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PubMed1976

Pulmonary carcinogenesis by derivatives of polynuclear aromatic alkylating agents.

Simple alkylating derivatives of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons have been found to be much more carcinogenic in the Strain A mouse than are the parent hydrocarbons. It has also been shown that the carcinogenicity of these halomethyl hydrocarbons is not a function of the first-order solvolysis rate. The acridine antitumor agent and mutagen ICR 170, 2-methoxy-6-chloro-9-[3-(ethyl-2-chloroethyl)aminopropylamino]acridine dihydrochloride, has been shown to be a potent carcinogen in the same system when administered i.v., superseding data in the literature indicating inactivity when the drug is administered i.p. Stimulation of the immune system has been shown to have a marked inhibitory effect on the carcinogenic activity of this compound.

Adenoma↗

PubMed2001

Therapy-related leukemia associated with alkylating agents.

The leukemogenic potential of alkylating agents has been known for many years and almost all alkylating agents in clinical use have been shown to increase the risk of leukemia. With these drugs the risk of leukemia appears to increase with increasing patient age, as does the risk of de novo myeloid leukemia in the population. Susceptibility to alkylating agent-associated leukemia is influenced by the genetic constitution of the patient, and by the nature of the exposure. To illustrate the importance of these factors in etiology of leukemia, this paper discusses the contribution of disorders such as Fanconi anemia and neurofibromatosis to susceptibility to alkylating agent-associated leukemia. This paper also discusses the contribution of alkylating agents and other therapeutic exposures in the etiology of leukemias occurring after autologous bone marrow transplant.

Antineoplastic Agents, Alkylating↗

PubMed1998

Effects of O6-benzylguanine on growth and differentiation of P19 embryonic carcinoma cells treated with alkylating agents.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of modulating the repair of O6-alkylguanine adducts on the developmental toxicity of alkylating agents. Alkylating agents that have been shown to induce developmental toxicity following either in vitro or in vivo exposure were chosen for this investigation, and include methylnitrosourea (MNU), ethylnitrosourea (ENU), methyl methanesulfonate (MMS), and ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS). P19 cells are pluripotent murine embryonic carcinoma cells that can be induced by all trans retinoic acid (RA) to differentiate into cells that are biochemically and morphologically very similar to cells of the central nervous system. These cells are useful for studying the ability of chemicals to affect neuronal viability and differentiation. Neuronally differentiating P19 cells were pretreated with O6-benzylguanine (O6-Bg), a potent and specific inhibitor of the O6-alkylguanine-DNA-alkyltransferase (AT) protein that repairs lesions at the O6-position of guanine. In previous studies using micromass rat embryo midbrain cells, O6-Bg greatly potentiated the ability of MNU but not ENU to inhibit differentiation, and did not significantly alter the effects of either MNU or ENU on viability. In the P19 cells, we found that AT inhibition potentiated the effects of MMS, MNU, and EMS to inhibit both viability and differentiation. Additionally, AT inhibition had a much greater effect on toxicity of the methylating agents, as compared to the ethylating agents. These results suggest that O6-alkylguanine adducts can inhibit both viability and differentiation in P19 cells treated with alkylating agents.

Alkylating Agents↗

PubMed1992

Use of [8-3H]guanine-labeled deoxyribonucleic acid to study alkylating agent reaction kinetics and stability.

Alkylation at the N7 position of guanine in DNA renders the C8-hydrogen acidic. This serves as the basis for an assay of guanine N7 alkylation using [8-3H]-guanine-labeled DNA. I modified the assay by preparing a high specific activity substrate in vitro and by replacing the distillation step with charcoal adsorption of substrate. Using the appearance of noncharcoal-adsorbable label as a measure of guanine-N7 alkylation I examined the reaction of DNA with dimethyl sulfate and mechlorethamine. The rate of reaction of dimethyl sulfate with the N7 position of guanine in DNA was constant over time, i.e., loss of label from DNA proceeded linearly with time. On the other hand, the rate of reaction of mechlorethamine with DNA increased with time, consistent with the initial formation of the reactive aziridinium ion. The assay can also be used to compare the reaction rates of various alkylating agents with DNA. Thus, the acridine mustards ICR-170 and quinacrine mustard were far more potent alkylating agents than mechlorethamine. Furthermore the assay may be used to determine the alkylating potency and stability of various alkylating agent preparations: while frozen solutions of acridine mustards in organic solvents retained alkylating activity for several months, different commercial preparations of quinacrine mustard had little or no alkylating activity.

Alkylating Agents↗

PubMed1979

Affinity labelling of rat-muscle hexokinase type II by a glucose-derived alkylating agent.

The glucose-derived alkylating agent N-bromoacetylglucosamine (GlcNBrAc) is shown to cause a time-dependent irreversible inactivation of rat muscle hexokinase type II. The kinetics of inactivation are in accord with the reversible formation of an enzyme-inhibitor complex prior to modification, indicating that the reagent is active-site-directed. A Ki of 0.57 mM obtained for this reversible complexing is in agreement with a Ki of 0.65 mM obtained for the inhibition caused by N-propionylglucosamine, an isosteric analogue of GlcNBrAc and a competitive inhibitor with respect to glucose. Glucose itself protects competitively against inactivation. A KG of 0.26 mM obtained for the formation of enzyme-glucose complex from these studies is in agreement with the kinetically-determined Km of 0.2 mM. The substrate-unrelated but chemically similar alkylating agents bromoacetic acid and N-bromoacetylgalactosamine inactivate the enzyme at 20% of the rate caused by GlcNBrAc. The inactivation rate increases rapidly over the pH range 7--9. Analysis of this pH dependence shows that a single residue of pKa 8.9 is reacting with GlcNBrAc with a kmax (pH corrected, pseudo-first-order rate constant) of 1.5 x 10(-3) S-1. These values are typical of the reaction of model thiols with alkylating agents and suggests the reacting residue is probably a cysteine. Use of radioactively labelled GlcNBrAc indicates that uptake of 1 mol of reagent per mol protein causes complete activity loss. Finally the behaviour of this enzyme with active-site-directed alkylating agents is compared with published results of similar experiments carried out with yeast hexokinase and bovine brain hexokinase type I.

Acetylglucosamine↗

PubMed2000

The cJun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling pathway mediates induction of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) by the alkylating agent MNNG.

The monofunctional alkylating agent N-methyl-N-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) is a widespread environmental carcinogen that causes DNA lesions, leading to cell death. However, MNNG can also trigger a cell-protective response by inducing the expression of DNA repair/transcription-related genes. We demonstrate that the urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) gene product, a broad spectrum extracellular protease to which no DNA repair function has been assigned, is transcriptionally induced by MNNG in C2C12 and NIH3T3 cells. This induction required an AP1-enhancer element located at -2.4 kilobase (kb), because it was abrogated by deletion of this site. MNNG was found to induce the activation of JNK/SAPK and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs). Accordingly, we attempted to assess the contribution of each of these MNNG-inducible MAPKs to uPA gene induction by this alkylating agent. Coexpression of dominant negative versions of kinases of the JNK pathway, such as catalytically inactive forms of MEKK1, MKK7, and JNKK, and of cytoplasmic JNK-inhibitor JIP-1, as well as treatment of cells with curcumin (which blocks JNK activation by MNNG), inhibited MNNG-induced uPA transcriptional activity. In contrast, neither dominant negative MKK6 nor SB203580, which specifically inhibit p38 MAP kinase activation, abrogated the MNNG-induced effect. Taken together, our results show that the JNK signaling pathway links external MNNG stimulation and AP1-dependent uPA gene expression, providing the first functional dissection of a transcription-coupled signal transduction pathway for MNNG. (Blood. 2000;96:1415-1424)

3T3 Cells↗

PubMed1995

Combination of computerized morphonuclear and multivariate analyses to characterize in vitro the antineoplastic effect of alkylating agents.

The influence of 13 anticancer alkylating agents on cell proliferation, cell cycle parameters, and morphonuclear characteristics was monitored in vitro on three neoplastic cell lines. This monitoring was carried out by means of the digital cell image analysis of Feulgen-stained nuclei. This computer-assisted microscope analysis of chromatin texture made it possible to assess 15 morphonuclear parameters. These 15 parameters were submitted to multivariate analyses, that is, principal-components analyses followed by the canonical transformation of the data. The 13 alkylating agents included four nitrogen mustards (chlormethine, chlorambucil, melphalan, and cyclophosphamide), two nitrosoureas (carmustine and lomustine), two platinum analogues (cisplatine and carboplatine), two ethyleneimine derivatives (thiotepa and investigational PE1001), one antibiotic (mitomycin C), one alkylsulfonate (busulfan), and one triazene (dacarbazine). The mouse MXT mammary and the human J82 and T24 bladder tumor cell lines were used in this study. The results show that these alkylating agents induced specific modifications to the chromatin pattern according to the subclass to which they belong. In other words, the multivariate statistical analyses of the 15 parameters made it possible to identify, at least partly, distinct subclasses of alkylating agents according to their mechanisms of action. As a validation of the methodology, the results also show that most of the alkylating agents induced an increase in the percentage of cells in the G2 phase, while some sometimes induced an increase in the percentage of cells in the S phase of the cell cycle.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMed2000

Mechanisms of action of quinone-containing alkylating agents. I: NQO1-directed drug development.

Alkylating agents have been used to treat cancer since the 1940s. Quinone-containing alkylating agents represent a class of drugs called "bioreductive alkylating agents." These drugs require reduction of the quinone moiety for activation of their alkylating substituents. Despite active research in this area, mitomycin C is the only bioreductive alkylating agent approved for general use. The "enzyme-directed" approach to bioreductive drug development involves identification of reductases which are overexpressed in tumors when compared to uninvolved tissues. Bioreductive drugs which are substrates for these reductases should be selectively toxic to tumors with high reductase levels. NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase (NQO1, DT-diaphorase, EC 1.6.99.2) is a two-electron reductase found primarily in the cytosol. NQO1 has received considerable attention because of the high levels of this enzyme in tumors particularly in tumors of the lung, colon and breast. In this review, the current state of research on quinone-containing alkylating agents is discussed with the focus on NQO1-directed bioreductive drug development. Recent structure-activity studies on indolequinones, benzoquinones and other novel quinones are reviewed, and the status of drugs which have been studied in clinical trials is discussed. Finally, the limitations and possible future directions in this research area are presented.

Alkylating Agents↗

PubMed1981

Synthesis and antitumor effect of new biological alkylating agents, isethionic acid esters.

New hydrophilic alkylating agents, isethionic acid esters, are proposed for use as synthetic biological alkylating agents. Methyl, ethyl, and isopropyl esters of isethionic acid were synthesized starting from isethionate and the corresponding alkyl bromides or iodides in good yields. This synthetic procedure might be generally applicable to syntheses of alkyl isethionates. The derivatives thus prepared were water-soluble, as expected, and their alkylating abilities were very similar to those of the corresponding methanesulfonates. Hence, isethinonic acid esters might be suitable for use as hydrophilic biological alkylating agents in place of methanesulfonates. In order to determine the effectiveness of isethionates as anticancer alkylating agents, 1,4-butanediol diisethionate was prepared as a model compound and its anticancer activities against adenocarcinoma 755, sarcoma 180, L1210, and P388 were compared with those of the corresponding methanesulfonate, busulfan. The isethionate was superior to busulfan in all the assay systems employed. 1,5-Pentanediol diisethionate was also prepared and assayed. The results were similar to those for the 1,4-butanediol analog. In conclusion, in the design of molecules for use as cancer chemotherapeutics, the isethionic acid ester group is worth considering, and may be preferable to other commonly used leaving groups, including methanesulfonic acid ester.

Alkanesulfonates↗

PubMed1989

Effect of novobiocin on the antitumor activity and tumor cell and bone marrow survivals of three alkylating agents.

Our previous in vitro studies demonstrated marked synergy with alkylating agents when novobiocin was present during and after alkylating agent exposure. To determine whether this effect is observed in vivo, novobiocin was administered daily for 3 days prior to alkylating agent treatment, during alkylating agent treatment, and for 2 days after completion of alkylating agent treatment. When combined with cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II), 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea, or cyclophosphamide, there was significant enhancement of the growth delay of the FSaIIC fibrosarcoma implanted s.c. in C3H mice when compared with alkylating agents alone. In a second assay using ex vivo studies of tumor cells exposed in vivo, single doses of 100 mg/kg of novobiocin followed by cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II) resulted in a 3- to 4-fold increase in tumor cell killing by cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II). At a dose of 100 mg/kg of 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea there was about a 7-fold increase in tumor cell kill upon addition of novobiocin. Cyclophosphamide showed a dose response effect with novobiocin, reaching 13-fold at a dose of 300 mg/kg of cyclophosphamide. In all cases bone marrow elements were affected less than were neoplastic cells, suggesting that the combination of novobiocin and alkylating agents may be a clinically useful strategy.

Alkylating Agents↗

PubMed1993

High-dose combined alkylating agent therapy with autologous stem cell support and chest radiotherapy for limited small-cell lung cancer.

Although initially responsive to chemotherapy, patients with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) almost invariably suffer relapse. Recurrent SCLC responds poorly to treatment. Previous trials using high-dose chemotherapy with bone marrow support have commonly used single agents or combined alkylating agents without chest radiotherapy. Among patients with limited disease receiving dose-intensive chemotherapy, locoregional relapse remained the predominant site of first failure. Recent phase II trials using intensive locoregional therapy (aggressive concurrent chemoradiotherapy) have resulted in promising survival. Our trial used combined alkylating agents with autologous marrow support and chest radiotherapy in patients with limited disease in response to conventional-dose induction chemotherapy. Of 19 patients treated, the actuarial survival was 56% with a median follow-up of 18 months following high-dose therapy. Patients who achieved complete or near-complete response prior to high-dose therapy enjoyed the best prognosis. Continued evaluation of intensive systemic and local therapy for SCLC is indicated.

Alkylating Agents↗

PubMed1984

Use of alkylated proteins in the monitoring of exposure to alkylating agents.

Measurement of reaction products of alkylating agents with proteins has been used as a monitor of in-vivo exposure to over 30 such compounds. Doses in animals exposed to directly-acting alkylating agents (e.g., methyl methanesulfonate, ethylene oxide) are directly related to the production of alkylated amino acids in haemoglobin. The erythrocyte dose of alkylating agent, calculated from the extent of haemoglobin alkylation, is in some cases related to liver and extra-hepatic DNA doses; thus, detection of alkylation of haemoglobin may be taken as an indication of a reaction at the carcinogenic target site.

Albumins↗

PubMed1984

Disappearance of free SH-groups in hemoglobin of man, rat and rabbit after exposure to alkylating agents in vitro.

The effect of alkylating agents on the content of free SH-groups in human, rat and rabbit hemoglobin was examined. Treatment of blood in vitro with iodoacetamide, styrene oxide and methyl methanesulfonate resulted in a dose-dependent decrease of free SH-groups in hemoglobin. The free SH-groups of rat hemoglobin were more susceptible to the alkylating agents tested than those of human and rabbit hemoglobin. The method is based on the isolation of hemoglobin and a subsequent measurement of the free SH-content of the hemoglobin by means of a spectrophotometric procedure. This procedure may be useful to examine differences in susceptibility of free SH-groups in hemoglobin, e.g. of different animal species, and on the other hand, to study the potencies of different electrophilic agents to alkylate these nucleophilic centers.

Alkylating Agents↗

PubMed1999

O6-alkylguanine-DNA alkyltransferase in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma: implications for treatment with alkylating agents.

Mycosis fungoides is a low-grade cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Early treatment often involves the use of topical chemotherapy such as mechlorethamine or carmustine although single-agent oral chemotherapy with alkylators is common for advanced disease. Recently, in a Phase I study of the new alkylating agent temozolomide, two mycosis fungoides patients experienced a complete response. The mechanism of resistance to alkylating drugs such as temozolomide is thought to be due to the presence in tumor cells of the DNA repair protein, O6-alkylguanine-DNA alkyltransferase (AGT). The protein mediates a reaction with the O6-position of guanine in DNA, removing the lesion and leaving guanine intact. We, therefore, examined the levels of AGT in CD4+ T lymphocytes obtained by negative antibody selection from the blood of noncancerous individuals and mycosis fungoides patients, and in paraffin-embedded sections from mycosis fungoides patch, plaque, or tumor lesions and cells from involved lymph nodes. AGT protein levels were measured by quantitative immunofluorescence microscopy using a monoclonal antibody against human AGT. Using this approach, the mean level of our positive control (AGT-expressing cells) was 84,807 molecules/nucleus; values below 5,000 molecules/nucleus are considered very low. The mean AGT level in CD4+ T lymphocytes from noncancerous and cancerous individuals was 18,618 (n = 12) and 8,593 (n = 5), respectively. The mean fraction of outliers in circulating CD4+ T lymphocytes from mycosis fungoides patients was statistically significantly lower than T cells in lymph nodes. AGT molecules/nucleus from lymph node biopsies from 8 of 10 patients showed low (< 10,000 molecules/nucleus) or undetectable levels (n = 5) of AGT. The mean AGT level from samples of mycosis fungoides patch/plaque and tumor was also low at 221 (n = 4) and 2,363 (n = 6), respectively. Surprisingly, Hut78, a mycosis fungoides T-cell lymphoma cell line, was positive for AGT activity (median: 77,700 molecules/nucleus), and Hut102--another mycosis fungoides cell line--was low (median: 5,990 molecules/nucleus). Because AGT is a primary means of cell resistance to alkylating agents, the low level of AGT in neoplastic T lymphocytes from patients with mycosis fungoides suggests that treatment with alkylating agents producing O6-alkylguanine adducts, such as carmustine or temozolomide, may produce improved clinical outcomes.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Dose-dependent cytotoxic and mutagenic effects of antineoplastic alkylating agents on human lymphoblastoid cells.

The alkylating agents in clinical use as antineoplastics are strongly implicated as human carcinogens on the basis of animal studies and human epidemiologic studies. However, there is little quantitative information on the extent to which exposure to these drugs is mutagenic for normal (non-malignant) cells and the extent to which such mutagenicity correlates with cytotoxicity of these agents. Human lymphoblastoid cells (WIL2-NS) were exposed to graded doses of eight antineoplastic alkylating agents. Cell killing and mutation induction at the hypoxanthine -guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) locus were measured by cloning in microplates in the presence and absence of 6-thioguanine. Dose-dependent decreases in survival were used to calculate IC50s for each of the drugs tested. The IC50s, for 1 hr exposure, ranged from 4 x 10(-7) M for nitrogen mustard to 5 x 10(-4) M for busulfan. The eight drugs tested each induced detectable increases in the frequency of mutant cells. The mutagenicity of these agents is correlated strongly with cytotoxicity. However, at equitoxic doses (IC50), the frequency of induced mutants ranged from approximately 3 x 10(-6) for 1,3-bis(2-chlorethyl)-1-nitrosourea (BCNU) to 2 x 10(-5) for busulfan and cisplatin. These results quantitate the dose-dependent cytotoxic and mutagenic effects of these bifunctional alkylating agents on human cells. All are cytotoxic and mutagenic, although their mutagenic efficiency varies.

Alkylating Agents↗

PubMed1977

Sites in nucleic acids reacting with alkylating agents of differing carcinogenicity of mutagenicity.

The site of alkylation of a nucleic acid, in vivo, is greatly dependent on the type of alkylating agent. Most alkylating agents of low mutagenicity or carcinogenicity (such as dimethylsulfate) react primarily with the ring nitrogens. The carcinogenic N-nitroso compounds have a great affinity for alkylating oxygens and react with all ring oxygens as well as the phosphodiesters and, in the case of RNA, with the 2'-O of ribose. Ethylating agents, though in absolute terms less reactive than the corresponding methylating agents, show even greater affinity toward oxygens. It appears that the ethyl nitroso compounds that are carcinogenic are also the most reactive with oxygens.

Alkylating Agents↗

PubMed1981

Mice, men, mustard and methylated xanthines: the potential role of caffeine and related drugs in the sensitization of human tumours to alkylating agents.

The relationships between DNA damage from UV radiation, alkylating drugs and the methylated xanthines (MX) have been studied in normal and malignant rodent and human cells. A comparison of the level of DNA excision repair (repair replication and unscheduled DNA synthesis) confirms that some forms of alkylating-agent damage (probably mono-filar DNA adducts) are less completely removed by both normal and malignant rodent cells than by their human counterparts, rendering rodent cells more susceptible to the toxic potential of unexcised lesions. The toxicity of alkylating agents can be increased by the presence of several MXs during the period of DNA replication which follows infliction of the damage. Human cells appear capable of excising more DNA damage, rendering them somewhat less susceptible to enhancement of cytotoxicity by MX. This resistance of human cells is only quantitative, however, since 2 human cancer cell lines (HeLa and HT-29) could be sensitized to a variety of alkylating agents by appropriate concentrations of MX. Trimethylxanthine (caffeine) and the 2 clinically useful dimethylxanthines (theophylline and theobromine) appeared equally effective in sensitizing cells. The sensitization was dependent upon a slightly cytotoxic concentration of the MX and a suitably prolonged period of post-damage MX exposure. Of these 3 classic MXs, only theobromine might be clinically useful. The levels required for alkylating-agent sensitization exceed the clinically tolerable level of theophylline, and probably approach the tolerance of man to caffeine. The most likely mechanism by which MX sensitization is achieved is reversal of the inhibition of DNA replicon initiation which follows the infliction of significant DNA damage. Through the selection of suitable clinically useful alkylating agents (those dependent on active cellular transport for cell penetration) and appropriate MX scheduling, an enhanced therapeutic ratio might be achieved, potentially increasing the clinical usefulness of these alkylating agents. MX would thus form a useful class of agents adjuvant to conventional anti-cancer drugs.

Alkylating Agents↗

PubMed1994

Long-term persistence and cytokinetics of human tumor cells in vitro following high-dose alkylating agent exposure.

Relapse after high-dose alkylating agent therapy continues to be an important clinical issue. To begin to understand the characteristics of cells surviving alkylating agent exposure human MCF-7 breast carcinoma cells were exposed to a range of concentrations of melphalan or cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II) and cell survival determined by colony formation over a time course of 4 weeks. When antitumor alkylating agent exposure killed 3-4 logs of cells as determined by surviving fraction after 1 week of colony formation a progressive increase in surviving fraction was evident over the 4-week course of the experiment. Many attached single cells with abnormal morphology were evident in these dishes; however, the colonies which arose over the 4-week observation time were made up of cells morphologically indistinguishable from the control cells. Cell cycle patterns in the cultures exposed to high concentrations of the antitumor alkylating agents indicated a block in G2/M but by 4 weeks post-drug exposure most had returned to a normal exponential growth pattern. When MCF-7 cells or human SW2 small cell lung cancer cells were exposed to a concentration of melphalan or cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II) that killed 1-2 logs of cells followed by exposure to a concentration range of the same drug for 24 h or 7 days later resistance to the second drug exposure was evident in both cell lines. Using [14C]melphalan the uptake of the drug into MCF-7 cells pre-treated was compared. Decreased drug uptake did not appear to be a factor in resistance to melphalan observed upon re-exposure to the drug. The potential clinical implications of these findings is discussed.

Breast Neoplasms↗