Metal complexes of 3-(4-bromophenyl)-1-pyridin-2-ylprop-2-en-1-one thiosemicarbazone: cytotoxic activity and investigation on the mode of action of the gold(III) complex

Complexes [Au(PyCT4BrPh)Cl]Cl (1), [Pt(PyCT4BrPh)Cl]0.5KCl (2), and [Pd(PyCT4BrPh)Cl]KCl (3) were obtained with 3-(4-bromophenyl)-1-pyridin-2-ylprop-2-en-1-one thiosemicarbazone (HPyCT4BrPh). Although complexes (2) and (3) did not exhibit potent cytotoxic activity, HPyCT4BrPh and its gold(III) complex (1) proved to be highly cytotoxic against HL-60 (human promyelocytic leukemia) and THP-1 (human monocytic leukemia) cells, and against MDA-MB 231 and MCF-7 (human breast adenocarcinoma) solid tumor cells. Except for HL-60 cells, upon coordination to gold(III) a 2- to 3-fold increase in the cytotoxic effect was observed. An investigation on the possible biological targets of the gold(III) complex was carried out. Complex (1) but not the free thiosemicarbazone inhibits the enzymatic activity of thioredoxin reductase (TrxR). The affinity of 1 for TrxR suggests metal binding to a selenol residue in the active site of the enzyme. While HPyCT4BrPh was inactive, 1 was able to inhibit topoisomerase IB (Topo IB) activity. Hence, inhibition of TrxR and Topo IB could contribute to the mechanism of cytotoxic action of complex (1).[GRAPHICS]

Phosphate ester cleavage promoted by a tetrameric iron(III) complex

The purple acid phosphatases (PAPs) are the only binuclear metallohydrolases where the necessity for a heterovalent active site [Fe(III)-M(II) (M is Fe, Zn or Mn)] for catalysis has been established. The paradigm for the construction of PAP biomimetics, both structural and functional, is that the ligands possess characteristics which mimic those of the donor sites of the metalloenzyme and permit discrimination between trivalent and divalent metal ions. The donor atom set of the ligand 2-((2-hydroxy-5-methyl-3-((pyridin-2-ylmethylamino)methyl)benzyl) (2-hydroxybenzyl)amino)acetic acid (H(3)HPBA) mimics that of the active site of PAP although the iron(III) complex of this ligand has been characterized as the tetramer [Fe(4)(HPBA)(2)(mu-CH(3)COO)(2)(mu-O)(mu-OH)(OH(2))(2)]ClO(4)center dot 5H(2)O. The phosphoesterase-like activity of the complex in 1:1 acetonitrile/water has now been investigated using the substrate 2,4-bis(dinitrophenyl)phosphate. The pH dependence of the catalytic rate revealed a non-symmetric bell-shaped profile, with a finite but non-zero rate at high pH. Unlike the traditional approach usually employed to analyse these bell-shaped profiles, the approach used here involved incorporating additional species which contribute to the overall activity. Employing this approach, we show that the complex has a k(cat) of 1.6 (+/- 0.2) x 10(-3) s(-1), three kinetically relevant pK(a) values of 5.3, 6.2 and 8.4, with K(M) of 7.4 +/- 0.6 mM. The kinetic parameters are similar to those reported for heterovalent PAP biomimetics. Additionally, it is observed that, unlike the enzyme, the oxidation state is not the determining factor for catalytic activity