Structure-activity relationship study of mesyl and busyl phosphoramidate antisense oligonucleotides for unaided and PSMA-mediated uptake into prostate cancer cells.

Phosphorothioate (PS) group is a key component of a majority of FDA approved oligonucleotide drugs that increase stability to nucleases whilst maintaining interactions with many proteins, including RNase H in the case of antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs). At the same time, uniform PS modification increases nonspecific protein binding that can trigger toxicity and pro-inflammatory effects, so discovery and characterization of alternative phosphate mimics for RNA therapeutics is an actual task. Here we evaluated the effects of the introduction of several N-alkane sulfonyl phosphoramidate groups such as mesyl (methanesulfonyl) or busyl (1-butanesulfonyl) phosphoramidates into gapmer ASOs on the efficiency and pattern of RNase H cleavage, cellular uptake in vitro, and intracellular localization. Using Malat1 lncRNA as a target, we have identified patterns of mesyl or busyl modifications in the ASOs for optimal knockdown in vitro. Combination of the PSMA ligand-mediated delivery with optimized mesyl and busyl ASOs resulted in the efficient target depletion in the prostate cancer cells. Our study demonstrated that other N-alkanesulfonyl phosphoramidate groups apart from a known mesyl phosphoramidate can serve as an essential component of mixed backbone gapmer ASOs to reduce drawbacks of uniformly PS-modified gapmers, and deserve further investigation in RNA therapeutics.

Correction: New ferrocene-based 2-thio-imidazol-4-ones and their copper complexes. Synthesis and cytotoxicity.

Correction for 'New ferrocene-based 2-thio-imidazol-4-ones and their copper complexes. Synthesis and cytotoxicity' by D. A. Guk et al., Dalton Trans., 2018, DOI: 10.1039/c8dt03164a.

New ferrocene-based 2-thio-imidazol-4-ones and their copper complexes. Synthesis and cytotoxicity.

Synthesis, characterization (HRMS, NMR, EPR, XANES, UV-Vis spectroscopy, and electrochemistry), DNA and BSA binding and in vitro biological screening of two new ferrocene-incorporated thiohydantoin derivatives (5 and 6) and their copper coordination compounds are reported. The ferrocene-based thiohydantoin derivatives were prepared by copper-catalyzed azide alkyne cycloaddition reactions between alkynyl ferrocenes and 5-(Z)-3-(2-azidoethyl)-2-(methylthio)-5-(pyridin-2-ylmethylene)-1H-imidazol-4H-one. Alkynyl ferrocenes necessary for these syntheses were prepared by new procedures. Intermolecular redox reactions between the ferrocene fragment and copper(+2) coordinated ions were studied by different methods to determine the mechanism and kinetic constants of redox processes. Ferrocene-containing imidazolones (5 and 6) and their copper complexes were also tested for their in vitro cytotoxic activity against MCF-7 and A-549 carcinoma cells, and also against the noncancerous cell line Hek-293. The results showed modest cytotoxicity against the subjected cancer cell line compared with cisplatin. The ability of the obtained compounds to cause DNA degradation and cell apoptosis was investigated, and the distribution of cytosol/pellets was studied by AAS.

Nanohybride Materials Based on Magnetite-Gold Nanoparticles for Diagnostics of Prostate Cancer: Synthesis and In Vitro Testing.

We synthesized a fluorescence conjugate and modified magnetite-gold nanoparticles carrying prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA) as the ligand. Analysis of their binding to human prostate cancer cell lines PC-3 (PSMA-) and LNCaP (PSMA+) showed selective interaction of the synthesized conjugate and modified nanoparticles with LNCaP cells. These findings suggest that these nanoparticles can be used in tissue-specific magnetic-resonance imaging.