Abstract
BackgroundIdentification of new drugs against paediatric sarcomas represents an urgent clinical need that mainly relies on public investments due to the rarity of these diseases. In this paper we evaluated the in vitro and in vivo efficacy of a new maltol derived molecule (maltonis), belonging to the family of molecules named hydroxypyrones.MethodsMaltonis was screened for its ability to induce structural alteration of DNA molecules in comparison to another maltolic molecule (malten). In vitro antitumour efficacy was tested using a panel of sarcoma cell lines, representative of Ewing sarcoma, osteosarcoma and rhabdomyosarcoma, the three most common paediatric sarcomas, and in normal human mesenchymal primary cell cultures. In vivo efficacy was tested against TC-71 Ewing sarcoma xenografts.ResultsMaltonis, a soluble maltol-derived synthetic molecule, was able to alter the DNA structure, inhibit proliferation and induce apoptotic cell death in paediatric sarcoma cells, either sensitive or resistant to some conventional chemotherapeutic drugs, such as doxorubicin and cisplatin. In addition, maltonis was able to induce: i) p21, p15 and Gadd45a mRNA upregulation; ii) Bcl-2, survivin, CDK6 and CDK8 down-regulation; iii) formation of γ-H2AX nuclear foci; iv) cleavage of PARP and Caspase 3. Two independent in vivo experiments demonstrated the tolerability and efficacy of maltonis in the inhibition of tumour growth. Finally maltonis was not extruded by ABCB1, one of the major determinants of chemotherapy failure, nor appeared to be a substrate of the glutathione-related detoxification system.ConclusionsConsidering that treatment of poorly responsive patients still suffers for the paucity of agents able to revert chemoresistance, maltonis may be considered for the future development of new therapeutic approaches for refractory metastatic patients.
Highlights
Identification of new drugs against paediatric sarcomas represents an urgent clinical need that mainly relies on public investments due to the rarity of these diseases
We evaluated the efficacy of the two compounds against sarcoma cell growth
Two osteosarcoma and two Ewing sarcoma cell lines displayed marked reduction of cell growth after 72 hours of treatment with maltonis (IC50 values ranging from approximately 3 μM to 18 μM) (Figure 1C); malten showed modest efficacy only in the two Ewing cell lines (IC50 values between 25 μM and 40 μM)
Summary
Identification of new drugs against paediatric sarcomas represents an urgent clinical need that mainly relies on public investments due to the rarity of these diseases. In this paper we explored the preclinical efficacy of two new-generation maltol-derived synthetic molecules named malten [N,N’-bis[(3-hydroxy-4-pyron-2-yl) methyl]-N, N’-dimethylethylendiamine] and maltonis [4 (N), (N)–bis[(3-hydroxy-4-pyron-2-yl)methyl]-1, 7-dimethyl-1, 4, 7, 10 tetraazacyclododecane] [11,12]. Both chemical agents belong to the class of highly versatile molecules hydroxypyrones, that include compounds bearing anti-proliferative activities against a wide range of cancer cells, either alone or in combination with metals [13]. In vitro and in vivo effects on tumor growth were examined
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