Clinical efficacy of oxaliplatin is frequently limited by severe adverse effects and therapy resistance. Acquired insensitivity to oxaliplatin is, at least in part, associated with elevated levels of glutathione (GSH). In this study we report on an oxaliplatin-based platinum(IV) prodrug, which releases L-buthionine-S,R-sulfoximine (BSO), an inhibitor of glutamate-cysteine ligase, the rate-limiting enzyme in GSH biosynthesis. Two complexes bearing either acetate (BSO-OxOAc) or an albumin-binding maleimide (BSO-OxMal) as second axial ligand were synthesized and characterized. The in vitro anticancer activity of BSO-OxOAc was massively reduced in comparison to oxaliplatin, proving its prodrug nature. Nevertheless, the markedly lower intracellular oxaliplatin uptake in resistant HCT116/OxR cells was widely overcome by BSO-OxOAc resulting in distinctly reduced resistance levels. Platinum accumulation in organs of a colorectal cancer mouse model revealed higher tumor selectivity of BSO-OxMal as compared to oxaliplatin. This corresponded with increased antitumor activity, resulting in significantly enhanced overall survival. BSO-OxMal-treated tumors exhibited reduced GSH levels, proliferative activity and enhanced DNA damage (pH2AX) compared to oxaliplatin. Conversely, pH2AX staining especially in kidney cells was distinctly increased by oxaliplatin but not by BSO-OxMal. Taken together, our data provide compelling evidence for enhanced tumor specificity of the oxaliplatin(IV)/BSO prodrug.

Landomycins are angucyclines with promising antineoplastic activity produced by Streptomyces bacteria. The aglycone landomycinone is the distinctive core, while the oligosaccharide chain differs within derivatives. Herein, we report that landomycins spontaneously form Michael adducts with biothiols, including reduced cysteine and glutathione, both cell-free or intracellularly involving the benz[a]anthraquinone moiety of landomycinone. While landomycins generally do not display emissive properties, the respective Michael adducts exerted intense blue fluorescence in a glycosidic chain-dependent manner. This allowed label-free tracking of the short-lived nature of the mono-SH-adduct followed by oxygen-dependent evolution with addition of another SH-group. Accordingly, hypoxia distinctly stabilized the fluorescent mono-adduct. While extracellular adduct formation completely blocked the cytotoxic activity of landomycins, intracellularly it led to massively decreased reduced glutathione levels. Accordingly, landomycin E strongly synergized with glutathione-depleting agents like menadione but exerted reduced activity under hypoxia. Summarizing, landomycins represent natural glutathione-depleting agents and fluorescence probes for intracellular anthraquinone-based angucycline metabolism.

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α-Lipoic acid, known for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity, represents a promising ligand for Pt(IV) prodrugs. Three new Pt(IV) lipoate complexes were synthesized and characterized by NMR spectroscopy ( 1 H, 13 C, 195 Pt), mass spectrometry and elemental analysis. Due to the low solubility of the complex containing two axial lipoate ligands, further experiments to examine the biological activity were performed with two Pt(IV) complexes containing just one axial lipoate ligand. Both complexes exhibit anticancer activity and produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the cell lines tested. Especially, the monosubstituted complex can be reduced by ascorbic acid and forms adducts with 9-methylguanine (9MeG), which is favorable for the formation of DNA-crosslinks in the cells.

Die Entwicklung von Rezeptor-Tyrosinkinase-Inhibitoren (TKIs) ist ein Meilenstein in der Entwicklung neuer Tumortherapeutika. Allerdings geht die TKI-Therapie mit starken Nebenwirkungen und Chemotherapieresistenz einher. Ziel dieser Studie war die Synthese und präklinische Entwicklung eines neuen Inhibitors des Epidermalen Wachstumsfaktorrezeptors (EGFR), der durch die spezifischen Eigenschaften des malignen Gewebes aktiviert wird. Zu diesem Zweck wurde ein Co III -basiertes "Prodrug-Design" verwendet, das die gezielte Freisetzung des aktiven EGFR-Inhibitors durch den im soliden Tumor auftretenden Sauerstoffmangel (Hypoxie) ermçglicht. Hierfür wurden mehrere neue EGFRhemmende Liganden mit Chelateinheiten synthetisiert, und derjenige mit dem grçßten EGFR-hemmenden Potenzial wurde für die Komplexierung mit Co III ausgewählt. Anschließend wurden hypoxische Aktivierung und Hemmung des EGFR-Signalwegs nachgewiesen, und eine vielversprechende Aktivität des neuen Komplexes in vivo wurde gezeigt.

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In this work, multiple biologically active α-lipoic acid (ALA) and its isologous 1,2-diselenolane (SeA) and cyclopentyl (CpA) analogues were investigated for their differences in redox potentials, cytotoxicity and ROS production....

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