Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of novel spin-labeled derivatives of podophyllotoxin.

In order to design new antitumor drugs and study the relationship between antitumor and anti-oxidative activity of spin-labeled derivatives of podophyllotoxin, five novel pyrroline spin-labeled 4beta-N-substituted-amino acid-4'-O-demethylepipodophyllotoxin compounds (11a-e) (Scheme 2) were synthesized and evaluated. Their cytotoxicity against three tumor cell lines (human lung carcinoma A-549, human leukemia cell HL-60 and multiple myeloma RPMI-8226) has been evaluated using a MTT-based assay in vitro. Also, we determined malondialdehyde (MDA) in liver and kidney homogenate of SD rats by the TBA method. The five new compounds showed either superior or comparable inhibitory activity against A-549, HL-60 and RPMI-8226 cell lines compared with etoposide (VP-16, 2), and all the tested compounds showed more significant antioxidant activities than VP-16. Furthermore, the partition coefficients were measured and preliminary structure-activity relationships are presented.

L-carnitine inhibits apoptotic DNA fragmentation induced by a new spin-labeled derivative of podophyllotoxin via caspase-3 in Raji cells.

L-carnitine (beta-hydroxy-trimethylaminobutyric acid) plays an essential metabolic role that consists of transferring the long chain fatty acids through the mitochondrial barrier, thus allowing their energy-yielding oxidation. GP7 (4-[4''-(2'', 2'', 6'', 6''-tetramethyl-l''-piperidinyloxy) amino] -4'-demethyl-epipodophyllotoxin) is a new spin-labeled derivative of podophyllotoxin semi-synthesized by our university. In this study, we examined the activity of L-carnitine in GP7-induced apoptosis in Burkitt's lymphoma cell line, Raji. GP7 induced time- and dose-dependent apoptotic DNA fragmentation accompanied by caspase-3 activation in Raji cells, and the kinetics of caspase-3 activation induced by GP7 was well correlated with that of apoptotic DNA fragmentation. L-carnitine treatment prevented GP7-induced caspase-3 activation, suppressed caspase-3 cleavage and abrogated GP7-induced apoptotic DNA fragmentation in Raji cells. Our findings suggest that L-carnitine is a potent anti-apoptotic agent to human lymphoma cells and may exert its anti-apoptotic effect via inhibition of caspase-3 activity in GP7-treated Raji cells.

GP7 can induce apoptotic DNA fragmentation of human leukemia cells through caspase-3-dependent and -independent pathways.

GP7 (4-[4"-(2",2",6",6"-tetramethyl-l"-piperidinyloxy)amino]-4'-demethyl epipodophyllotoxin), a new spin-labeled derivative of podophyllotoxin, is a promising anticancer drug of podophyllotoxin class. The primary effect of GP7 is the anticancer activity on transplanted mouse tumors and cultured tumor cells. However, its molecular mechanism of action is still obscure. In this study, we investigated the activity of GP7 to induce apoptosis in human leukemia HL-60 and Jurkat cells. Apoptosis was determined by detection of DNA fragmentation in agarose gel electrophoresis. GP7 induced apoptotic DNA fragmentation of HL-60 and Jurkat cells in time- and dose-dependent manner. We further investigated the activity of caspase-3 in GP7-induced apoptotic DNA fragmentation of HL-60 and Jurkat cells. GP7 also induced time- and dose-dependent caspase-3 activation in both cell lines, and the kinetics of caspase-3 activation induced by GP7 was well correlated with that of apoptotic DNA fragmentation. To determine the role of caspase-3 in GP7-induced apoptotic DNA fragmentation, we examined the effect of specific caspase-3 inhibitor, Ac-DEVD-CHO, on GP7-induced apoptotic DNA fragmentation. Ac-DEVD-CHO prevented GP7-induced caspase-3 activation in both HL-60 and Jurkat cells, however, it only inhibited GP7-induced apoptotic internucleosomal DNA fragmentation in HL-60 cells. We then employed L-carnitine to investigate the role of caspase-3 in GP7-induced apoptotic DNA fragmentation. L-carnitine treatment prevented GP7-induced caspase-3 activation in both cell lines in a dose-dependent manner. Similar to Ac-DEVD-CHO, L-carnitine only inhibited GP7-induced apoptotic internucleosomal DNA fragmentation in HL-60 cells. These findings suggest that GP7 exerts an anti-leukemic effect by both caspase-3-dependent and -independent apoptotic signaling pathways.

Ability of four potential topoisomerase II inhibitors to enhance the cytotoxicity of cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (II) in Chinese hamster ovary cells and in an epipodophyllotoxin-resistant subline.

Four drugs known to interact with topoisomerase II were assessed for their ability to enhance the cytotoxicity of cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II) (CDDP) in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell lines sensitive and resistant to VM-26. The combination treatments were analyzed by isobologram methodology. On 24 h exposure, there was no significant difference in the cytotoxicity of novobiocin or ciprofloxacin toward either cell line. The resistant cells were approximately 9-fold more resistant to 4'-(9-acridinylamino)methanesulfon-m-anisidide (m-AMSA) and approximately 170-fold more resistant to etoposide after a 24-h exposure. The combination of novobiocin and cisplatin produced greater than additive cell kill over the entire dose range of cisplatin tested in both cell lines. m-AMSA and CDDP produced cell kill that fell within the envelope of additivity. Etoposide and CDDP resulted in cytotoxicity that was slightly greater than additive at low CDDP concentrations and additive at the highest concentration of CDDP tested in the parental cell line and was slightly greater than additive in the resistant cell line. Ciprofloxacin and CDDP, like novobiocin, resulted in greater than additive cell kill in both cell lines. The enhancement of CDDP cytotoxicity by novobiocin that was seen in exponentially growing cells was lost in stationary-phase cultures. In these studies, novobiocin and, to a lesser degree, ciprofloxacin produced greater than additive cell kill in combination with CDDP in parental and epipodophyllotoxin-resistant CHO cells.