Chemical structure of 3-carbethoxypsoralen-DNA photoadducts

Photosensitization Reactions of Biomolecules: Definition, Targets and Mechanisms

Photosensitization reactions have been demonstrated to be largely responsible for the deleterious biological effects of UV and visible radiation, as well as for the curative actions of photomedicine. A large number of endogenous and exogenous photosensitizers, biological targets and mechanisms have been reported in the past few decades. Evolving from the original definitions of the type I and type II photosensitized oxidations, we now provide physicochemical frameworks, classifications and key examples of these mechanisms in order to organize, interpret and understand the vast information available in the literature and the new reports, which are in vigorous growth. This review surveys in an extended manner all identified photosensitization mechanisms of the major biomolecule groups such as nucleic acids, proteins, lipids bridging the gap with the subsequent biological processes. Also described are the effects of photosensitization in cells in which UVA and UVB irradiation triggers enzyme activation with the subsequent delayed generation of superoxide anion radical and nitric oxide. Definitions of photosensitized reactions are identified in biomolecules with key insights into cells and tissues.

Photoreaction of 5-methoxypsoralen with thymidine and the thymine moiety of isolated and Saccharomyces cerevisiae DNA. Characterization and measurement of the two cis-syn furan-side monocycloadducts

The photoreaction of the furan-side moiety of 5-methoxypsoralen (5-MOP) with thymidine used as a DNA model compound was investigated in the dry state. Under these conditions, two main fluorescent photoadducts were formed and isolated by HPLC. The two modified nucleosides were characterized as the two cis-syn diastereoisomers of furan-side monoadducts of 5-MOP to thymidine on the basis of spectroscopic measurements including UV, fluorescence, 1H-NMR and circular dichroism analysis. The identification and quantification of the latter photoproducts within naked DNA exposed to photoexcited 5-MOP were achieved by enzymatic digestion completed by HPLC separation and fluorescence detection. Similarly, the two cis-syn furan-side monoadducts were found to be formed in the DNA of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells after incubation with 5-MOP and subsequent exposure to 365 nm at an incident dose of 38.4 kJ m-2. Under these conditions, the rate of induction of two diastereoisomeric photoadducts was as low as one modification per 10(6) and 2 x 10(5) bases, respectively.

4',5'-substituted methylangelicins: photocycloadducts with pyrimidine bases of DNA

The isolation and characterization of photocycloadducts with pyrimidine bases from DNA samples irradiated (365 nm) in the presence of four 4',5'-substituted methylangelicins was performed. All these furocoumarins yielded mainly the cis-syn furan-side cycloadduct with thymine. For 4',5'-dimethyl-, 5,4',5'-trimethyl- and 6,4',5'-trimethylangelicin this adduct was accompanied by two pyrone-side adducts (cis-syn and cis-anti), whereas the 4,4',5'-trimethyl derivative gave the furan-side adduct with cytosine. The characterization of the regio- and stereochemistry of the adducts was accomplished by 1H NOE (nuclear Overhauser effect) and 1H-13C HMBC (heteronuclear multiple-bond connectivity) spectroscopies. The formation of different cycloadducts in DNA by the various derivatives highlights the role of the methyl groups in determining the regio- and stereochemistry of the cycloaddition.

Furan-side pyridopsoralens monoadducts to the thymine moiety of DNA

Isolation of the main cycloadducts formed in DNA by the UV-A (ultraviolet light of class A) photoreaction of 7-methyl-pyrido[3,4-c]psoralen (MePyPs) and 7-methyl-pyrido[4,3- c]psoralen (2N-MePyPs) was achieved by HPLC separation subsequent to enzymatic hydrolysis of DNA. The photoadducts have been quantified and their chemical structure assigned on the basis of spectroscopic measurements, including absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy, and circular dichroism as well as mass spectrometry analysis. They all present characteristics which are consistent with furan-side monoadducts resulting from a C4-cycloaddition of the psoralens to thymidine. The two major MePyPs-thymidine monoadducts formed in DNA exhibit a diastereoisomeric relationship and are likely to have a cis-syn stereochemistry.

Repair of the two diastereoisomer photoadducts formed between 7-methylpyrido(3,4-c)psoralen (MePyPs) and thymidine in yeast cells: a chemical approach

When analysing the repair of psoralen plus UVA-induced photoadducts in DNA, it must be realized that, in most cases, different isomers are formed. The monofunctional psoralen derivative 7-methylpyrido(3,4-c)psoralen (MePyPs) is known for its high antiproliferative activity at the cellular level and interesting photochemotherapeutic properties. To understand its photobiological efficiency in more detail, the induction of specific photoadducts in DNA and their repair were analysed in a eukaryotic cell system, the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. After photoaddition of MePyPs, two main diastereoisomers were characterized after enzymatic hydrolysis of the DNA and analysis by high performance liquid chromatography. One diastereoisomer was more effectively repaired in yeast than the other during post-treatment incubation, suggesting that the two diastereoisomers may be recognized differently by cellular enzymatic repair systems.

Identification of the two cis-syn [2 + 2] cycloadducts resulting from the photoreaction of 3-carbethoxypsoralen with 2'-deoxycytidine and 2'-deoxyuridine

Near-ultraviolet photolysis of 2'-deoxycytidine (dCyd) and 3-carbethoxypsoralen (3-CPs) in the dry state was found to generate two main stable photoadducts which were separated by thin-layer and high-performance liquid chromatography. Fast atom bombardment and plasma desorption mass spectrometry analyses suggested that the bound molecule to 3-CPs is dCyd. These two compounds were found to produce the corresponding 2'-deoxyuridine (dUrd) derivatives through a deamination process when left in aqueous solutions with a lifetime close to 24 h at 20 degrees C. The chemical structure of the deaminated photoadducts was confirmed by photochemical synthesis using dUrd as the substrate. UV and fluorescent measurements indicated that the furan moiety of 3-CPs is involved in the photobinding reaction. The cyclobutane type structure of the modified dUrd derivatives was established on the basis of its photoreversibility and detailed 1H NMR analysis. The cis-syn stereoconfiguration of the two photocycloadducts was inferred from coupling constant considerations and on the basis of the complete assignment of the cyclobutyl protons, requiring the synthesis of deuterated nucleosides at pyrimidine carbon C(6). Further confirmation of the diastereoisomeric relationship between the two cis-syn dUrd <54' 65'> 3-CPs was provided by circular dichroism measurements.

Geometry of intercalation of psoralens in DNA approached by molecular mechanics

The results of molecular mechanical calculations on intercalation complexes of 3-carbethoxypsoralen, 5-methoxypsoralen, 8-methoxypsoralen, 7-methylpyrido[3,4-c]psoralen (MepyPs) and 7-methylpyrido[4,3-c]psoralen (2N-MePyPs) with the double stranded duodecanucleotide d(CGCGATATCGCG)2 are presented. In the energy-minimized structures, the psoralens are intercalated with their plane orthogonal to the helix axis. Stacking interactions between the furan ring of the psoralen and the adjacent bases are maximized in most derivatives studied, whereas the effect of the various substituents of the psoralen ring is to specifically push part of the molecule towards either the minor or the major groove, preventing a symmetrical intercalation (with respect to the two strands of the DNA). The relative position of the psoralen ring and of the adjacent thymine foreshadows the formation of furan-side monoadducts in 3-CPs, MePyPs and 2N-MePyPs, whereas the formation of a pyrone-side monoadduct appears as geometrically more favourable in 5-MOP and both furan- and pyrone-side monoadducts can be geometrically envisaged in 8-MOP. A good correlation therefore exists between the more or less favourable equilibrium geometries and the experimentally observed photoreactions. The present study is the first attempt to characterize the geometrical parameters as part of a complex set of geometrical, dynamical and excited state parameters governing the overall DNA-psoralen photoreaction.

A new class of psoralen photoadducts to DNA components: isolation and characterization of 8-MOP adducts to the osidic moiety of 2'-deoxyadenosine

The near-UV-induced photoreaction of the bifunctional 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP) with 2'-deoxyadenosine (dAdo) was investigated in the dry state. Four main monoadducts of 8-MOP to 2'-deoxyadenosine were separated by high performance liquid chromatography and subsequently characterized by soft ionization mass spectrometry (fast atom bombardment and plasma desorption mass spectrometries) and extensive 1H NMR analysis including nuclear Overhauser effect (NOE) measurements. These new types of furocoumarin-nucleic acid component which appear to be specific to 2'-deoxyadenosine were shown to result from recombination of the 3,4-dihydropyron-4-yl radical of 8-MOP with 2'-deoxyadenosyl radical either at the 1' or the 5' position.