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Xu HG, Reshetnikov V, Wondrak M, Eckhardt L, Kunz-Schughart LA, Janko C, Tietze R, Alexiou C, Borchardt H, Aigner A, Gong W, Schmitt M, Sellner L, Daum S, Özkan HG, Mokhir A. Intracellular Amplifiers of Reactive Oxygen Species Affecting Mitochondria as Radiosensitizers. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 14:208. [PMID: 35008371 PMCID: PMC8750417 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14010208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2021] [Revised: 12/27/2021] [Accepted: 12/29/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Radiotherapy (RT) efficacy can be improved by using radiosensitizers, i.e., drugs enhancing the effect of ionizing radiation (IR). One of the side effects of RT includes damage of normal tissue in close proximity to the treated tumor. This problem can be solved by applying cancer specific radiosensitizers. N-Alkylaminoferrocene-based (NAAF) prodrugs produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cancer cells, but not in normal cells. Therefore, they can potentially act as cancer specific radiosensitizers. However, early NAAF prodrugs did not exhibit this property. Since functional mitochondria are important for RT resistance, we assumed that NAAF prodrugs affecting mitochondria in parallel with increasing intracellular ROS can potentially exhibit synergy with RT. We applied sequential Cu+-catalyzed alkyne-azide cycloadditions (CuAAC) to obtain a series of NAAF derivatives with the goal of improving anticancer efficacies over already existing compounds. One of the obtained prodrugs (2c) exhibited high anticancer activity with IC50 values in the range of 5-7.1 µM in human ovarian carcinoma, Burkitt's lymphoma, pancreatic carcinoma and T-cell leukemia cells retained moderate water solubility and showed cancer specificity. 2c strongly affects mitochondria of cancer cells, leading to the amplification of mitochondrial and total ROS production and thus causing cell death via necrosis and apoptosis. We observed that 2c acts as a radiosensitizer in human head and neck squamous carcinoma cells. This is the first demonstration of a synergy between the radiotherapy and NAAF-based ROS amplifiers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hong-Gui Xu
- Organic Chemistry Chair II, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Nikolaus-Fiebiger-Str. 10, 91058 Erlangen, Germany; (H.-G.X.); (V.R.); (S.D.); (H.G.Ö.)
| | - Viktor Reshetnikov
- Organic Chemistry Chair II, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Nikolaus-Fiebiger-Str. 10, 91058 Erlangen, Germany; (H.-G.X.); (V.R.); (S.D.); (H.G.Ö.)
| | - Marit Wondrak
- OncoRay—National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden and Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden—Rossendorf, 01307 Dresden, Germany; (M.W.); (L.E.); (L.A.K.-S.)
| | - Lisa Eckhardt
- OncoRay—National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden and Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden—Rossendorf, 01307 Dresden, Germany; (M.W.); (L.E.); (L.A.K.-S.)
| | - Leoni A. Kunz-Schughart
- OncoRay—National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden and Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden—Rossendorf, 01307 Dresden, Germany; (M.W.); (L.E.); (L.A.K.-S.)
- National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), Partner Site Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Christina Janko
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Section of Experimental Oncology and Nanomedicine (SEON), Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, 91054 Erlangen, Germany; (C.J.); (R.T.); (C.A.)
| | - Rainer Tietze
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Section of Experimental Oncology and Nanomedicine (SEON), Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, 91054 Erlangen, Germany; (C.J.); (R.T.); (C.A.)
| | - Christoph Alexiou
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Section of Experimental Oncology and Nanomedicine (SEON), Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, 91054 Erlangen, Germany; (C.J.); (R.T.); (C.A.)
| | - Hannes Borchardt
- Rudolf-Boehm-Institute for Pharmacology and Toxicology, Clinical Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Leipzig University, 04107 Leipzig, Germany; (H.B.); (A.A.)
| | - Achim Aigner
- Rudolf-Boehm-Institute for Pharmacology and Toxicology, Clinical Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Leipzig University, 04107 Leipzig, Germany; (H.B.); (A.A.)
| | - Wenjie Gong
- Department of Medicine V, Heidelberg University Hospital, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany; (W.G.); (M.S.); (L.S.)
- Department of Hematology, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, China
| | - Michael Schmitt
- Department of Medicine V, Heidelberg University Hospital, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany; (W.G.); (M.S.); (L.S.)
| | - Leopold Sellner
- Department of Medicine V, Heidelberg University Hospital, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany; (W.G.); (M.S.); (L.S.)
- Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Steffen Daum
- Organic Chemistry Chair II, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Nikolaus-Fiebiger-Str. 10, 91058 Erlangen, Germany; (H.-G.X.); (V.R.); (S.D.); (H.G.Ö.)
- Merck, Im Laternenacker 5, 8200 Schaffhausen, Switzerland
| | - Hülya Gizem Özkan
- Organic Chemistry Chair II, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Nikolaus-Fiebiger-Str. 10, 91058 Erlangen, Germany; (H.-G.X.); (V.R.); (S.D.); (H.G.Ö.)
| | - Andriy Mokhir
- Organic Chemistry Chair II, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Nikolaus-Fiebiger-Str. 10, 91058 Erlangen, Germany; (H.-G.X.); (V.R.); (S.D.); (H.G.Ö.)
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