Leon A. Saryan

Interaction of 2-formylpyridine thiosemicarbazonato copper (II) with ehrlich ascites tumor cells

Abstract The reaction of 2-formylpyridine thiosemicarbazonato copper (II) with Ehrlich cells was studied. The complex was readily taken up and bound by cells. Little efflux of copper was observed. Electron paramagnetic resonance studies were consistent with the complex having bound to thiol groups furnished by glutathione. The chelate was quite stable in cells, having a first-order rate constant for reaction of 4.5 × 10−5 sec−1. However, this was apparently a reflection of a steady-state redox process in which thiols were being oxidized and oxygen reduced. A model reaction between the complex and reduced glutathione showed that the complex reached a steady state as oxygen was consumed in the process. Cellular DNA synthesis was inhibited at low concentration by this copper chelate, whereas RNA synthesis was much less sensitive. Although isolated mitochondria were inhibited by the complex, any cellular reaction was obscured by the rapid oxygen reduction that occurred in the thiol oxidation process.

Studies on the chemical reactivity of copper bleomycin

The copper(II) complex of the clinically used antitumor agent bleomycin (Blm) has cytotoxic as well as antitumor properties. To understand the relationship of the bleomycin ligand, copper bleomycin, and other possible metal complexes of this agent, kinetic studies of the formation of Cu(II)Blm, ligand substitution reactions of CuBlm with ethylenediaminetetraaletic acid, and the redox reaction of CuBlm with thiols have been completed and interpreted along with previous studies of the thermodynamic stability of Cu2+ with bleomycin. Cu(II)Bm is found to be kinetically and thermodynamically stable in ligand substitution processes and is only slowly reduced and dissociated by sulfhydryl reagents. The rate constant of reduction of the complex by 2-mercaptoethanol (2-ME) at pH 7.4 and 25 degrees C is 9.5 X 10(-3) M-1 sec-1, explaining the inhibition of Fe2+-dependent strand scission of DNA by Cu2+ in the presence of 2-ME. CuBlm forms in preference to Fe(II)Blm and cannot be reduced and dissociated rapidly enough by thiols to liberate Blm and form the reactive iron complex. In agreement with the observed chemical stability of CuBlm, it is also shown that the complex is stable in human plasma and in the presence of Ehrlich cells suspended in ascites fluid. Interestingly, little CuBlm enters these cells to carry out cytotoxic reactions. Finally, it is shown that both Cu2+ and Zn2+, at equivalent concentrations to Fe2+, effectively inhibit the strand scission of DNA by Fe(II)Blm plus oxygen. However, at substoichiometric amounts of Cu2+, the ferroxidase activity of Blm enables the drug to remain effective in the strand-scission reaction, despite the lowered Cu-free Blm/Fe2+ ratio. These results are discussed in light of the proposed mechanism of action of bleomycin.

Reactions of 3-ethoxy-2-oxobutyraldehyde bis)N4-dimethylthiosemicarbazonato) cadmium with tumor cells

The cytotoxic properties of a bis(thiosemicarbazonato) cadmium complex are studied. Preincubation of Ehrlich cells with the complex prevents growth of the ascites tumor in mice. Although the complex inhibits tumor growth without undue initial toxocity, longer-term side effects limit the use of the compound. The complex inhibits incorporation of 3H-thymidine into DNA and the respiration of tumor cells. It is shown in the principal correlation that the complex is more inhibitory of the above biochemical processes than cadmium ion at equal cellular concentrations of the metal. In addition the cellular reactions of the cadmium, zinc, and copper bis(thiosemicarbazonato) complexes are compared. It is shown that subtle chemical differences in their chelate structures appear to be responsible for their marked differences in cellular reactivity.

Early reactions of cadmium with ehrlich cells

Ehrlich ascites tumor cells accumulate cadmium against a concentration gradient in a bisphasic uptake process. There is little efflux of the metal from preloaded cells into a cadmium-free medium. Incorporation of 3H-thymidine into DNA is markedly inhibited by cadmium ion at 5-100 ng atoms of Cd/mg of cell protein, but uptake of the nucleoside label into cells is not depressed in this concentration range. Cell respiration is much less affected by cadmium ion despite the sensitivity of isolated mitochondria to the metal. Model experiments using several cadmium complexes with known conditional formation constants show that bovine heart mitochondria have strong affinity for cadmium ion. The contrast between this result and the resistance of cells to respiratory inhibition with cadmium ion is discussed to illustrate the difficulty in relating in vitro studies to the cell. The behavior of cadmium ion with the Ehrlich cell is compared with data for zinc ion to reveal similarities in inhibition of nucleoside metabolism and respiration but a sharp difference in transport properties.

Control of Ehrlich cell division by zinc.

The nutritional requirement for zinc in the proliferation of normal and malignant cells has been demonstrated in a number of animal studies. A distinction is made between the effect of zinc status upon the host during carcinogenesis and tumor growth. The present studies focus on the Ehrlich ascites tumor in mice fed a semipurified zinc-deficient diet along with defined concentration of zinc in the drinking water. This model of zinc deficiency is compared with others in which chelating agents are used to create zinc-deficient conditions or the microorganismEuglena gracilis is examined in a defined zinc-deficient medium. It is reported here that Ehrlich cells remain quiescent for several weeks in severely deficient mice, suggesting their restriction to a G1 or G0 state of the cell cycle. The kinetics of thymidine and uridine uptake and incorporation into DNA and RNA in Zn-normal and Zn-deficient tumors is consistent with the inhibition of thymidine kinase and DNA polymerase in the Zn-deprived system, but with little effect on RNA synthesis. The concentration of metabolites of these labeled nucleosides in Ehrlich cells is also consistent with a primary effect upon thymidine kinase. Although the ascites fluid Zn is depressed in Zn deficiency, total cellular zinc and its distribution among cell fractions is not significantly affected. It is suggested that these effects are specific in nature and not the result of a general lack of zinc for zinc metalloproteins and other binding sites in the cell.