Abstract 1688: Effect of Gefitinib on the reactions of mammalian type I and type II DNA topoisomerases

Abstract

Abstract Developing small molecule inhibitors in anti-cancer drug research is an integral part of clinical oncology. Gefitinib (Iressa) is a promising small molecule inhibitor of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase. It was shown to have the potential to improve the clinical effectiveness of EGFR-targeted therapies and gained a significant impact in treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Over the past years, several naturally occurring and synthetic compounds with anti-cancer activities were shown to exert their actions via interfering with normal DNA topoisomerase reactions. DNA topoisomerases are ubiquitous enzymes that regulate DNA topology by making transient breakages at nucleic acid backbone and rejoining of DNA strands. Topoisomerases carry out their reactions by two different mechanisms; Type I topoisomerases make a single-stranded break in a DNA duplex while type II topoisomerases create transient breaks in both strands of a duplex. In this study we aimed to examine the effects of Gefitinib on these enzymes to extend the evaluation of its biological activities by plasmid supercoil relaxation and kinetoplast decatenation assays for type I and type II topoisomerases, respectively. Our results are discussed in relation to the outcomes of Gefitinib reported in clinical trials, which together would contribute in identifying the mechanisms of Gefitinib-induced tumor cell-killing. Key Words; Gefitinib; DNA topoisomerases; anti-cancer drugs Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1688.