Edwin C. Chinje

Menadione-induced reactive oxygen species generation via redox cycling promotes apoptosis of murine pancreatic acinar cells

Oxidative stress may be an important determinant of the severity of acute pancreatitis. One-electron reduction of oxidants generates reactive oxygen species (ROS) via redox cycling, whereas two-electron detoxification, e.g. by NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase, does not. The actions of menadione on ROS production and cell fate were compared with those of a non-cycling analogue (2,4-dimethoxy-2-methylnaphthalene (DMN)) using real-time confocal microscopy of isolated perfused murine pancreatic acinar cells. Menadione generated ROS with a concomitant decrease of NAD(P)H, consistent with redox cycling. The elevation of ROS was prevented by the antioxidant N-acetyl-l-cysteine but not by the NADPH oxidase inhibitor diphenyliodonium. DMN produced no change in reactive oxygen species per se but significantly potentiated menadione-induced effects, probably via enhancement of one-electron reduction, since DMN was found to inhibit NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase detoxification. Menadione caused apoptosis of pancreatic acinar cells that was significantly potentiated by DMN, whereas DMN alone had no effect. Furthermore, bile acid (taurolithocholic acid 3-sulfate)-induced caspase activation was also greatly increased by DMN, whereas DMN had no effect per se. These results suggest that acute generation of ROS by menadione occurs via redox cycling, the net effect of which is induction of apoptotic pancreatic acinar cell death. Two-electron detoxifying enzymes such as NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase, which are elevated in pancreatitis, may provide protection against excessive ROS and exert an important role in determining acinar cell fate.

Overexpression of human NADPH:cytochrome c (P450) reductase confers enhanced sensitivity to both tirapazamine (SR 4233) and RSU 1069.

P450 reductase (NADPH: cytochrome c (P450) reductase, EC 1.6.2.4) plays an important role in the reductive activation of the bioreductive drug tirapazamine (SR4233). Thus, in a panel of human breast cancer cell lines, expression of P450 reductase correlated with both the hypoxic toxicity and the metabolism of tirapazamine [Patterson et al (1995) Br J Cancer 72: 1144-1150]. To examine this dependence in more detail, the MDA231 cell line, which has the lowest activity of P450 reductase in our breast cell line panel, was transfected with the human P450 reductase cDNA. Isolated clones expressed a 78-kDa protein, which was detected with anti-P450 reductase antibody, and were shown to have up to a 53-fold increase in activity of the enzyme. Using six stable transfected clones covering the 53-fold range of activity of P450 reductase, it was shown that the enzyme activity correlated directly with both hypoxic and aerobic toxicity of tirapazamine, and metabolism of the drug under hypoxic conditions. No metabolism was detected under aerobic conditions. For RSU1069, toxicity was also correlated with P450 reductase activity, but only under hypoxic conditions. Measurable activity of P450 reductase was found in a selection of 14 primary human breast tumours. Activity covered an 18-fold range, which was generally higher than that seen in cell lines but within the range of activity measured in the transfected clones. These results suggest that if breast tumours have significant areas of low oxygen tension, then they are likely to be highly sensitive to the cytotoxic action of tirapazamine and RSU 1069.

Importance of P450 reductase activity in determining sensitivity of breast tumour cells to the bioreductive drug, tirapazamine (SR 4233).

P450 reductase (NADPH:cytochrome P450 reductase, EC 1.6.2.4) is known to be important in the reductive activation of the benzotriazene-di-N-oxide tirapazamine (SR 4233). Using a panel of six human breast adenocarcinoma cell lines we have examined the relationship between P450 reductase activity and sensitivity to tirapazamine. The toxicity of tirapazamine was found to correlate strongly with P450 reductase activity following an acute (3 h) exposure under hypoxic conditions, the drug being most toxic in the cell lines with the highest P450 reductase activity. A similar correlation was also observed following a chronic (96 h) exposure to the drug in air but not following acute (3 h) exposure in air. We have also determined the ability of lysates prepared from the cell lines to metabolise tirapazamine to its two-electron reduced product, SR 4317, under hypoxic conditions using NADPH as an electron donor. The rate of SR 4317 formation was found to correlate both with P450 reductase activity and with sensitivity to tirapazamine, the highest rates of SR 4317 formation being associated with the highest levels of P450 reductase activity and the greatest sensitivity to the drug. These findings indicate a major role for P450 reductase in determining the hypoxic toxicity of tirapazamine in breast tumour cell lines.

Hypoxia Targeted Gene Therapy to Increase the Efficacy of Tirapazamine as an Adjuvant to Radiotherapy: Reversing Tumor Radioresistance and Effecting Cure

Solid tumors are characterized by regions of hypoxia that are inherently resistant to both radiotherapy and some chemotherapy. To target this resistant population, bioreductive drugs that are preferentially toxic to tumor cells in a hypoxic environment are being evaluated in clinical trials; the lead compound, tirapazamine (TPZ), is being used in combination with cisplatin and/or with radiotherapy. Crucially, tumor response to TPZ is also dependent on the cellular complement of reductases. In particular, NADPH:cytochrome P450 reductase (P450R) plays a major role in the metabolic activation of TPZ. In a gene-directed enzyme prodrug therapy (GDEPT) approach using adenoviral delivery, we have overexpressed human P450R specifically within hypoxic cells in tumors, with the aim of harnessing hypoxia as a trigger for both enzyme expression and drug metabolism. The adenovirus used incorporates the hypoxia-responsive element (HRE) from the lactate dehydrogenase gene in a minimal SV40 promoter context upstream of the cDNA for P450R. In a human tumor model in which TPZ alone does not potentiate radiotherapeutic outcome (HT1080 fibrosarcoma), we witnessed complete tumor regression when tumors were virally transduced before treatment.

Synthesis of N -Benzyl- and N -Phenyl-2-amino-4,5- dihydrothiazoles and thioureas and evaluation as modulators of the isoforms of nitric oxide synthase

Inhibition of the isoforms of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) has important applications in therapy of several diseases, including cancer. Using 1400 W [N-(3-aminomethylbenzyl)acetamidine], thiocitrulline and N(delta)-(4,5-dihydrothiazol-2-yl)ornithine as lead compounds, series of N-benzyl- and N-phenyl-2-amino-4,5-dihydrothiazoles and thioureas were designed as inhibitors of NOS. Ring-substituted benzyl and phenyl isothiocyanates were synthesised by condensation of the corresponding amines with thiophosgene and addition of ammonia gave the corresponding thioureas in high yields. The substituted 2-amino-4,5-dihydrothiazoles were approached by two routes. Treatment of simple benzylamines with 2-methylthio-4,5-dihydrothiazole at 180 degrees C afforded the corresponding 2-benzylamino-4,5-dihydrothiazoles. For less nucleophilic amines and those carrying more thermally labile substituents, the 4,5-dihydrothiazoles were approached by acid-catalysed cyclisation of N-(2-hydroxyethyl)thioureas. This cyclisation was shown to proceed by an S(N)2-like process. Modest inhibitory activity was shown by most of the thioureas and 4,5-dihydrothiazoles, with N-(3-aminomethylphenyl)thiourea (IC(50)=13 microM vs rat neuronal NOS and IC(50)=23 microM vs rat inducible NOS) and 2-(3-aminomethylphenylamino)-4,5-dihydrothiazole (IC(50)=13 microM vs rat neuronal NOS and IC(50)=19 microM vs human inducible NOS) being the most potent. Several thioureas and 4,5-dihydrothiazoles were found to stimulate the activity of human inducible NOS in a time-dependent manner.

NADPH:cytochrome c (P450) reductase activates tirapazamine (SR4233) to restore hypoxic and oxic cytotoxicity in an aerobic resistant derivative of the A549 lung cancer cell line

Summary Tirapazamine (TPZ, SR4233, WIN 59075) is a bioreductive drug that is activated in regions of low oxygen tension to a cytotoxic radical intermediate. This labile metabolite shows high selective toxicity towards hypoxic cells, such as those found in solid tumours. Under aerobic conditions, redox cycling occurs with subsequent generation of superoxide radicals, which are also cytotoxic. NADPH:cytochrome c (P450) reductase (P450R) is a one-electron reducing enzyme that efficiently activates TPZ. Recently a derivative of the A549 non-small cell lung cancer cell line (A549c50) was generated that showed substantially reduced P450R activity compared to its parental line (Elwell et al (1997) Biochem Pharmacol 54: 249–257). Here, it is demonstrated that the A549c50 cells are markedly more resistant to TPZ under both aerobic and hypoxic conditions. In addition, these cells have a dramatically impaired ability to metabolize TPZ to its two-electron reduction product, SR4317, under hypoxic conditions when compared to wild-type cells. P450R activity in the A549c50 cells was reintroduced to similar levels as that seen in the parental A549 cells by transfection of the full-length cDNA for human P450R. These P450R over-expressing cells exhibit restored sensitivity to TPZ under both aerobic and hypoxic conditions, comparable to that found in the original parental A549 cells. Further, the ability of the transfected cells to metabolize TPZ to SR4317 under hypoxic conditions is also shown to be restored. This provides further evidence that P450R can play an important role in the activation, metabolism and toxicity of this lead bioreductive drug.

In vivo activation of the hypoxia-targeted cytotoxin AQ4N in human tumor xenografts

AQ4N (banoxantrone) is a prodrug that, under hypoxic conditions, is enzymatically converted to a cytotoxic DNA-binding agent, AQ4. Incorporation of AQ4N into conventional chemoradiation protocols therefore targets both oxygenated and hypoxic regions of tumors, and potentially will increase the effectiveness of therapy. This current pharmacodynamic and efficacy study was designed to quantify tumor exposure to AQ4 following treatment with AQ4N, and to relate exposure to outcome of treatment. A single dose of 60 mg/kg AQ4N enhanced the response of RT112 (bladder) and Calu-6 (lung) xenografts to treatment with cisplatin and radiation therapy. AQ4N was also given to separate cohorts of tumor-bearing mice 24 hours before tumor excision for subsequent analysis of metabolite levels. AQ4 was detected by high performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry in all treated samples of RT112 and Calu-6 tumors at mean concentrations of 0.23 and 1.07 μg/g, respectively. These concentrations are comparable with those shown to be cytotoxic in vitro. AQ4-related nuclear fluorescence was observed in all treated tumors by confocal microscopy, which correlated with the high performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry data. The presence of the hypoxic marker Glut-1 was shown by immunohistochemistry in both Calu-6 tumors and RT112 tumors, and colocalization of AQ4 fluorescence and Glut-1 staining strongly suggested that AQ4N was activated in these putatively hypoxic areas. This is the first demonstration that AQ4N will increase the efficacy of chemoradiotherapy in preclinical models; the intratumoral levels of AQ4 found in this study are comparable with tumor AQ4 levels found in a recent phase I clinical study, which suggests that these levels could be potentially therapeutic. [Mol Cancer Ther 2009;8(12):3266–75]

Does reductive metabolism predict response to tirapazamine (SR 4233) in human non-small-cell lung cancer cell lines?

SummaryThe bioreductive drug tirapazamine (TPZ, SR 4233, WIN 59075) is a lead compound in a series of potent cytotoxins that selectively kill hypoxic rodent and human solid tumour cells in vitro and in vivo. Phases II and III trials have demonstrated its efficacy in combination with both fractionated radiotherapy and some chemotherapy. We have evaluated the generality of an enzyme-directed approach to TPZ toxicity by examining the importance of the one-electron reducing enzyme NADPH:cytochrome P450 reductase (P450R) in the metabolism and toxicity of this lead prodrug in a panel of seven human non-small-cell lung cancer cell lines. We relate our findings on TPZ sensitivity in these lung lines with our previously published results on TPZ sensitivity in six human breast cancer cell lines (Patterson et al (1995) Br J Cancer 72: 1144–1150) and with the sensitivity of all these cell types to eight unrelated cancer chemotherapeutic agents with diverse modes of action. Our results demonstrate that P450R plays a significant role in the activation of TPZ in this panel of lung lines, which is consistent with previous observations in a panel of breast cancer cell lines (Patterson et al (1995) Br J Cancer 72: 1144–1150; Patterson et al (1997) Br J Cancer 76: 1338–1347). However, in the lung lines it is likely that it is the inherent ability of these cells to respond to multiple forms of DNA damage, including that arising from P450R-dependent TPZ metabolism, that underlies the ultimate expression of toxicity.

Effects of cytokine-induced macrophages on the response of tumor cells to banoxantrone (AQ4N)

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are found in many solid tumors and have often been shown to accumulate in the hypoxic regions surrounding areas of necrosis. TAMs are the major site of expression of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), a heme-containing homodimeric enzyme consisting of oxygenase and reductase domains. The latter has a high degree of sequence homology to cytochrome P450 reductase and a functional consequence of this is the ability of NOS, under hypoxic conditions, to activate the bioreductive drugs tirapazamine and RSU1069. Banoxantrone (AQ4N) is a bioreductive prodrug activated in hypoxia by an oxygen-dependent two-electron reductive process to yield the topoisomerase II inhibitor AQ4. A feature of this process is that the final product could potentially show bystander cell killing. Thus, in this study, we investigated the ability of inducible NOS (iNOS)-expressing TAMs to activate AQ4N and elicit toxicity in cocultured human tumor cells. Murine macrophages were induced to overexpress iNOS by treatment with a combination of cytokines, mixed with HT1080 and HCT116 human tumor cells, and the toxicity of AQ4N was determined under aerobic or hypoxic conditions. The aerobic toxicity of AQ4N toward tumor cells was not affected through coculturing with macrophages. However, under hypoxic conditions, the induction of iNOS activity in the macrophages was associated with an increase in AQ4N metabolism and a substantial increase in tumor cell toxicity, which was dependent on the proportion of macrophages in the culture. This study is the first demonstration of TAM-mediated prodrug activation to result in bystander killing of human tumor cells.[Mol Cancer Ther 2009;8(5):1261–9]

S-2-AMINO-5-AZOLYLPENTANOIC ACIDS RELATED TO L-ORNITHINE AS INHIBITORS OF THE ISOFORMS OF NITRIC OXIDE SYNTHASE (NOS)

S-2-Amino-5-(2-aminoimidazol-1-yl)pentanoic acid and S-2-amino-5-(2-nitroimidazol-1-yl)pentanoic acid have been used as weakly inhibitory lead compounds in the design of 2-amino-5-azolylpentanoic acids which are more potent in their inhibition of nitric oxide synthases. Treatment of 2-(Boc-amino)-5-bromopentanoic acid t-butyl ester with appropriate imidazoles and 1,2,4-triazoles and with tetrazole under basic conditions, followed by acidolytic deprotection, gave many of the required 2-amino-5-azolylpentanoic acids. Tetrazole was alkylated at 1-N and at 2-N in approximately equal amounts whereas the 1,2,4-triazoles reacted principally at 1-N. A nitrile was introduced at the 2-position of the imidazole by reaction of the 2-unsubstituted precursor with 1-cyano-4-dimethylaminopyridine. Of this series of compounds, 2-amino-5-(imidazol-1-yl)pentanoic acid was identified as the most potent member against rat iNOS, rat nNOS and a human-derived cNOS. Examination of the structure-activity relationships for the identity and substitution of the azoles has led to the proposal of a model for the binding of the inhibitors to the binding site for the natural substrate.