Covalent adducts of DNA and the nonprotein chromophore of neocarzinostatin contain a modified deoxyribose

The bs-YHEDA peptide protects the brains of senile mice and thus recovers intelligence by reducing iron and free radicals

Iron accumulates in the brain with age and catalyzes free radical damage to neurons, thus playing a pathogenic role in Alzheimer's disease (AD). To decrease the incidence of AD, we synthesized the iron-affinitive peptide 5YHEDA to scavenge the excess iron in the senile brain. However, the blood-brain barrier (BBB) blocks the entrance of macromolecules into the brain, thus decreasing the therapeutic effects. To facilitate the entrance of the 5YHEDA peptide, we linked the low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR)-binding segment of ApoB-100 to 5YHEDA (named "bs-YHEDA"). The results of intravenous injections of bs-5YHEDA into senescent mice demonstrated that bs-YHEDA entered the brain, increased ferriportin levels, reduced iron and free radical levels, decreased the consequences of neuronal necrosis and ameliorated cognitive disfunction without kidney or liver damage. bs-5YHEDA is a safe iron and free radical remover that potentially alleviates aging and Alzheimer's disease.

Fluorescent natural products as probes and tracers in biology

Fluorescence is a remarkable property of many natural products in addition to their medicinal and biological value. Herein, we provide a review of these peculiar secondary metabolites to stimulate prospecting of them as original fluorescent tracers, endowed with unique photophysical properties and with applications in most fields of biology.

Identification of thymidine-5'-aldehyde at DNA strand breaks induced by neocarzinostatin chromophore

Snake venom phosphodiesterase or endonuclease S1 digestion of neocarzinostatin chromophore-treated DNA, labeled in its thymidine residues, liberates an unusual labeled nucleoside from the 5' end of a drug-induced break. This substance, isolated by reverse-phase HPLC, possesses carbons from both the thymine and the deoxyribose moieties of thymidine in the DNA but, unlike thymidine, is readily degraded at pH 12 to thymine and a sugar fragment. The altered nucleoside was shown to contain a carbonyl group by its reduction with NaBH(4) to form a substance that has the chromatographic properties of thymidine and by its reaction with various hydrazines to form the respective hydrazone derivatives; the carbonyl exists as the 5' aldehyde as shown by its mild chemical oxidation to the carboxylic acid with simultaneous loss of the 5' (3)H. Mass spectral analysis showed a fragmentation pattern compatible with the structure thymidine-5'-aldehyde. These data indicate that the nonprotein chromophore of neocarzinostatin, in the presence of a reducing substance (2-mercaptoethanol) and molecular oxygen, selectively oxidizes the 5' carbon of nucleosides in DNA to the aldehyde, resulting in a strand break and a DNA fragment bearing nucleoside-5'-aldehyde at its 5' end.

Formation and structure of a novel enediyne-RNA base covalent adduct

The structure of an unusual covalent adduct formed by thiol-activated neocarzinostatin chromophore (NCS-chrom) and a RNA-DNA hybrid having an overhang of four unpaired residues at the 3'-end of the RNA strand has been elucidated by MS and NMR spectroscopic analyses. Unlike previously characterized adducts formed by NCS-chrom on the sugar residue of the DNA target, this adduct has been found to be on one of the uracil bases in the RNA overhang. Covalent linkage is between C-6 of the post-activated NCS-chrom and C-5 of the uracil. A novel mechanism involving adduction of the NCS-chrom C-6 radical, generated by 2-mercaptoethanol activation, to C-5 of the uracil at the U9 position of the RNA 11-mer, oxidation by dioxygen, reduction by the thiol, and subsequent dehydration is proposed for adduct formation.

Modulation of neocarzinostatin-mediated DNA double strand damage by activating thiol: deuterium isotope effects

The neocarzinostatin chromophore causes double-strand damage at AGC sequences on DNA by concomitant 1'-oxidation at C and 5'-oxidation at the T on the complementary strand. The extent of this damage is dependent upon the structure of the thiol used for activation. Deuterium isotope effects suggest that this dependence on thiol structure may be due to internal quenching of one radical site of the activated chromophore by the hydrogen atoms of the thiol sidechain. The 12-mer d[GCAAGCGCTTGC] is treated with the neocarzinostatin chromophore and either sodium thioglycolate or [2-2H2]-thioglycolate, and the distribution of strand breaks is determined by gel electrophoresis. Two isotope effects are noted: an overall sequence-independent effect in which deuterated thioglycolate increases total strand damage by a factor of 2, and a sequence-specific effect by which deuteration increases the proportion of alkali-sensitive strand damage at C6 by an additional factor of 1.5. Methyl thioglycolate shows essentially identical behavior to that of thioglycolate anion, ruling out electrostatic effects as major contributors to the effect of thiol structure on the mode of DNA damage observed. A model for NCSC action consistent with these results is discussed.

Enhancement of radiosensitivity of cultured mammalian cells by neocarzinostatin. II. Fixation of potentially lethal damage

The effects of neocarzinostatin (NCS), an anti-tumour drug, on the repair of potentially lethal damage (PLD) were studied using cultured Chinese hamster V79, malignant human melanoma and mouse lymphoma L5178Y cells in the stationary phase. The repair of PLD was observed in the melanoma and L5178Y cells but no such repair was observed in the V79 cells, when studied by delayed plating. NCS added to the culture medium immediately after X-irradiation evoked fixation of PLD within 10 min of the addition of NCS. The ratios of D0 values of the survival curves of the cells treated with NCS to those plated immediately after X-irradiation were 0.78, 0.88 and 0.85 for V79, melanoma and L5178Y cells, respectively. The extent of the fixation by NCS was similar to that caused by 0.5 M NaCl solution. The results in the present study and the inhibition of sublethal damage (SLD) by NCS reported previously, suggest that NCS might react with the DNA damage induced by radiation and modify it to lethal damage. The study indicates that SLD and PLD appear to be closely related to one another.

Enhancement of radiosensitivity of cultured mammalian cells by neocarzinostatin. I. Inhibition of the repair of sublethal damage

The enhancement of radiosensitivity by neocarzinostatin (NCS), an antitumour drug, was studied using three strains of cultured mammalian cells with different repair capabilities for sublethal damage. NCS enhanced the radiosensitivity of the cells when applied both during and after X-irradiation under aerobic conditions. The enhancement ratios of NCS during X-irradiation were 1.25, 1.27 and 1.38 for mouse lymphoma L5178Y, Chinese hamster V79 and mouse mammary tumour FM 3A cells, respectively. The corresponding ratios after X-irradiation were 1.18, 1.27 and 1.38, respectively. These ratios were proportional to the repair capabilities of the cells for sublethal damage. NCS completely inhibited the repair of sublethal damage regardless of the repair capabilities of the cells for sublethal damage. NCS was equally effective for hypoxic cells. These results suggested that NCS enhanced the radiosensitivity of the cells probably by interacting with the residual damage after X-irradiation, thereby converting the sublethal damage or potentially lethal damage into lethal damage.

Radiation-induced crosslinking between poly(deoxyadenylic-deoxythymidylic acid) and tripeptides containing aromatic residues

OH.-induced covalent peptide-nucleotide adducts have been isolated by reverse-phase chromatography from the enzymic hydrolyzates of gamma-ray irradiated solutions containing double-stranded poly(deoxyadenylic-deoxythymidylic acid) and one of the tripeptides, lysyl-tryptophyl-lysine or lysyl-tyrosyl-lysine. Numerous compounds were formed, resulting presumably from different modes of radical addition. All isomers appeared to have the same general structure peptide-d(ApTpA), based mostly on double-labelling experiments of bases and phosphate groups in DNA. The major adduct fraction obtained from Lys-Trp-Lys and poly(dA-dT) was purified to homogeneity by sequential reverse-phase and ion-exchange chromatography, and characterized spectrally. The pattern of acid and alkaline hydrolysis suggests that thymine is the site of peptide-nucleotide binding in this particular adduct fraction.

A tentative model of the intercalative binding of the neocarzinostatin chromophore to double-stranded tetranucleotides

Theoretical computations are performed of the intercalative binding of the neocarzinostatin chromophore (NCS) with the double-stranded oligonucleotides d(CGCG)2, d(GCGC)2, d(TATA)2 and d(ATAT)2. Minor groove binding is preferred over major groove binding. It is found that the long axis of the stacked naphtoate ring lies approximately parallel to the long axis of the base pairs of the intercalation site. The galactosamine ammonium group interacts with specific sites of the groove (O2/N3 of bases 2 and O1' of sugar S3), whereas the dodecadyine ring system wraps around the groove towards the backbone. An overall AT versus GC preference is derived. Intercalation in a central purine-(3', 5')-pyrimidine sequence appears to be preferred over that in a central pyrimidine-(3', 5')-purine sequence.

Activation of neocarzinostatin chromophore and formation of nascent DNA damage do not require molecular oxygen

Thiol-activated neocarzinostatin chromophore abstracts tritium from the 5', but not from the 1' or 2' positions of deoxyribose in DNA and incorporates it into a stable, non-exchangeable form. The abstracted tritium remains covalently associated with the chromophore or its degradation product after treatment with acid or alkali, respectively. Drug activation and the consequent hydrogen abstraction reaction, presumably generating a carbon-centered radical at C-5', do not require molecular oxygen but have a dose-dependent relation with thiol. Under aerobic conditions, where base release and DNA strand breaks with nucleoside 5'-aldehyde at the 5'-ends are produced, hydrogen abstraction from C-5' parallels these parameters of DNA damage. It is possible to formulate a reaction scheme in which the carbon- centered radical at C-5' is an intermediate in the formation of the various DNA damage products found under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions.

Poly(deoxyadenylic-deoxythymidylic acid) damage by radiolytically activated neocarzinostatin

The anaerobic reaction of poly(deoxyadenylic-deoxythymidylic acid) with neocarzinostatin activated by the carboxyl radical CO2-, an electron donor generated from gamma-ray radiolysis of nitrous oxide saturated formate buffer, has been characterized. DNA damage includes base release and strand breaks. Few strand breaks are formed prior to alkaline treatment; they bear 3'-phosphoryl termini. In contrast, most (66%) of the base release occurs spontaneously. DNA damage is highly (95%) specific for thymidine sites. Neither DNA-drug covalent adduct nor nucleoside 5'-aldehyde, which are major products in the DNA-nicking reaction initiated by mercaptans and oxygen, is formed in this reaction. Data are presented to show that the CO2(-)-activated neocarzinostatin intermediate is a short-lived free radical able to abstract hydrogen atoms from the C-1' and C-5' positions of deoxyribose. Attack occurs mostly (68%) at the C-1' position, producing a lesion whose properties are consistent with those of (oxidized) apyrimidinic sites.

Nitroaromatic radiation sensitizers substitute for oxygen in neocarzinostatin-induced DNA damage

The ability of neocarzinostatin (NCS) chromophore to damage DNA, as manifested by strand breaks and base release, is markedly decreased under anaerobic conditions but can be restored by nitroaromatic radiation sensitizers, which by themselves have no effect. The effectiveness of these compounds is correlated with their electron affinity as measured by their one-electron reduction potentials and is inversely related to the concentration of thiol used to activate the NCS. Whereas strand breaks with thymidine 5'-aldehyde at the 5' end and released thymine are the main DNA damage products in O2, under anaerobic conditions misonidazole causes a marked increase in the release of thymine and in the formation of breaks with 5'- phosphate ends. In both cases the 3' end of the break carries a phosphate group, and the attack-site specificity of spontaneous and alkali-labile DNA strand breakage and base release are identical. In O2, misonidazole does not affect the extent of DNA damage or alter the distribution of DNA damage products found with NCS alone. The data do not distinguish whether the nitroaromatic compounds function by interacting with NCS-induced nascent damage on the DNA, by being converted by activated NCS into a DNA-damaging species, or by participating in the activation of NCS to a DNA-damaging species. The implications of these results for the treatment of hypoxic tumor cells with the combined use of radiomimetic drugs and radiation sensitizers are discussed.

Induction of chromosome aberrations and specific locus mutation but not sister chromatid exchanges in Chinese hamster ovary cells by neocarzinostatin

The induction of chromosome aberrations, sister chromatid exchanges (SCE), cytotoxicity, and 6-thioguanine-resistant mutation by neocarzinostatin (NCS) in Chinese hamster ovary cells was analyzed. It was observed that within the same concentration range of 0.01-0.1 mu/ml NCS, the drug induced a significant increase in all analyzed end-points except in SCE frequencies. There was no increase in SCE frequencies even when the cells were treated at the G1/S border in the first cell cycle and when aberrations were observed in the same cell showing a second cycle differential staining pattern. Our study indicates that the cellular damage induced by NCS leads to expression in chromosome aberrations, cytotoxicity, and mutagenicity but not in sister chromatid exchanges.

Distribution and specificity of mutations induced by neocarzinostatin in the lacI gene of Escherichia coli

Although neocarzinostatin (NCS) attacks DNA almost exclusively at adenine and thymine residues in vitro, exposure of Escherichia coli to this antitumor drug resulted in a high frequency of mutations at guanine:cytosine base pairs in the lacI gene. Thus, NCS-induced base substitution mutations do not appear to result from the major DNA lesions that have been biochemically characterized. The overall distribution of nonsense mutations produced by NCS was distinctly nonrandom, consisting in part of a few "hotspots" and a large number of "coldspots." The existence of these coldspots implies that untargeted mutagenesis does not make a significant contribution to the mutations induced by this SOS-dependent mutagen.