Doxorubicin prodrugs with reduced cytotoxicity suited for tumour-specific activation.

The three new hydrophilic prodrugs 2, 3 and 4 have been prepared from methyl (4-hydroxymethyl-2-nitrophenyl 2,3,4-tri-O-acetyl-beta-D-glucopyranosid)uronate (5) and doxorubicin. Their low cytotoxicity, efficient release of doxorubicin after hydrolysis by beta-D-glucuronidase, and in the cases of 2 and 3 stability at pH 7.2 fulfil the preliminary requirement for their use in antibody-directed enzyme prodrug therapy or prodrug monotherapy.

Substance P, calcitonin gene-related peptide, and capsaicin release serotonin from cerebrovascular mast cells.

Rabbit leptomeningeal arteries contain granular cells resembling mast cells that frequently contact autonomic and sensory nerve profiles. In the present in vitro study, we determined whether these cells could be stimulated by substance P (SP) and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), which are stored and released by sensory C fibers. Immunohistochemistry of the middle cerebral artery showed that 5-HT was stored only in mast cell-like granules. This pool of 5-HT decreased in a dose-dependent manner when exogenous SP and CGRP were added to the incubation solution or when endogenous neuropeptides were released from nerve terminals by capsaicin. The simultaneous administration of CGRP and SP induced a dramatic exocytosis and a 5-HT release significantly greater than the sum of the individual effects of the two neuropeptides. We conclude that, as in classical connective tissue mast cells, the amine content of these granular cells can be released by a degranulation process induced by neuropeptides. The effects of capsaicin suggest that this phenomenon can be triggered by axon reflex of C fibers. The data also provide the first evidence of a synergistic action of SP and CGRP on mast cell degranulation.

Characterization of binding sites for VIP-related peptides and activation of adenylate cyclase in developing pancreas.

HPLC-purified 125I-labeled vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) bound in a specific, saturable, and reversible manner to pancreatic plasma membranes isolated from newborn calves, from milk-fed calves at 28 and 119 days, and from weaned calves at 119 days. A series of VIP analogues, including pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP), displaced 125I-VIP binding and activated adenylate cyclase in the same order of relative potency: PACAP-38 greater than helodermin greater than VIP, PACAP-27 greater than PHM (human peptide with NH2-terminal histidine and COOH-terminal methionine amide). At maximally effective concentrations, these five peptides produced the same two- to threefold increase of adenylate cyclase activity in pancreatic membranes from newborn and 28-day-old calves, and fourfold in ruminant or preruminant animals at 119 days. The activation constant for PACAP-38 ranged from 0.1 to 0.34 nM throughout the postnatal development. Helospectin I and II were three times less potent than VIP in inhibiting 125I-VIP binding. At concentrations up to 0.1 microM, secretin, rat and human growth hormone-releasing factors, glucagon, oxyntomodulin, the truncated form of glucagon-like peptide-1 lacking the 6 NH2-terminal amino acid sequence (TGLP-1), GLP-2, gastric inhibitory peptide, gastrin, CCK, and insulin had no effect on binding. Scatchard plots from 28- and 119-day-old calves were compatible with the presence of two classes of 125I-VIP binding sites: one with a high affinity for VIP and a low binding capacity (Kd = 0.11-0.4 nM, Bmax = 66-174 fmol/mg protein) and the other with a low affinity and high binding capacity. At birth, only one class of binding sites was observed (Kd = 0.4 nM, Bmax = 858 fmol/mg protein). The covalently cross-linked PACAP-preferring 125I-VIP binding site is a glycoprotein of 55 kDa with higher sensitivity to PACAP vs. helodermin and VIP. Our results suggest that calf pancreatic functions might be regulated at an early stage of postnatal development by PACAP receptors linked to cAMP generation.

Cytotoxicity of D-penicillamine in association with several heavy metals against cultured rabbit articular chondrocytes.

The potentiation or antagonistic effects of Cu, Hg, Pb and Cd salts in the presence of a long-acting anti-rheumatic drug, D-penicillamine (D.P.) were studied on cultured chondrocytes. CuSO(4) (10(-4)M), HgCl(2) (10(-5)M), Pb(CH(3)COO)(2) (10(-3)M) and D.P. (10(-3)M) when used alone caused a small decrease in cell proliferation. The addition of D.P. with Cu, Hg or Pb salts resulted in a marked increase in the extent of growth inhibition. In contrast, CdCl(2) (10(-5)M) produced an important growth inhibitory effect, and D.P. antagonized CdCl(2) action. The CuSO(4) D.P. toxicity was probably due to production of H(2)O(2) in situ. To verify this hypothesis, catalase, responsible for H(2)O(2) metabolism was used, and was found to partially reverse the inhibitory effect of CuSO(4)-D.P.

[Comparative study, in the Allium test, of the cytotoxicity of tubulosine and of 6 synthetized pseudo-tubulosines]. / Etude comparative à l'aide du test Allium de la cytotoxicité de la tubulosine et de six pseudotubulosines de synthèse.

Comparing cytotoxicity of tubulosine and of six newly synthesized pseudo-tubulosines in the Allium test, we have characterized all the current features of protein inhibition. Nevertheless cytotoxicity of the six pseudotubulosines is much weaker. Furthermore, "floating poles anaphasis", a disturbance characteristic of the action of tubulosine, has been found with a lesser intensity with the other compounds.

[Partial disorganization of the anaphasic segregation of chromosomes in plant cells: combined actions of griseofulvin, producer of pluripolar anaphases and 2 ipecac alkaloids, producers of floating pole anaphases]. / Désorganisation partielle de la ségrégation anaphasique des chromosomes dans la cellule végétale: actions combinées de la griséofulvine, productrice d'anaphases pluripolaires, et de deux alcaloïdes de l'ipéca, producteurs d'anaphases à pôles flottants.

Anaphasis may be slightly checked by various treatments which however result in a normal chromosomic separation. Griseofulvin exerts a direct though partial influence on the mitotic apparatus, which entails "pluripolar anaphasis"; on the other hand Ipecac alkaloïds act indirectly and produce "floating poles anaphases". Treatments combining griseofulvin with cepheline or tubulosine show that there is never any synergy between the two processes. These results support our hypothesis that floating poles anaphases are not a sign of slight C-mitotic action but only come from a lag between the appearance/disappearance of microtubules and that of chromosomes during anaphasis.

[Kinetic study of the accumulation of anaphasic abnormalities in a synchronized population of meristematic root cells of Allium sativum L]. / Etude cinétique de l'accumulation d'anomalies anaphasiques dans une population synchronisée de cellules méristématiques radiculaires d'Allium sativum L.

A population of meristematic root cells of Allium sativum L. is previously synchronized thanks to Hydroxyurea. When it reaches mitosis, this population undergoes the action of different antimetabolic drugs which slightly check the normal operating of the mitotic spindle without preventing chromosomic separation. In such conditions we can obtain from 30 to 50 slightly altered anaphasic cells out of 1000 cells. This is enough to allow us to contemplate the electronic microscope study of these abnormalities.