STK295900, a Dual Inhibitor of Topoisomerase 1 and 2, Induces G<inf>2</inf> Arrest in the Absence of DNA Damage

STK295900, a small synthetic molecule belonging to a class of symmetric bibenzimidazoles, exhibits antiproliferative activity against various human cancer cell lines from different origins. Examining the effect of STK295900 in HeLa cells indicates that it induces G2 phase arrest without invoking DNA damage. Further analysis shows that STK295900 inhibits DNA relaxation that is mediated by topoisomerase 1 (Top 1) and topoisomerase 2 (Top 2) in vitro. In addition, STK295900 also exhibits protective effect against DNA damage induced by camptothecin. However, STK295900 does not affect etoposide-induced DNA damage. Moreover, STK295900 preferentially exerts cytotoxic effect on cancer cell lines while camptothecin, etoposide, and Hoechst 33342 affected both cancer and normal cells. Therefore, STK295900 has a potential to be developed as an anticancer chemotherapeutic agent. © 2013 Kim et al

TDP1/TOP1 ratio as a promising indicator for the response of small cell lung cancer to topotecan

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is one of the most challenging tumors to treat due to high proliferation rate, early metastatic dissemination and rapid development of chemotherapy resistance. The current treatment protocols involve the use of topoisomerase 1 (TOP1) poisons such as irinotecan and topotecan in combination with platinum-based compounds. TOP1 poisons kill cancer cells by trapping TOP1 on DNA, generating lethal DNA double-strand breaks. A potential mechanism employed by cancer cells to resist killing by TOP1 poisons is to overexpress enzymes involved in the repair of TOP1-DNA breaks. Tyrosyl DNA phosphodiesterase 1 (TDP1) is a key player in this process and despite its importance, no data is currently available to correlate TDP1 protein and mRNA levels with catalytic activity in SCLC. In addition, it is not known if TDP1 and TOP1 protein levels correlate with the cellular response of SCLC to TOP1 based therapies. METHODS AND RESULTS We report a remarkable variation in TDP1 and TOP1 protein levels in a panel of SCLC cell lines. TDP1 protein level correlates well with TDP1 mRNA and TDP1 catalytic activity, as measured by two newly developed independent activity assays, suggesting the potential utility of immunohistochemistry in assessing TDP1 levels in SCLC tissues. We further demonstrate that whilst TDP1 protein level alone does not correlate with topotecan sensitivity, TDP1/TOP1 ratio correlates well with sensitivity in 8 out of 10 cell lines examined. CONCLUSION This study provides the first cellular analyses of TDP1 and TOP1 in SCLC and suggests the potential utility of TDP1/TOP1 ratio to assess the response of SCLC to topotecan. The establishment and validation of an easy-to-use TDP1 enzymatic assay in cell extracts could be exploited as a diagnostic tool in the clinic. These findings may help in stratifying patients that are likely to benefit from TOP1 poisons and TDP1 inhibitors currently under development

DNA single-strand break repair and spinocerebellar ataxia with axonal neuropathy-1

DNA single-strand breaks (SSBs) are the commonest DNA lesions arising spontaneously in cells, and if not repaired may block transcription or may be converted into potentially lethal/clastogenic DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). Recently, evidence has emerged that defects in the rapid repair of SSBs preferentially impact the nervous system. In particular, spinocerebellar ataxia with axonal neuropathy (SCAN1) is a human disease that is associated with mutation of TDP1 (tyrosyl DNA phosphodiesterase 1) protein and with a defect in repairing certain types of SSBs. Although SCAN1 is a rare neurodegenerative disorder, understanding the molecular basis of this disease will lead to better understanding of neurodegenerative processes. Here we review recent progress in our understanding of TDP1, single-strand break repair (SSBR), and neurodegenerative disease

Irinotecan Hydrochloride (CPT-11) in Dialysis Patients with Gastrointestinal Cancer

We investigated changes in drug disposition and toxicities with CPT-11 in 15 dialysis patients with gastrointestinal cancers to clarify whether CPT-11 could be administered safely in such patients. For comparison, the same parameters were also investigated in 10 cancer patients not undergoing dialysis. Items investigated included (1) plasma concentrations of SN-38, SN-38G and CPT-11 at 0, 1, 12, 24, 36, 48 and 72h after administration, together with a comparison of mean AUC values for 3 dose levels of CPT-11 (50, 60 and 70mg/m2) in dialysis patients and controls;and (2) occurrence of adverse events. Several findings emerged from this study:(1) No significant difference was observed in the AUC for SN-38 or CPT-11 between the dialysis and control groups;(2) The AUC for SN-38G at each dose was significantly higher in dialysis patients;and (3) Grade 1-4 leucopenia was observed in 11 of the dialysis patients. One patient developed grade 4 leucopenia and died due to sepsis. Anorexia, diarrhea, nausea, alopecia and interstitial pneumonia occurred in 6 dialysis patients. We found changes in drug dispositions of CPT-11, SN-38 and SN-38G in dialysis patients, suggesting that hepatic excretion, especially that of SN-38G, was increased. No significant difference in occurrence of adverse events was observed between the 2 groups. This indicates that CPT-11 can be administered safely in patients on dialysis.</p

Effects of novelly synthesized nucleolipides on different tumor cell lines (HT29, HepG2, Panc-1, RenCa) with special respect to glioma cell lines (BT4Ca, GOS3, G28, G112, U251, U87) of human or other species

Today cancer is the second leading cause of death around the world. The World Health Organization predicts an increase from 9.6 million in 2018 up to 16.4 million cancer deaths in 2040. Although tumors of the brain and the nervous system are rather unusual among adults (2 %), they are the second most common diagnosed types of cancer in childhood. Gliomas and meningiomas are the most frequent types of brain tumors and account for 30 % of all tumors in the brain and central nervous system as well as for 80 % of all malignant intra-cranial tumors. Usually surgical excision is the first step in the treatment of cancer followed by radio- and chemotherapy. Due to the mainly intracranial location of gliomas, surgical interventions are extremely risky. Therefore, the use of radiation and chemotherapeutic agents become more important. 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) is a well-known drug, usually used as chemotherapeutic agent in the standard treatment of fast proliferating cancer cells. Unfortunately, it carries along a wide range of unpleasant side effects in multiple organ systems. To improve the passage through the blood-brain-barrier and the cell membrane penetration thereby gaining a higher efficiency, our cooperation partners Prof. Dr. Rosemeyer and his colleagues from the Institute of Chemistry and Materials of the University of Osnabrück synthesized more than 120 novel nucleolipids. These molecules have been designed based on the 5-FU derivative 5-Fluorouridine (5-FUrd) or the nucleosides adenosine, cladribin, formycin, guanosine, inosine and others. The derivatives are modified at several positions and have different additional chemical side groups to mainly influence the hydrophilicity and lipophilicity and thus, to consequently improve the permeability across the blood-brain-barrier as well as the uptake into the cells. At first we screened the impact of 5-FUrd and the 120 novelly synthesized derivatives on the viability of rat BT4Ca and human GOS3 glioma cells as well as differentiated human macro-phages (THP1). Five derivatives (S.18, 19, 38, 98 and 101), which show low cytotoxic effects on the macrophages and are effective against both, the rat BT4Ca and the human GOS3 glioma cells, were selected to be further analyzed. Although we screened 120 derivatives consisting of purines and pyrimidines, it is remarkable that all five selected, most effective derivatives (S.18, 19, 38, 98 and 101) belong to the group of pyrimidines. Comparing the chemical structure of the selected derivatives, the position of the attached farnesyl chain seems to be of high importance for the effectiveness of the most efficient derivative (S.98) against rat as well as human glioma cell lines. We were able to show that the selected derivatives, derived out of the nucleosides adenosine (S.38), formycin (S.98) and inosine (S.18, 19 and 101) are able to keep up with or even overcome the cytostatic/cytotoxic effects of the well-known chemotherapeutic agent 5-FU on further human glioma cell lines (G28, G112, U251 and U87) and several other tumor entities (HT29, HepG2, Panc-1 and RenCa). Certainly, these effects depend on the applied derivative as well as its concentration and vary among the specific cell type analyzed. Furthermore, using the rat BT4Ca glioma cells as a model of fast proliferating glioblastomas, we studied several intracellular mechanisms, possibly responsible for the examined cytotoxic effects of the selected derivatives (S.18, 19, 38, 98 and 101). Our results indicate that the treatment of the rat BT4Ca glioma cells with each derivative lead to a concentration-dependent increase of the apoptotic cell rate. At concentrations 25 and 50 µM each of the selected derivatives led to a distinct activation of the caspase 3, confirming the induction of apoptosis. We also observed an increase of the necrotic cell rate with ascending concentration (12.5, 25 and 50 µM) of each derivative presumably due to secondary necrosis. Beside the loss of cell mass due to apoptosis, we detected lower levels of PCNA after the treatment with any selected derivative (12.5 and 25 µM) indicating a reduced cell proliferation of the rat BT4Ca glioma cells. In contrast, the treatment of the rat BT4Ca glioma cells with 5-FUrd did not affect the amount of PCNA. Thus, at our experimental conditions 5-FUrd showed no impact on the proliferation rate consistent with its cytostatic effects. Moreover, we determined a tremendous accumulation of ROS per cell after the treatment with each derivative (50 µM). Especially the treatment with the derivatives S.18, 38 and 98 caused high oxidative stress in the rat BT4Ca glioma cells. But regarding the ratio of rGSH/GSSG only the derivative S.98 showed an explicit effect on the glutathione antioxidant system by lowering the rGSH/GSSG ratio. Nevertheless, the activation of NFκB, through the translocation of the subunit p65 from the cytoplasm to the nucleus, was not triggered by the treatment with any selected derivative or 5-FUrd. For a validation of the effects of the derivatives on the migratory capacity of the rat BT4Ca glioma cells during the treatment, further experiments need to be done with a more accurate method. The results indicate that our five selected derivatives S.18, 19, 38, 98 and 101 bear fundamen-tal attributes, which are beneficial for the treatment of malignant cancer cells. These proper-ties and the broad range of cytotoxicity as well as the inhibition of the cell proliferation make the five derivatives, especially S.19 and S.98, highly interesting as prospects against several tumor entities for the use as possible novel drugs with a high potential as chemotherapeutic agent.Aktuell gehört Krebs zu den häufigsten Todesursachen weltweit. Die Welt-Gesundheits-Organisation prognostiziert einen Anstieg von 9,5 Millionen Krebs assoziierten Todesfällen im Jahre 2018 auf 16,4 Millionen im Jahre 2040. Obwohl Tumore des Gehirns und des zentralen Nervensys-tems bei Erwachsenen eher selten vorkommen (2 %), sind sie bei Kindern die am zweithäufigsten diagnostizierte Krebsart. Gliome und Meningiome stellen 30 % aller Tumore des Gehirns und Zent-ralen Nervensystems sowie 80 % aller bösartigen intrakranialen Tumore. Die Standardtherapie beginnt im Regelfall mit der operativen Entfernung, gefolgt von Radio- und Chemotherapie. Auf Grund der intrakranialen Lokalisation von Gliomen sind chirurgische Maßnahmen jedoch sehr ris-kant, wodurch Bestrahlungen und chemotherapeutische Behandlungen an Bedeutung gewinnen. 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) ist ein seit vielen Jahren genutzter Wirkstoff, das als Chemotherapeutikum gegen schnell wachsende Krebszellen eingesetzt wird. Bedauerlicherweise bringt er auch ein breites Spektrum an unerwünschten Nebeneffekten für einige Organsysteme mit sich. Um die Passage durch die Blut-Hirn-Schranke und die Aufnahme in die Zelle und damit die Effektivität solcher Sub-stanzen zu verbessern, entwickelten und synthetisierten unsere Kooperationspartner Prof. Dr. Ro-semeyer und seine Kollegen am Institut für Chemie und Materialien der Universität Osnabrück über 120 neue Nukleolipidderivate. Die Struktur dieser Nukleolipide beruht auf dem 5-FU Derivat 5-Fluorouridine (5-FUrd) oder den Nukleosiden Adenosin, Cladribin, Formycin, Guanosin, Inosin und weiteren. Die Derivate dieser Grundsubstanzen sind an mehreren Positionen verändert und tragen zusätzlich verschiedene chemische Seitenketten um ihre Wasser- und Fettlöslichkeit zu beeinflus-sen. Durch diese Modifikationen soll der Übergang durch die Blut-Hirn-Schranke sowie die Aufnahme in die Zelle erleichtert werden. Zu Beginn der Studie untersuchten wir den Einfluss von 5-FUrd und den 120 neu synthetisierten Derivaten auf die Viabilität der aus Ratten stammenden BT4Ca und humanen GOS3 Gliom Zellen sowie differenzierten humanen Makrophagen (THP1). Fünf Derivate (S.18, 19, 38, 98 und 101), die keine oder nur eine geringe schädliche Wirkung für die Makrophagen zeigten, gleichzeitig jedoch effektiv gegen beide Gliom Zelllinien (BT4Ca und GOS3) wirkten, wurden ausgewählt und weiter analysiert. Bemerkenswert ist, dass trotz der Anzahl von 120 getesteten Substanzen, die sowohl Purine als auch Pyrimidine einschlossen, alle fünf ausgewählten Derivate zur Gruppe der Pyrimidine gehören. Vergleicht man die chemische Struktur der ausgewählten Derivate, spielt die Position der angehängten Farnesylkette offenbar eine wichtige Rolle für die Effektivität (S.98 versus S.18, 38 und 101). Wir zeigen, dass die ausgewählten Derivate, deren Grundlage Adenosin (S.38), Formycin (S.98) und Inosin (S.18, 19, 101) bilden, einen vergleichbaren oder sogar stärkeren zytostati-schen/zytotoxischen Effekt wie das bekannte chemotherapeutische Mittel 5-FU haben. Auch bei weiteren untersuchten humanen Gliom Zellen (G28, G112, U251 und U87) und anderen Tumorenti-täten (HT29, HepG2, Panc-1 und RenCa) können wir diese Effekte beobachten. Diese sind abhängig vom eingesetzten Derivat sowie dessen Konzentration und des verwendeten, spezifischen Zelltyps. Für weiterführende Versuche wurden die Ratten BT4Ca Gliom Zellen exemplarisch als Model für schnellwachsende Glioblastomzellen verwendet. Wir analysierten unterschiedliche intrazelluläre Mechanismen, die möglicherweise an den bereits beobachteten zytotoxischen Wirkungen der fünf ausgewählten Derivate (S.18, 19, 38, 98 und 101) beteiligt sind. Unsere Versuchsergebnisse dokumentieren, dass die Behandlung der Ratten BT4Ca Gliom Zellen mit einem dieser fünf Derivate zu einem konzentrationsabhängigen Anstieg der apoptotischen Zellzahl führt. In den Konzentrationen 25 und 50 µM löst jedes der ausgewählten Derivate eine deutliche Steigerung der Capspase 3 Aktivität aus, wodurch die beobachtete Induktion der Apoptose bestätigt wird. Mit steigenden Konzentrationen (12.5, 25 und 50 µM) sehen wir allerdings auch einen erhöhten Anteil an nekrotischen Zellen. Dieser Anstieg ist vermutlich auf den Prozess der sekundär-Nekrose zurückzuführen. Neben dem Zelltod durch Apoptose, detektieren wir nach der Behandlung mit den jeweiligen Derivaten auch ein verringertes Level des Proteins PCNA, wodurch die Zellteilung der Ratten BT4Ca Zellen zusätzlich vermindert wird. Im Gegensatz zu den Derivaten hat die Behandlung mit 5-FUrd keinen Einfluss auf die gemessene Menge von PCNA. Demnach hat 5-FUrd unter unseren experimentellen Bedingungen keinen Einfluss auf die Zellteilungsrate der Ratten BT4Ca Zellen, was den beobachteten zytostatischen Effekt von 5-FUrd erklärt. Darüber hinaus beobachten wir nach der Behandlung der Ratten BT4Ca Zellen mit den Derivaten (50 µM) eine enorme Anhäufung von Sauerstoff Radikalen (ROS) pro Zelle. Besonders der Einsatz der Derivate S.18, 38 und 98 verursacht hohen oxidativen Stress für die Ratten BT4Ca Zellen. Allerdings führt nur die Behandlung mit Derivat S.98 zu einer eindeutigen Verringerung des rGSH/GSSG Verhältnisses und beeinflusst damit die physiologisch zur Verfügung stehende Menge des Antioxidans Glutathion. Keines der fünf ausgewählten Derivate führt zur Translokation der NFκB-Untereinheit p65 vom Zytoplasma in den Zellkern und damit zur Aktivierung von NFκB in den Ratten BT4Ca Zellen. Der Einfluss der Derivate auf die Migration der Ratten BT4Ca Zellen muss durch weitere Untersu-chungen validiert werden. Die bisherigen Analysen zeigen, dass die Derivate S.18, 19, 38, 98 und 101 grundlegende Eigenschaften aufweisen, wodurch sie für die Behandlung von diversen bösarti-gen Krebszellen geeignet sind. Die fünf ausgewählten Derivate, besonders, S.19 und S.98, tragen durch ihr breites zytotoxisches Wirkungsspektrum und die Hemmung der Zellteilungsrate ein hohes Potential gegen mehrere, unterschiedliche Tumorentitäten als neue Wirkstoffe im Bereich der Chemotherapie Verwendung zu finden

Dynamics of living cells in a cytomorphological state space.

Cells are nonequilibrium systems that exchange matter and energy with the environment to sustain their metabolic needs. The nonequilibrium nature of this system presents considerable challenges to developing a general theory describing its behavior; however, when studied at appropriate spatiotemporal scales, the behavior of ensembles of nonequilibrium systems can resemble that of a system at equilibrium. Here we apply this principle to a population of cells within a cytomorphological state space and demonstrate that cellular transition dynamics within this space can be described using equilibrium formalisms. We use this framework to map the effective energy landscape underlying the cytomorphological state space of a population of mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) and identify topographical nonuniformity in this space, indicating nonuniform occupation of cytomorphological states within an isogenic population. The introduction of exogenous apoptotic agents fundamentally altered this energy landscape, inducing formation of additional energy minima that correlated directly with changes in sensitivity to apoptosis induction. An equilibrium framework allows us to describe the behavior of an ensemble of single cells, suggesting that although cells are complex nonequilibrium systems, the application of formalisms derived from equilibrium thermodynamics can provide insight into the basis of nongenetic heterogeneities within cell populations, as well as the relationship between cytomorphological and functional heterogeneity

Identification of early gene expression changes in primary cultured neurons treated with topoisomerase I poisons.

Topoisomerase 1 (TOP1) poisons like camptothecin (CPT) are currently used in cancer chemotherapy but these compounds can have damaging, off-target effects on neurons leading to cognitive, sensory and motor deficits. To understand the molecular basis for the enhanced sensitivity of neurons to CPT, we examined the effects of compounds that inhibit TOP1-CPT, actinomycin D (ActD) and β-lapachone (β-Lap)-on primary cultured rat motor (MN) and cortical (CN) neurons as well as fibroblasts. Neuronal cells expressed higher levels of Top1 mRNA than fibroblasts but transcript levels are reduced in all cell types after treatment with CPT. Microarray analysis was performed to identify differentially regulated transcripts in MNs in response to a brief exposure to CPT. Pathway analysis of the differentially expressed transcripts revealed activation of ERK and JNK signaling cascades in CPT-treated MNs. Immediate-early genes like Fos, Egr-1 and Gadd45b were upregulated in CPT-treated MNs. Fos mRNA levels were elevated in all cell types treated with CPT; Egr-1, Gadd45b and Dyrk3 transcript levels, however, increased in CPT-treated MNs and CNs but decreased in CPT-treated fibroblasts. These transcripts may represent new targets for the development of therapeutic agents that mitigate the off-target effects of chemotherapy on the nervous system

Failure to detect "cap" structures in mitochondrial DNA-coded poly(A)-containing RNA from HeLa cells

The structure of the 5'-termini has been investigated in mitochondrial DNA- coded poly(A)-containing RNA from HeLa cells. For this purpose, mitochondrial RNA isolated from cells labeled for 3 hours with [32P]orthophosphate in the presence of 20 µg/ml camptothecin, and selected for poly(A) content by two passages through oligo(dT)-cellulose, was digested either with the nuclease P1 or with a mixture of RNases: the digestion products were then fractionated by two-dimensional electrophoresis. No "cap" structures were detected under conditions where the presence of such structures in one out of five to ten RNA molecules would have been recognized. It is, therefore, likely that "cap" structures are completely absent in HeLa cell mitochondrial poly(A)-containing RNA