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A method for the determination of iron by differential-pulse polarography, based on the formation of a 5,5-dimethylcyclohexane-1,2,3-trione 1,2-dioxime 3-thiosemicarbazone-iron(II) complex, is proposed. The method was applied to the determination of iron in acids, waters, wines and fruit juices.
Two new bifunctional chelators that are derivatives of the bis(thiosemicarbazone) ATSMH(2) proligand have been prepared, one with two phenyl carboxylate substituents on the exocyclic nitrogens (L(1)H(2)) and one with a single phenyl carboxylate (L(2)H(2)). The new ligands have been characterised by NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and in the case of L(1)H(2) by X-ray crystallography. The copper, nickel and zinc complexes of the new ligands have been synthesised and characterised. Electrochemical measurements show that the copper(II) complexes undergo a reversible reduction attributable to a Cu(II)/Cu(I) process. The new proligands have been tethered to the N-alpha-Boc-protected amino acids lysine and ornithine using solution and solid phase methods. The new amino acid conjugates form copper complexes and the complexes have been characterised by mass spectrometry and electronic spectroscopy. The bifunctional chelator L(2)H(2) has been conjugated to the tumour targeting peptide octreotide and the new ATSMH(2)-octreotide conjugate and its copper complex have been characterized by mass spectrometry. These new systems have the potential to be used for new targeted copper radiopharmaceuticals for imaging and therapy.
For many years, it has been known that hypoxia affects the response to radiotherapy in human cancers. Hypoxic regions can develop as a tumor grows beyond the ability of its blood supply to deliver oxygen to the full extent of the tumor, exacerbated by vascular spasm or compression caused by increased interstitial fluid pressure. However, hypoxia is heterogeneous, and tumors that appear identical by clinical and radiographic criteria can vary greatly in their extent of hypoxia. Several invasive procedures to measure hypoxia in tumors have been developed and are predictive of response to therapy, but none of these is in routine clinical use because of technical complexity, inconvenience, and inability to obtain repeated measures. Noninvasive imaging with a hypoxia-directed radiopharmaceutical could be of great clinical utility. Most such radiopharmaceuticals under development use 2-nitroimidazole as the targeting moiety. 2-Nitroimidazole, which is selectively reduced and bound in hypoxic tissues, has been labeled with F-18, Cu-64/67, I-123, and Tc-99m. Of these, F-18-fluoromisonidazole and I-123-iodoazomycin arabinoside (IAZA) have been most widely studied clinically. Non-nitro-containing bioreductive complexes, such as the Cu-60/62/64 thiosemicarbazone ATSM and Tc-99m butylene amineoxime (BnAO or HL91), have also been evaluated. In particular, 1-123-IAZA and Cu-60-ATSM have shown correlation with response to radiotherapy in preliminary clinical studies. However, more preclinical studies comparing imaging with validated invasive methods and clinical studies with outcome measures are required. Nuclear medicine is poised to play an important role in optimizing the therapy of patients with hypoxic tumors.
Several novel derivatives bearing the 7-trifluoromethyl-4-(4-substituted anilino)-quinoline skeleton were synthesized and evaluated for their in vitro activity against the blood streaming form of the parasites Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense, the trypomastigotes of Trypanosoma cruzi cultured in rat skeletal myoblasts, the amastigotes form of Leishmania donovani, Plasmodium falciparum (K1 strain) infected erythrocyte suspension, as well as their toxicity towards rat skeletal L-6 cells. In addition, three of the synthesized compounds were tested for their in vitro antitumor activity towards 60 human tumor cell lines by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Compound 1-(4-[[7-(trifluoromethyl)quinolin-4-yl]amino]phenyl)ethan-1-one thiosemicarbazone 23 exhibited potential activity against T. b. rhodesiense, T. cruzi and P. falciparum with IC50's of 0.278, 0.85 and 0.417 microgram/ml, respectively. These values are even more valuable since this compound was clearly non-toxic (cytotoxicity IC50 > 90 micrograms/ml), leading to in vitro therapeutic indices of > 323, > 106 and > 216, respectively. Meanwhile, compound N-[4-[5-(4-chlorophenyl)-4,5-dihydroisoxazol-3-yl]phenyl]-7-(trifluoromethyl) quinolin-4-amine 21 showed broad spectrum antitumor activity with full panel median growth inhibition GI50 (MG-MID) of 1.95 mumol and total growth inhibition TGI (MG-MID) of 6.87 mumol, respectively. Compound 23 represents a very good prospective as a lead compound able to combat three tropical diseases at a time. However, the pattern for the antitumor activity did not parallel any of the antiparasitic ones, indicating that non-common mechanisms of action may exist among these activities.
2-Acetylpyridine 5-[(dimethylamino)thiocarbonyl]thiocarbonohydrazone (A1110U) was found to be a potent inactivator of the ribonucleotide reductases (EC 1.17.4.1) encoded by herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 and by varicella-zoster virus and to be a weaker inactivator of human ribonucleotide reductase. It also markedly potentiated the antiherpetic activity of acyclovir against these viruses in tissue culture. A1110U both decreased the dGTP pool that builds up when infected cells are treated with acyclovir and induced a large increase in the pool of acyclovir triphosphate. The resultant 100-fold increase in the ratio of the concentrations of acyclovir triphosphate to dGTP should facilitate the binding of the fraudulent nucleotide to its target enzyme, herpes virus-encoded DNA polymerase, and could account for the synergy between A1110U and acyclovir. A similar change in the acyclovir triphosphate-to-dGTP ratio was previously reported to be induced by another ribonucleotide reductase inhibitor, 2-acetylpyridine 4-(2-morpholinoethyl)thiosemicarbazone (A723U). However, A1110U is considerably more potent and may have better clinical potential. Synergistic toxic interactions between A1110U and acyclovir were not detected in uninfected cells.
The feasibility of using "clustered charge-to-alanine" mutagenesis (replacement by alanine of two or more charged residues clustered in a five- or six-amino acid sequence) to create temperature-sensitive, conditionally lethal mutations in vaccinia virus was examined by creating nine mutations in the vaccinia virus gene G2R. G2R was chosen for this analysis because mutations in this gene confer selectable phenotypes. Specifically, vaccinia viruses that contain a wild-type copy of G2R nare sensitive the effects of the anti-poxvirus drug isatin-beta-thiosemicarbazone (IBT), while mutations in G2R that completely abolish the function of the G2R protein product confer dependence upon IBT for growth. A previously isolated mutant carrying a temperature-sensitive mutation that maps to G2R (Cts56) is resistant to IBT at the permissive temperature and dependent upon IBT at the restrictive temperature. Nine clustered charge-to-alanine mutants were examined. Four of the these mutants (AS1, AS4, AS6, and AS9) display some degree of temperature sensitivity in the function of the G2R gene product. AS1 is temperature sensitive for growth in both a plaque assay and in a one-step growth experiment. AS6 and AS9 form small plaques at the nonpermissive temperature and are temperature sensitive for growth in a one-step growth experiment. AS4 manifests its temperature sensitivity as temperature-dependent IBT resistance. Five of the mutations (AS2, AS3, AS5, AS7, and AS8) appeared to confer phenotypes indistinguishable from that of wild-type vaccinia. These results demonstrate that temperature-sensitive conditionally lethal mutants can be created in vaccinia virus by altering the charge characteristics of essential viral proteins.
In the search for more effective alternatives to the presently-used antileishmanial drugs, the activity of the major groups of antimycobacterial compounds has been examined, both in vitro and in animal models of infection. In vitro, clofazimine was the most active compound tested, with a mean ED50 of 2.3 mg l-1 against Leishmania mexicana amazonensis, 1.4 mg l-1 against L. donovani and 0.5 mg l-1 against L. major. Other active compounds were the thiosemicarbazone, thiambutosine, and salinazid, a derivative of isoniazid. Isoniazid itself was inactive, and rifampicin only partially active. In vivo, only clofazimine displayed significant activity, and it was most effective against the cutaneous infections. It is concluded that antimycobacterial activity is in general a poor predictor of antileishmanial potency.
A series of 1-(3-aryl-2-propenoyl)-4-oxopiperidines (1) as well as some related semicarbazones (2) and thiosemicarbazones (3) were prepared in order to determine whether the relative locations of aryl rings and amidic groups would lead to novel anticonvulsant agents. Initially the compounds were administered intraperitoneally to mice and examined in the maximal electroshock (MES), subcutaneous pentylenetetrazole (scPTZ) and neurotoxicity (NT) screens. The biodata revealed that anticonvulsant properties were displayed by most of the compounds in series (1), in half of the semicarbazones (2) while protection was absent by members of series (3). Molecular modeling was utilized in order to compare the positions of a phenyl ring in relation to amidic groups in representative compounds in series (1-3) with previously reported anticonvulsant agents. Molecular simplification of 4-oxo-1-(3-phenyl-2-propenoyl)piperidine (la) led to 1-(3-phenyl-2-propenoyl)piperidine (7) and N,N-diethylcinnamamide (8) with retention of anticonvulsant properties. Both (la) and (8) afforded protection in the hippocampal kindling screen in rats. When administered orally to rats, (la) and (8) demonstrated activity in the MES screen and in the case of (8), a huge protection index was observed revealing it to be an important lead compound. The IC50 values of all of the compounds towards murine P388 cells were in excess of 50 microM while several compounds displayed cytotoxicity towards Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Bis(1,10-phenanthroline/2,2'-bipyridine) ruthenium(II)complexes containing TCP, TTZ OPBI, and BTSC ligands (where, TCP = 1-thiocarbamoyl-3,5-diphenyl-2-pyrazoline, TTZ = 2-(3,5-diphenyl-4,5-dihydropyrazol-1-yl)-4-phenylthiazole, OPBI = 2-hydroxyphenyl benzimidazole and BTSC = benzoin thiosemicarbazone) have been prepared and characterized. The spectral data suggested that the ligands were coordinated with the metal through nitrogen, sulfur and oxygen atoms. The target complexes were tested in vivo for anticancer activity against transplantable murine tumor cell line, Ehrlich's Ascitic Carcinoma (EAC). All these complexes increased the life span of the EAC-bearing mice, decreased their tumor volume and viable ascitic cell count as well as improved Hb, RBC and WBC counts. These results suggest that the Ru(II) complexes exhibit significant antitumor activity in EAC-bearing mice. It was also observed that the ruthenium complexes protected red blood cells from 2,2'-azo-bis(2-methylpropionamidine) dihydrochloride (AAPH)- induced hemolysis. The inhibitory effect was dose-dependent at a concentration of 20-120 microg/ml.
Iron (Fe) depletion with anti-transferrin (Tf) receptor monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), Fe chelators, or gallium (Ga) salts inhibits in vitro and in vivo growth of tumor cells. The present studies examined the cytotoxic effects of an IgA anti-human Tf receptor MAb, 42/6, combined with parabactin, a powerful Fe chelator, or Ga nitrate. Parabactin inhibited in vitro growth of human hematopoietic and solid tumor cells, and the rank order of their sensitivities to the Fe chelator was identical to their relative sensitivity to MAb 42/6 as demonstrated in previous studies. When the most parabactin and MAb 42/6-sensitive (HL60 leukemia) and -resistant (KB carcinoma) cells were incubated with various concentrations of parabactin, cell killing was time and dose dependent over the first 24 hours. Little additional cytotoxicity occurred, however, when cells were exposed to parabactin for 48 hours. HL60 cells were slightly more sensitive than KB cells to parabactin cytotoxicity. Addition of optimally effective concentrations of anti-Tf receptor MAb 42/6 to parabactin increased cytotoxicity to HL60 cells over a narrow parabactin dose range but had little effect on cytotoxicity to KB cells. Cell cycle analysis of cells treated with parabactin for 24 hours showed that doses causing variable cytotoxicity increased the percentage of cells in S phase, but higher parabactin concentrations consistently arrested cells in G1 phase or at the G1/S interface. MAb 42/6 also increased toxicity of parabactin to granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factors and normal marrow granulocyte/macrophage progenitors. When HL60 or KB cells were treated with MAb 42/6 combined with Ga nitrate, MAb 42/6 increased cytotoxicity of Ga for HL60 cells but had little or no effect on Ga cytotoxicity to KB cells. In contrast, MAb 42/6 had minimal effects on cytotoxicity of the ribonucleotide reductase inhibitor, isoquinaldehyde thiosemicarbazone, to either HL60 or KB cells. Both hematopoietic and solid tumors were killed by Fe depletion, but the present studies suggested that hematopoietic cells are more sensitive than solid tumor cells to cytotoxic effects of Fe depletion. Combined Fe depletion therapy by the use of MAb 42/6 with an Fe chelator or Ga salt increased toxicity to MAb 42/6-sensitive cells, such as HL60, but was not more effective against MAb 42/6-resistant solid tumor cells. Combination Fe depletion therapy of hematopoietic cell tumors merits evaluation in experimental in vivo tumor systems.
In nearly all systems studied, ribonucleotide reductase consists of two non-identical subunits. We present here the results of our study on herpes simplex virus (HSV) ribonucleotide reductase in favour of the existence of two subunits, H1 and H2, different from the mammalian subunits, M1 and M2. First, although the viral subunits could not be separated by Blue Sepharose chromatography (unlike mammalian subunits), they seemed to dissociate at very low protein concentration as suggested by the non-linear relationship between activity and low protein concentration. Second, pyridoxal phosphate (Pyr.P)-NaBH4 treatment and 4-methyl-5-amino-1-formylisoquinoline thiosemicarbazone (MAIQ) treatment of partially purified extract of mammalian ribonucleotide reductase which inactivated M1 and M2 respectively also inhibited the HSV ribonucleotide reductase. This activity could be restored by mixing Pyr.P-NaBH4-treated extracts with MAIQ-treated extracts of viral ribonucleotide reductase, suggesting that each treated extract contains one active subunit. Moreover, the addition of exogenous M1 or M2 subunits to one or the other of these two treated extracts did not produce any detectable reductase activity. Our interpretation of these results is that the two subunits H1 and H2 which could dissociate upon treatment did not form enzymically active hybrids with the mammalian subunits. Also, the higher degree of resistance to heat inactivation and to hydroxyurea of the viral reductase as compared to the mammalian enzyme suggests that H1 differs from M1 and H2 from M2.
The title compound, [Cu2(C17H17N4S)2Cl2], exhibits a dimeric structure related by a centre of symmetry. The monomers are linked to each other by the longest Cu-S apical distance observed to date among Cu(II) square-pyramidal complexes of N4-substituted thiosemicarbazones. Each Cu(II) atom deviates from the coordination square plane, which contains the pyridyl and imine N atoms, the thiolate S atom and the Cl- anion, towards the S atom of the adjacent monomer. The dimers pack in a zigzag manner through the crystal.
The V(V) atom in the title complex, [V(C(16)H(16)N(5)S)O(2)], is five-coordinate in a highly distorted square-pyramidal geometry, with the pyridyl N, the azomethine N and the thiolate S atoms of the di-2-pyridyl ketone N(4),N(4)-(butane-1,4-diyl)thiosemicarbazone ligand and one oxo ligand occupying the basal coordination positions, while the second oxo ligand occupies the apical position. The molecules are interconnected by weak intermolecular interactions, mainly of the C-H...O type, involving the oxo atoms.
A system of prescreens and screen has been developed to select chelators as potential drugs against Trypanosoma brucei brucei EATRO 110. The chelators tested were nearly all commercially available, low molecular, and having moderate to high affinity for Fe(III). We prescreened 70 compounds showing heme-sparing or inhibitory activity in a Crithidia fasciculata growth system having excess Fe and minimal hemin. Of these, 45 were highly trypanocidal for suspensions of bloodstream T. b. brucei; criteria of activity here were immobilization, lysis, and loss of infectivity. Eighteen of the chelators highly active in the suspension prescreen were tried in T. b. brucei-infected mice. Thirteen of these chelators were curative in mice with 24-h infections, that is, they allowed survival greater than 30 days beyond the untreated controls. 3,4-Dihydroxycinnamic acid (caffeic acid), 2,9-dimethyl-1, 10 phenanthroline (neocuproine), and 2-pyridinecarboxaldehyde-2-pyridyl-hydrazone cured five out of five mice after an i.v dose of 100 mg/kg. Salicylaldehyde thiosemicarbazone cured five out of five mice at an i.p. dose of 500 mg/kg. Lesser activity was shown by several other chelators.
Four luteolytic agents were administered to groups of pregnant rats to examine the quantitative relationship between serum progesterone levels and the maintenance of pregnancy. Each agent inhibited progesterone in a dose-dependent manner, however only three, azastene, thiosemicarbazone and dihydrotestosterone, adversely affected pregnancy. A statistical analysis of the data suggests that, regardless of the mechanism of action of a particular luteolytic agent, a treatment-induced depression of serum progesterone to concentrations less than 45% of that of the controls on day 11 of pregnancy is incompatible with pregnancy maintenance.
Many of the current antimycobacterial agents require some form of cellular activation unmasking reactive groups, which in turn will bind to their specific targets. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms of activation of current antimycobacterials not only helps to decipher mechanisms of drug resistance but may also facilitate the development of alternative activation strategies or of analogues that do not require such processes. Herein, through the use of genetically defined strains of Mycobacterium bovis BCG we provide evidence that EthA, previously shown to activate ethionamide, also converts isoxyl (ISO) and thiacetazone (TAC) into reactive species. These results were further supported by the development of an in vitro assay using purified recombinant EthA, which allowed direct assessment of the metabolism of ISO. Interestingly, biochemical analysis of [(14)C]acetate-labeled cultures suggested that all of these EthA-activated drugs inhibit mycolic acid biosynthesis via different mechanisms through binding to specific targets. This report is also the first description of the molecular mechanism of action of TAC, a thiosemicarbazone antimicrobial agent that is still used in the treatment of tuberculosis as a second-line drug in many developing countries. Altogether, the results suggest that EthA is a common activator of thiocarbamide-containing drugs. The broad specificity of EthA can now be used to improve the activation process of these drugs, which may help overcome the toxicity problems associated with clinical thiocarbamide use.
Equine abortion virus, a member of the herpesvirus group, produces a lethal infection in hamsters. With this system, the protective effect of certain inhibitors of deoxyribonucleic acid viruses, inducers of interferon and exogenous interferon, was evaluated. Of the various agents studied, 9-beta-d-arabinofuranosyladenine markedly suppressed mortality, and 5-iodo-2'-deoxyuridine, distamycin A, and N-ethylisatin beta-thiosemicarbazone were inactive. Of the inducers tested, statolon, ultraviolet-irradiated Newcastle disease virus, and polyriboinosinic:polyribocytidylic acid (poly I:C) were protective, and endotoxin, polyacrylic acid, and polymethacrylic acid did not protect. Administration of exogenous interferon did not afford protection. Statolon and ultraviolet-irradiated Newcastle disease virus induced circulating interferon in hamsters, whereas poly I:C, endotoxin, and polyacrylic acid did not produce interferon. Because of the severity of the disease produced in hamsters by equine abortion virus, lack of protective activity by an agent in this system should not preclude possible efficacy against other members of the herpesvirus group.
8-Hydroxyquinoline and several of its derivatives inactivate the transforming ability of Rous sarcoma virus and inhibit its ribonucleic acid-dependent deoxyribonucleic acid polymerase activity. The copper complex of these metal-binding ligands is as active as the free ligand. The activity of the 8-hydroxyquinolines is approximately 50-fold more effective than another group of metal-binding compounds that we have tested, the thiosemicarbazones. In contrast to the potency of the 8-hydroxyquinolines to inactivate Rous sarcoma virus, no intracellular inhibition of transformation could be demonstrated at a concentration that did not affect the growth and appearance of the cells. Cellular deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis was inhibited to a greater extent than was ribonucleic acid or protein synthesis. The phenomenon of "concentration quenching" was observed with high concentrations of drug, causing less inhibition of deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis than was observed with lower concentrations. Herpes simplex virus type 1 was inactivated also by the 8-hydroxyquinolines and their copper complexes. No intracellular inhibition of plaque formation was observed. Treatment with 8-hydroxyquinoline sulfate had no effect on the resolution of herpetic keratitis in rabbits. Some 8-hydroxyquinolines bind to deoxyribonucleic acid in the presence of copper, a phenomenon that may be important in their antiviral activity.