Genotoxic, neurotoxic and neuroprotective activities of apomorphine and its oxidized derivative 8-oxo-apomorphine

Apomorphine is a dopamine receptor agonist proposed to be a neuroprotective agent in the treatment of patients with Parkinson's disease. Both in vivo and in vitro studies have shown that apomorphine displays both antioxidant and pro-oxidant actions, and might have either neuroprotective or neurotoxic effects on the central nervous system. Some of the neurotoxic effects of apomorphine are mediated by its oxidation derivatives. In the present review, we discuss recent studies from our laboratory in which the molecular, cellular and neurobehavioral effects of apomorphine and its oxidized derivative, 8-oxo-apomorphine-semiquinone (8-OASQ), were evaluated in different experimental models, i.e., in vitro genotoxicity in Salmonella/microsome assay and WP2 Mutoxitest, sensitivity assay in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, neurobehavioral procedures (inhibition avoidance task, open field behavior, and habituation) in rats, stereotyped behavior in mice, and Comet assay and oxidative stress analyses in mouse brain. Our results show that apomorphine and 8-OASQ induce differential mutagenic, neurochemical and neurobehavioral effects. 8-OASQ displays cytotoxic effects and oxidative and frameshift mutagenic activities, while apomorphine shows antimutagenic and antioxidant effects in vitro. 8-OASQ induces a significant increase of DNA damage in mouse brain tissue. Both apomorphine and 8-OASQ impair memory for aversive training in rats, although the two drugs showed a different dose-response pattern. 8-OASQ fails to induce stereotyped behaviors in mice. The implications of these findings are discussed in the light of evidence from studies by other groups. We propose that the neuroprotective and neurotoxic effects of dopamine agonists might be mediated, in part, by their oxidized metabolites.

0-Naftoquinonas lipofílicas como tripanocidas y citostáticos potenciales / Lipophilic o-naphthoquinones as trypanocidal and cytostatic potentials

0-Naftoquinonas, como la ß-lapachona, que fueran antes propuestas como agentes antichagásicos, han resultado potentes inhibidores del crecimiento de células tumorales humanas, lo que ha renovado el interés por esas quinonas. Por ello, se revisan ahora los mecanismos de la citotoxicidad de varias o-naftoquinonas y moléculas similares, representadas por la ß-lapachona y las mansononas. La mayoría de esas quinonas son potentes inhibidores del crecimiento de Trypanosoma cruzi. Crithidia fasciculata y Leptomonas seymouri, a concentraciones del orden de 1.0-10 µM. Su acción implica la operación de reacciones redox. La inicial de reducción de la quinona a quinol (hidroquinona), es seguida por la oxidación del quinol por oxígeno molecular. La oxidación del quinol genera radicales semi-quinona, superóxico y peróxido de hidrógeno capaces de generar el radical hidroxilo, notable por su citotoxicidad. Como consecuencia de esas reacciones se produce un "daño oxidativo", que en los protozoarios estudiados se manifiesta por la disminución del ATP celular como resultado de la inhibición de la fosforilación oxidativa. También se produce disminución de la síntesis de DNA, RNA y proteínas celulares. Al mismo tiempo, las quinonas aumentan la degradación fisiológica de las mismas moléculas. Resultados similares se obtuvieron con naftoquinona-iminas. Los grupos carbonilos vecinos y el anillo tirano son estructuras esenciales para la acción citotóxica de las quinonas. Estos efectos se discuten en relación a posibles usos farmacológicos de las naftoquinonas lipofílicas.

Toxicity studies with potassium embelate, a new analgesic compound.

Potassium embelate, 2,5-dihydroxy, 3-undecyl-1, 4-benzoquinone, from Embelia ribes Burm. was subjected to toxicity evaluation which included subacute, chronic, reproductive toxicity testing and teratological investigations in laboratory animals (mice, rats and monkeys). The results did not indicate adverse effects suggesting that potassium embelate is a safe compound.