QSAR studies on the mechanism of radioprotection by Hoechst 33258 analogues

Evaluation of new thiadiazoles and benzothiazoles as potential radioprotectors: free radical scavenging activity in vitro and theoretical studies (QSAR, DFT)

Thiol and aminothiol compounds are among the most efficient chemical radioprotectors. To increase their efficiency, we synthesized two new classes of thiol and aminothiol compounds derived from benzothiazole (T1, T2, AM1, AM2) and thiadiazole (T3, T4, AM3) structures. We examined them for their ability to scavenge free radicals (DPPH*, ABTS(*+), *OH). Thiol derivatives with a thiadiazole structure are the most active compounds scavenging DPPH* and ABTS(*+) free radicals, with an IC(50) of 0.053+/-0.006 and 0.023+/-0.002 mM, respectively, for the derivative T3. Moreover, compounds T1, T2, and T3 at 60 microM gave 83% protection against 2-deoxyribose degradation by *OH. The ability of these compounds to protect DNA against *OH produced by a Fenton reaction and gamma-irradiation (15 Gy)-induced strand breaks was also evaluated on pBR322 plasmid DNA. In both tests thiol derivatives were the most efficient compounds. Derivatives T2 and T3 totally inhibit DNA strand breaks at the concentration of 50 microM. The protection afforded by these derivatives was comparatively higher than that of the radioprotectors WR-2721 and WR-1065. Our data indicate that these two compounds are free radical scavengers and potential antioxidant agents. Finally, DFT and QSAR studies were performed to support the experimental observations.

Theoretical Study of Molecular Recognition by Hoechst 33258 Derivatives

The factors responsible for the binding of Hoechst 33258 with DNA residues have been investigated in this work using the AM1 method. First and foremost, it is found that, although all crystal structure determinations indicate a preference for binding at AT rich sites, the hydrogen bond strength is actually greater for complexes with cytosine and guanine. From this, it has been inferred that other factors such as electrostatic, van der Waals interactions and nonbonded contacts with the walls of the minor groove have a strong role to play in the binding process. The hydrogen bond is found to be stronger for complexation with the thymine O2 than with the adenine N3, in line with experimental observations. Combined QM/MM studies on the drug complexed with the Dickerson-Drew dodecamer reveal that binding induces structural changes in both the ligand as well as DNA. Electron donating substituents at the para position in the phenyl ring of Hoechst 33258 lead to stronger binding with DNA. A correlation with the octanol/water partition coefficients points to the importance of hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions.