Stimulus-responsive
cleavage reactions have found broad use to
direct drug release at a particular target disease area. Increased
levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been associated with
the development and progression of cancer and several other disease
states, motivating the development of drug conjugates that can undergo
a chemoselective ROS-triggered release. Melatonin (MLT) and the reactive
electrophile p-benzoquinone methide (p-QM) have evidenced either cytoprotective or cytotoxic effects in
biological systems, depending on the dose, cellular targets, and time
of exposure. In this study, we report the synthesis and biological
activity of two MLT derivatives linked to ROS-responsive arylboronate
triggers (P1 and P2), which can be activated
by endogenously generated hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to release MLT, or 5-methoxytryptamine (5-MeOT), and p-QM-intermediates. Their H2O2-induced activation
mechanism was studied by HPLC-DAD-MS. P1, which rapidly
releases MLT and p-QM, was able to strongly induce
the Nrf2 antioxidant signaling pathway, but was ineffective to provide
protection against H2O2-mediated oxidative damage.
By contrast, P1 exhibited strong toxic effects in HeLa
cancer cells, without causing significant toxicity to normal NCTC-2544
cells. Similar, although more limited, effects were exerted by P2. In both cases, cytotoxicity was accompanied by depletion
of cellular glutathione (GSH), probably as a consequence of p-QM release, and increased ROS levels. A role for MLT in
toxicity was also observed, suggesting that the P1 released
products, MLT and p-QM, contributed additively to
promote cell death.