A series of methotrexate (MTX)-resistant L1210 leukemia murine ascites tumors were developed in vivo and analyzed for drug resistance. Three of 20 tumors studied expressed an altered dihydrofolate reductase (DEHFR) 5,6,7,8-tetrahydrofolate, an essential carrier of one-carbon units in the biosynthesis of thymidylate, purine nucleotides, and methyl compounds. DHFR has been the subject of intense study for >40 years as it is the target enzyme for several important drugs, including methotrexate (MTX; 4-amino-4-deoxy-10-methylfolic acid), trimethoprim [TMP; 2,4-diamino-5-(3,4,5-trimethoxybenzyl) repeated fixed maximally tolerated doses of MTX. To this end, a series of L1210 leukemic cells resistant to MTX were developed in vivo through drug dosage schedules analogous to clinical schedules (7). Twenty independently derived sublines were selected for maximum resistance to MTX and all displayed an elevated DHFR activity. Ten of these sublines had only this phenotype, while seven sublines also demonstrated a reduced influx for MTX (7). The remaining three sublines (designated L1210/MTX-1, -2, and -3) were found to have a DHFR with reduced affinity for MTX on the basis of preliminary DHFR activity titration experiments with MTX using crude tumor lysates (8). Here we describe the basis for this decreased antifolate binding.
MATERIALS AND METHODSMaterials. General molecular biology reagents (including items for mRNA isolation and cDNA synthesis) and enzyme purification materials were from sources as indicated (9, 10
Synthesis of trans- and cis-tetrahydrodipyrazino[1,2-a:1',2'-d] pyrazine-1,3,7,9(2H,4H,8H,10H)-tetrone analogues 10 and 11 belonging to the bis(dioxopiperazine) class of antitumor agents and their bis(morpholinomethyl) derivatives 12 and 13 are described with use of 2,5-dimethylpyrazine as the starting material. Synthetic studies utilizing 3,6-disubstituted 2,5-dioxopiperazine precursors are included. Evaluation of 10-13 in the Lewis Lung carcinoma model indicated the bis(morpholinomethyl) analogue cis-13 to be antimetastatic, whereas the trans isomer 12 was toxic at a similar dose effecting a decrease in the life span of treated mice. The parent bis(dioxopiperazines) 10 and 11 were ineffective as antitumor or antimetastatic drugs.
Methotrexate (MTX) analogues 27a-c bearing 2, omega-diaminoalkanoic acids (ornithine and its two lower homologues) in place of glutamic acid were synthesized by routes proceeding through N2-[4-(methylamino)benzoyl]-N omega-[(1,1-dimethylethoxy)carbonyl]-2, omega-diaminoalkanoic acid ethyl esters and N2-[4-(methylamino)benzoyl]-N5-[(1,1-dimethylethoxy)carbonyl]-2, 5-diaminopentanoic acid followed by alkylation with 6-(bromomethyl)-2, 4-pteridinediamine hydrobromide. Reactions at the terminal amino group of 27-type analogues or of appropriate precursors led to other MTX derivatives whose side chains terminate in ureido, methylureido, N-methyl-N-nitrosoureido, N-(2-chloroethyl)-N-nitrosoureido, and 4-chlorobenzamido groups. Also prepared were unsymmetrically disubstituted ureido types resulting from addition of ethyl isocyanatoacetate and diethyl 2-isocyanatoglutarate to the ethyl esters of 27a,b. Of these ureido adducts (32a,b and 33a,b, respectively), only 33a was successfully hydrolyzed to the corresponding pure acid, in this instance the tricarboxylic acid 34, a pseudo-peptide analogue of the MTX metabolite MTX-gamma-Glu. Biological evaluations of the prepared compounds affirmed previous findings that the gamma-carboxyl is not required for tight binding to dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) but is operative in the carrier-mediated transport of classical antifolates through cell membranes. High tolerance levels observed in studies against L1210 leukemia in mice suggest the reduced potency may be due not only to lower transport efficacy but also to loss of the function of intracellular gamma-polyglutamylation. The N-nitrosoureas 30 and 31 showed appreciable activity in vivo vs. L1210, but the activity did not appear to be due to antifolate action as evidenced by their poor inhibition of both L1210 DHFR and cell growth in vitro.
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