Thymidine kinase and uridine-cytidine kinase from Entamoeba histolytica: cloning, characterization, and search for specific inhibitors.

Entamoeba histolytica is an intestinal parasite and the causative agent of amoebiasis, which is a significant source of morbidity and mortality in developing countries. Although anti-amoebic drugs such as metronidazole, emetine, chloroquine and nitazoxanide are generally effective, there is always potential for development of drug resistance. In order to find novel targets to control E. histolytica proliferation we cloned, expressed and purified thymidine kinase (Eh-TK) and uridine-cytidine kinase (Eh-UCK) from E. histolytica. Eh-TK phosphorylates thymidine with a Km of 0.27 microm, whereas Eh-UCK phosphorylates uridine and cytidine with Km of 0.74 and 0.22 mM, respectively. For both enzymes, ATP acts as specific phosphate donor. In order to find alternative treatments of E. histolytica infection we tested numerous nucleoside analogues and related compounds as inhibitors and/or substrates of Eh-TK and Eh-UCK, and active compounds against E. histolytica in cell culture. Our results indicate that inhibitors or alternative substrates of the enzymes, although partially reducing protozoan proliferation, are reversible and not likely to become drugs against E. histolytica infections.

Lack of enantioselectivity of herpes virus thymidine kinase allows safer imaging of gene delivery.

Herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSV-TK) is widely used in gene therapy. The enzymatic activity of HSV-TK may be traced in vivo by specific radiopharmaceuticals in order to image transgene expression. However, most of these radiopharmaceuticals are toxic per se or after activation by HSV-TK, and therefore do not represent ideal molecules for clinical applications and repeated imaging. Unlike human cytosolic TK, HSV-TK is not enantioselective and can efficiently phosphorylate both D and L enantiomers of beta-thymidine. Here we show that, after phosphorylation by HSV-TK, tritiated L-beta-thymidine (LT) is selectively retained inside the cells in vitro and in vivo. We used the in vivo accumulation of radioactive phosphorylated LT to image the HSV-TK-positive cells inside a transplantable murine brain tumour after inoculation of cells producing retroviruses carrying HSV-TK. Owing to their unnatural enantiomeric conformation, phosphorylated LT metabolites are very poorly processed by mammalian enzymes, thus leading to increased cellular retention and minimal toxicity. The ability to image cells expressing the HSV-TK gene by using radiolabelled LT, without damaging the cells accumulating the phosphorylated L-nucleoside, will be important to monitor the levels and spatial distribution of therapeutic vectors carrying HSV-TK.

Impaired 2',3'-dideoxy-3'-thiacytidine accumulation in T-lymphoblastoid cells as a mechanism of acquired resistance independent of multidrug resistant protein 4 with a possible role for ATP-binding cassette C11.

Cellular factors may contribute to the decreased efficacy of chemotherapy in HIV infection. Indeed, prolonged treatment with nucleoside analogues, such as azidothymidine (AZT), 2',3'-deoxycytidine or 9-(2-phosphonylmethoxyethyl)adenine, induces cellular resistance. We have developed a human T lymphoblastoid cell line (CEM 3TC) that is selectively resistant to the antiproliferative effect of 2',3'-dideoxy-3'-thiacytidine (3TC) because the CEM 3TC cells were equally sensitive to AZT, as well as the antimitotic agent, vinblastine. The anti-retroviral activity of 3TC against HIV-1 was also severely impaired in the CEM 3TC cells. Despite similar deoxycytidine kinase activity and unchanged uptake of nucleosides such as AZT and 2'-deoxycytidine, CEM 3TC had profoundly impaired 3TC accumulation. Further studies indicated that CEM 3TC retained much less 3TC. However, despite a small overexpression of multidrug resistance protein (MRP) 4, additional studies with cells specifically engineered to overexpress MRP4 demonstrated there was no impact on either 3TC accumulation or efflux. Finally, an increased expression of the MRP5 homologue, ATP-binding cassette C11 (ABCC11) was observed in the CEM 3TC cells. We speculate that the decreased 3TC accumulation in the CEM 3TC might be due to the upregulation of ABCC11.

Synthesis and in vitro activity of D- and L-enantiomers of 5-(trifluoromethyl)uracil nucleoside derivatives.

Recently, beta-L-nucleoside analogues have emerged as a new class of sugar modified nucleosides with potential antiviral and/or antitumoral activity. As a part of our ongoing research on this topic, we decided to synthesize 5-CF3-beta-L-dUrd (7), the hitherto unknown L-enantiomer of Trifluridine, an antiherpetic drug approved by FDA but only used in topical applications due to concomitant cytotoxicity. 5-CF3-beta-L-dUrd (7) as well as some other related L-nucleoside derivatives were stereospecifically prepared and tested in vitro against viral (HSV-1 and HSV-2) and human thymidine kinases (TK).

5-(Trifluoromethyl)-beta-l-2'-deoxyuridine, the L-enantiomer of trifluorothymidine: stereospecific synthesis and antiherpetic evaluations.

As a part of our ongoing work on beta-L-nucleoside analogues as potential antiviral drugs, we have synthesized 5-(trifluoromethyl)-beta-L-2'-deoxyuridine (L-TFT), the hitherto unknown L-enantiomer of trifluorothymidine (CF(3)dUrd, TFT). We have also studied the effect of L-TFT on human and herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 1 and 2 thymidine kinases, and human thymidine phosphorylase, as well as its anti-HSV-1 and anti-HSV-2 activities in cell cultures. L-TFT has been found: (i) to inhibit HSV-1 TK with activity comparable to TFT, with no effect on human TK, (ii) to be phosphorylated by the viral enzyme with similar efficiency to TFT, (iii) to be resistant, in contrast to TFT, to hydrolysis by human thymidine phosphorylase. Unfortunately, when evaluated in cell cultures, L-TFT did not show any anti-HSV-1 and anti-HSV-2 activities.

Thymidine phosphorylase: a two-face Janus in anticancer chemotherapy.

Several cytokines and growth factors modulate angiogenesis through a fine tuned paracrine or autocrine mode of action. Among them is plateled-derived endothelial cell growth factor (PD-ECGF), which is highly is expressed in tumors, and is angiogenic by stimulation of endothelial cell migration. Studies have shown that PD-ECGF is identical to the well known enzyme thymidine phosphorylase (TP), which is involved in thymidine metabolism and homeostasis. Interestingly, PD-ECGF plays an angiogenic role as a result of its TP enzyme activity. In light of these findings, PD-ECGF/TP should not be considered a true growth factor, and its PD-ECGF name is now actually a misnomer. Recently, TP activity was thought of as an interesting potential two-face target for controling tumor-dependent angiogenesis. In fact, on one hand, its high levels of expression in tumors compared to non-neoplastic regions, and its broad substrate specificity suggested that TP could be used as an enzymatic tool to locally activate anticancer nucleoside bases or base analogs. On the other hand, its enzyme-dependent angiogenic activity engendered the search for specific inhibitors to reduce TP-dependent angiogenesis. This review will describe TP, its activity, its possible mechanisms of action and its role in angiogenesis. Particular attention will be focused on the design and biological characterization of novel TP inhibitors which recently showed promising anticancer activity.

Anti-(herpes simplex virus) activity of 4'-thio-2'-deoxyuridines: a biochemical investigation for viral and cellular target enzymes.

The antiviral activity of several nucleoside analogues is often limited by their rapid degradation by pyrimidine nucleoside phosphorylases. In an attempt to avoid this degradation, several modified nucleosides have been synthesized. A series of 4'-thio-2'-deoxyuridines exhibits an anti-[herpes simplex virus (HSV)] activity significantly higher (20-600 times) than that shown by the corresponding 4'-oxy counterpart. We investigated the mode of action of these compounds and we found that: (i) several 4'-thio-2'-deoxyuridines are phosphorylated to the mono- and di-phosphates by HSV-1 thymidine kinase (TK) more efficiently than their corresponding 4'-oxy counterpart; (ii) both are inhibitors of cellular thymidylate synthase; (iii) 4'-thio-2'-deoxyuridines are resistant to phosphorolysis by human thymidine phosphorylase; (iv) both 4'-oxy- and 4'-thio-2'-deoxyuridines are phosphorylated to deoxyribonucleotide triphosphate in HSV-1-infected cells and are incorporated into viral DNA; (v) 4'-thio-2'-deoxyuridines are better inhibitors than their 4'-oxy counterparts of [(3)H]thymidine incorporation in HSV-1-infected cells; (vi) 4'-thio-2'-deoxyuridines are not recognized by HSV-1 and human uracil-DNA glycosylases. Our data suggest that 4'-thio-2'-deoxyuridines, resistant to pyrimidine phosphorylase, can be preferentially or selectively phosphorylated by viral TK in HSV-infected cells, where they are further converted into triphosphate by cellular nucleotide kinases. Once incorporated into viral DNA, they are better inhibitors of viral DNA synthesis than their corresponding 4'-oxy counterpart, either because they are not recognized, and thus not removed, by viral uracil-DNA glycosylase, or because they preferentially interfere with viral DNA polymerase.

Novel nonsubstrate inhibitors of human thymidine phosphorylase, a potential target for tumor-dependent angiogenesis.

Thymidine phosphorylase/platelet-derived endothelial cell growth factor (TP/PD-ECGF) is an enzyme involved in thymidine metabolism and homeostasis, and its catalytic activity appears to play an important role in angiogenesis. Here we describe the cloning and expression of a His-tagged human TP/PD-ECGF and its assay with uracil and thymine analogues. We present the design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of novel 6-(phenylalkylamino)uracil derivatives which, at micromolar concentrations, inhibit both catabolic and anabolic reactions of human TP in vitro. These base analogues are not converted by the enzyme into the nucleoside form, thus representing pure nonsubstrate inhibitors of the enzyme.

Synthesis and molecular modeling of novel HSV1 uracil-DNA glycosylase inhibitors.

In a recent paper the first selective inhibitors of HSV1 uracil-DNA glycosylase (UDG) acting in the micromolar range have been reported. A 28.5 kDa catalytic fragment of HSV1 UDG has been crystallized in the presence of uracil, and the structure was recently solved. Starting with the optimized model of binding between 6-(4'-n-octylanilino)uracil (octAU) and UDG some new derivatives have been predicted to be active. In vitro studies with the novel synthetized compounds confirm the plausibility of the model and define the structure features for UDG inhibitors.

Interaction of beta-L-adenosine-5'-triphosphate (L-ATP) with human deoxycytidine kinase, human DNA primase and T4 DNA ligase: does the chance direct enzymatic enantioselectivity?

We demonstrate that L-ATP: 1) as well as its natural D-enantiomer, acts as a phosphate donor in the reaction catalysed by human deoxycytidine kinase; 2) inhibits human DNA-primase and the ATP-dependent T4 DNA ligase. Thus, the lack of enantioselectivity of the enzymes is more frequent than it was believed a few years ago and we suggest that it would depend on chance more than on an evolutionary strategy.

Molecular modeling and synthesis of inhibitors of herpes simplex virus type 1 uracil-DNA glycosylase.

We recently reported the properties of the first selective inhibitors of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV1) uracil-DNA glycosylase (UDG), an enzyme of DNA repair that has been proposed to be required for reactivation of the virus from latency. 6-(4-Octylanilino)uracil (octAU) was the most potent inhibitor among a series of 6-(4-alkylanilino)uracils, acting in the micromolar range and without effect against human UDG. A 28.5-kDa catalytic fragment of HSV1 UDG has been crystallized in the presence of uracil, and the structure was recently solved. We have used the coordinates of this structure in order to study interaction of our inhibitors with the enzyme, and a model of binding between octAU and UDG has been derived. Starting with the optimized model, the activity of several octAU analogues was predicted, and the values compared favorably with experimental results found for the synthetic compounds. Several hydrophilic derivatives were predicted and found to be active as UDG inhibitors. These compounds will be useful to determine if UDG, like the viral thymidine kinase, is required for reactivation of HSV1 from latency in nerve cells.

L-ATP is recognized by some cellular and viral enzymes: does chance drive enzymic enantioselectivity?

We demonstrate that l-ATP is recognized by some enzymes that are involved in the synthesis of nucleotides and nucleic acids. l-ATP, as well as its natural d-enantiomer, acts as a phosphate donor in the reaction catalysed by human deoxycytidine kinase, whereas it is not recognized by either enantioselective human thymidine kinase or non-enantioselective herpes virus thymidine kinase. l-ATP strongly inhibits (Ki 80 microM) the synthesis of RNA primers catalysed by DNA primase associated with human DNA polymerase alpha, whereas RNA synthesis catalysed by Escherichia coli RNA polymerase is completely unaffected. Moreover, l-ATP competitively inhibits ATP-dependent T4 DNA ligase (Ki 25 microM), suggesting that it interacts with the ATP-binding site of the enzyme. Kinetic studies demonstrated that l-ATP cannot be used as a cofactor in the ligase-catalysed joining reaction. On the other hand, l-AMP is used by T4 DNA ligase to catalyse the reverse reaction, even though a high level of intermediate circular nicked DNA molecules accumulates. Our results suggest that a lack of enantioselectivity of enzymes is more common than was believed a few years ago, and, given the absence of selective constraints against l-nucleosides in Nature, this may depend on chance more than on evolutionary strategy.

Some 6-aza-5-substituted-2'-deoxyuridines show potent and selective inhibition of herpes simplex virus type 1 thymidine kinase.

The synthesis and X-ray crystal structures of a series of 5-substituted-6-aza-2'-deoxyuridines is reported. These nucleoside analogues inhibit the phosphorylation of thymidine by HSV-1 TK but have no effect on the corresponding human enzyme. Detailed examination of one analogue proves it to be a competitive inhibitor of thymidine with a Ki of 0.34 microM and is a very poor substrate. The analogues are not substrates for the enzyme and also do not inhibit the degradation of thymidine by thymidine phosphorylase. Molecular modelling showed that the inhibitors fit well in the active site of HSV-1 TK, provided the conformation of the sugar moiety is the same for thymidine in the complex.

Trichomonas vaginalis thymidine kinase: purification, characterization and search for inhibitors.

We report that a thymidine kinase (TK) activity is present in Trichomonas vaginalis and can be separated from the deoxyribonucleoside phosphotransferase. T. vaginalis TK, purified 11200-fold to apparent homogeneity, has a molecular mass of 31500 Da. It phosphorylates not only thymidine (Km 0.18 microM) but also deoxycytidine (Km 0.88 microM) and deoxyuridine (Km 0.14 microM). In contrast with T. vaginalis deoxyribonucleoside phosphotransferase, the TK activity is strongly inhibited by novel deoxyuridine analogues such as 5-methyl-4'-thio-2'-deoxyuridine (MTdU) (Ki 20 nM) and 5-iodo-4'-thio-2'-deoxyuridine (ITdU) (Ki 24 nM). MTdU and ITdU are phosphorylated by T. vaginalis TK in vitro. In vivo they inhibit [3H]thymidine incorporation in T. vaginalis cultured cells and T. vaginalis growth (IC50 7.5 and 24 microM respectively; minimal lethal dose 100 microM). Thus the TK inhibitors described here demonstrate the key role of T. vaginalis TK for protozoal growth and viability and indicate TK as a new target for the design of antitrichomonal drugs.

Molecular basis for the antiviral and anticancer activities of unnatural L-beta-nucleosides.

As a general rule, enzymes act on only one enantiomer of a chiral substrate and only one of the enantiomeric forms of a chiral molecule may bind effectively at the catalytic site, displaying biological activity. In recent years, some exceptions have been found among viral and cellular enzymes involved in the synthesis of deoxynucleoside triphosphates and in their polymerisation into DNA. Examples are: herpes virus thymidine kinases, cellular deoxycytidine kinase and deoxynucleotide kinases, human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) reverse transcriptase, hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA polymerase and, to a lesser extent, some cellular DNA polymerases. The lack of enantioselectivity allows herpes simplex virus (HSV) thymidine kinase and cellular deoxycytidine kinase to phosphorylate the unnatural L-beta-enantiomers of D-thymidine and D-deoxycytidine, respectively, or of their analogues to monophosphate. This phosphorylation represents the first and often the rate-limiting step of their activation to triphosphates. The L-triphosphates can then exert antiviral (anti-HSV, anti-Human cytomegalovirus, anti-HIV-1, anti-HBV) and anticancer activities. Although only one L-nucleoside (3TC) has so far gained United States of America Food and Drug Administration (USA FDA) approval for clinical use against HIV-1, other L-enantiomers of nucleoside analogues, which have shown antiviral or anticancer activity in cell cultures are in clinical trials. Their resistance to enantioselective enzymes, such as thymidine phosphorylase, thymidylate synthase, (deoxy)-cytidine and dCMP deaminases, and their lower affinity for the mitochondrial thymidine kinase can ensure a higher selectivity and lower cytotoxicity with respect to those exerted by their corresponding natural D-enantiomers and might be exploited to solve problems arising during chemotherapy, such as metabolic inactivation, cytotoxicity and drug-resistance.

Lack of enantiospecificity of human 2'-deoxycytidine kinase: relevance for the activation of beta-L-deoxycytidine analogs as antineoplastic and antiviral agents.

We demonstrate that human 2'-deoxycytidine kinase (dCK) is a nonenantioselective enzyme because it phosphorylates beta-D-2'-deoxycytidine (D-dCyd), the natural substrate, and beta-L-2'-deoxycytidine (L-dCyd), its enantiomer, with the same efficiency. Kinetic studies showed that L-dCyd is a competitive inhibitor of the phosphorylation of D-dCyd with a Kl value of 0.12 microM, which is lower than the K(m) value for D-dCyd (1,2 microM). Chemical modifications of either the base or the pentose ring strongly decrease the inhibitory potency of L-dCyd, L-dCyd is resistant to cytidine deaminase and competes in cell cultures with the natural D-dCyd as substrate for dCK, thus reducing the incorporation of exogenous [3H]dCyd into DNA. L-dCyd had no effect on the pool of dTTP deriving from the salvage or from the de novo synthesis, does not inhibit short term RNA and protein syntheses, and shows little or no cytotoxicity. Our results indicate a catalytic similarity between human dCK and herpetic thymidine kinases, enzymes that also lack stereospecificity. This functional analogy underlines the potential role of dCK as activator of L-deoxycytidine analogs as antiviral and antineoplastic agents and lends support to the hypothesis that herpesvirus thymidine kinase might have evolved from a captured cellular dCK gene, developing the ability to phosphorylate thymidine and retaining that to phosphorylate deoxycytidine.

Relaxed enantioselectivity of human mitochondrial thymidine kinase and chemotherapeutic uses of L-nucleoside analogues.

Our discovery that Herpes virus thymidine kinase (TK) and cellular deoxycytidine kinase lack enantioselectivity, being able to phosphorylate both D- and L-enantiomers of the substrate, suggested the use of unnatural L-nucleoside analogues as antiviral drugs (Herpes, hepatitis and immunodeficiency viruses). Several L-nucleoside analogues have displayed a short-term cytotoxicity much lower than their corresponding D-counterpart. Since the delayed cytotoxicity of a drug often depends on its effects on mitochondrial metabolism, we have investigated the degree of enantioselectivity of human mitochondrial thymidine kinase (mt-TK). We demonstrate that mt-TK does not show an absolute enantioselectivity, being able to recognize, although with lower efficiency, the L-enantiomers of thymidine, deoxycytidine and modified deoxyuridines, such as (E)-5-(2-bromovinyl)-2'-deoxyuridine and 5-iodo-2'-deoxyuridine. Interestingly, the reported negative co-operativity of mt-TK phosphorylating beta-D-2'-deoxythymidine (D-Thd), disappears when the deoxyribose moiety has the inverted configuration, resulting in the preferential phosphorylation of d-Thd even in the presence of high concentrations of the L-enantiomer. This, coupled with the higher Km for beta-L-2'-deoxythymidine (L-Thd), makes mt-TK resistant to high concentrations of L-Thd and L-Thd analogues, minimizing the mitochondria-dependent delayed cytotoxicity that might be caused by the administration of L-nucleoside analogues as antivirals.

Further study of the mechanism underlying the cellular resistance to AZT.

It has previously been shown that the lymphoblastoid cell line CEM, when propagated in the presence of increasing concentrations of 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine, became defective in thymidine kinase activity and resistant to the cytostatic and antiviral activities of AZT. Here we describe the characterization of this cell line (CEMAZT), which revealed that: (i) the defect in TK activity is stable; (ii) TK specific mRNA levels are lower than in the parental line; (iii) the defect of TK activity may be sufficient to produce a lower amount of AZTDP, independently of the activity of thymidylate kinase which does not seem to be defective. Taken together these findings indicate that in CEMAZT the lack of inhibition by AZT may depend only on the defect of TK activity. Also, in preliminary studies of lymphocytes from AZT-treated and untreated patients we observed a metabolic behaviour comparable to that described for CEMAZT and CEM cells.