Whereas radioimmunotherapy of hematologic malignancies has evolved into a viable treatment option, the responses of solid tumors to radioimmunotherapy are discouraging. The likely cause of this problem is the interstitial hypertension inherent to all solid tumors. Remarkable improvements in tumor responses to radioimmunotherapy were discovered after the inclusion of STI571 in the therapy regimen. A combination of the tumor stroma-reactive STI571, a potent platelet-derived growth factor receptor-B (PDGFr-B) antagonist, and the tumor-seeking radiolabeled antibody B72.3 yielded long-lasting growth arrest of the human colorectal adenocarcinoma LS174T grown as s.c. xenografts in athymic mice. The interaction of STI571 with the stromal PDGFr-B reduced tumor interstitial fluid pressure (P IF ) by >50% and in so doing improved the uptake of B72.3. The attenuation of P IF also had a positive effect on the homogeneity of antibody distribution. These effects were dose-dependent and under optimized dosing conditions allowed for a 2.45 times increase in the tumor uptake of B72.3 as determined in the biodistribution studies. Single-photon emission computed tomography imaging studies substantiated these results and indicated that the homogeneity of the radioisotope distribution was also much improved when compared with the control mice. The increased uptake of radioimmunotherapy into the tumor resulted in >400% increase in the tumor absorbed radiation doses in STI571 + radioimmunotherapy-treated mice compared with PBS + radioimmunotherapy-treated mice. The improved antibody uptake in response to the attenuation of tumor P IF was identified as the primary reason for the growth arrest of the STI571 + radioimmunotherapy-treated tumors. Two related causes were also identified: (a) the improved homogeneity of monoclonal antibody distribution in tumor and (b) the increased tumor radiosensitivity resulting from the improved tumor oxygenation. (Cancer Res 2005; 65(17): 7824-31)

DL-2-Benzyl-3- formylpropanoic acid ( XIVb ) is a competitive inhibitor of carboxypeptidase A with an apparent Ki of 0.48 microM at pH 7.5 in 50 mM Tris buffer-0.5 M in sodium chloride with O-(trans-p- chlorocinnamoyl )-L-beta-phenyllactate as substrate. At pH 7.5 in deuterium oxide, DL-2-benzyl-3- formylpropanoic acid exists as an equilibrium mixture of 75% free aldehyde and 25% hydrated aldehyde. The species that binds to the enzyme may be either the free aldehyde or the hydrate. Therefore, the Ki of the species bound is significantly less than the observed Ki of 0.48 microM. The alcohol and dioxolane analogues of this aldehyde, DL-2-benzyl-4-hydroxybutanoic acid (XI) and 2-benzyl-4,4-(ethylenedioxy)butanoic acid ( XXVII ), are only weak inhibitors with Ki's of 0.54 mM and 2 mM, respectively. The ketone, (+/-)-3-(p- methoxybenzoyl )-2- benzylpropanoic acid [(+/-)-I; Sugimoto , T., & Kaiser, E. T. (1978) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 100, 7750-7751], was found to have a Ki of 180 microM, experimentally indistinguishable from that of the diastereomeric mixture of its alcohol analogue 2-benzyl-4-hydroxy-4-(p-methoxyphenyl)butanoic acid (III), Ki = 190 microM. The ketone (I) is not detectably hydrated (less than 2%) at pH 7.5 in deuterium oxide. These results suggest that the hydratable aldehyde DL-2-benzyl-3- formylpropanoic acid may mimic an intermediate resembling the transition state for amide hydrolysis by carboxypeptidase A while the nonhydratable ketone does not do so.

Targeted molecular radiotherapy opens unprecedented opportunities to eradicate cancer cells with minimal irradiation of normal tissues. Described in this study are radioactive cycloSaligenyl monophosphates designed to deliver lethal doses of radiation to cancer cells. These compounds can be radiolabeled with SPECT- and PET-compatible radionuclides as well as radionuclides suitable for Auger electron therapies. This characteristic provides an avenue for the personalized and comprehensive treatment strategy that comprises diagnostic imaging to identify sites of disease, followed by the targeted molecular radiotherapy based on the imaging results. The developed radiosynthetic methods produce no-carrier-added products with high radiochemical yield and purity. The interaction of these compounds with their target, butyrylcholinesterase, depends on the stereochemistry around the P atom. IC50 values are in the nM range. In vitro studies indicate that radiation doses delivered to the cell nucleus are sufficient to kill cells of several difficult to treat malignancies including glioblastoma, and ovarian and colorectal cancers.

High levels of androgen receptor (AR) are often indicative of recurrent, advanced, or metastatic cancers. These conditions are also characterized by a high proliferative fraction. 5-Radioiodo-3′-O-(17β-succinyl-5α-androstan-3-one)-2′-deoxyuridine 8 and 5-radioiodo-3′-O-(17β-succinyl-5α-androstan-3-one)-2′-deoxyuridin-5′-yl monophosphate 13 target AR. They are also degraded intracellularly to 5-radioiodo-2′-deoxyuridine 1 and its monophosphate 20, respectively, which can participate in the DNA synthesis. Both drugs were prepared at the no-carrier-added level. Precursors and methods are readily adaptable to radiolabeling with various radiohalides suitable for SPECT and PET imaging, as well as endoradiotherapy. In vitro and in vivo studies confirm the AR-dependent interactions. Both drugs bind to sex hormone binding globulin. This binding significantly improves their stability in serum. Biodistribution and imaging studies show preferential uptake and retention of 8 and 13 in ip xenografts of human ovarian adenocarcinoma cells NIH:OVCAR-3, which overexpress AR. When these drugs are administered at therapeutic dose levels, a significant tumor growth arrest is observed.

Blood-based biomarkers are important in the detection of the disease and in the assessment of responses to therapy. In this study, butyrylcholinesterase was evaluated as a potential biomarker in newly diagnosed neuroblastoma (NB) patients at diagnosis and longitudinally during treatment. Plasma butyrylcholinesterase activities in age-matched and sex-matched children were used as controls. Pretreatment butyrylcholinesterase levels in NB subjects are on an average 2 times lower than butyrylcholinesterase levels in healthy subjects. Significantly, butyrylcholinesterase activities are ∼40% lower in MYCN-amplified as compared with nonamplified disease. As the course of chemotherapy progresses, butyrylcholinesterase activities recover and normalize to control values. The evident response to treatment indicates that plasma butyrylcholinesterase is a good biomarker of tumor response to therapy. Depressed butyrylcholinesterase levels in NB subjects are not caused by hepatic deficits suggesting a specific role for butyrylcholinesterase in NB. Further examination of the mechanism of altered butyrylcholinesterase production require an animal model that best approximates human condition. Studies in mice show that murine NB allografts significantly reduce butyrylcholinesterase activity in plasma. This finding correlates with changes observed in NB patients. In contrast, human NB xenografts produce the opposite effect, that is, butyrylcholinesterase plasma levels rise as the xenograft size increases. In the absence of any liver damage, dissimilarities between butyrylcholinesterase production in murine and human NB models suggest species-specific signaling pathways. This disparity also suggests that human NB xenograft mouse models do not approximate the human disease.

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An extensive series of N-(monoethylphosphoryl)peptides was synthesized and their inhibition of purified human skin fibroblast collagenase examined. At the cleavage site S1 all reported compounds have the (EtO)(OK)P(O) group and the peptide side chain extended toward the C-terminal end (up to P5') of the substrate sequence. These phosphoramidates with a tetrahedrally hybridized phosphorus atom are thought to be transition state analogue inhibitors. They exhibited fair inhibitory potency against this vertebrate collagenase having Ki values in the micromolar range. The most potent of these, (EtO)(OK)P(O)-Ile-TrpNHCH3 (68), inhibits with a Ki value of 1.5 microM and is nearly 100 times stronger than (EtO)(OK)P(O)-Ile-Ala-GlyOK (51) (Ki of 140 microM), which has the sequence matching that of the alpha 1 (I) chain of collagen in P1', P2', P3' after the cleavage site. Several compounds were prepared in an attempt to identify the nature of the S2', S3', and S4' binding sites. Alanine at the P2' position was replaced by leucine, phenylalanine, tryptophan, or tyrosine derivatives, resulting in Ki values in a significantly lower range, 1.0-40 microM, compared to 51. No upper size limitation or specificity has been found at this position, yet similar replacements at the P3' position, which is occupied naturally by a glycine residue, gave weaker inhibitors: (EtO)(OK)P(O)-Ile-Tyr(OBzl)-PheOK (57) had a Ki of 120 microM. Hexapeptide derivatives had weaker activities in the 270 microM-2 mM range. All inhibitors were evaluated by using the synthetic thio peptolide spectrophotometric assay.