this context, prochelation approaches are investigated to release metal-binding compounds under specific conditions, thereby limiting off-target toxicity. Here, we demonstrate a prochelation strategy inspired by the bioreduction of tetrazolium cations widely employed to assess the viability of mammalian cells. We designed a series of tetrazolium-based compounds for the intracellular release of metal-binding formazan ligands. The combination of reduction potentials appropriate for intracellular reduction and an N-pyridyl donor on the formazan scaffold led to two effective prochelators. The reduced formazans bind as tridentate ligands and stabilize low-spin Fe(II) centers in complexes of 2:1 ligand-to-metal stoichiometry. The tetrazolium salts are stable in blood serum for over 24 h, and antiproliferative activities at micromolar levels were recorded in a panel of cancer cell lines. Additional assays confirmed the intracellular activation of the prochelators and their ability to affect cell cycle progression, induce apoptotic death, and interfere with iron availability. Demonstrating the role of iron in their intracellular effects, the prochelators impacted the expression levels of key iron regulators (i.e., transferrin receptor 1 and ferritin), and iron supplementation mitigated their cytotoxicity. Overall, this work introduces the tetrazolium core as a platform to build prochelators that can be tuned for activation in the reducing environment of cancer cells and produce antiproliferative formazan chelators that interfere with cellular iron homeostasis.

Prodrug strategies for targeted therapy triggered by reactive oxygen species

Increased levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been associated with numerous pathophysiological conditions including cancer and inflammation and the ROS stimulus constitutes a potential trigger for drug delivery strategies. Over the past decade, a number of ROS-sensitive functionalities have been identified with the purpose of introducing disease-targeting properties into small molecule drugs - a prodrug strategy that offers a promising approach for increasing the selectivity and efficacy of treatments. This review will provide an overview of the ROS-responsive prodrugs developed to date. A discussion on the current progress and limitations is provided along with a reflection on the unanswered questions that need to be addressed in order to advance this novel approach to the clinic.