Jean-François Riou

Cell senescence and telomere shortening induced by a new series of specific G-quadruplex DNA ligands

Telomeres of human chromosomes contain a G-rich 3′-overhang that adopts an intramolecular G-quadruplex structure in vitro which blocks the catalytic reaction of telomerase. Agents that stabilize G-quadruplexes have the potential to interfere with telomere replication by blocking the elongation step catalyzed by telomerase and can therefore act as antitumor agents. We have identified by Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer a new series of quinoline-based G-quadruplex ligands that also exhibit potent and specific anti-telomerase activity with IC50 in the nanomolar concentration range. Long term treatment of tumor cells at subapoptotic dosage induces a delayed growth arrest that depends on the initial telomere length. This growth arrest is associated with telomere erosion and the appearance of the senescent cell phenotype (large size and expression of β-galactosidase activity). Our data show that a G-quadruplex interacting agent is able to impair telomerase function in a tumor cell thus providing a basis for the development of new anticancer agents.

Telomerase inhibitors based on quadruplex ligands selected by a fluorescence assay

The reactivation of telomerase activity in most cancer cells supports the concept that telomerase is a relevant target in oncology, and telomerase inhibitors have been proposed as new potential anticancer agents. The telomeric G-rich single-stranded DNA can adopt in vitro an intramolecular quadruplex structure, which has been shown to inhibit telomerase activity. We used a fluorescence assay to identify molecules that stabilize G-quadruplexes. Intramolecular folding of an oligonucleotide with four repeats of the human telomeric sequence into a G-quadruplex structure led to fluorescence excitation energy transfer between a donor (fluorescein) and an acceptor (tetramethylrhodamine) covalently attached to the 5′ and 3′ ends of the oligonucleotide, respectively. The melting of the G-quadruplex was monitored in the presence of putative G-quadruplex-binding molecules by measuring the fluorescence emission of the donor. A series of compounds (pentacyclic crescent-shaped dibenzophenanthroline derivatives) was shown to increase the melting temperature of the G-quadruplex by 2–20°C at 1 μM dye concentration. This increase in Tm value was well correlated with an increase in the efficiency of telomerase inhibition in vitro. The best telomerase inhibitor showed an IC50 value of 28 nM in a standard telomerase repeat amplification protocol assay. Fluorescence energy transfer can thus be used to reveal the formation of four-stranded DNA structures, and its stabilization by quadruplex-binding agents, in an effort to discover new potent telomerase inhibitors.

Effects of Taxotere on murine and human tumor cell lines.

Taxotere (RP 56976, NSC 628503), an analog of taxol, is an inhibitor of depolymerisation of microtubules and is currently in Phase I clinical trials. Comparisons of the cytotoxicities of Taxotere and taxol have been studied on several murine (P388, SVras) and human cell lines (Calc18, HCT116, T24, N417, KB). Taxotere was found more potent than taxol (1.3-12 fold), a result which could be explained by its higher affinity than taxol for microtubules. In agreement with its postulated mechanism of action, Taxotere is more cytotoxic on proliferating than on non proliferating N417 cells and does not inhibit cellular DNA, RNA and protein synthesis. Taxotere gives partial cross resistance on P-glycoprotein resistant P388/DOX cell line, in contrast to taxol which gives a complete cross resistance. On the other hand, no cross resistances were observed on Calc18/AM and P388/CPT5 cell lines, bearing modified activities of topoisomerase II and topoisomerase I, respectively. These results underline the higher cytotoxic activity of Taxotere compared to taxol, and the lack of cross resistance of that class of agent with the topoisomerase I and II-related multidrug resistance phenotypes.

Interactions of cryptolepine and neocryptolepine with unusual DNA structures

Cryptolepine, the main alkaloid present in the roots of Cryptolepis sanguinolenta, presents a large spectrum of biological properties. It has been reported to behave like a DNA intercalator with a preference for GC-rich sequences. In this study, dialysis competition assay and mass spectrometry experiments were used to determine the affinity of cryptolepine and neocryptolepine for DNA structures among duplexes, triplexes, quadruplexes and single strands. Our data confirm that cryptolepine and neocryptolepine prefer GC over AT-rich duplex sequences, but also recognize triplex and quadruplex structures. These compounds are weak telomerase inhibitors and exhibit a significant preference for triplexes over quadruplexes or duplexes.

The antileukemic alkaloid fagaronine is an inhibitor of DNA topoisomerases I and II

The antileukemic alkaloid, fagaronine, is a potent differentiation inducer of various hematopoietic cell lines. We show here that fagaronine is a DNA base-pair intercalator with a K(app) of 2.1 x 10(5) M-1 for calf thymus DNA. Fagaronine inhibits the catalytic activity of purified calf thymus topoisomerase I as shown by relaxation of supercoiled plasmid DNA followed by electrophoresis in neutral as well as in chloroquine-containing gels. The catalytic activity of topoisomerase I is inhibited at concentrations above 30 microM. Fagaronine also inhibits the catalytic activity of purified calf thymus topoisomerase II at concentrations above 25 microM as shown by decatenation of kinetoplast DNA. Fagaronine stabilizes the covalent DNA-enzyme reaction intermediate (the cleavable complex) between topoisomerase I and linear pBR322 DNA at concentrations up to 1 microM. Further increase of the fagaronine concentration leads to a progressive decrease in the cleavable complex formation, which is totally inhibited at 100 microM. In contrast, up to 1 microM fagaronine has no effect on cleavable complex formation between purified calf thymus topoisomerase II and linear pBR322 DNA, whereas cleavable complex formation is inhibited at higher concentrations. Exposure to fagaronine results in an increase in DNA-protein complex formation in intact P388 murine leukemia cells. P388CPT5 cells, which have an altered topoisomerase I activity, are 4-fold resistant to the growth inhibitory effects of fagaronine compared to the parental cell line. Similarly, DC-3F/9-OH-E Chinese hamster fibrosarcoma cells, which have an altered topoisomerase II activity, are about 5-fold resistant to the growth inhibitory effects of fagaronine. We conclude that fagaronine is an inhibitor of both DNA topoisomerase I and II and propose that this might play a role in the cytotoxic activity.

Kinetics of lactone hydrolysis in antitumor drugs of camptothecin series as studied by fluorescence spectroscopy.

Potent antitumor activity exhibited by 20-S-camptothecin (CPT) and numerous derivatives is known to be lost upon opening of the alpha-hydroxy-lactone ring of these drugs, hydrolyzable at neutral and basic pH. To quantify in real time the lactone hydrolysis reaction in CPTs under physiological conditions, we have applied a non-perturbing approach by fluorescence spectroscopy. CPT and a set of its derivatives (21-lactam-S-CPT, 10,11-(methylenedioxy)-CPT, CPT-11, SN-38, topotecan, tricyclic ketone-CPT) with antitumor activity varying from negligible to 10 times that of CPT have been studied. Prior to the kinetic measurements, the effects of substitutions, pH, polarity of molecular environment, lactone ring opening (lactone-carboxylate transition) have been investigated in terms of the UV-visible absorption and fluorescence emission spectra of CPTs. Then the determined parameters of the fluorescence emission spectra corresponding to the respective lactone and carboxylate forms have been used to estimate the residual lactone percentage as a function of time. The reproducibility of the obtained data demonstrates that the spectroscopic approach provides a satisfactory precision for this kind of measurements. For CPT at pH 7.3, the lactone half-life was 29.4 +/- 1.7 min and the lactone percentage at equilibrium was 20.9 +/- 0.3%. Within a series of derivatives with substitutions at quinoline rings, the lactone half-life varied from 29 to 32 min and the equilibrium lactone content varied from 15% to 23%. For each compound, even slight increase of pH from 7.1 to 7.3 or from 7.3 to 7.6 logically leads to a remarkable decrease of both lactone half-life and equilibrium lactone percentage.

An Acyclic Oligoheteroaryle That Discriminates Strongly between Diverse G-Quadruplex Topologies†

These synthetic ligands should fulfill an essentialrequirement to enable correlating their in cellulo biologicaleffects to their quadruplex recognition ability, namely strongspecificity for the targeted quadruplex combined with poorassociation to duplex DNA (ideally adifference of twoordersof magnitude or more between the affinity constants isdesired).

Tetrasubstituted naphthalene diimide ligands with selectivity for telomeric G-quadruplexes and cancer cells

A series of tetrasubstituted naphthalene diimide compounds with N-methylpiperazine end groups has been synthesized and evaluated as G-quadruplex ligands. They have high affinity and selectivity for telomeric G-quadruplex DNA over duplex DNA. CD studies show that they induce formation of a parallel G-quadruplex topology. They inhibit the binding of hPOT1 and topoisomerase IIIα to telomeric DNA and inhibit telomerase activity in MCF7 cells. The compounds have potent activity in a panel of cancer cell lines, with typical IC(50) values of ∼0.1 μM, and up to 100-fold lower toxicity in a normal human fibroblast cell line.

Telomerase : A therapeutic target for the third millennium?

Telomerase offers the potential opportunity to control cell proliferation by interfering with a totally new and unique biological process which is cell senescence. The aim of this review is to impartially present the state of the art in telomerase with the pros and the cons of the current scientific situation of this fast-growing and fascinating topic for answering the key question asked by experimental and medical oncologists: Will telomerase be a therapeutic target for the third millenium? The most convincing argument (which is a scientifically documented one) for going ahead with this target is obviously the strong correlation existing between the level and frequency of telomerase expression and the malignant properties of tumors. This has been now largely documented in established tumor cell lines and fresh tumor samples obtained from patients. Noteworthy is the very important difference of telomerase expression between malignant and normal tissues. This difference is much higher than those observed for classical enzymatic targets of chemotherapy such as thymidylate synthetase, dihydrofolate reductase and topoisomerases. If this translates to the clinical situation, telomerase inhibitors might display a good selectivity for tumor cells with a minimal toxicity for normal tissues. The most appealing criticism (which is still purely speculative) is obviously the clinical relevance of inhibiting telomerase in cancer patients. According to the paradigm currently proposed for telomeres and telomerases, it can be predicted that telomerase inhibition will not affect a tumor until its telomeres reach the critical size for entering senescence. This means that during anti-telomerase therapy, the tumor cells will continue grow undergoing 20-30 divisions until the telomeres reach a critical size leading to tumor senescence. Does this make sense, especially in patients with advanced tumors at the beginning of the therapy? Ultimately, the definitive answer to the question will not come from intellectual speculation but from the properties of telomerase inhibitors, first in tumor bearing animals, then finally in cancer patients! Several institutions are very active in the development of telomerase inhibitors. Different stategies are used: direct inhibition of telomerase, interference with telomeres (G quartets), interaction with other proteins involved in the regulation of telomerase and telomeres.

Sequential modifications of topoisomerase I activity in a camptothecin-resistant cell line established by progressive adaptation

The DNA-topoisomerase I (Topo I) inhibitor, camptothecin (CPT), is a plant alkaloid with an important antitumor activity. In order to investigate the cellular mechanism leading to the development of the resistance to this agent, we have established by progressive adaptation a P388 subline resistant to CPT. After 5 months of continuous drug exposure, the resistance index reached a value of 20 and the resistant cell line, P388CPT0.3, was maintained in the presence of CPT. CPT-induced single strand breaks measured by alkaline elution were found drastically reduced in the resistant cell line. Topo I activity and CPT-induced DNA cleavage were measured on cells at different steps of resistance. We first observed that the Topo I activity was strongly decreased. In addition, the resistant cells recovered the ATP-independent relaxation activity after 3 months of exposure to CPT, but still kept a reduced CPT-induced DNA cleavage. Further evaluations at the final stage of the resistance induction have indicated that cells presented a CPT-resistant form of Topo I. Rearranged Topo I gene on one allele and a reduced Topo I transcription were also observed in resistant cells. The putative role of the rearrangement was discussed. These data show that the resistance mechanism has evolved from a decreased Topo I activity to an altered form of the enzyme, and suggest that multiple mechanisms of Topo I modifications could contribute to CPT resistance.