guanosine-triphosphate and selenazofurin

Inosine 5 -monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH) is a rate-limiting enzyme for the synthesis of GTP and dGTP. Two isoforms of IMPDH have been identified. IMPDH Type I is ubiquitous and predominantly present in normal cells, whereas IMPDH Type II is predominant in malignant cells. IMPDH plays an important role in the expression of cellular genes, such as p53, c-myc and Ki-ras. IMPDH activity is transformation and progression linked in cancer cells. IMPDH inhibitors, tiazofurin, selenazofurin, and benzamide riboside share similar mechanism of action and are metabolized to their respective NAD analogues to exert antitumor activity. Tiazofurin exhibits clinical responses in patients with acute myeloid leukemia and chronic myeloid leukemia in blast crisis. These responses relate to the level of the NAD analogue formed in the leukemic cells. Resistance to tiazofurin and related IMPDH inhibitors relate mainly to a decrease in NMN adenylyltransferase activity. IMPDH inhbitors induce apoptosis. IMPDH inhitors are valuable probes for examining biochemical functions of GTP as they selectively reduce guanylate concentration. Incomplete depletion of cellular GTP level seems to down-regulate G-protein function, thereby inhibit cell growth or induce apoptosis. Inosine 5'-monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH, EC 1.1.1.205) catalyzes the dehydrogenation of IMP to XMP utilizing NAD as the proton acceptor. Studies have demonstrated that IMPDH is a rate-limiting step in the de novo synthesis of guanylates, including GTP and dGTP. The importance of IMPDH is central because dGTP is required for the DNA synthesis and GTP plays a major role not only for the cellular activity but also for cellular regulation. Two isoforms of IMPDH have been demonstrated. IMPDH Type I is ubiquitous and predominately present in normal cells, whereas the IMPDH Type II enzyme is predominant in malignant cells. Although guanylates could be salvaged from guanine by the enzyme hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (EC 2.4.2.8), the level of circulating guanine is low in dividing cells and this route is probably insufficient to satisfy the needs of guanylates in the cells.

Topics: Antineoplastic Agents; Apoptosis; cdc25 Phosphatases; Clinical Trials as Topic; Clinical Trials, Phase I as Topic; Clinical Trials, Phase II as Topic; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; Enzyme Inhibitors; Female; Guanosine Triphosphate; HL-60 Cells; Humans; IMP Dehydrogenase; Leukemia, Myeloid; Neoplasms; Nucleosides; Organoselenium Compounds; Ovarian Neoplasms; Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases; Ribavirin; Ribonucleosides; RNA, Messenger; Time Factors; Tumor Cells, Cultured

The broad spectrum of antiviral activity of ribavirin (RBV) lies in its ability to inhibit IMP dehydrogenase, which lowers cellular GTP. However, RBV can act as a potent mutagen for some RNA viruses. Previously we have shown a lack of correlation between antiviral activity and GTP repression for Hantaan virus (HTNV) and evidence for RBV's ability to promote error-prone replication. To further explore the mechanism of RBV, GTP levels, specific infectivity, and/or mutation frequency was measured in the presence of RBV, mycophenolic acid (MPA), selenazofurin, or tiazofurin. While all four drugs resulted in a decrease in the GTP levels and infectious virus, only RBV increased the mutation frequency of viral RNA (vRNA). MPA, however, could enhance RBV's mutagenic effect, which suggests distinct mechanisms of action for each. Therefore, a simple drop in GTP levels does not drive the observed error-prone replication. To further explore RBV's mechanism of action, we made a comprehensive analysis of the mutation frequency over several RBV concentrations. Of importance, we observed that the viral population reached a threshold after which mutation frequency did not correlate with a dose-dependent decrease in the level of vRNA, PFU, or [RTP]/[GTP] (where RTP is ribavirin-5'-triphosphate) over these same concentrations of RBV. Modeling of the relationship of mutation frequency and drug concentration showed an asymptotic relationship at this point. After this threshold, approximately 57% of the viral cDNA population was identical to the wild type. These studies revealed a lethal threshold, after which we did not observe a complete loss of the quasispecies structure of the wild-type genome, although we observed extinction of HTNV.

Topics: Animals; Antiviral Agents; Chlorocebus aethiops; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Gene Frequency; Genome, Viral; Guanosine Triphosphate; Hantaan virus; Mutation; Mycophenolic Acid; Organoselenium Compounds; Ribavirin; Ribonucleosides; RNA, Viral; Vero Cells

The synthesis and biological activity of selenophenfurin (5-beta-D-ribofuranosylselenophene-3-carboxamide, 1), the selenophene analogue of selenazofurin, are described. Glycosylation of ethyl selenophene-3-carboxylate (6) under stannic chloride-catalyzed conditions gave 2- and 5-glycosylated regioisomers, as a mixture of alpha- and beta-anomers, and the beta-2,5-diglycosylated derivative. Deprotected ethyl 5-beta-D-ribofuranosylselenophene-3-carboxylate (12 beta) was converted into selenophenfurin by ammonolysis. The structure of 12 beta was determined by 1H- and 13C-NMR, crystallographic, and computational studies. Selenophenfurin proved to be antiproliferative against a number of leukemia, lymphoma, and solid tumor cell lines at concentrations similar to those of selenazofurin but was more potent than the thiophene and thiazole analogues thiophenfurin and tiazofurin. Incubation of K562 cells with selenophenfurin resulted in inhibition of IMP dehydrogenase (IMPDH) (76%) and an increase in IMP pools (14.5-fold) with a concurrent decrease in GTP levels (58%). The results obtained confirm the hypothesis that the presence of heteroatoms such as S or Se in the heterocycle in position 2 with respect to the glycosidic bond is essential for both cytotoxicity and IMP dehydrogenase inhibitory activity in this type of C-nucleosides.

Topics: Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; Cell Division; Computer Simulation; Crystallography, X-Ray; Enzyme Inhibitors; Guanosine Triphosphate; Humans; IMP Dehydrogenase; Inosine Monophosphate; Leukemia; Lymphoma; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Mice; Models, Molecular; Molecular Structure; Neoplasms; Organoselenium Compounds; Ribavirin; Ribonucleosides; Tumor Cells, Cultured

The synthetic nucleoside tiazofurin(2-beta-ribofuranosylthiazole-4-carboxyamide) and its selenium analog selenazofurin inhibited the growth of L1210 leukemia cell culture in a dose dependent manner with IC50 value of 2.0 and 0.2 Um respectively. The GTP/ATP ratio was diminished 4-6 fold as measured by HPLC, while IMP/ATP increased 6-8 fold. The decreased guanylate pools may explain the 30% reduction in cyclic GMP levels and GTPase activity measured after the treatment with the nucleosides. Inhibition of phospholipase C activity is suggested since diacylglycerol content, protein kinase C activity and phorbol ester binding of the membrane fraction were also reduced 20-40%. These results reveal a novel aspect in the action of these compounds which may play a role in their therapeutic action and selectivity.

Topics: Adenosine Triphosphate; Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; Carrier Proteins; Cyclic GMP; Diglycerides; Guanosine Triphosphate; Inosine Monophosphate; Leukemia L1210; Mice; Organoselenium Compounds; Phorbol 12,13-Dibutyrate; Phosphates; Phosphatidylinositols; Protein Kinase C; Receptors, Drug; Ribavirin; Ribonucleosides; Selenium

The synthetic "C" nucleoside, tiazofurin (2-beta-D-ribofuranosylthiazole-4-carboxamide), its selenium analogue selenazofurin, and the related inhibitor of inosine 5'-phosphate (IMP) dehydrogenase, mycophenolic acid, are effective inducers of the terminal differentiation of HL-60 promyelocytic leukemia cells. The inhibition of cellular replication and the induced maturation produced by these agents appears to be a consequence of the inhibition of IMP dehydrogenase, since growth inhibition is partially reversed and differentiation is completely prevented by the simultaneous exposure of cells treated with inhibitors of IMP dehydrogenase to exogenous guanosine, which serves to circumvent the effects of the blockage of IMP dehydrogenase. The exposure of HL-60 leukemia cells to inhibitors of IMP dehydrogenase caused a marked reduction in the incorporation of [3H]mannose into both cellular glycoproteins and their lipid-linked oligosaccharide precursors; these effects are presumably due to the pronounced decrease in intracellular levels of guanosine triphosphate produced by blockage of IMP dehydrogenase. Maximum effects on glycoprotein biosynthesis occurred within 8 h of exposure to the inhibitors of IMP dehydrogenase. The simultaneous incubation of cells with guanosine and these inducers of differentiation partially prevented the reduction in [3H]mannose incorporation into glycoproteins, supporting a relationship between glycoprotein biosynthesis and guanosine triphosphate formation in the induction of differentiation by inhibitors of IMP dehydrogenase.

Topics: Cell Cycle; Cell Differentiation; Cell Line; Dolichol Monophosphate Mannose; Glycoproteins; Guanosine; Guanosine Triphosphate; Hematopoiesis; Humans; IMP Dehydrogenase; Ketone Oxidoreductases; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute; Mycophenolic Acid; Organoselenium Compounds; Phagocytosis; Ribavirin; Ribonucleosides; Selenium