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Zhao J, Li X, Ma T, Chang B, Zhang B, Fang J. Glutathione-triggered prodrugs: Design strategies, potential applications, and perspectives. Med Res Rev 2024; 44:1013-1054. [PMID: 38140851 DOI: 10.1002/med.22007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2023] [Revised: 11/20/2023] [Accepted: 12/02/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023]
Abstract
The burgeoning prodrug strategy offers a promising avenue toward improving the efficacy and specificity of cytotoxic drugs. Elevated intracellular levels of glutathione (GSH) have been regarded as a hallmark of tumor cells and characteristic feature of the tumor microenvironment. Considering the pivotal involvement of elevated GSH in the tumorigenic process, a diverse repertoire of GSH-triggered prodrugs has been developed for cancer therapy, facilitating the attenuation of deleterious side effects associated with conventional chemotherapeutic agents and/or the attainment of more efficacious therapeutic outcomes. These prodrug formulations encompass a spectrum of architectures, spanning from small molecules to polymer-based and organic-inorganic nanomaterial constructs. Although the GSH-triggered prodrugs have been gaining increasing interests, a comprehensive review of the advancements made in the field is still lacking. To fill the existing lacuna, this review undertakes a retrospective analysis of noteworthy research endeavors, based on a categorization of these molecules by their diverse recognition units (i.e., disulfides, diselenides, Michael acceptors, and sulfonamides/sulfonates). This review also focuses on explaining the distinct benefits of employing various chemical architecture strategies in the design of these prodrug agents. Furthermore, we highlight the potential for synergistic functionality by incorporating multiple-targeting conjugates, theranostic entities, and combinational treatment modalities, all of which rely on the GSH-triggering. Overall, an extensive overview of the emerging field is presented in this review, highlighting the obstacles and opportunities that lie ahead. Our overarching goal is to furnish methodological guidance for the development of more efficacious GSH-triggered prodrugs in the future. By assessing the pros and cons of current GSH-triggered prodrugs, we expect that this review will be a handful reference for prodrug design, and would provide a guidance for improving the properties of prodrugs and discovering novel trigger scaffolds for constructing GSH-triggered prodrugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jintao Zhao
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China
| | - Xinming Li
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Tao Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China
| | - Bingbing Chang
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China
| | - Baoxin Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China
| | - Jianguo Fang
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China
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2
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Jin W, Fan B, Qin X, Liu Y, Qian C, Tang B, James TD, Chen G. Structure-activity of chlormethine fluorescent prodrugs: Witnessing the development of trackable drug delivery. Coord Chem Rev 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ccr.2022.214999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
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3
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Wu W, Sung YS, Tomat E. Thiol-Reactive Arylsulfonate Masks for Phenolate Donors in Antiproliferative Iron Prochelators. Inorg Chem 2022; 61:19974-19982. [PMID: 36455205 PMCID: PMC10188280 DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.2c03250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
Tridentate thiosemicarbazones, among several families of iron chelators, have shown promising results in anticancer drug discovery because they target the increased need for iron that characterizes malignant cells. Prochelation strategies, in which the chelator is released under specific conditions, have the potential to avoid off-target metal binding (for instance, in the bloodstream) and minimize unwanted side effects. We report a prochelation approach that employs arylsulfonate esters to mask the phenolate donor of salicylaldehyde-based chelators. The new prochelators liberate a tridentate thiosemicarbazone intracellularly upon reaction with abundant nucleophile glutathione (GSH). A 5-bromo-substituted salicylaldehyde thiosemicarbazone (STC4) was selected for the chelator unit because of its antiproliferative activity at low micromolar levels in a panel of six cancer cell lines. The arylsulfonate prochelators were assessed in vitro with respect to their stability, ability to abolish metal binding, and reactivity in the presence of GSH. Cell-based assays indicated that the arylsulfonate-masked prochelators present higher antiproliferative activities relative to the parent compound after 24 h. The activation and release of the chelator intracellularly were corroborated by assays of cytosolic iron binding and iron supplementation effects as well as cell cycle analysis. This study introduces the 1,3,4-thiadiazole sulfonate moiety to mask the phenolate donor of an iron chelator and impart good solubility and stability to prochelator constructs. The reactivity of these systems can be tuned to release the chelator at high glutathione levels, as encountered in several cancer phenotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wangbin Wu
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, United States
| | - Yu-Shien Sung
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, United States
| | - Elisa Tomat
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, United States
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Liu Z, Chen S, Wang H, Zhao Y, Dong S. Thiol-Michael addition based conjugate for glutathione activation and release. Bioorg Chem 2022; 129:106221. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2022.106221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2022] [Revised: 10/07/2022] [Accepted: 10/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Zhao L, Qu Y, Zhang F, Ma D, Gao H, Gan L, Zhang H, Zhang S, Fang J. Baylis–Hillman Adducts as a Versatile Module for Constructing Fluorogenic Release System. J Med Chem 2022; 65:6056-6069. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.1c01940] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lanning Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry and College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
- School of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou 310024, China
| | - Yuan Qu
- Gansu Key Laboratory of Biomonitoring and Bioremediation for Environmental Pollution, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Fang Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry and College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Di Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry and College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Hao Gao
- Gansu Key Laboratory of Biomonitoring and Bioremediation for Environmental Pollution, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Lu Gan
- Department of Heavy Ion Radiation Medicine, Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Hong Zhang
- Department of Heavy Ion Radiation Medicine, Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Shengxiang Zhang
- Gansu Key Laboratory of Biomonitoring and Bioremediation for Environmental Pollution, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Jianguo Fang
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry and College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University of Science & Technology, Nanjing 210094, China
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Qiao L, Yang Y, Li Y, Lv X, Hao J. A fluorescent probe capable of naked eye recognition for the selective detection of biothiols. J Photochem Photobiol A Chem 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jphotochem.2021.113654] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
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Xue Y, Bai H, Peng B, Fang B, Baell J, Li L, Huang W, Voelcker NH. Stimulus-cleavable chemistry in the field of controlled drug delivery. Chem Soc Rev 2021; 50:4872-4931. [DOI: 10.1039/d0cs01061h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
This review comprehensively summarises stimulus-cleavable linkers from various research areas and their cleavage mechanisms, thus provides an insightful guideline to extend their potential applications to controlled drug release from nanomaterials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yufei Xue
- Frontiers Science Center for Flexible Electronics
- Xi’an Institute of Flexible Electronics (IFE) and Xi’an Institute of Biomedical Materials & Engineering
- Northwestern Polytechnical University
- 127 West Youyi Road
- Xi'an 710072
| | - Hua Bai
- Frontiers Science Center for Flexible Electronics
- Xi’an Institute of Flexible Electronics (IFE) and Xi’an Institute of Biomedical Materials & Engineering
- Northwestern Polytechnical University
- 127 West Youyi Road
- Xi'an 710072
| | - Bo Peng
- Frontiers Science Center for Flexible Electronics
- Xi’an Institute of Flexible Electronics (IFE) and Xi’an Institute of Biomedical Materials & Engineering
- Northwestern Polytechnical University
- 127 West Youyi Road
- Xi'an 710072
| | - Bin Fang
- Frontiers Science Center for Flexible Electronics
- Xi’an Institute of Flexible Electronics (IFE) and Xi’an Institute of Biomedical Materials & Engineering
- Northwestern Polytechnical University
- 127 West Youyi Road
- Xi'an 710072
| | - Jonathan Baell
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Clayton
- Victoria 3168
- Australia
| | - Lin Li
- Frontiers Science Center for Flexible Electronics
- Xi’an Institute of Flexible Electronics (IFE) and Xi’an Institute of Biomedical Materials & Engineering
- Northwestern Polytechnical University
- 127 West Youyi Road
- Xi'an 710072
| | - Wei Huang
- Frontiers Science Center for Flexible Electronics
- Xi’an Institute of Flexible Electronics (IFE) and Xi’an Institute of Biomedical Materials & Engineering
- Northwestern Polytechnical University
- 127 West Youyi Road
- Xi'an 710072
| | - Nicolas Hans Voelcker
- Frontiers Science Center for Flexible Electronics
- Xi’an Institute of Flexible Electronics (IFE) and Xi’an Institute of Biomedical Materials & Engineering
- Northwestern Polytechnical University
- 127 West Youyi Road
- Xi'an 710072
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Bao XZ, Dai F, Wang Q, Jin XL, Zhou B. Developing glutathione-activated catechol-type diphenylpolyenes as small molecule-based and mitochondria-targeted prooxidative anticancer theranostic prodrugs. Free Radic Biol Med 2019; 134:406-418. [PMID: 30707929 DOI: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2019.01.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2018] [Revised: 01/24/2019] [Accepted: 01/24/2019] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Developing concise theranostic prodrugs is highly desirable for personalized and precision cancer therapy. Herein we used the glutathione (GSH)-mediated conversion of 2,4-dinitrobenzenesulfonates to phenols to protect a catechol moiety and developed stable pro-catechol-type diphenylpolyenes as small molecule-based prooxidative anticancer theranostic prodrugs. These molecules were synthesized via a modular route allowing creation of various pro-catechol-type diphenylpolyenes. As a typical representative, PDHH demonstrated three unique advantages: (1) capable of exploiting increased levels of GSH in cancer cells to in situ release a catechol moiety followed by its in situ oxidation to o-quinone, leading to preferential redox imbalance (including generation of H2O2 and depletion of GSH) and final selective killing of cancer cells over normal cells, and is also superior to 5-fluorouracil and doxorubicin, the widely used chemotherapy drugs, in terms of its ability to kill preferentially human colon cancer SW620 cells (IC50 = 4.3 μM) over human normal liver L02 cells (IC50 = 42.3 μM) with a favourable in vitro selectivity index of 9.8; (2) permitting a turn-on fluorescent monitoring for its release, targeting mitochondria and therapeutic efficacy without the need of introducing additional fluorophores after its activation by GSH in cancer cells; (3) efficiently targeting mitochondria without the need of introducing additional mitochondria-directed groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xia-Zhen Bao
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, Lanzhou University, 222 Tianshui Street S., Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China
| | - Fang Dai
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, Lanzhou University, 222 Tianshui Street S., Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China
| | - Qi Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, Lanzhou University, 222 Tianshui Street S., Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China
| | - Xiao-Ling Jin
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, Lanzhou University, 222 Tianshui Street S., Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China
| | - Bo Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, Lanzhou University, 222 Tianshui Street S., Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China.
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Roy B, Kundu M, Singh AK, Singha T, Bhattacharya S, Datta PK, Mandal M, Singh NDP. Stepwise dual stimuli triggered dual drug release by a single naphthalene based two-photon chromophore to reverse MDR for alkylating agents with dual surveillance in uncaging steps. Chem Commun (Camb) 2019; 55:13140-13143. [DOI: 10.1039/c9cc05604a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
A single chromophore based dinitrophenylsulphonyl–naphthalene–chlorambucil conjugate drug delivery system is presented for the dual stimuli controlled release of SO2and chlorambucil.
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Affiliation(s)
- Biswajit Roy
- Department of Chemistry
- Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
- Kharagpur-721302
- India
| | - Moumita Kundu
- School of Medical Science and Technology
- Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
- Kharagpur-721302
- India
| | - Amit Kumar Singh
- Department of Chemistry
- Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
- Kharagpur-721302
- India
| | - Tara Singha
- Department of Physics
- Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
- Kharagpur-721302
- India
| | | | - Prasanta Kumar Datta
- Department of Physics
- Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
- Kharagpur-721302
- India
| | - Mahitosh Mandal
- School of Medical Science and Technology
- Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
- Kharagpur-721302
- India
| | - N. D. Pradeep Singh
- Department of Chemistry
- Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
- Kharagpur-721302
- India
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Xu Y, Wei H, Chen J, Gao K. A thiol-inducible and quick-response DNA cross-linking agent. Bioorg Med Chem Lett 2019; 29:281-283. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bmcl.2018.11.040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2018] [Revised: 11/14/2018] [Accepted: 11/18/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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11
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Bao XZ, Dai F, Li XR, Zhou B. Targeting redox vulnerability of cancer cells by prooxidative intervention of a glutathione-activated Cu(II) pro-ionophore: Hitting three birds with one stone. Free Radic Biol Med 2018; 124:342-352. [PMID: 29935260 DOI: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2018.06.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2018] [Revised: 06/01/2018] [Accepted: 06/20/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Altered redox homeostasis including higher levels of copper, reduced glutathione (GSH) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cancer cells than in normal cells illustrates their redox vulnerability, and has opened a window for developing prooxidative anticancer agents (PAAs) to hit this status. However, how to design PAAs with high selectivity in killing cancer cells over normal cells remains a challenge. Herein we designed a 3-hydroxyflavone-inspired copper pro-ionophore (PHF) as a potent PAA based on the GSH-mediated conversion of 2,4-dinitrobenzenesulfonates to enols. Mechanistic investigation reveals that it is capable of exploiting increased levels of GSH in cancer cells to in situ release an active ionophore, 3-hydroxyflavone, inducing redox imbalance (copper accumulation, GSH depletion and ROS generation) and achieving highly selective killing of cancer cells upon specific transport of small amounts of Cu(II). To the best of our knowledge, it is the first example of Cu(II) pro-ionophore type of PAA which hits (changes) the three birds (abnormal copper, GSH and ROS levels in cancer cells) with one stone (PHF) in terms of its ability to induce preferentially redox imbalance of cancer cells by copper accumulation, GSH depletion and ROS generation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xia-Zhen Bao
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, Lanzhou University, 222 Tianshui Street S., Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China
| | - Fang Dai
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, Lanzhou University, 222 Tianshui Street S., Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China
| | - Xin-Rong Li
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, Lanzhou University, 222 Tianshui Street S., Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China
| | - Bo Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, Lanzhou University, 222 Tianshui Street S., Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China.
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Mo S, Wen Y, Xue F, Lan H, Mao Y, Lv G, Yi T. A novel o -nitrobenzyl-based photocleavable antitumor prodrug with the capability of releasing 5-fluorourail. Sci Bull (Beijing) 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s11434-016-1010-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
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