Melanocytes are melanin-producing cells found in skin, hair follicles, eyes, inner ear, bones, heart and brain of humans. They arise from pluripotent neural crest cells and differentiate in response to a complex network of interacting regulatory pathways. Melanins are pigment molecules that are endogenously synthesized by melanocytes. The light absorption of melanin in skin and hair leads to photoreceptor shielding, thermoregulation, photoprotection, camouflage and display coloring. Melanins are also powerful cation chelators and may act as free radical sinks. Melanin formation is a product of complex biochemical events that starts from amino acid tyrosine and its metabolite, dopa. The types and amounts of melanin produced by melanocytes are determined genetically and are influenced by a variety of extrinsic and intrinsic factors such as hormonal changes, inflammation, age and exposure to UV light. These stimuli affect the different pathways in melanogenesis. In this review we will discuss the regulatory mechanisms involved in melanogenesis and explain how intrinsic and extrinsic factors regulate melanin production. We will also explain the regulatory roles of different proteins involved in melanogenesis.

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The transcription factor SOX2 is essential for maintaining pluripotency in a variety of stem cells. It has important functions during embryonic development, is involved in cancer stem cell maintenance, and is often deregulated in cancer. The mechanism of SOX2 regulation has yet to be clarified, but the SOX2 gene lies in an intron of a long multi-exon non-coding RNA called SOX2 overlapping transcript (SOX2OT). Here, we show that the expression of SOX2 and SOX2OT is concordant in breast cancer, differentially expressed in estrogen receptor positive and negative breast cancer samples and that both are up-regulated in suspension culture conditions that favor growth of stem cell phenotypes. Importantly, ectopic expression of SOX2OT led to an almost 20-fold increase in SOX2 expression, together with a reduced proliferation and increased breast cancer cell anchorage-independent growth. We propose that SOX2OT plays a key role in the induction and/or maintenance of SOX2 expression in breast cancer.

The synthesis and biological activities of representatives of a new class of antitumor agent, the N-[2-(dialkylamino)ethyl ]-9-aminoacridine-4-carboxamides, are reported. Members of this class are stable and very water soluble with high levels of in vitro and in vivo antitumor activity. The compounds bind tightly to double-stranded DNA by intercalation, but the requirements for antitumor activity are more restrictive. They depend critically on the separation distance, positioning, and pKa values of the two cationic centers. For in vivo activity, significant bulk tolerance exists for lipophilic but not hydrophilic groups about the C-9 acridine position and for both lipophilic and hydrophilic groups on the side-chain cationic moiety. Significant attenuation of the pKa of the side-chain cationic center abolishes activity, as does alteration of either the disposition or separation distance of the side-chain charge with respect to the chromophore.

A series of acridine-substituted bis(acridine-4-carboxamides) linked by a (CH2)3N(Me)(CH2)3 chain have been prepared by reaction of the isolated imidazolides of the substituted acridine-4-carboxylic acids with N,N-bis(3-aminopropyl)methylamine. These dimeric analogues of the mixed topoisomerase I/II inhibitor N-[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl]acridine-4-carboxamide (DACA), currently in clinical trial, show superior potencies to the corresponding monomeric DACA analogues in a panel of cell lines, including wild-type (JLC) and mutant (JLA and JLD) forms of human Jurkat leukemia. The latter mutant lines are resistant to topoisomerase II targeted agents because of lower levels of the enzyme. Analogues with small substituents (e.g., Me, Cl) at the acridine 5-position were clearly superior, with IC50's as low as 2 nM against the Lewis lung carcinoma and 11 nM against JLC. Larger substituents at any position caused a steady decrease in potency, likely due to lowering of DNA binding affinity. A small series of analogues of the most potent bis(5-methylDACA) compound, with second substituents (Me and Cl) in the 1- or 8- position had broadly similar potencies to the 5-Me compound, indicating that, while the 1- and 8-substituents are acceptable, they add little to the enhancing effect of the 5-methyl group. All of the compounds were at least equitoxic (some up to 4-fold more cytotoxic) against the mutant Jurkat lines than in the wild-type, consistent with a relatively greater effect on topoisomerase I compared with topoisomerase II. The bis(5-methylDACA) compound was found to inhibit the action of purified topoisomerase I in a cell-free assay. Compounds were on average 10-fold less cytotoxic in an MCF7 breast cancer line overexpressing P-glycoprotein than in the wild-type line and showed some selectivity for colon tumor lines in the NCI human tumor cell line panel. Several analogues produced significant growth delays in the relatively refractory subcutaneous colon 38 tumor model in vivo at substantially lower doses than DACA. The bis(acridine-4-carboxamides) represent a new and interesting class of potent topoisomerase inhibitors.

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Ring-substituted bis(phenazine-1-carboxamides), linked by a -(CH(2))(3)NMe(CH(2))(3)- chain, were prepared from the corresponding substituted phenazine-1-carboxylic acids by reaction of the intermediate imidazolides with bis(3-aminopropyl)methylamine. The compounds were evaluated for growth inhibitory activity in a panel of tumor cell lines, including P388 leukemia, Lewis lung carcinoma, and wild-type (JL(C)) and mutant (JL(A) and JL(D)) forms of human Jurkat leukemia. The latter mutant lines are resistant to topoisomerase (topo) II targeted agents because of lower levels of the enzyme. Analogues with small, lipophilic substituents (e.g., Me, Cl) at the 9-position were the most potent inhibitors, superior to the corresponding dimeric bis(acridine-4-carboxamides) (bis-DACA analogues). Several of the compounds were preferentially (up to 2-fold) more cytotoxic toward the mutant Jurkat lines than the wild-type. To test whether this selectivity was related to topoisomerase action, the most potent of the compounds (9-methyl) was evaluated in a cell-free system. It poisoned topo I at drug concentrations of 0.25 and 0.5 microM and inhibited the catalytic activity of both topo I and topo II at concentrations of 1 and 5 microM, respectively. Results from the NCI human tumor cell line panel showed the compounds had preferential activity toward colon tumor lines (on average 9.5-fold more active in the HT29 line than in the cell line panel as a whole). Several analogues produced significant growth delays in the relatively refractory subcutaneous colon 38 tumor model in vivo. In particular, the 9-methyl compound was substantially more potent in this tumor model than the clinical dual topo I/II poison DACA (total dose 90 versus 400 mg/kg) with comparable activity. The bis(phenazine-1-carboxamides) are a new and interesting class of dual topo I/II-directed anticancer drugs.