Merrill C. Miller

The Cytotoxicity of 2-Formyl and 2-Acetyl-(6-picolyl)-4N-Substituted Thiosemicarbazones and Their Copper(II) Complexes

2‐Acetyl‐(6‐picolyl)‐4N‐substituted thiosemicarbazones and their copper(II) complexes were shown to be potent antineoplastic and cytotoxic agents against murine and human cultured cells. Numerous derivatives were as active against solid tumor growth as clinically useful agents. The agents inhibited L1210 DNA and RNA syntheses with inhibition of key regulatory enzyme activities of the purine pathway as well as nucleoside kinase activities. d[NTP] pools were reduced and DNA strand scission occurred. These agents were DNA topoisomerase II inhibitors with lower IC50 values than that of VP‐16. However, they did not cause L1210 DNA protein linked breaks and actually protected against those breaks afforded by VP‐16. The agents were not synergistic with VP‐16 in reducing cell growth or DNA synthesis although they did reduce growth of L1210 cells in agar suspended media.

Antineoplastic and Cytotoxic Activities of Nickel(II) Complexes of Thiosemicarbazones

Nickel(II) complexes of thiosemicarbazons were observed to be potent cytotoxic agents in human and rodent tissue cultured tumor cells. Each compound demonstrated a slightly different profile in the various histological types of tumors. The nickel complex of Appip demonstrated the most potent in vivo activity in the Ehrlich ascites carcinoma. This agent selectively inhibited L1210 DNA and purine syntheses, and DNA polymerase α, PRPP-amido transferase, IMP-dehydrogenase, dihydrofolate reductase, TMP-kinase and thymidylate synthetase activities. L1210 DNA strand scission was evident and DNA viscosity was reduced after 24 hr incubation. The nickel complexes were not L1210 DNA topoisomerase II inhibitors.

Relationship between amine-carboxyboranes and TNFα for the regulation of cell growth in different tumor cell lines

The amine-carboxyboranes were shown to be synergistic with tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) in cytotoxicity and inhibition of DNA synthesis in select types of cancer cells depending on the presence of a TNF alpha high affinity receptor on the membrane of the cell. Initially both TNF alpha and the amine-carboxyboranes reduce the influx of calcium but later cause a significant increase intracellularly. This influx is not linked with the amine-carboxyborane activating the calcitonin receptor in the tumor cells. Neither the agents nor TNF alpha directly inhibits DNA topoisomerase II activity but both did cause decreased phosphorylation of the enzyme by protein kinase C (PKC). The two agents caused synergistic inhibition. This event correlated with increased DNA protein linked breaks, DNA fragmentation and cell death. These protein linked breaks are additive with etoposides effects but the latter agents mechanism is different than phosphorylation of topoisomerase II. There was no evidence that the DNA fragmentation was caused by a calcium induced endonuclease enzyme in these cancer cells. The low-molecular weight amine-carboxyboranes appear to play an identical function as TNF alpha in its role to cause DNA breaks and fragmentation to cause apoptosis.

The Hypolipidemic and Anti-Inflammatory Activity of BoronatedAromatic Amino Acids in CF1 Male Mice

The boronated aromatic amino acids were shown to be potent hypolipidemic agents in mice lowering both serum cholesterol and triglycerides after 16 days. Selective compounds were as effective as the clinical standards. Furthermore, the compounds were effective anti-inflammatory agents reducing local and central pain as well as suppressing LPS induced endotoxic shock in mice. These agents inhibited lysosomal and proteolytic enzymes of the liver and macrophages as a part of their mechanism of action.

The Synthesis and Antitumor Activity of the Sodium Salt and Copper (II) Complex of N-[(Trimethylamineboryl)-Carbonyl]-L-Phenylalanine Methyl Ester.

Sodium N-[(trimethylamineboryl)-carbonyl]-L-phenylalanine 2 and {N-[(trimethylamineboryl)-carbonyl]-L-phenylalanyl- carbxylato}-bis-{N-[(trimethylaminebryl)-carbonyl]-L-phenylalanine} dicopper (II) 3 were successfully synthesized. The agents blocked L1210 leukemic cell DNA and RNA syntheses by inhibiting multiple enzyme activities for nucleic acid synthesis, e.g. PRPP amido transferase, IMP dehydrogenase, DNA polymerase α, thymidine kinase, and TMP kinase. The copper (II) complex 3 demonstrated improved ability to inhibit L1210 partially purified DNA topoisomerase II compared to the parent compound while the sodium salt was inactive at 100 μM.

The pharmacological activities of the metabolites of N-[(trimethylamineboryl)-carbonyl]-L-phenylalanine methyl ester.

The metabolites of N-[(trimethylamineboryl)-carbonyl]-L-phenylalanine methyl ester 1 proved to be active in a number of pharmacological screens where the parent had previously demonstrated potent activity. The proposed metabolites demonstrated significant activity as cytotoxic, hypolipidemic, and anti-inflammatory agents. In cytotoxicity screens several of the proposed metabolites afforded better activity than the parent compound against the growth of suspended and solid tumor cell lines. Evaluation of in vivo hypolipidemic activity demonstrated that the proposed metabolites of 1 were only moderately active and were generally less effective than the parent compound. Interestingly, L-phenylalanine methyl ester hydrochloride 3, which contains no boron atom, demonstrated equivalent hypolipidemic activity as the parent at 8 mg/kg/day in CF1 male mice. As anti-inflammatory agents the proposed metabolites demonstrated variable capacities to reduce foot pad inflammation. These compounds were similarly effective as the parent 1 at blocking local pain and were generally better than the parent at protecting CF1 male mice from LPS induced sepsis.

Cytotoxic Action of Carboxyborane Heterocyclic Amine Adducts

The heterocyclic carboxyborane amines were found to be potent cytotoxic agents in the murine L1210 lymphoid leukemia and human HeLa suspended carcinoma cells. These agents were observed to inhibit HeLa DNA topoisomerase II activity ~ 200 μM and L1210 topoisomerase II activity ≥ 100 μM. These agents did not cause DNA protein linked breaks themselves, but upon incubation for 14-24 hr did enhance the ability of VP-16 to cause cleavable complexes. The heterocyclic amineboranes inhibited DNA synthesis and caused DNA strand scission. They were additive with VP-16 in affording these results as well as inhibiting colony growth of L1210 cells after co-incubation for 1 hr. The agents inhibited in vitro PKC phosphorylation of both L1210 lymphoid leukemia and human topoisomerase II enzyme.

Effects of alkyl amine carboxyboranes on L1210 DNA fragmentation and nucleic acid metabolism

Amine‐carboxyboranes with varying alkyi chain lengths were observed to be potent cytotoxic agents inhibiting the growth of a number of histological types of murine, rat, and human tumors. These agents preferentially reduced L1210 DNA synthesis with marked inhibition of the activities of regulatory enzymes of the purine pathway. Other enzyme activities which were marginally reduced were DNA polymerase α, ribonucleoside reductase, dihydrofolate reductase, t‐RNA polymerase, and nucleoside kinases. Pyrimidine nucleotide pools were not reduced but DNA strand scission occurred after 24 h incubation with the agents. The amine‐carboxyboranes were not DNA topoisomerase II inhibitors at 100 μM. The agents did not cause DNA protein linked breaks themselves; nevertheless, VP‐16 [etoposide] induced DNA protein linked breaks were increased two fold in the presence of the agents suggesting synergistic effects. The amine‐carboxyboranes decreased protein kinase C mediated phosphorylation of L1210 topoisomerase II protein, potentially decreasing its enzymatic catalytic activity. Thus, the amine‐carboxyboranes did not function like VP‐16 in affording cleavable products but were synergistic with VP‐16 in causing DNA fragmentation. The agents were also additive with VP‐16 in reducing tumor cell number, soft‐agar colony growth and DNA synthesis and in producing DNA strand scission.

Transepithelial Transport and Metabolism of Boronated DipeptidesAcross Caco-2 and HCT-8 Cell Monolayers

Oral delivery of proteins and peptides as therapeutic agents is problematic due to their low bioavailability. This study examined the effect of boronation on the transepithelial transport and metabolism of three glycine-phenylalanine dipeptides in Caco-2 and HCT-8 cell monolayers. The three dipeptides exhibited passive transport characteristics in the monolayer systems. However, metabolism of the boronated dipeptides did occur, but to a lesser extent than the non-boronated glycine-phenylalanine dipeptide. The same metabolic scheme was seen in both cell monolayer system, but greater metabolism was seen in the HCT-8 cell monolayers.

Disposition of the Pharmacologically Active Compound [1-14C-Acetyl]-1-Acetyl-4-Phenyl-1,2,4-Triazolidine-3,5-Dione in CF1 Mice

Summary1-Acetyl-4-phenyl-1,2,4-triazolidine-3,5-dione (APTD) has hypolipidaemic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antineoplastic, and aldose reductase inhibitory activities in animals. Disposition studies using pooled plasma and urine samples showed that [1-14C-acetyl]-1-acetyl-4-phenyl-1,2,4-triazolidine-3,5-dione (14C-APTD) had a maximum half-life of 20 hours. Urinary excretion accounted for less than 3% of the radioactivity elimination, while faecal excretion may account for up to 45% of the total elimination. In a 96-hour tissue distribution study, there was no sequestering of 14C-APTD in any of the organs. 14C-APTD demonstrated significant aqueous partitioning, and almost no binding to bovine serum albumin. In L1210 tumour cells, 14C-APTD was bound to DNA and RNA, and there was no binding to intracellular protein. 14C-APTD underwent significant metabolism in mice. One metabolite excreted in urine was identified; two other possible metabolites were proposed.