Chiral effects in adrenocorticolytic action of o,p'-DDD (mitotane) in human adrenal cells.

Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare malignant disease with poor prognosis. The main pharmacological choice, o,p'-DDD (mitotane), produces severe adverse effects. Since o,p'-DDD is a chiral molecule and stereoisomers frequently possess different pharmacokinetic and/or pharmacodynamic properties, we isolated the two o,p'-DDD enantiomers, (R)-(+)-o,p'-DDD and (S)-(-)-o,p'-DDD, and determined their absolute structures. The effects of each enantiomer on cell viability and on cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) secretion in the human adrenocortical cell line H295R were assessed. We also assayed the o,p'-DDD racemate and the m,p'- and p,p'-isomers. The results show small but statistically significant differences in activity of the o,p'-DDD enantiomers for all parameters tested. The three DDD isomers were equally potent in decreasing cell viability, but p,p'-DDD affected hormone secretion slightly less than the o,p'- and m,p'-isomers. The small chiral differences in direct effects on target cells alone do not warrant single enantiomer administration, but might reach importance in conjunction with possible stereochemical effects on pharmacokinetic processes in vivo.

Soluble pilin of Neisseria gonorrhoeae interacts with human target cells and tissue.

Pili of Neisseria gonorrhoeae are phase-variable surface structures that mediate adherence to host target cells. Each pilus is composed of thousands of major pilus subunits, pilins, pilus-associated protein PilC, and possibly other components. Piliated and nonpiliated gonococcal clones may secrete a soluble smaller pilin (S-pilin) that is cleaved after amino acid 39 of the mature pilin protein. Here, purified S-pilin was found to migrate as a 61- to 64-kDa double band on nondenaturing gels, suggesting the formation of tetrameric S-pilin proteins with two isomeric forms. In situ studies of binding to formalin-fixed tissue sections demonstrated the binding of S-pilin to human tissue but not to tissue from mouse or rat organs, showing the presence of a human-specific receptor-binding domain within the pilin polypeptide. Pretreatment of the target tissues with proteinase K decreased gonococcal binding dramatically, whereas pretreatment with neuraminidase and meta-periodate, which cleave carbon-carbon linkages between vicinal hydroxyl groups in carbohydrates, did not affect gonococcal binding. In overlay assays, purified S-pilin bound to a band with a migration pattern and size similar to those of CD46, a cellular pilus receptor. Further, binding of N. gonorrhoeae to target cells and tissues could be blocked by both CD46 antibodies and purified S-pilin. These data argue that S-pilin interacts with a protein domain(s) of the CD46 receptor on human cells.