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Biomedical subjects

J Balzarini

Publications and source records attributed to J Balzarini.

At least 469 records · Page 26Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

Synthesis and antitumor and antiviral properties of 5-halo- and 5-(trifluoromethyl)-2'-deoxyuridine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphates and neutral triesters.

The title diesters (11-15; halo substituents F, Cl, Br, I) were prepared by DCC-induced cyclization of the precursor 5'-monophosphate or direct halogenation of the 2'-deoxyuridine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate. Antitumor activities of 11-15 in cell systems (L1210 and Raji/0) were compared to those of the corresponding nucleosides and 5'-monophosphates. Thus, the 5-F- and 5-CF3-2'-deoxyuridines proved to be highly active derivatives [ID50 values (microgram/mL) for L1210, 0.002 and 0.06, respectively], with the 5'-monophosphates showing comparable potencies. The corresponding 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate diesters were 20-30 times less potent but nonetheless highly cytostatic. All derivatives including 11-15 had greatly increased ID50 values for the thymidine kinase deficient (TK-) L1210 and Raji cells. The 3',5'-cyclic diesters (11-15) evidently are not efficient prodrug sources of the nucleoside 5'-monophosphates in TK- cells. They also proved to be 100- to 2000-fold less efficient inhibitors of L1210 thymidylate synthetase than were the 5'-monophosphates. The 5-substituted 2'-deoxyuridines and their 5'-monophosphates were potent inhibitors of herpes simplex virus (MIC50 mostly 0.07-10 micrograms/mL) and vaccinia virus (MIC50 0.07-0.2 microgram/mL), with antiviral activity decreasing in the order 5-I, 5-Br greater than 5-CF3 greater than 5-Cl greater than 5-F. The 3',5'-cyclic monophosphates (11-15) were for the most part 10- to 40-fold less active than the 5'-monophosphates in the virus assay systems (e.g., MIC50 for the 5-Br and 5-I derivatives ranged 1-20 micrograms/mL). By contrast 11-15 were considerably more potent inhibitors of vaccinia virus growth (MIC50 0.4-2 micrograms/mL). As the neutral 3',5'-cyclic methyl phosphate triesters (16-18), the 5-I and 5-Br compounds were less potent in antiviral and cytostatic agents than the 3',5'-cyclic diesters, while the 5-iodo benzyl triester was in several cases as active as the 3',5'-cyclic diester. The title compounds (11-15) appear to require extracellular hydrolysis to the nucleoside before functioning as antitumor or antiviral agents.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Establishment of mutant murine mammary carcinoma FM3A cell strains transformed with the herpes simplex virus type 2 thymidine kinase gene.

To establish cell systems appropriate for investigating the mode of action of antiherpetic nucleoside analogues, mutant cell strains were constructed from murine mammary carcinoma FM3A cells, which were deficient in TK, but were transformed with a recombinant plasmid DNA containing the HSV-2 TK gene. The transformed cells incorporated the viral DNA, expressed viral TK activity and showed unusually high sensitivity to the cytostatic action of the antiherpetic nucleoside analogues ACV and IVDU, both of which were only weakly inhibitory to the growth of the parent cells. Curiously, the FM3A cell strains transformed with HSV-2 TK gene showed a higher sensitivity to ACV and IVDU than the previously established cell line transformed with HSV-1 TK gene. This contrasts with the inhibitory effects of ACV and IVDU on acute HSV infection, since HSV-2 infection is slightly or considerably less susceptible than HSV-1 infection to inhibition by ACV or IVDU, respectively.

Acyclovir↗
PubMed1986

Arabinosyl-5-azacytosine: mechanisms of native and acquired resistance.

Factors influencing the activity of the nucleoside analogue arabinosyl-5-azacytosine (ara-AC) were studied in P388 murine lymphoblasts in vitro and in vivo, in variants of these cells with artificially acquired resistance, in the naturally resistant colon 38 carcinoma in vivo, and in a panel of six human tumors maintained in continuous culture. Differences were noted not only between the sensitive and artificially developed resistant variants of P388, but also between the naturally sensitive (P388) and naturally resistant (colon 38) tumors. The artificially developed resistant P388 cell lines showed an inhibited capacity to accumulate nucleotides derived from ara-AC and deoxycytidine, whereas the accumulation of cytidine nucleotides remained unchanged. Studies of the initial velocity of facilitated diffusion of ara-AC showed only minor differences between parental and resistant lines, while the nucleotide formation rates from both ara-AC and deoxycytidine were markedly depressed in the latter cells. It is concluded, therefore, that the failure of resistant P388 cells to accumulate these compounds results not from a transport deficit per se but rather from a failure to convert the nucleosides to nondiffusible (i.e., phosphorylated) species inside the cell. This failure was accompanied by a substantial reduction in the incorporation of a radiolabeled product derived from deoxycytidine into the nucleic acids of the resistant clones. The common factor responsible for the resistance of P388 variants toward ara-AC appears to be a markedly decreased level of deoxycytidine kinase activity. The naturally resistant colon 38 carcinoma, on the other hand, in addition to a decrease in the activity of its deoxycytidine kinase, showed a lower level of activity of all its purine and pyrimidine kinases, along with a notably elevated nucleoside triphosphatase activity (with ATP as substrate) when compared to P388. These differences were reflected in lower endogenous nucleoside triphosphate pool sizes in colon 38, and in a lower level of ara-AC-5'-triphosphate accumulation in colon 38 than in P388 after comparable drug exposure. In the six human tumor lines, a positive correlation was established between sensitivity to ara-AC (as determined by its median inhibitory concentration) and cellular content of deoxycytidine kinase. It is concluded that this latter enzyme is a generally important determinant of sensitivity to arabinosyl-5-azacytosine.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Differential inhibitory effects of Evans blue on various DNA polymerases.

Evans Blue, an anionic dye which has been found to inhibit the replication of human immunodeficiency virus, proved also inhibitory to the DNA polymerases alpha and beta. The mode of inhibition was competitive with respect to the template X primer, and noncompetitive with respect to the deoxynucleoside triphosphate substrates. The inhibitory effect of Evans Blue on DNA polymerases is discussed in relation to that of suramin.

Azo Compounds↗
PubMed1986

Effect of (E)-5-(2-bromovinyl)uracil on the catabolism and antitumor activity of 5-fluorouracil in rats and leukemic mice.

In contrast to thymine and 5-fluorouracil (FUra) which were cleared from the bloodstream within 2-4 h after their i.p. administration (200 mumol/kg) to rat, (E)-5-(2-bromovinyl)uracil (BVUra) maintained a concentration of 50-70 microM for at least 6 h and was still present in the plasma 24 h after its administration. In vitro experiments with rat liver extracts indicated that BVUra was not a substrate but an inhibitor for the reductive step in pyrimidine degradation catalyzed by dihydrothymine dehydrogenase. Kinetic and dialysis experiments suggested that BVUra was an irreversible inhibitor of this enzyme. The binding of BVUra to the enzyme depended on the presence of reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate in the reaction mixture. Dihydrothymine dehydrogenase activity was also inhibited in the dialysed 105,000 X g supernatant fraction of livers from rats that had previously been treated with BVUra. Such inhibitory effects also occurred in vivo; previous administration of BVUra increased the plasma half-lives of thymine and FUra by 10- and 5-fold and their area under the curve by 9- and 8-fold, respectively. The effect of BVUra on the antitumor activity of FUra was evaluated in DBA/2 mice inoculated with 10(6) P388 leukemia cells. The mean survival times for the control and FUra-treated mice (5 mg/kg at 1, 3, 5, and 7 days after tumor cell inoculation) were 9.7 and 12.4 days, respectively. When BVUra (200 mumol/kg) was administered 1 h before each injection of FUra, the mean survival time was extended to 17.1 days. BVUra alone did not affect the mean survival time. When the dose of FUra was increased to 20 mg/kg, the mean survival time was 15.3 days; upon a preceding injection of BVUra the mean survival time decreased to 9.2 days. The latter effect probably resulted from an increased toxicity of FUra. Similar results were obtained if FUra was replaced by 5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine and BVUra by (E)-5-(2-bromovinyl)-2'-deoxyuridine. The enhancement of both the antitumor and toxic effects of FUra by BVUra were most probably due to an inhibition of FUra degradation, since, like in rats, BVUra increased the plasma half-life of FUra in DBA/2 mice. Hence BVUra appears to be an interesting compound, increasing the potency of FUra by decreasing its degradation.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Metabolism of the carbocyclic analogue of (E)-5-(2-iodovinyl)-2'-deoxyuridine in herpes simplex virus-infected cells. Incorporation of C-IVDU into DNA.

The carbocyclic analogues of (E)-5-(2-bromovinyl)-2'-deoxyuridine (BVDU) and (E)-5-(2-iodovinyl)-2'-deoxyuridine (IVDU), in which the sugar moiety is replaced by a cyclopentane ring and which have been designated as C-BVDU and C-IVDU, respectively, are, like their parent compounds BVDU and IVDU, potent and selective inhibitors of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and, to a lesser extent, herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) replication. We have now synthesized the radiolabeled C-IVDU analogue, C-[125I]IVDU, and determined its metabolism by HSV-infected and mock-infected Vero cells. C-[125I]IVDU was effectively phosphorylated by HSV-1-infected cells and, to a lesser extent, HSV-2-infected cells. C-[125I]IVDU was not phosphorylated to an appreciable extent by either mock-infected cells or cells that had been infected with a thymidine kinase-deficient mutant of HSV-1. Furthermore, C-[125I]IVDU was incorporated into both viral and cellular DNA of HSV-1-infected Vero cells. This finding represents the first demonstration of the incorporation of a cyclopentylpyrimidine into DNA.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Murine mammary FM3A carcinoma cells transformed with the herpes simplex virus type 1 thymidine kinase gene are highly sensitive to the growth-inhibitory properties of (E)-5-(2-bromovinyl)-2'-deoxyuridine and related compounds.

Murine mammary carcinoma (FM3A TK-/HSV-1 TK+) cells, which are thymidine kinase (TK)-deficient but have been transformed with the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) TK gene are inhibited in their growth by (E)-5-(2-bromovinyl)-2'-deoxyuridine (BVDU), (E)-5-(2-iodovinyl)-2'-deoxyuridine (IVDU) and (E)-5-(2-bromovinyl)-2'-deoxycytidine (BVDC) at 0.5, 0.5 and 0.8 ng/ml, respectively; i.e., a concentration 5000 to 20 000-fold lower than that required to inhibit the growth of the corresponding wild-type FM3A/0 cells. Hence, transformation of tumor cells with the HSV-1 TK gene makes them particularly sensitive to the cytostatic action of BVDU and related compounds.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Selective antiherpetic activity of carbocyclic analogues of (E)-5-(2-halogenovinyl)-2'-deoxyuridines: dependence on specific phosphorylation by viral thymidine kinase.

The carbocyclic analogues of (E)-5-(2-bromovinyl)-2'-deoxyuridine (C-BVDU) and (E)-5-(2-iodovinyl)-2'-deoxyuridine (C-IVDU), in which the sugar moiety is replaced by a cyclopentane ring, are as efficient substrates for the herpes simplex type 1 (HSV-1)-encoded thymidine kinase (TK) as their parent compounds (BVDU and IVDU). This conclusion is based on the binding affinities (Ki) of BVDU, IVDU, C-BVDU and C-IVDU to the HSV-1 TK and on the phosphorylation rates (Km, Vmax) of (125I)IVDU and (125I)C-IVDU by the enzyme. The specific phosphorylation of C-BVDU and C-IVDU by the viral TK may explain why these compounds are highly selective inhibitors of HSV-1 replication.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Incorporation of carbocyclic (E)-5-(2-iodovinyl)-2'-deoxyuridine (C-IVDU) into DNA of herpes simplex virus-infected cells.

C-IVDU, the carbocyclic analogue of IVDU [(E)-5-(2-iodovinyl)-2'-deoxyuridine], in which the sugar moiety is replaced by a cyclopentane ring, is, like its parent compound, a very potent and selective inhibitor of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) replication. Both C-IVDU and IVDU are effectively phosphorylated by HSV-1 infected cells and incorporated into viral and cellular DNA of these cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Synthesis and antiviral activity of the carbocyclic analogues of (E)-5-(2-halovinyl)-2'-deoxyuridines and (E)-5-(2-halovinyl)-2'-deoxycytidines.

The carbocyclic analogues of the potent and selective antiherpes agents (E)-5-(2-bromovinyl)-2'-deoxyuridine (BVDU), (E)-5-(2-iodovinyl)-2'-deoxyuridine (IVDU), and (E)-5-(2-bromovinyl)-2'-deoxycytidine (BVDC) were synthesized by conventional methods with use of carbocyclic 2'-deoxyuridine as starting material. C-BVDU, C-IVDU, and C-BVDC were equally selective, albeit slightly less potent, in their antiherpes action than BVDU, IVDU, and BVDC. Although resistant to degradation by pyrimidine nucleoside phosphorylases, C-BVDU did not prove more effective than BVDU in the systemic (oral, intraperitoneal) or topical treatment of HSV-1 infections in mice.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Establishment of mutant FM3A murine mammary carcinoma cell strains transformed with the herpes simplex virus type 1 thymidine kinase gene.

To establish cell systems appropriate for investigating the mode of action of anti-herpetic nucleoside analogs, mutants were constructed from murine FM3A mammary carcinoma cells, which were deficient in both thymidine kinase (EC 2.7.1.21) and thymidylate synthase (EC 2.1.1.45), but were transformed with a recombinant plasmid DNA containing the herpes simplex virus type 1 thymidine kinase gene. The transformed cells expressed viral thymidine kinase activity and showed unusually high sensitivity to the cytostatic action of the antiherpetic agent (E)-5-(2-iodovinyl)-2'-deoxyuridine, which was only weakly inhibitory to the growth of the parent cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Highly selective cytostatic activity of (E)-5-(2-bromovinyl)-2'-deoxyuridine derivatives for murine mammary carcinoma (FM3A) cells transformed with the herpes simplex virus type 1 thymidine kinase gene.

(E)-5-(2-Bromovinyl)-2'-deoxyuridine (BVDU) and various structurally related analogues thereof, i.e., (E)-5-(2-iodovinyl)-2'-deoxyuridine (IVDU) and (E)-5-(2-bromovinyl)-2'-deoxycytidine (BVDC), and the carbocyclic analogues of BVDU, IVDU, and BVDC, were evaluated for their inhibitory effects on the growth of murine mammary carcinoma FM3A cells, deficient in thymidine kinase (TK) activity but transformed with the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) TK gene (designated FM3A/TK-/HSV-1 TK+). BVDU and its congeners were much more inhibitory to the growth of FM3A/TK-/HSV-1 TK+ than to the growth of the wild type (FM3A/0) cells. For BVDU, for example, the 50% inhibitory dose for the FM3A/TK-/HSV-1 TK+ cells was 0.5 ng/ml, as compared to 11 micrograms/ml for the FM3A/0 cells. Evidently, BVDU and its congeners required phosphorylation by the HSV-1 TK to exert their cytostatic action. In attempts to evaluate further the mechanism of this cytostatic action, BVDU, IVDU, and their carbocyclic analogues were evaluated for their inhibitory effects on thymidylate synthetase (TS) and their incorporation into DNA. TS was identified as one, but not the sole, target in the cytostatic activity of BVDU and its derivatives. With [125I]IVDU and its carbocyclic analogue C-[125I]IVDU, clear evidence was obtained for the incorporation of these radiolabeled analogues into DNA of the FM3A/TK-/HSV-1 TK+ cell line and a TS-deficient mutant thereof, FM3A/TK-/HSV-1 TK+/TS-. No incorporation was detected with [125I]IVDU or C-[125I]IVDU into DNA of FM3A/0 and FM3A/TS- cells. To what extent the incorporation of [125I]IVDU and C-[125I]IVDU contributed to their cytostatic action against FM3A/TK-/HSV-1 TK+ cells remains the subject of further study.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Selective inhibition of the proliferation of herpes simplex virus type 1 thymidine kinase gene-transformed murine mammary FM3A carcinoma cells by (E)-5-(2-bromovinyl)-2'-deoxyuridine and related compounds.

Mouse mammary carcinoma FM3A cells deficient in thymidine kinase were transformed by a cloned gene for herpes simplex virus type 1 thymidine kinase. Among several anti-herpetic nucleoside analogues, (E)-5-(2-bromovinyl)-2'-deoxyuridine, (E)-5-(2-iodovinyl)-2'-deoxyuridine and (E)-5-(2-bromovinyl)-2'-deoxycytidine inhibited the growth of the transformed cells at concentrations 5000- to 20000-fold lower than those required to inhibit the growth of the corresponding wild-type cells. The selective inhibitory action of these compounds was due to a specific phosphorylation by the viral thymidine kinase. From the transformed cells, thymidine-auxotrophic mutants that are deficient in thymidylate synthase were isolated. These mutant cell lines should prove useful in elucidating the mechanism of action of the antiherpetic nucleoside analogues.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Incorporation of 5-substituted pyrimidine nucleoside analogues into DNA of a thymidylate synthetase-deficient murine FM3A carcinoma cell line.

Various 5-substituted 2'-deoxyuridine (dUrd), 2'-deoxycytidine (dCyd), 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosyluracil (araU) and 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine (araC) analogues have been investigated for their stimulatory effect on the growth of a thymidylate (dTMP) synthetase-deficient murine mammary carcinoma cell line (FM3A/TS-) that is auxotrophic for thymidine (dThd). Such stimulatory effect may be considered as indicative for the incorporation of the nucleoside analogue into host cell DNA. Based on this premise, several dUrd analogues were found to be incorporated into FM3A/TS- cell DNA (in decreasing order of incorporation): 5-bromo-dUrd greater than 5-chloro-dUrd greater than 5-(3-hydroxy-1-propynyl)-dUrd greater greater than 5-(1-pentynyl)-dUrd approximately 5-(1-propynyl)-dUrd approximately 5-iodo-dUrd greater than 5-(5-carboxy-1-hexenyl)-dUrd greater than 5-(3,3-dimethyl-1-butynyl)-dUrd greater than 5-ethyl-dUrd greater than 5-(5-chloro-1-pentynyl)-dUrd greater than 5-ethynyl-dUrd approximately 5 vinyl-dUrd greater than 5-phenylethynyl-dUrd greater than 5-(5-cyano-1-pentenyl)-dUrd greater than 5-(1-propenyl)-dUrd greater than 5-(1-hexynyl)-dUrd greater than 5-(5-hexyn-1-enyl)-dUrd. Among the 5-substituted dCyd analogues, 5-methyl-dCyd, 5-chloro-dCyd, 5-bromo-dCyd and 5-iodo-dCyd were also found to stimulate cell growth, and are therefore assumed to be incorporated into FM3A/TS- cell DNA. Since the stimulatory effects of these compounds on FM3A/TS- cell proliferation were suppressed in the presence of a Cyd deaminase inhibitor (tetrahydrouridine) or dCMP deaminase inhibitor (2'-deoxytetrahydrouridine), it is surmised that the dCyd analogues are first deaminated to the corresponding dUrd analogues before they are incorporated into DNA. None of the 5-substituted araU or araC analogues tested were able to sustain the growth of FM3A/TS- cells. It is postulated, therefore, that these araU or araC analogues are not incorporated to any appreciable extent into the DNA of FM3A/TS- cells, or, if they are incorporated, prevent cell growth. Thus, the dTMP synthetase-deficient FM3A/TS- cell line represents a unique system to distinguish those pyrimidine nucleoside analogues that are able to sustain cell growth and, therefore, assumed to be incorporated into the host cell DNA from those pyrimidine nucleoside analogues that are not.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Role of thymidine kinase and thymidylate synthetase in the cytostatic, antimetabolic, and antitumor effects of the carbocyclic analogue of 5-nitro-2'-deoxyuridine. A comparison with 5-nitro-2'-deoxyuridine.

The carbocyclic analogue of 5-nitro-2'-deoxyuridine (NO2dUrd), in which the sugar moiety is replaced by a cyclopentane ring and which was designated C-NO2dUrd, has been evaluated for its cytostatic, antimetabolic, and antitumor properties. The following findings are noted. C-NO2dUrd is about 500- to 2000-fold less inhibitory to tumor cell proliferation in vitro than NO2dUrd. Phosphorolysis of C-NO2dUrd by rabbit liver extracts was not observed under conditions where NO2dUrd was readily converted to 5-nitrouracil (NO2Ura). Also, C-NO2dUrd is converted to its 5'-monophosphate (C-NO2dUMP) by dThd kinase nearly as efficiently as the true nucleoside NO2dUrd. This metabolic conversion is necessary for the inhibitory effect of C-NO2dUrd on tumor cell proliferation in cell culture. The principal target enzyme for the cytostatic action of C-NO2dUrd is 2'-deoxythymidylate (dTMP) synthetase. C-NO2dUMP, the active metabolite of C-NO2dUrd, has a much lower affinity for dTMP synthetase than does NO2dUMP. This is the first demonstration of the interaction of a carbocyclic pyrimidine nucleotide analogue with dTMP synthetase. Neither NO2dUrd nor C-NO2dUrd exerts any significant antitumor activity in mice bearing L1210 or P388 leukemia; for NO2dUrd, this failure may be related to a rapid degradation to its inactive metabolite, NO2Ura; for C-NO2dUrd, it is most likely due to a decreased affinity of C-NO2dUMP for its target enzyme, dTMP synthetase.

Animals↗