M. P. M. Marques

The Anticancer Properties of Dietary Polyphenols and its Relation with Apoptosis

Aberrantly regulated apoptosis is involved in the pathogenesis of several diseases and defective apoptosis leads to uncontrolled cell proliferation and tumorigenesis. Cancer is an example of a pathologic condition where the normal mechanisms of cell cycle regulation are dysfunctional either by excessive cell proliferation, inhibited/suppressed apoptosis or both. Dietary habits are estimated to contribute to, at least, one third of all human cancers, showing that dietary components can exacerbate or interfere with carcinogenesis. However, several epidemiological studies have revealed that some dietary factors can decrease the risk of different types of cancer. Apoptosis is suggested to be a crucial mechanism for the chemopreventive properties associated with several dietary factors by eliminating potentially deleterious (damaged/mutated) cells. Food, a readily available item, contains several promising chemopreventive agents. Polyphenols are serious candidates since they are responsible for the cancer protective properties of a diet rich in vegetables and fruits: numerous phenolic compounds showed antiproliferative and cytotoxic effects, and more specifically pro-apoptotic activities, in several cancer cells lines and animal tumor models. The aim of the present review is to analyze and summarize several aspects related to the molecular mechanisms of apoptosis induced by dietary factors with particular emphasis on polyphenols. Dietary factors that can activate cell death signals and induce apoptosis, preferentially in precancerous or malignant cells, and the study of their apoptotic inducing targets can represent a mean to devise new strategies for cancer prevention in the future.

Lipophilic Caffeic and Ferulic Acid Derivatives Presenting Cytotoxicity against Human Breast Cancer Cells

In the present work, lipophilic caffeic and ferulic acid derivatives were synthesized, and their cytotoxicity on cultured breast cancer cells was compared. A total of six compounds were initially evaluated: caffeic acid (CA), hexyl caffeate (HC), caffeoylhexylamide (HCA), ferulic acid (FA), hexyl ferulate (HF), and feruloylhexylamide (HFA). Cell proliferation, cell cycle progression, and apoptotic signaling were investigated in three human breast cancer cell lines, including estrogen-sensitive (MCF-7) and insensitive (MDA-MB-231 and HS578T). Furthermore, direct mitochondrial effects of parent and modified compounds were investigated by using isolated liver mitochondria. The results indicated that although the parent compounds presented no cytotoxicity, the new compounds inhibited cell proliferation and induced cell cycle alterations and cell death, with a predominant effect on MCF-7 cells. Interestingly, cell cycle data indicates that effects on nontumor BJ fibroblasts were predominantly cytostatic and not cytotoxic. The parent compounds and derivatives also promoted direct alterations on hepatic mitochondrial bioenergetics, although the most unexpected and never before reported one was that FA induces the mitochondrial permeability transition. The results show that the new caffeic and ferulic acid lipophilic derivatives show increased cytotoxicity toward human breast cancer cell lines, although the magnitude and type of effects appear to be dependent on the cell type. Mitochondrial data had no direct correspondence with effects on intact cells suggesting that this organelle may not be a critical component of the cellular effects observed. The data provide a rational approach to the design of effective cytotoxic lipophilic hydroxycinnamic derivatives that in the future could be profitably applied for chemopreventive and/or chemotherapeutic purposes.

Conformational and vibrational study of platinum(II) anticancer drugs : cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (II) as a case study

A conformational and vibrational analysis of cisplatin [cis-diamminedichloro-platinum(II)] (cDDP) is reported. Several theory methods (from Hartree-Fock to Moller-Plesset and density functional theory) combined with different all-electron basis sets are evaluated, in view of determining the best suited strategy for accurately representing this molecule. This choice is based on the best compromise between accuracy and computational requirements. Different scaling models of the cDDP vibrational modes were tested for obtaining the best scaling factors to be used in this type of inorganic systems. The structural parameters and vibrational results predicted by the calculations are compared with the corresponding experimental data, namely, x-ray structure, and Raman and inelastic neutron scattering spectra. Finally, a complete assignment of the cDDP vibrational spectra is presented.

NMR conformational study of the lanthanide(III) complexes of DOTA in aqueous solution

Abstract Variable temperature NMR spectroscopy studies of lanthanide(III) complexes with 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-N,N′,N″,N‴-tetraacetic acid (DOTA) provide evidence of the presence of two isomeric forms in aqueous solution. An NMR study was performed in order to gain structural information on the two isomeric species, using a fitting procedure of calculated to experimental dipolar contributions to the paramagnetic shifts. The two isomers show to have identical macrocyclic ring conformations and differ only in the coordination or orientation of the acetate arms of the ligand, yielding either square prismatic and square anti-prismatic coordination geometries, or octadentate and heptadentate coordinations of the ligand relative to the lanthanide ion. Analysis of the dipolar shifts is consistent with both types of acetate conformational equilibria.

Ab initio conformational study of caffeic acid

A complete conformational analysis of caffeic acid, a phenolic derivative with well known antioxidant properties, was carried out by ab initio calculations, at the density funtional theory (DFT) level. Fourteen different conformers were obtained, the most stable ones being planar, as the conformational preferences of this molecule were found to be mainly determined by the stabilising effect of π-electron delocalisation. Harmonic vibrational frequencies, as well as potential energy profiles for rotation around several bonds within the molecule, were also calculated.

Cytotoxic effects of metal complexes of biogenic polyamines. I. Platinum(II) spermidine compounds: prediction of their antitumour activity

Cytotoxicity and cell growth inhibition studies were performed for three distinct polynuclear platinum(II) complexes of spermidine, which showed to have significant cytotoxic and antiproliferative properties on the HeLa cancer cell line. The chemical environment of the metal centres in the drugs, as well as the coordination pattern of the ligand, were found to be strongly determinant of their cytotoxic ability. In the light of the results gathered, the most effective anticancer compound among the ones tested (IC50=5 microM) was found to be the one displaying three difunctional (PtCl2N2) moieties ((PtCl2)3(spd)2). Both the cytotoxic activity and the antiproliferative properties of the complexes studied showed to be irreversible for all the concentrations tested.

DNA interaction with palladium chelates of biogenic polyamines using atomic force microscopy and voltammetric characterization.

The interaction of double-stranded DNA with two polynuclear Pd(II) chelates with the biogenic polyamines spermidine (Spd) and spermine (Spm), Pd(II)-Spd and Pd(II)-Spm, as well as with the free ligands Spd and Spm, was studied using atomic force microscopy (AFM) at a highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) surface, voltammetry at a glassy carbon (GC) electrode, and gel electrophoresis. The AFM and voltammetric results showed that the interaction of Spd and Spm with DNA occurred even for a low concentration of polyamines and caused no oxidative damage to DNA. The Pd(II)-Spd and Pd(II)-Spm complexes were found to induce greater morphological changes in the dsDNA conformation, when compared with their ligands. The interaction was specific, inducing distortion and local denaturation of the B-DNA structure with release of some guanine bases. The DNA strands partially opened give rise to palladium intra- and interstrand cross-links, leading to the formation of DNA adducts and aggregates, particularly in the case of the Pd(II)-Spd complex.

Antioxidant Versus Cytotoxic Properties of Hydroxycinnamic Acid Derivatives – A New Paradigm in Phenolic Research

Trihydroxycinnamic derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for their antioxidant and cytotoxic activities. The ester derivatives exhibited a higher radical‐scavenging activity, when liposomes were used as target systems, a fact which may be related to their lipophilicity and conformational preferences. These compounds were found to display significant growth inhibition and cytotoxic effects towards a human cervix adenocarcinoma cell line (HeLa). The partition coefficients presently obtained for the trihydroxycinnamic derivatives correlate well both with their structural characteristics and with their antioxidant/cytotoxic activities. A positive structure‐activity‐property relationship between cytotoxic and antioxidant activities, which is intrinsically related with physico‐chemical and conformational properties, is anticipated, as a noteworthy study that must be done for phenolic systems. As damage events are frequently correlated with oxidative stress, the prevalence of both properties in a single compound could be beneficial in terms of rationale preventive or therapeutic purposes.

CONFORMATIONAL STUDY OF 1,2-DIAMINOETHANE BY COMBINED AB INITIO MO CALCULATIONS AND RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY

Abstract A conformational analysis of the linear polyamine 1,2-diaminoethane was performed by both Raman spectroscopy and ab initio SCF-MO methods (with and without inclusion of water solvent effects). Ten different conformers were detected by ab initio calculations, the most stable ones being TGG′ and GGG′. When considering the solvent, the conformations having a higher dipole moment were found to be favoured over the less polar ones. The Raman spectra of this amine obtained for the pure liquid, the aqueous solution and the solid sample, allowed to conclude that its conformational preferences are determined by the relative importance of intra- versus intermolecular hydrogen bonds.

Pt(II) vs Pd(II) Polyamine Complexes as New Anticancer Drugs: A Structure- Activity Study

Two homologous trinuclear polyamine chelates with either Pt(II) (Ia) or Pd(II) (Ib) were screened for their anticancer properties. Their growth-inhibition activity towards a human tongue epithelioma (HSC-3) was assessed in vitro, and the effect of the cation alteration was determined (IC50=32 μM for Ib vs 66 μM for Ia).