7-substituted actinomycin D analogs. Chemical and growth-inhibitory studies

Late-stage diversification of bacterial natural products through biocatalysis

Bacterial natural products (BNPs) are very important sources of leads for drug development and chemical novelty. The possibility to perform late-stage diversification of BNPs using biocatalysis is an attractive alternative route other than total chemical synthesis or metal complexation reactions. Although biocatalysis is gaining popularity as a green chemistry methodology, a vast majority of orphan sequenced genomic data related to metabolic pathways for BNP biosynthesis and its tailoring enzymes are underexplored. In this review, we report a systematic overview of biotransformations of 21 molecules, which include derivatization by halogenation, esterification, reduction, oxidation, alkylation and nitration reactions, as well as degradation products as their sub-derivatives. These BNPs were grouped based on their biological activities into antibacterial (5), antifungal (5), anticancer (5), immunosuppressive (2) and quorum sensing modulating (4) compounds. This study summarized 73 derivatives and 16 degradation sub-derivatives originating from 12 BNPs. The highest number of biocatalytic reactions was observed for drugs that are already in clinical use: 28 reactions for the antibacterial drug vancomycin, followed by 18 reactions reported for the immunosuppressive drug rapamycin. The most common biocatalysts include oxidoreductases, transferases, lipases, isomerases and haloperoxidases. This review highlights biocatalytic routes for the late-stage diversification reactions of BNPs, which potentially help to recognize the structural optimizations of bioactive scaffolds for the generation of new biomolecules, eventually leading to drug development.

Increased NHE1 expression is associated with serum deprivation-induced differentiation in immortalized rat proximal tubule cells

We studied the proton secretion mechanisms involved with pHi regulation in immortalized rat proximal tubule cells (IRPTC), a SV40-immortalized cell line derived from rat proximal tubule, and characterized the effects of serum deprivation on them. Using pHi measurements with the fluorescent probe BCECF, we demonstrated that the IRPTC express both Na+/H+ exchanger and H+-ATPase, but only NHE1 is modulated by serum deprivation. In these cells, 24 h of serum starvation increased pHi from 7.08+/-0.008 (n=34) to 7.18+/-0.018 (n=33) as well as the pH recovery rate from intracellular acidification with NH4Cl from 0.29+/-0.022 pH U/min (n=14) to 0.50+/-0.024 pH U/min (n=14), without modifying their buffering capacity. These effects were followed by several modifications in morphological features, indicating an increase in differentiation status. The altered activity of NHE1 was consistent with an increase of both transcription and translation of the antiporter, as the utilization of actinomycin D and cycloheximide significantly inhibited the upregulation of NHE1 induced by serum withdrawal. Inhibition of tyrosine phosphorylation by genistein blocked the serum deprivation-dependent activation of NHE. Moreover, the pharmacological inhibition of MEK1/2, the upstream activator of ERK1/2 by UO-126, significantly inhibited the stimulatory effect of serum starvation on Na+/H+ exchanger activity, whereas the putative p38 MAPK inhibitor SB-203580 failed to cause any effect on pHi recovery rates. Our findings indicate that during IRPTC differentiation by serum deprivation, there was a net enhancement of NHE1 activity. This upregulation of NHE by serum removal was consistent with an increase of RNA and protein synthesis of the exchanger, which depends on tyrosine kinase phosphorylation and ERK pathway activation.

Application of 7-amino-actinomycin D for the fluorescence microscopical analysis of DNA in cells and polytene chromosomes

The cytochemical properties of a guanine-specific synthetic fluorescent analogue of actinomycin D, 7-amino-actinomycin D, have been studied in fixed and living preparations of L cells and polytene chromosomes of salivary glands of Chironomus thummi thummi and Drosophila lummei (Hackman). 7-Amino-actinomycin D has been shown to bind to DNA-containing structures, thereby inducing in them a bright red fluorescence. No specific fluorescence has been found in RNA-containing structures treated with this fluorescent probe. The fluorescence pattern of some regions of polytene chromosomes with a known nucleotide composition was analysed. It has been established that 7-amino-actinomycin D induces a very weak fluorescence in GC-poor chromosome regions of the Drosophila lummei toromere structure. Data indicating a nonlinear dependence between the fluorescence intensity of a stained chromosome region and the GC content in its DNA have been obtained. The influence of DNA nucleotide composition in a chromosome region on the fluorescence of 7-amino-actinomycin D is discussed. In combination with quinacrine staining and the Feulgen fluorescence reaction, treatment with 7-amino-actinomycin D provides useful information about the distribution of GC base pairs in the chromosome region under study.

Reversible depression of spontaneous brain electrical activity induced by actinomycin D and 7-aminoactinomycin D in rats

Various types of actinomycin (C,D,S2, I and V) and 7-amino-analogue of actinomycin D were injected into the right lateral ventricle of the brain through a chronically implanted cannula. In rats but not in mice actinomycin D, actinomycin S2 and 7-aminoactinomycin D caused depression of EEG, while cardiac and respiratory activity were maintained. This effect of the EEG was reversible and a normal EEG pattern reappeared at least 3 h after administration.

Microfluorometric investigations of chromatin structure. I. Evaluation of nine DNA-specific fluorochromes as probes of chromatin organization

The ability of the highly condensed chromatin of small thymocyte nuclei and the more loosely organized chromatin of hepatocyte nuclei to interact with nine DNA-specific fluorochromes was assessed by microfluorometry. Although the results obtained with five of the fluorochromes - mithramycin, 7-aminoactinomycin D, Hoechst 33258, DAPI, and propidium iodide - were found to be virtually unaffected by differences in the degree of condensation of the chromatin, the values obtained with the remaining fluorochromes - proflavine, quinacrine mustard, berberine sulfate, and pyronin Y - appeared to be affected significantly by organizational differences of the chromatin. All of the latter "structural probes," except quinacrine mustard, produced fluorescence values which were higher in the 2c nuclei of hepatocytes than in the nuclei of small thymocytes. Quinacrine mustard yielded higher values in thymocyte nuclei; and in the hepatocyte polyploid series (2, 4, and 8c), it did not produce the expected multiples of the 2c value. Pretreatment of the two types of nuclei with RNase affected their total fluorescence in unpredictable ways. While RNase extraction lessened the differences between thymocyte and 2c hepatocyte nuclei stained with propidium iodide, Hoechst 33258, proflavine, and berberine sulfate, it increased the differences between nuclei stained with mithramycin, quinacrine mustard, pyronin Y, and 7-aminoactinomycin D. The ability of RNA-depleted chromatin to interact with various types of fluorochromes might be a useful parameter in subsequent studies of chromatin organization.

The interaction of 7-substituted actinomycin D analogs with DNA

The interaction of actinomycin D and three new 7-substituted analogs with calf thymus DNA has been studied by a number of physical techniques. The methods utilized in this investigation include visible absorption spectrometry and ultrafiltration methodology for the determination of equilibrium binding constants; viscometry; and circular dichroism. The studies show that the 7-substituted actinomycin D analogs retain the G . C base pair specific DNA binding demonstrated by actinomycin D. The mode of binding to native DNA, despite substitution at position 7, is practically unaltered. The retention of this binding specificity by these analogs seems to be unaffected by changes in the electon properties of the chromophore.