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Biomedical subjects

K D Tew

Publications and source records attributed to K D Tew.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

Increased glutathione-S-transferase activity in a cell line with acquired resistance to nitrogen mustards.

A Walker 256 rat mammary carcinoma cell line (WR) resistant to bifunctional nitrogen mustards has been shown to have an approximate twofold increase in bulk glutathione-S-transferase activity compared to the parent cell line. Substrate specificity studies suggest that higher levels of Yb subunit contribute to the increased activity. By exposing WR cells to additional chlorambucil, either as a single concentration (50 micrograms/ml) or at 5 micrograms/ml for 10 days, transferase activity was further increased by up to three times the normal WR level. By using colony-forming assays, mitotic index depression, or trypan blue exclusion, the increased transferase activity could be correlated with an increase in resistance of these cells to either subsequent chlorambucil or a different bifunctional nitrogen mustard, phosphoramide mustard.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Biochemical and cytotoxic properties of the isomeric forms of N,N'-bis[N-2-chloroethyl)-N-nitrosocarbamoyl] cystamine.

Three isomeric forms of a cystamine-containing chloroethylnitrosourea, N,N'-bis[N-(2-chloroethyl)-N-nitrosocarbamoyl]cystamine (CNCC), have been identified and separated by high pressure liquid chromatography. Isomer S, 3,3'-bis[N-(2-chloroethyl)-N-nitrosocarbamoyl] ethyl disulfide, was significantly less cytotoxic than isomer C, 1,1'-bis [N-(2-chloroethyl)-N-nitrosocarbamoyl] ethyl disulfide, or isomer M, 1,3'-bis[N-(2-chloroethyl)-N-nitrosocarbamoyl] ethyl disulfide, in either a human Namalva lymphoblastoid or a rat Walker 256 carcinoma cell line. Both isomers S and C inhibited DNA synthesis at a 50 microM concentration. A structural analysis of the isomeric forms suggested that bioreduction of the disulfide bond would permit both isomers to produce isocyanate moieties which would carbamoylate intracellular proteins and depress nucleic acid synthesis. The reduced cytotoxic potential of isomer S is consistent with a prolongation in the half-life of production of alkylating carbonium species that lack the capacity to cross-link macromolecules. Overall, the relative position of the NH group within each of the nitrosourea isomers appears critical to the biological properties of the drug.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Cytotoxic properties of estramustine unrelated to alkylating and steroid constituents.

Using cultured HeLa S3 cells an ID50 of 2.5 micrograms/ml was found after a twenty-four-hour incubation with estradiol-17 beta- 3N -bis-(2-chloroethyl) carbamate (estramustine). Similar ID90 values were found in two Walker 256 rat carcinoma cell lines which were either sensitive or resistant to nitrogen mustards. Alkaline elution methodology revealed the complete absence of DNA strand breaks or cross-links in cells receiving up to 10 micrograms/ml estramustine for twenty-four hours. Nuclear uptake was 1.34 per cent of the available drug, one third of which was hydrophobically associated with the protein/phospholipid components of the nuclear matrix. In the human prostatic cell lines DU145 and PC3 , estramustine caused a drastic dose-dependent increase in the mitotic index. This increase resulted from an arrest of cells in metaphase, with highly contracted disoriented chromosomes present. Rapid reverse of the arrest on removal of drug resulted in cell death. Neither nor-nitrogen mustard nor estradiol demonstrated antimitotic properties. The lack of macromolecular alkylation together with the observed antimitotic effects predict a mechanism of action for estramustine which is distinct from either of its constituent components.

Alkylation↗
PubMed1983

Alkylating agent interactions with the nuclear matrix.

The interrelationship of DNA to the nuclear matrix is integral to the organization of chromatin within the nucleus and to the DNA replication process. The influence of nitrosourea and nitrogen mustard interactions with the nuclear matrix were studied in log phase HeLa cells. Alkylation of the nuclear matrix by chlorozotocin (CLZ) or 1-(2-chloroethyl-3-cyclohexyl)-1-nitrosourea (CCNU) was 1.58 and 1.27 pmoles drug/micrograms protein, respectively, whereas carbamoylation by CCNU was 32.5 pmoles/micrograms. These constituted approximately 30% of the total (nuclear) drug modifications. The structural matricin fibrillar components of the matrix were alkylated and carbamoylated twice as much as the ribonuclear protein elements (RNP). However, when alkylations are measured per microgram of protein, the ratio of covalently bound drug to RNP:matricin was 1.2 for both CLZ and CCNU. The RNP:matricin carbamoylation ratio for CCNU was 0.9. The importance of DNA and matrix protein alkylations to the process of reassociation was studied. Under control conditions, in vitro, approximately 80% of the DNA was associated with the matrix at a protein:DNA ratio (micrograms for micrograms) of 50:1. Direct alkylation or carbamoylation of the matrix proteins did not affect these DNA-protein interactions. However, using in vitro alkylated DNA (1 alkylation/10(2) base pairs), there was a 60% reduction of the alkylated nucleic acid bound to the matrix at the same protein: DNA ratio. The reduced binding of DNA to matrix may be a function of interference with the DNA recognition sites by alkylation of specific bases. The interference of DNA-matrix association by DNA alkylation may contribute to the cytotoxic activity of these antineoplastic agents.

Alkylating Agents↗
PubMed1983

Acquired drug resistance is accompanied by modification in the karyotype and nuclear matrix of a rat carcinoma cell line.

A Walker 256 breast carcinoma cell line (WR) exhibiting a greater than 20-fold resistance to alkylating agents has been selected from a parent cell line (WS). Karyotypic heterogeneity was apparent, with a number of differences evident between WR and WS cells. The modal chromosome number for WS is 62; for WR, 54; double minutes were found only in WR, whereas spontaneous chromosomal aberrations were present in approx. 40% of the WS cells. No similar aberrations were observed in WR. Using SDS-gel electrophoresis and subsequent silver staining, differences in the profile of nuclear matrix proteins in WR and WS were observed. A diffuse band at approx. 70 kD in the WS was absent in WR cells. This protein was phosphorylated, together with a number of the other major matrix polypeptides. Levels of phosphorylated matrix proteins were approximately equivalent in both WR and WS cell lines, but matrix protein phosphorylation levels were approx. 2-fold higher than corresponding values for bulk nuclear proteins. Selective pressure of drug exposure has resulted in enhanced genetic stability in WR cells and observed karyotype differences are accompanied by modifications in the structural proteins of the nuclear matrix. Whether the observed differences are the cause or result of drug resistance remains to be established.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Importance of phospholipids to nitrosourea interactions with the nuclear envelope and associated nucleic acids.

Nuclease digestion of triton isolated HeLa cell nuclei has resulted in nuclear envelopes containing less than 10% of the nuclear macromolecule. Alkylation and carbamoylation of the nuclear envelope (NE) fraction by chloroethylnitrosoureas (HNU) was disproportionately high (approximately 35% of total nuclear alkylation and approximately 55% carbamoylation) suggesting that the nucleophilic species in the envelope were preferential targets for drug binding. Digestion of the envelope fraction with phospholipase C (PLC), followed by buoyant density gradient separation in Percoll (70%):0.15 M NaCl (30%), demonstrated that some envelope:nucleic acid attachments were destabilized as a result of phospholipid cleavage. In addition, the buoyant density of HNU-modified NE macromolecules was slightly altered by PLC digestion, suggesting that cleavage of polar phospholipids did not completely destabilize the chloroethylated products from the nuclear envelope.

Alkylation↗
PubMed1983

Cytotoxicity of estramustine, a steroid-nitrogen mustard derivative, through non-DNA targets.

Estramustine is cytotoxic in HeLa and Walker 256 carcinoma cells (with or without acquired resistance to nitrogen mustards) at concentrations equivalent to other alkylating agents. Even at lethal estramustine levels, no damage to DNA occurs. Instead, a disproportionately high amount of intact estramustine binds hydrophobically to the structural proteins of the nucleus, the nuclear matrix. In HeLa cells, estradiol receptors are absent, and estradiol per se is not toxic. Thus, estramustine has a mechanism of action distinct from that of steroids and alkylating agents and may induce cytotoxicity through interactions with the proteins of the nuclear matrix.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Correlation of nitrosourea murine bone marrow toxicity with deoxyribonucleic acid alkylation and chromatin binding sites.

All of the clinically available nitrosourea antitumor agents produce serious treatment-limiting bone marrow toxicity. A reduction in this toxicity can be achieved by attaching the chloroethylnitrosourea cytotoxic group to C2 (chlorozotocin) or C1 (1-(2-chloroethyl)-3-(beta-D-glucopyranosyl)-1-nitrosourea, GANU) of glucose. Both glucose analogs are less myelotoxic in mice than 1-(2-chloroethyl)-3-cyclohepyl-1-nitrosourea (CCNU) or 1-(4-amino-2-methylpyrimidin-5-yl)methyl-3-(2-chloroethyl)-3-nitrosourea (ACNU), while retaining comparable antitumor activity against the murine L1210 leukemia. To define the nuclear mechanisms for this reduced myelotoxicity, alkylation of L1210 and murine bone marrow DNA was quantitated. With the use of the endonuclease micrococcal nuclease and DNase I, the sites of alkylation within the chromatin substructure were determined. Experiments were performed on L1210 leukemia or bone marrow cells that had been incubated in vitro for 2 hr with 0.1 mM [14C]chloroethyl drug. The quantitative alkylation of DNA by GANU was 1.3-fold greater in L1210, as compared to bone marrow, cells. This ratio of DNA alkylation is comparable to the 1.3 ratio we previously reported for chlorozotocin [L. C. Panasci, D. Green and P. S. Schein, J. clin. Invest. 64, 1103 (1979)]. In contrast, the ratio of alkylation (L1210:bone marrow DNA) for the myelotoxic ACNU was 0.66, similar to 0.59 for CCNU. Nuclease digestion experiments demonstrated that chlorozotocin and GANU preferentially alkylated internucleosomal linker regions of bone marrow chromatin, while nucleosome core particles were the preferred targets of CCNU and ACNU. The reduced myelotoxicity of chlorozotocin and GANU may be correlated with the advantageous ratio of L1210:bone marrow DNA alkylation and preferential alkylation of internucleosomal regions of bone marrow chromatin.

Alkylation↗
PubMed1982

Repair of DNA alkylation induced in L1210 leukemia and murine bone marrow by three chloroethylnitrosoureas.

The removal of DNA adducts is an essential step of DNA repair following exposure to chloroethylnitrosoureas. Adduct removal was evaluated in both L1210 and murine bone marrow DNA for lesions induced by three chloroethylnitrosoureas. 1-(2-Chloroethyl)-3-cyclohexyl-1-nitrosourea, a marrow-toxic agent with high carbamoylating activity, was not removed in either system for at least 6 to 12 hr. These results were compared with those obtained with two glucose-linked chloroethylnitrosoureas, chlorozotocin and 1-(2-chloroethyl)-3-(beta-D-glucopyranosyl)-1-nitrosourea. Both of these agents have low marrow toxicity at therapeutic doses. Chlorozotocin, which has very low chemical carbamoylating activity, was found to permit approximately 40% removal of drug-derived DNA adducts in both systems within the first 6 hr and approximately 50% by 18 hr. The second glucose-linked analog, 1-(2-chloroethyl)-3-(beta-D-glucopyranosyl)-1-nitrosourea, has relatively high carbamoylating activity and was found to inhibit early removal of DNA adducts as effectively as does 1-(2-chloroethyl)-3-cyclohexyl-1-nitrosourea. It would thus appear that the selective marrow-sparing property of the sugar-linked chloroethylnitrosoureas is not dependent upon carbamoylation-mediated differences in the rate and extent of DNA adduct removal. In view of the comparable therapeutic activity of the three drugs for L1210 leukemia, therapeutic efficacy does not appear to be impaired by the increased rate of adduct removal observed with chlorozotocin in this system.

Alkylation↗
PubMed1982

Selective cytotoxicity of haloethylnitrosoureas in a carcinoma cell line resistant to bifunctional nitrogen mustards.

A Walker 256 rat carcinoma cell line (WR) has been shown to be resistant to a broad spectrum of bifunctional nitrogen mustards (NM) in cell culture. The parent cell line (WS) from which the WR cells were selected retains marked sensitivity to this class of drugs. Karyotype analysis showed that the parent WS had a chromosome content which was significantly higher than the WR. A number of chromosome marker bands were also distinguishable, indicative of distinct nuclear structural differences. A lack of collateral resistance to haloethylnitrosoureas was demonstrated for the WR cell line. In some cases the sensitivity of the WR to nitrosoureas was greater than that of WS. In addition, the WR could be sensitized to NM by a concomitant addition of a water-soluble carbamoylating agent, N,N'-bis(trans-4-hydroxycyclohexyl)-N'-nitrosourea, which possessed no intrinsic alkylating activity. Since NM and nitrosoureas differ pharmacologically, mainly by the latter's potential to carbamoylate, this reaction would appear to be critical to the cytotoxic properties of nitrosoureas against WR cells. Heretofore, carbamoylation has been considered of little importance to the antitumor properties of nitrosoureas. Moreover, 1-(4-amino-2-methylpyrimidine-5-yl)-methyl-3-(2-chloroethyl)-3-nitrosourea hydrochloride (ACNU) has been reported as possessing only minimal carbamoylating potential, as measured in vitro by a lysine assay. While remaining an accurate assay for the modification of the psi-amino groups of lysine, it is possible that the quantitative lysine assay may not predict the physiological carbamoylating potential of ACNU in the Walker cells, since marked cytotoxicity was achieved in both WR and WS by ACNU.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Biochemical and pharmacologic properties of nitrosoureas.

The employment of traditional biochemical and pharmacological concepts, together with the development of original molecular approaches, has created a more comprehensive understanding of the mechanism of action of nitrosoureas. For example, it is clear that all nuclear macromolecules are susceptible to alkylation and/or carbamoylation by nitrosoureas. The relative importance of these respective processes is equivocal, but there is evidence to suggest that the alkylating potential of these drugs is directly responsible for their cytotoxic, mutagenic, or carcinogenic properties. The structural organization of nuclear chromatin, either at the nucleosomal or function level, is a critical determinant when considering specific macromolecules as potential targets for nitrosourea interaction. Perhaps a more complete understanding of the nuclear architecture of specific cell types will lead to a more precise understanding of nitrosourea selectivity, especially with respect to the nonmyelotoxic properties of chlorozotocin. Such knowledge would also assist in the rational development of novel nitrosourea analogues.

Alkylating Agents↗
PubMed1980

Influence of hydrocortisone on the binding of nitrosoureas to nuclear chromatin subfractions.

The effects of steroid-induced modifications of chromatin structure on the extent and sites of chloroethylnitrosourea binding to chromatin were studied using log-phase HeLa cells. The cells were exposed to 0.1 to 2.0 microM hydrocortisone for 22 hr; this resulted in depressed DNA synthesis while transcriptional activity was stimulated. Hydrocortisone had no effect upon cellular or nuclear uptake of the two nitrosoureas under study, 0.6 mM chlorozotocin or 1-(2-chloroethyl-3-cyclohexyl-1-nitrosourea). Both drugs were found to alkylate transcriptional chromatin preferentially, as demonstrated by DNase II and DNase I digestion. This alkylation was stimulated 2-fold by the same micromolar concentrations of hydrocortisone, 0.1 to 2.0 microM, which stimulated transcription. The extent of nuclear RNA alkylation, determined using RNase T2 as a probe, was found to contribute less than 20% of total chromatin alkylation and was unaffected by steroid pretreatment. Instead, the increased alkylation within these chromatin subfractions was attributed to a steroid-induced alteration of chromatin structure. Electron microscopic examination of HeLa nuclear morphology revealed a hydrocortisone-induced disaggregation of nuclear membrane-associated heterochromatin resulting in a more heterogeneous, less condensed distribution of chromatin. Such data are consistent with a relaxation of the supercoiled chromatin structure, resulting in increased transcription and increased accessibility of potential target sites for nitrosourea alkylation.

Alkylation↗