Herein, we report on the binding of optically pure ruthenium complexes Delta- or Lambda-[Ru(bpy)(2)(L-L)][PF(6)](2) [L-L = Hcmbpy = 4-carboxy-4'-methyl-2,2'-bipyridine (1), L-L = H(2)dcbpy = 4,4'-dicarboxy-2,2'-bipyridine (2)] to DNA. The binding constants of the two enantiomeric Delta-1 and Lambda-1 complexes to DNA were estimated from titration monitored by (1)H NMR spectroscopy. 2D transferred NOESY (TRNOESY) experiments support the conclusion that Delta-1 and Lambda-1 bind to DNA and that an intermediate-to-fast exchange occurs between bound and free Ru(II) complex. Further, evidence for enantioselective DNA cleavage by Delta-2 is provided by means of gel electrophoresis performed in the presence and in the absence of light; in contrast, the Lambda-2 enantiomer does not. The IR spectrum of enantiomer Delta-2 (or Lambda-2) compared to that of the racemate (rac-2) gives evidence that, in the latter form, the enantiomers are strongly associated. Moreover the X-ray structure of rac-2 was also determined and exhibits as an outstanding feature the formation of a one-dimensional supramolecular species in which the cohesion of the system is maintained by strong hydrogen bonding between carboxylic acid groups of enantiomers Delta-2 and Lambda-2 (cationic parts) with d(O...O) = 2.6 A in agreement with the infrared results. The conclusion that can be drawn from IR and X-ray spectroscopies together is that the self-association in rac-2 is strong.

RAS oncogenes play a critical role in oncogenic transformation and metastases formation. Here we show that Ha-ras greatly stimulates spontaneous metastatic activity of transformed cells through the Ras/RalGDS/ RalA intracellular signaling pathway. Introduction of RalA alone leads to a drastic increase of metastatic activity of transformed cells. We demonstrate that metastatic ability of cells could be dramatically enhanced by RalA stimulation or, conversely, hampered by RalA suppression. Furthermore, we found that during in vivo selection cells acquire high metastatic properties as a result of endogenous RalA activation. The ability of RalA to induce metastasis was demonstrated in spontaneously transformed as well as in virus transformed fibroblasts.

Hamster fibroblasts transformed by Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) display different metastatic potentials that are associated with specific structural features of the v-src oncoprotein. This diverse metastatic activity could be due to various tyrosine phosphorylation levels of specific src protein substrates. To check this hypothesis, phosphorylation of the FAK and paxillin proteins, involved in signal transduction pathways and known as src protein substrates, was tested. It was shown that FAK and paxillin are hyperphosphorylated in the high metastatic cell lines as compared with the phosphotyrosine level of these proteins found in the low metastatic cell lines. In addition, our data confirm that v-src protein plays a direct role in paxillin phosphorylation.z 1999 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.