The beta-carboline analog Mana-Hox causes mitotic aberration by interacting with DNA

Mana-Hox, an analog of beta-carbolines with anticancer activity, induces aberrant mitosis and delays mitotic exit. However, the cellular target is not known. In this study, we visualized the intracellular localization of Mana-Hox. Mana-Hox rapidly penetrated into cells (within 1 min) and concentrated on disorganized metaphase chromosomes after 13 hr of exposure. We demonstrated that Mana-Hox is a noncovalent DNA binder that can interact with DNA through intercalation and/or through minor groove binding. Furthermore, Mana-Hox also inhibits topoisomerase II relaxation activity in vitro, suggesting that Mana-Hox could perturb mitotic chromosome decatenation. Overall, Mana-Hox binding to DNA plays a critical role in the induction of aberrant mitosis and contributes to its anticancer activity.     

Conformation-dependent ligand regulation of ATP hydrolysis by human KSP: activation of basal hydrolysis and inhibition of microtubule-stimulated hydrolysis by a single, small molecule modulator

Human kinesin spindle protein (KSP)/hsEg5, a member of the kinesin-5 family, is essential for mitotic spindle assembly in dividing human cells and is required for cell cycle progression through mitosis. Inhibition of the ATPase activity of KSP leads to cell cycle arrest during mitosis and subsequent cell death. Ispinesib (SB-715992), a potent and selective inhibitor of KSP, is currently in phase II clinical trials for the treatment of multiple tumor types. Mutations that attenuate Ispinesib binding to KSP in vitro have been identified, highlighting the need for inhibitors that target different binding sites and inhibit KSP activity by novel mechanisms. We report here a small-molecule modulator, KSPA-1, that activates KSP-catalyzed ATP hydrolysis in the absence of microtubules yet inhibits microtubule-stimulated ATP hydrolysis by KSP. KSPA-1 inhibits cell proliferation and induces monopolar-spindle formation in tumor cells. Results from kinetic analyses, microtubule (MT) binding competition assays, and hydrogen/deuterium-exchange studies show that KSPA-1 does not compete directly for microtubule binding. Rather, this compound acts by driving a conformational change in the KSP motor domain and disrupts productive ATP turnover stimulated by MT. These findings provide a novel mechanism for targeting KSP and perhaps other mitotic kinesins.     

1,8‐Naphthalimide: A Potent DNA Intercalator and Target for Cancer Therapy

The poor pharmacokinetics, side effects and particularly the rapid emergence of drug resistance compromise the efficiency of clinically used anticancer drugs. Therefore, the discovery of novel and effective drugs is still an extremely primary mission. Naphthalimide family is one of the highly active anticancer drug based upon effective intercalator with DNA. In this article, we review the discovery and development of 1,8‐naphthalimide moiety, and, especially, pay much attention to the structural modifications and structure activity relationships. The review demonstrates how modulation of the moiety affecting naphthalimide compound for DNA binding that is achieved to afford a profile of antitumor activity. The DNA binding of imide and ring substitution at naphthalimide, bisnaphthalimide, naphthalimide‐metal complexes is achieved by molecular recognition through intercalation mode. Thus, this synthetic/natural small molecule can act as a drug when activation or inhibition of DNA function, is required to cure or control the cancer disease. The present study is a review of the advances in 1,8‐naphthalimide‐related research, with a focus on how such derivatives are intercalated into DNA for their anticancer activities.     

A comparative DFT study of some N-based aromatic ligand metal complexes as anticancer agents and analysis of their mode of interaction with DNA base pair

Metal complexed anticancer agents interact with DNA nucleobase pairs (AT and GC) through different types of binding mode such as intercalation, groove binding, covalent binding, etc. Minor and major groove binding mechanism of DNA base pair is the key factor for all kinds of anticancer agent; as metal complexes have a great affinity to bind with DNA nucleobase either through minor or major groove. Ligands in metal complexes also play a vital role during the interaction with DNA base pairs; these ligands directly interact with DNA through different interacting modes. Generally, anticancer agents with less sterically hindered N-based aromatic and planar ligands are the key component for DNA binding; as the structure of such ligands are quite compatible for following intercalation and groove binding mechanism. Since, the experimental investigation for drug-DNA nucleobase complexes are extremely complicated, therefore; quantum mechanical calculations might be very helpful for computing the actual interactions in drug-DNA complexes. Quantum mechanical approaches such as density functional theory (DFT) might be a very important and useful tool to investigate the actual mode of interaction of metal complexed antitumor agents with DNA nucleobase. Herein, we have taken some metal complexes with N-based aromatic ligands as antitumor agents to investigate the proper mode of interaction between drug-DNA complexes.     

BP-M345, a New Diarylpentanoid with Promising Antimitotic Activity

Previously, we reported the in vitro growth inhibitory effect of diarylpentanoid BP-M345 on human cancer cells. Nevertheless, at that time, the cellular mechanism through which BP-M345 exerts its growth inhibitory effect remained to be explored. In the present work, we report its mechanism of action on cancer cells. The compound exhibits a potent tumor growth inhibitory activity with high selectivity index. Mechanistically, it induces perturbation of the spindles through microtubule instability. As a consequence, treated cells exhibit irreversible defects in chromosome congression during mitosis, which induce a prolonged spindle assembly checkpoint-dependent mitotic arrest, followed by massive apoptosis, as revealed by live cell imaging. Collectively, the results indicate that the diarylpentanoid BP-M345 exerts its antiproliferative activity by inhibiting mitosis through microtubule perturbation and causing cancer cell death, thereby highlighting its potential as antitumor agent.     

Evaluation of inhibitory effects of benzothiazole and 3-amino-benzothiazolium derivatives on DNA topoisomerase II by molecular modeling studies

There has been considerable interest in DNA topoisomerases over the last decade, as they have been shown to be one of the major cellular targets in anticancer drug development. Previously we synthesized some benzothiazole derivatives and corresponding benzothiazolium forms, and tested their DNA inhibitory activity to develop novel antitumor agents. Among the 12 prepared compounds, compound BM3 (3-aminobenzothiazole-3-ium 4-methylbenzene sulfonate) exhibited extreme topoisomerase II inhibitory activity compared with the reference drug etoposide. We also tried to determine the DNA and enzyme binding abilities of BM3 and found that BM3 acted on topoisomerase II first at low doses, while it had also showed DNA minor groove binding properties at higher doses. In this study the interactions between DNA topoisomerase II and the compounds were examined in detail by molecular modelling studies such as molecular docking and pharmacophore analysis performed using Discovery Studio 3.5. As a result, it was found that benzothiazolium compounds exhibited a totally different mechanism than benzothiazoles by binding to the different amino acids at the active site of the protein molecule. 3-Aminobenzothiazoliums are worthy of carrying onto anticancer studies; BM3 especially would be a good anticancer candidate for preclinical studies.     

UA62784 Is a cytotoxic inhibitor of microtubules, not CENP-E

A recent screen for compounds that selectively targeted pancreatic cancer cells isolated UA62784. We found that UA62784 inhibits microtubule polymerization in?vitro. UA62784 interacts with tubulin dimers ten times more potently than colchicine, vinblastine, or nocodazole. Competition experiments revealed that UA62784 interacts with tubulin at or near the colchicine-binding site. Nanomolar doses of UA62784 promote the accumulation of mammalian cells in mitosis, due to aberrant mitotic spindles, as shown by immunofluorescence and live cell imaging. Treatment of cancerous cell lines with UA62784 is lethal, following activation of apoptosis signaling. By monitoring mitotic spindle perturbations and apoptosis, we found that the effects of UA62784 and of some known microtubule-depolymerizing drugs are additive. Finally, high content screening of H2B-GFP HeLa cells revealed that low doses of UA62784 and vinblastine potentiate each other to inhibit proliferation.     

Some halogenated anticancer agents,role of halide (-X) and their interaction mechanism with AT/GC base pairs: A computational study

Recently, a new class of halogen-based active anticancer agents have widely been developed which shows effective binding with AT/GC base pairs of DNA nucleobases. Usually intercalation, groove binding and covalent binding mechanisms are the most common drug-DNA binding pathways; but, the groove binding mechanism plays a crucial role in the stability of such drug-DNA complexes. As anticancer agent-DNA nucleobase interactions are very difficult to investigate by using common experimental techniques; therefore, theoretical methods may be quite helpful to analyze the proper mode of interaction for such drug-DNA systems. Past literature reveals that, quantum mechanical (QM) density functional theory (DFT) method is one of the best known tool for analyzing the different binding modes of halogenated anticancer agents with DNA nucleobases. Moreover, the halogen-bonding interaction in any biological system is fundamentally understood by investigating the mechanism of donor-acceptor complex formation between donor halogens and acceptor atoms within a receptor; such study is very competent for exploring the favoured anticancer agent-DNA interaction. In this current work, our main objective is to explore the effect of some intercalating and groove binding halogen-based anticancer agents with DNA nucleobase using computational method.     

Anticancer and DNA Binding Activities of Platinum (IV) Complexes; Importance of Leaving Group Departure Rate

The two six-coordinate Pt(IV) complexes, containing bidentate nitrogen donor/methyl ligands with general formula [Pt(X)₂Me₂(^tbu₂bpy)], where ^tbu₂bpy = 4,4′-ditert-butyl-2,2′-bipyridine and X = Cl (C₁) or Br (C₂), serving as the leaving groups were synthesized for evaluation of their anticancer activities and DNA binding properties. To examine anticancer activities of the synthetic complexes, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay and ethidium bromide/acridine orange (EB/AO) staining method were performed. The binding properties of these complexes to DNA and purine nucleotides were examined, using different spectroscopic techniques. These complexes demonstrated significant anticancer activities against three cancer cell lines Jurkat, K562, and MCF-7. On the basis of the results of EB/AO staining, C₁ and C₂ were also capable to induce apoptosis in cancer cells. These complexes comprise halide leaving groups, displaying different departure rates; accordingly, they demonstrated slightly dissimilar anticancer activity and significantly different DNA/purine nucleotide binding properties. The results of DNA interaction studies of these complexes suggest a mixed-binding mode, comprising partial intercalation and groove binding. Overall, the results presented herein indicate that the newly synthesized Pt(IV) complexes are promising class of the potential anticancer agents which can be considered as molecular templates in designing novel platinum anticancer drugs. This study also highlights the importance of leaving group in anticancer activity and DNA binding properties of Pt(IV) complexes.     

Substrate specificity analysis of protein kinase complex Dbf2-Mob1 by peptide library and proteome array screening

Background  

The mitotic exit network (MEN) is a group of proteins that form a signaling cascade that is essential for cells to exit mitosis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The MEN has also been implicated in playing a role in cytokinesis. Two components of this signaling pathway are the protein kinase Dbf2 and its binding partner essential for its kinase activity, Mob1. The components of MEN that act upstream of Dbf2-Mob1 have been characterized, but physiological substrates for Dbf2-Mob1 have yet to be identified.     

Luminescent Cyclometalated Platinum(II) Complex Forms Emissive Intercalating Adducts with Double‐Stranded DNA and RNA: Differential Emissions and Anticancer Activities

Luminescent metallo‐intercalators are potent biosensors of nucleic acid structure and anticancer agents targeting DNAs. There are few examples of luminescent metallo‐intercalators which can simultaneously act as emission probes of nucleic acid structure and display promising anticancer activities. Herein, we describe a luminescent platinum(II) complex, [Pt(C^N^N)(C≡NtBu)]ClO₄ ( 1 a , HC^N^N= 6‐phenyl‐2,2′‐bipyridyl), that intercalates between the nucleobases of nucleic acids, accompanied by an increase in emission intensity and/or a significant change in the maximum emission wavelength. The changes in emission properties measured with double‐stranded RNA (dsRNA) are different from those with dsDNA used in the binding reactions. Complex 1 a exhibited potent anticancer activity towards cancer cells in vitro and inhibited tumor growth in a mouse model. The stabilization of the topoisomerase I–DNA complex with resulting DNA damage by 1 a is suggested to contribute to its anticancer activity.     

Chemistry and chemical biology of taxane anticancer agents

Taxol (paclitaxel) and Taxotere (docetaxel) are currently considered to be among the most important anticancer drugs in cancer chemotherapy. The anticancer activity of these drugs is ascribed to their unique mechanism of action, i.e., causing mitotic arrest in cancer cells, leading to apoptosis through inhibition of the depolymerization of microtubules. Although both paclitaxel and docetaxel possess potent antitumor activity, treatment with these drugs often results in a number of undesirable side effects, as well as multidrug resistance (MDR). Therefore, it has become essential to develop new anticancer agents with superior pharmacological properties, improved activity against various classes of tumors, and fewer side effects. This paper describes an account of our research on the chemistry of paclitaxel and taxoid anticancer agents at the biomedical interface, including: 1. The structure-activity relationship (SAR) study of taxoids leading to the development of the "second-generation" taxoids, which possess exceptional activity against drug-resistant cancer cells expressing the MDR phenotype. 2. Development of fluorinated taxoids to study the bioactive conformation of paclitaxel and photoaffinity labeling taxoids for mapping of the drug-binding domain on both microtubules and P-glycoprotein. 3. The synthesis of novel macrocyclic taxoids for the investigation into the common pharmacophore for microtubule stabilizing anticancer agents.     

Evidence that monastrol is an allosteric inhibitor of the mitotic kinesin Eg5

Monastrol, a cell-permeable inhibitor of the kinesin Eg5, has been used to probe the dynamic organization of the mitotic spindle. The mechanism by which monastrol inhibits Eg5 function is unknown. We found that monastrol inhibits both the basal and the microtubule-stimulated ATPase activity of the Eg5 motor domain. Unlike many ATPase inhibitors, monastrol does not compete with ATP binding to Eg5. Monastrol appears to inhibit microtubule-stimulated ADP release from Eg5 but does not compete with microtubule binding, suggesting that monastrol binds a novel allosteric site in the motor domain. Finally, we established that (S)-monastrol, as compared to the (R)-enantiomer, is a more potent inhibitor of Eg5 activity in vitro and in vivo. Future structural studies should help in designing more potent Eg5 inhibitors for possible use as anticancer drugs and cell biological reagents.     

Evaluation of the DNA Alkylation Properties of a Chlorambucil-Conjugated Cyclic Pyrrole-Imidazole Polyamide

Hairpin pyrrole-imidazole polyamides (hPIPs) and their chlorambucil (Chb) conjugates (hPIP-Chbs) can alkylate DNA in a sequence-specific manner, and have been studied as anticancer drugs. Here, we conjugated Chb to a cyclic PIP (cPIP), which is known to have a higher binding affinity than the corresponding hPIP, and investigated the DNA alkylation properties of the resulting cPIP-Chb using the optimized capillary electrophoresis method and conventional HPLC product analysis. cPIP-Chb conjugate 3 showed higher alkylation activity at its binding sites than did hPIP-Chb conjugates 1 and 2 . Subsequent HPLC analysis revealed that the alkylation site of conjugate 3 , which was identified by capillary electrophoresis, was reliable and that conjugate 3 alkylates the N3 position of adenine as do hPIP-Chbs. Moreover, conjugate 3 showed higher cytotoxicity against LNCaP prostate cancer cells than did conjugate 1 and cytotoxicity comparable to that of conjugate 2 . These results suggest that cPIP-Chbs could be novel DNA alkylating anticancer drugs.     

DNA structural distortions induced by ruthenium-arene anticancer compounds

Organometallic ruthenium(II)-arene (RA) compounds combine a rich structural diversity with the potential to overcome existing chemotherapeutic limitations. In particular, the two classes of compounds [Ru(II)(eta(6)-arene)X(en)] and [Ru(II)(eta(6)-arene)(X)2(pta)] (RA-en and RA-pta, respectively; X = leaving group, en = ethylenediamine, pta = 1,3,5-triaza-7-phosphaadamantane) have become the focus of recent anticancer research. In vitro and in vivo studies have shown that they exhibit promising new activity profiles, for which their interactions with DNA are suspected to be a crucial factor. In the present study, we investigate the binding processes of monofunctional RA-en and bifunctional RA-pta to double-stranded DNA and characterize the resulting structural perturbations by means of ab initio and classical molecular dynamics simulations. We find that both RA complexes bind easily through their ruthenium center to the N7 atom of guanine bases. The high flexibility of DNA allows for fast accommodation of the ruthenium complexes into the major groove. Once bound to the host, however, the two complexes induce different DNA structural distortions. Strain induced in the DNA backbone from RA-en complexation is released by a local break of a Watson-Crick base-pair, consistent with the experimentally observed local denaturation. The bulkier RA-pta, on the other hand, bends the DNA helix toward its major groove, resembling the characteristic DNA distortion induced by the classic anticancer drug cisplatin. The atomistic details of the interactions of RA complexes with DNA gained in the present study shed light on some of the anticancer properties of these compounds and should assist future rational compound design.     

A new way to detect the interaction of DNA and anticancer drugs based on the decreased resonance light scattering signal and its potential application

A novel assay has been developed to detect the interaction of DNA and anticancer drugs based on the decreased resonance light scattering (RLS) technique. The proposed method can be used to study those drugs which do not produce a RLS-signal after binding to DNA. RLS was used to monitor the interaction of five anticancer drugs with DNA. The reaction between anticancer drugs and DNA took place in BR buffer solution. From the RLS assay, the sequence of five anticancer drugs activities was as follows: CTX < MTX < Pt < MMC < 5-Fu. Mammary cancer cell DNA (mcDNA) was involved to validate the RLS assay. The results showed that the sensitivities of the five anticancer drugs targeting both mcDNA and ctDNA increased in the same order. However the sensitivity of each drug to mcDNA was higher than that to ctDNA It is a significant innovation of the RLS method to detect the interaction of DNA and anticancer drugs and to obtain drug sensitivity, which provides new strategies to screen DNA targeted anticancer drugs.     

聚乙烯胺类修饰萘酰亚胺衍生物的合成、DNA键合行为和活性研究

合成了二乙烯三胺、三乙烯四胺和四乙烯五胺等低分子量聚乙烯胺类修饰的萘酰亚胺衍生物.通过UV-Vis谱、荧光光谱、圆二色谱和热变性试验研究了合成化合物与小牛胸腺DNA的键合行为,同时通过四甲基偶氮唑蓝(MTT)染色法研究了化合物对Bel-7402(人肝癌细胞)、HL-60(白血病细胞)、A549(人肺癌细胞)和Hela(人宫颈癌细胞)等细胞株的体外抗肿瘤活性,化合物NI1对A549细胞显示良好的抑制活性,优于阳性对照顺铂.     

MUTAGENIC AND RECOMBINOGENIC ACTION OF DNA MONOADDUCTS PHOTOINDUCED BY THE BIFUNCTIONAL FUROCOUMARIN 8-METHOXYPSORALEN IN YEAST (Saccharomyces cerevisiae)

Abstract— For the same furocoumarin 8-MOP and the same total number of photoadditions, the genetic activity of DNA monoadducts and a mixture of mono- and biadducts photoinduced by the bifunctional furocoumarin 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP) is compared in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In the presence of 8-MOP, 405 nm irradiation induces only monoadducts, whereas 365 nm irradiation induces mono- and biadducts (interstrand cross-links) in DNA. This is shown by heat denaturation-renaturation experiments on calf thymus DNA treated in vitro and by alkaline step elution analysis of DNA from treated yeast cells. For the same photobinding of tritiated 8-MOP to DNA in diploid yeast, about 20 times higher doses are needed with 405 nm than with 365 nm irradiation. Re-irradiation experiments reveal that part of the monoadducts induced by 8-MOP and 405 nm irradiation can be effectively converted into DNA interstrand cross-links by exposures to 365 nm radiation after washing-out of unbound 8-MOP molecules. 8-MOP and 405 nm irradiation induce per lethal hit cytoplasmic "petite" mutations in yeast as efficiently as the monofunctional furocoumarin 3-carbethoxypsoralen (3-CPs) and 365 nm irradiation, both treatments being much more efficient than 8-MOP and 365 nm irradiation. At equal survival, treatments with 8-MOP and 405 nm radiation are clearly less efficient than treatments with 8-MOP and 365 nm radiation for the induction of forward ( CAN *) and reverse ( HIS +) mutations in haploïd yeast and for the induction of mutations ( ILV +) and genetically aberrant colonies including mitotic crossing-over in diploid yeast. The two treatments are equally efficient for the induction of mitotic gene conversion. At equal photobinding of 8-MOP, the monoadducts induced by 405 nm irradiation are found less effective than the mixture of mono-and biadducts induced by 365 nm irradiation for the induction of cell killing, mutations and mitotic recombination.