Low molecular thiols, pH and O2 modulate H2S-induced S-nitrosoglutathione decomposition - •NO release.

We studied the involvement of O2, pH and low molecular thiols in H2S-induced decomposition of S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO). The GSNO decomposition - •NO release was evaluated by UV-VIS spectroscopy and Griess assay. The H2S donor Na2S was used. O2 slightly increased, but was not necessary for the H2S-induced GSNO decomposition. The rate of GSNO decomposition depended on pH; the maximum rate was observed at pH 7.4-8.0, and this decreased with lowering pH (6.4-4.5) as well as with increasing pH at 9.0-12.0. H2S-induced GSNO decomposition was slowed by the presence of other thiols, such as L-cysteine (Cys), N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) and L-glutathione (GSH), but not in the presence of L-methionine (Met) or oxidized glutathione (GSSG). In sharp contrast, at pH 6.0, H2S-induced GSNO decomposition was negligible, yet the presence of Cys, NAC and GSH induced the H2S-driven GSNO decomposition (whilst Met and GSSG were inactive). In conclusion we postulate an involvement of low molecular thiols and pH in •NO signaling, by modulating the interactions of H2S with nitroso compounds, and hence in part they also appear to control H2S-triggered •NO release. The interaction of H2S and/or its derivatives with the thiol group may be responsible for the observed effects.

Why the xanthine derivatives are used to study of P-glycoprotein-mediated multidrug resistance in L1210/VCR line cells.

There is generally well known that various xanthines occur frequently in natural products, e.g. black coffee, black tea, green tea, natural dyes etc. Xanthine molecules are good tolerated and metabolised by organisms. Moreover, natural xanthines and/or sythesized xanthines may recall a lot positive affects (hemorheologic properties, anti-inflammatory properties, tracheal smooth muscle relaxant, positive chronotropic and central nervous system-stimulating, etc.) and may even induce a quantity of changes on the molecular level (inhibition of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases, inhibition of the synthesis of tumor necrosis factor (TNF-alpha), cellular Ca(2+) homeostasis, etc.). In our previous paper we showed that some xanthine derivatives (pentoxifylline and its derivatives) depress P-glycoprotein (P-gp) mediated multidrug resistance of the mouse leukemic cells. Other authors, first of all Sadzuka and co-workers, confirm this usefulness of long side substituted xanthines as biochemical modulators. However, the mechanism of molecular action of xanthine derivatives has not been clarified. One of the possible ways to chemosensitize the cancer cells is direct competiting in defence mechanism - inhibition of efflux pump (P-gp). Interaction of xanthine derivatives with binding site of P-gp is a question which could be solved by experiment; although, molecular modelling may clear up this matter. But, each dynamic and static program for molecular simulation of P-gp action is dividing on input variable, considering mechanistic view of insight drug transport.

Reversal of P-glycoprotein mediated vincristine resistance of L1210/VCR cells by analogues of pentoxifylline. A QSAR study.

In our previous papers we described the ability of methylxanthine pentoxifylline (PTX) to depress the P-glycoprotein (P-gp) mediated multidrug resistance (MDR) of the mouse leukemic cell line L1210/VCR. Other methylxanthines like caffeine and theophylline were found to be ineffective in this respect. In the present paper we have analysed the capability of 25 methylxanthines to depress MDR of L1210/VCR cells. These methylxanthines structurally differ in substituents located in positions N1, N3, N7 and C8. The results indicate that for an effective reversal of P-gp mediated MDR of our cells the existence of a longer polar substituent in the position N1 plays a crucial role. The elongation of the substituent in the positions N3 and N7 (from methyl to propyl) increases and in the position C8 (from H to propyl) decreases the efficacy of xanthines to reverse the vincristine resistance of L1210/VCR cells. The multiple linear regression for effectiveness of methylxanthines in reversal of P-gp mediated MDR of L1210/VCR cells (expressed as respective IC(50r) values) has been computed, with molar weight: M(w), molar volume: V(M), molar refractivity: R(M), crystal density: d and partition coefficient n-octanol/water: logP as descriptors. A high intercorrelation of M(W), V(M) and R(M) was found for the tested group of methylxanthines indicating that only one of these parameters is necessary for testing a potential correlation. The best fit in the multiple linear regression was obtained for R(M) applied together with d and logP and resulted in a QSAR model given by the following equation: IC(50r)=-[(32.3+/-7.2)x10(-3)xR(M)]+[(10.1+/-2.3)xd]+[(0.74+/-0.10)xlogP]-[10.5+/-3.2]. Model revealed that: (i) the molar refractivity influences the effectiveness of xanthine positively; (ii) the crystal density and partition coefficient influence the MDR reversal effectiveness of xanthine negatively.