KB3-1 Cells Research Articles

5-(2-Aminoethyl)dibenzo[c,h][1,6]naphthyridin-6-ones: Variation of N-Alkyl Substituents Modulates Sensitivity to Efflux Transporters Associated with Multidrug Resistance

5H-8,9-dimethoxy-5-(2-N,N-dimethylaminoethyl)-2,3-methylenedioxydibenzo[c,h][1,6]naphthyridin-6-one (ARC-111) has potent TOP1-targeting activity and pronounced antitumor activity. Several analogues of ARC-111 were synthesized with NH2, N-alkyl, N,N-dialkyl, pyrrolidinyl, piperidinyl, and piperazinyl substituents at the 2-position of the 5-ethyl group. The relative TOP1-targeting activity and cytotoxicity of these structural analogues were assessed in RPMI8402 and P388 tumor cells and their camptothecin-resistant variants CPT-K5 and P388/CPT45, respectively. Potent TOP1-targeting activity was retained within a series of mono N-alkyl analogues that included NHCH2CH3, NHCH(CH3)2, and NHC(CH3)3. TOP1-targeting activity was diminished by the presence of a N-benzyl moiety. In a comparison of a series of N-alkyl-N-isopropyl analogues, activity decreased in the order CH3 > CH2CH3 > CH(CH3)2. Cytotoxicity in RPMI8402 and P388 did correlate with TOP1-targeting activity. Cytotoxic activity was also determined in KB3-1 cells and its variants KB/V-1 and KBH5.0. As KB/V-1 cells overexpress MDR1 and KBH5.0 cells overexpress BCRP, decreased cytotoxicity in these cell lines relative to the parent cell line is indicative of compounds that are substrates for these efflux transporters. In view of their diminished cytotoxicity in KB/V-1 cells, it appears that the likely demethylated metabolites of ARC-111, i.e., where NH2 or NHCH3 replaces the N(CH3)2 at the 2-position of the 5-ethyl substituent, are substrates for MDR1. In contrast, no significant difference in cytotoxicity among these three cell lines was observed with other N-alkyl analogues, including NHC2H5, NHCH(CH3)2, NHC(CH3)3, N(CH3)2, N(CH2CH3)2, NCH3(CH(CH3)2), and either the pyrrolidinyl or the piperidinyl analogues. The 2-(piperazinyl) analogues were associated with diminished cytotoxicity in KB/V-1 cells, suggesting that the second basic amino substituent is associated with their recognition as substrates by MDR1. Comparative studies on the antitumor activity of ARC-111 and its N-demethylated derivatives (the NHCH3 and NH2 analogues) against SJ-BT45 medulloblastoma xenografts in scid mice revealed that the secondary amine metabolite is at least as active as ARC-111 in vivo, although the primary amine derivative was significantly less potent.

Evidence of Antisense Tumor Targeting in Mice

Even though increased accumulations of radiolabeled antisense DNAs compared to control DNAs are becoming a routine observation in cultured tumor cells, trustworthy evidence of tumor targeting in vivo by an antisense mechanism remains elusive. The goal of this study was to obtain convincing evidence of antisense tumor targeting in nude mice by using two different tumors and both intratumoral (i.t.) and intravenous (i.v.) administration of radiolabeled antisense and control sense DNAs. Both the MDR++ cell line KB-G2 and its parent MDR+ cell line KB-31 were used in this study. The antisense (AS) DNA was directed against the AUG start codon of the MDR1 mRNA and, along with the sense (S) control DNA, was a uniform phosphorothioate administered naked. In previous cell culture studies from our laboratories, the accumulation of this AS DNA was strikingly high in KB-G2 cells and only average in KB-31 cells, a fact we attribute to the 1000-fold higher expression by RT-PCR of MDR1 mRNA in the former cell line. In this study, both DNAs were radiolabeled with (99m)Tc via MAG3 and administered i.t. or i.v. at 1 microg (100 microCi) per animal 24 h prior to sacrifice and dissection in mice bearing thigh tumors of about 1 g. Following i.t. administration, no statistically significant differences (Student's t test, p < 0.05, N = 4) between the AS and S DNA biodistributions in normal tissues were observed except in the KB-G2 mice in which muscle levels were lower for the S control. In contrast, tumor levels in the KB-G2 animals were significantly higher for the AS DNA vs S DNA (14.7 vs 8.5% ID/g) while this difference (8.6 vs 4.3% ID/g) was insignificant in the KB-31 animals. The whole body images obtained just prior to sacrifice clearly show improved targeting of AS DNA vs S DNA in the KB-G2 but not the KB-31 animals. Calculations based on these results show that about 60 000 AS DNAs accumulated specifically (i.e. AS DNA - S DNA) per KB-G2 tumor cell following i.t. administration. When administered i.v. rather than i.t., higher tumor levels in KB-G2 animals compared to KB-31 were not observed, most likely because of the lower dosage reaching the tumors. When the KB-G2 and KB-31 results are combined, no statistically significant differences between the AS and S DNA biodistributions in normal tissues were observed except in blood in which S DNA levels were higher and in spleen in which they were lower. In contrast, tumor levels were significantly higher for the AS DNA vs S DNA (0.100 vs 0.063% ID/g). Calculations based on these results show that about 400 AS DNAs accumulated specifically per tumor cell following i.v. administration. Therefore evidence for tumor targeting in vivo by an antisense mechanism has been obtained in that statistically higher tumor accumulations of the (99m)Tc-AS DNA were observed compared to the control (99m)Tc-S DNA both following i.t. and i.v. administrations. The successful localization of AS DNA in tumor demonstrates that in vivo AS targeting of tumor is feasible although improvements in tumor delivery and normal tissue clearance are needed for practical antisense imaging.

Modulation of doxorubicin resistance in multidrug-resistance cells by targeted liposomes combined with hyperthermia.

Conventional methods that are used to overcome multidrug resistance (MDR) often involve the coadministration of chemosensitizers and anticancer drugs. However, coadministration of many chemosensitizers with anticancer drugs, such as doxorubicin (Dox) has resulted in the exacerbation of anticancer drug toxicity. Here, we hypothesized that optimization of the anticancer drug delivery using a liposomal carrier, a suitable targeting moiety, and a physical factor such as hyperthermia offer a significant advantage in the treatment of MDR cancer cells. Since, receptors for the vitamin folic acid are frequently overexpressed on epithelial cancer cells, we used folate as our targeting moiety against two types of cell lines, the human cervical carcinoma derived KB-31 (KB31) and the resistance type KB-85 (KB85). Folate-targeted thermosensitive liposomes were prepared by incorporating 1 mol% of a folate-polyethyleneglycol-distearoylphosphatidylethanolamine (folate-PEG-DSPE) construct into a lipid bilayer composed of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC), hydrogenated soy phosphatidylcholine (HSPC), cholesterol (Chol) and phosphatidylethanolamine derivatized at the amino position with polyethyleneglycol (PEG-PE) at a molar ratio of 100:50:30:6. Incorporation of folate-PEG-PE in the bilayer, did not affect the thermal sensitivity of the resultant liposome vesicles. Uptake of folate-PEG-liposomal Dox by KB31 cells was 15-fold higher than that of non-targeted liposomal Dox. However, in the case of MDR type KB85, the uptake of the folate PEG liposomal Dox was 2-fold higher than the non-targeted liposomal Dox. Cytotoxicity measurements showed that folated liposomes combined with hyperthermia were found to be over 3-fold more effective (IC(50)=0.16 microM) than the free drug (IC(50)=0.543 microM) for growth inhibition of KB31. For the MDR cell type KB85, the cytotoxicity of the targeted liposomes combined with hyperthermia were found to be 4.8 times (IC(50)=0.38 microM) more effective than the free drug (IC(50)=1.81 microM). Thus, liposome associated Dox may bypass the vesicular drug transport in MDR cells, resulting in the enhancement of the drug biological activity.

Preparation and tumor cell uptake of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) folate conjugates.

Folate conjugates (PNIPAM-NH-FA) of a copolymer of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) and amino-N'-ethylenedioxy-bis(ethylacrylamide) were prepared by an efficient synthesis leading to random grafting, via a short dioxyethylene spacer, of approximately 7 folic acid residues per macromolecule. The chemical composition of the copolymer was characterized by (1)H NMR and UV/vis spectroscopy. A fluorophore-labeled folate PNIPAM conjugate was tested by in vitro assays performed with cultured KB-31 cells overexpressing the folate receptor. The cellular uptake of the copolymer was found to be temperature dependent and was competitively decreased by free folic acid, indicating that the polymer uptake is mediated specifically by the folate receptor. Hydrophobically modified folate conjugates of NIPAM, amino-N'-ethylenedioxy-bis(ethylacrylamide) copolymers, bearing a small number of n-octadecyl groups were prepared following a modified synthetic procedure for use in future studies of FA-targeted liposomes.

Association of 5' CpG demethylation and altered chromatin structure in the promoter region with transcriptional activation of the multidrug resistance 1 gene in human cancer cells.

Selection of human cells for resistance to vincristine or doxorubicin often induces overexpression of the multidrug resistance 1 gene (MDR1), which encodes the cell surface P-glycoprotein, as a result of gene amplification or transcriptional activation. However, the precise mechanism underlying such transcriptional activation of MDR1 remains unclear. The relation between methylation status of CpG sites in the MDR1 promoter region and transcriptional activation of MDR1 has now been investigated. The P-glycoprotein-overexpressing, multidrug-resistant KB/VJ300 and KB-C1 cells, which were established from human cancer KB3-1 cells, were examined; MDR1 is transcriptionally activated but not amplified in KB/VJ300 cells, whereas it is amplified in KB-C1 cells. Determination of the methylation status revealed that the MDR1 promoter region was hypomethylated in KB/VJ300 and KB-C1 cells, but hypermethylated in KB3-1 cells. Prior treatment of KB3-1 cells with the DNA methyltransferase inhibitor 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine resulted in a 90-fold increase in the frequency of vincristine-resistance. Of three lines, KB/CdR-1, KB/CdR-2, and KB/CdR-3, established from KB3-1 cells after exposure to 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine, MspI/HpaII sites in the MDR1 promoter region were hypomethylated in KB/CdR-1 and KB/CdR-2 cells, but not in KB/CdR-3 cells. MDR1 mRNA expression was detected in KB/CdR-1 and KB/CdR-2 cells, but not in KB/CdR-3 cells. The binding of YB-1 and Sp1, transcription factors implicated in MDR1 expression, in the MDR1 promoter was not affected by the methylation status of a neighboring CpG sites. The MDR1 promoter region in KB/VJ300 cells showed an increased sensitivity to DNase I compared with that in KB3-1 cells, suggesting an altered chromatin structure. The methylation status of the promoter region may plays an important role in MDR1 overexpression and in acquisition of the P-glycoprotein-mediated multidrug resistance phenotype.