Effect of the diamine nonleaving group in platinum-acridinylthiourea conjugates on DNA damage and cytotoxicity

The following complexes of type [PtCl(R)(ACRAMTU)](NO3)2 (ACRAMTU = 1-[2-(acridin-9-ylamino)ethyl]-1,3-dimethylthiourea)), derived from prototype 1 (with R = ethane-1,2-diamine), were synthesized: 2 (with R = (1R,2R)-1,2-diaminocyclohexane), 3 (with R = propane-1,3-diamine), 4 (with R = N1,N1,N2,N2-tetramethylethane-1,2-diamine), and 5 (with R = 2,2'-bipyridine). The DNA sequence specificity of the conjugates and their antiproliferative potential in HL-60 and H460 cells were investigated. Conjugate 3 showed the strongest non-cisplatin-type DNA damage in polymerase stop assays and superior cell kill efficacy in H460 lung cancer (IC50 = 70 nM).

Synthesis, biological activity, and DNA-damage profile of platinum-threading intercalator conjugates designed to target adenine

PT-ACRAMTU {[PtCl(en)(ACRAMTU)](NO3)2, 2; ACRAMTU = 1-[2-(acridin-9-ylamino)ethyl]-1,3-dimethylthiourea, 1, en = ethane-1,2-diamine} is the prototype of a series of DNA-targeted adenine-affinic dual intercalating/platinating agents. Several novel 4,9-disubstituted acridines and the corresponding platinum-acridine conjugates were synthesized. The newly introduced 4-carboxamide side chains contain H-bond donor/acceptor functions designed to promote groove- and sequence-specific platinum binding. In HL-60 (leukemia) and H460 (lung) cancer cells, IC50 values in the micromolar to millimolar range were observed. Several of the intercalators show enhanced cytotoxicity compared to prototype 1, but conjugate 2 appears to be the most potent hybrid agent. Enzymatic digestion assays in conjunction with liquid chromatography-electrospray mass spectrometry analysis indicate that the new conjugates produce PT-ACRAMTU-type DNA damage. Platinum-modified 2'-deoxyguanosine, dG, and several dinucleotide fragments, d(NpN)*, were detected. One of the conjugates showed significantly higher levels of binding to A-containing sites than conjugate 2 (35 +/- 3% vs 24 +/- 3%). Possible structure-activity relationships are discussed.

Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of water-soluble amino acid prodrug conjugates derived from combretastatin, dihydronaphthalene, and benzosuberene-based parent vascular disrupting agents

Targeting tumor vasculature represents an intriguing therapeutic strategy in the treatment of cancer. In an effort to discover new vascular disrupting agents with improved water solubility and potentially greater bioavailability, various amino acid prodrug conjugates (AAPCs) of potent amino combretastatin, amino dihydronaphthalene, and amino benzosuberene analogs were synthesized along with their corresponding water-soluble hydrochloride salts. These compounds were evaluated for their ability to inhibit tubulin polymerization and for their cytotoxicity against selected human cancer cell lines. The amino-based parent anticancer agents 7, 8, 32 (also referred to as KGP05) and 33 (also referred to as KGP156) demonstrated potent cytotoxicity (GI50=0.11-40nM) across all evaluated cell lines, and they were strong inhibitors of tubulin polymerization (IC50=0.62-1.5μM). The various prodrug conjugates and their corresponding salts were investigated for cleavage by the enzyme leucine aminopeptidase (LAP). Four of the glycine water-soluble AAPCs (16, 18, 44 and 45) showed quantitative cleavage by LAP, resulting in the release of the highly cytotoxic parent drug, whereas partial cleavage (<10-90%) was observed for other prodrugs (15, 17, 24, 38 and 39). Eight of the nineteen AAPCs (13-16, 42-45) showed significant cytotoxicity against selected human cancer cell lines. The previously reported CA1-diamine analog and its corresponding hydrochloride salt (8 and 10, respectively) caused extensive disruption (at a concentration of 1.0μM) of human umbilical vein endothelial cells growing in a two-dimensional tubular network on matrigel. In addition, compound 10 exhibited pronounced reduction in bioluminescence (greater than 95% compared to saline control) in a tumor bearing (MDA-MB-231-luc) SCID mouse model 2h post treatment (80mg/kg), with similar results observed upon treatment (15mg/kg) with the glycine amino-dihydronaphthalene AAPC (compound 44). Collectively, these results support the further pre-clinical development of the most active members of this structurally diverse collection of water-soluble prodrugs as promising anticancer agents functioning through a mechanism involving vascular disruption.

Adenine-N3 in the DNA minor groove - an emerging target for platinum containing anticancer pharmacophores

The minor-groove is an important receptor for enzymes and proteins involved in the processing and expression of genomic DNA. Small molecules capable of interfering with these processes by virtue of their ability to form adducts within the recognition sequences targeted by these enzymes/proteins have potential applications as cytotoxic and gene-regulating agents. Until recently, the targeting of the minor groove by platinum-based agents has been a widely unexplored opportunity. As part of this focused review on irreversible minor-groove modifying agents acting on adenine-N3, we summarize work performed in our laboratory and by our collaborators on a novel platinum-acridine conjugate, PT-ACRAMTU ([PtCl(en)(ACRAMTU)](NO(3))(2), en = ethane-1,2-diamine, ACRAMTU = 1-[2-(acridin-9-ylamino)ethyl]-1,3-dimethylthiourea, acridinium cation). The design of this agent as a non-cisplatin type pharmacophore has led to a groundbreaking discovery, the unprecedented intercalator-driven formation of platinum-adenine-N3 adducts in the minor groove of DNA. The minor-groove reactivity of PT-ACRAMTU represents a new paradigm in platinum-DNA interactions, which opens new avenues in the design of platinum-based therapeutics acting by a mechanism different from that of agents currently in clinical use.

Combretastatin dinitrogen-substituted stilbene analogues as tubulin-binding and vascular-disrupting agents

Several stilbenoid compounds having structural similarity to the combretastatin group of natural products and characterized by the incorporation of two nitrogen-bearing groups (amine, nitro, serinamide) have been prepared by chemical synthesis and evaluated in terms of biochemical and biological activity. The 2',3'-diamino B-ring analogue 17 demonstrated remarkable cytotoxicity against selected human cancer cell lines in vitro (average GI 50 = 13.9 nM) and also showed good activity in regard to inhibition of tubulin assembly (IC 50 = 2.8 microM). In addition, a single dose (10 mg/kg) of compound 17 caused a 40% tumor-selective blood flow shutdown in tumor-bearing SCID mice at 24 h, thus suggesting the potential value of this compound and its corresponding salt formulations as new vascular-disrupting agents.

Development of synthetic methodology suitable for the radiosynthesis of combretastatin A-1 (CA1) and its corresponding prodrug CA1P

Synthetic methodology has been established suitable for the preparation of combretastatin A-1 (CA1) and its corresponding phosphate prodrug salt (CA1P) in high specific activity radiolabeled form. Judicious selection of appropriate phenolic protecting groups to distinguish positions on the A-ring from the B-ring of the stilbenoid was paramount for the success of this project. Methylation of the C-4' phenolic moiety by removal of the tert-butyldimethylsilyl protecting group in the presence of methyl iodide was accomplished in excellent yield without significant Z to E isomerization. This step (carried out with (12)C-methyl iodide as proof of concept in this study) represents the process in which a (14)C radioisotope could be incorporated in an actual radiosynthesis. CA1 is a natural product isolated from the African bush willow tree (Combretum caffrum) that has important medicinal value due, in part, to its ability to inhibit tubulin assembly. As a prodrug, CA1P (OXi4503) is in human clinical trials as a vascular disrupting agent.

Tuning the DNA conformational perturbations induced by cytotoxic platinum-acridine bisintercalators: effect of metal cis/trans isomerism and DNA threading groups

Four highly charged, water soluble platinum-acridine bisintercalating agents have been synthesized. Depending on the cis/trans isomerism of the metal and the nature of the acridine side chains, bisintercalation induces/stabilizes the classical Watson-Crick B-form or a non-B-form. Circular dichroism spectra and chemical footprinting experiments suggest that 4, the most active derivative in HL-60 cells, produces a structurally severely perturbed DNA with features of a Hoogsteen base-paired biopolymer.

Guanine binding of a cytotoxic platinum-acridin-9-ylthiourea conjugate monitored by 1-D 1H and 2-D [1H,15N] NMR spectroscopy: hydrolysis is not the rate-determining step

The reaction of [PtCl(en)(ACRAMTU)](NO(3))(2) (PT-ACRAMTU, 1; ACRAMTU=1-[2-(acridin-9-ylamino)ethyl]-1,3-dimethylthiourea, en=ethane-1,2-diamine) and the [(15)N]-en labeled analogue, 1', with 2'-deoxyguanosine (dG) was studied by (1)H NMR and two-dimensional [(1)H,(15)N] HSQC (heteronuclear single quantum coherence) spectroscopy. Reactions were performed in phosphate buffered solution at 37 degrees C at various ratios and total concentrations of reactants. The (1)H NMR data suggest that the hydrolyzed form of the drug, [Pt(H(2)O)(en)(ACRAMTU)](3+) (1a), forms at a rate (k(1)) similar to that observed in classical platinum chloroam(m)ines but to only a minor extent ( approximately 15%). Attempts to detect and characterize 1'a by two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy, however, were unsuccessful, and 1' and dG( *) were the only species observed in the HSQC spectra. Reaction of the putative aqua intermediate 1a with dG to yield [Pt(en)(dG-N7)(ACRAMTU)](3+) (dG( *)) is slow and is highly dependent on the initial concentrations of the reactants. This unusual observation is consistent with a mechanism in which a second-order term becomes rate-determining (k(2)<k(1)) (the opposite situation is usually observed in cisplatin-type complexes). The possibility of direct substitution of chloride in 1 by dG-N7 (k(3)) and the implications of the data acquired in this model system for the binding of the conjugate to double-stranded DNA are discussed.