palmitoyl-rhizoxin and rhizoxin

RS-1541 is a 13-O-palmitoyl derivative of rhizoxin, an inhibitor of tubulin polymerization. After intravenous administration of RS-1541 to mice bearing M5076 sarcoma, the maximal inhibitory effect of RS-1541 on DNA synthesis in the tumor was observed 24 h after administration, in agreement with the Cmax of rhizoxin produced from RS-1541, but not with the Cmax of RS-1541. The inhibitory effect after RS-1541 was much higher than that after rhizoxin itself. In the spleen, thymus and bone marrow, DNA synthesis was strongly inhibited by rhizoxin but not by RS-1541. After administration of RS-1541, no significant amounts of rhizoxin were detected in the tissues, except for the tumor. In acute toxicity tests, RS-1541 appeared to be less toxic than rhizoxin. These results indicate that RS-1541 possesses a high tumor-selective effect compared with rhizoxin, because of the selective production of rhizoxin in the tumor after administration of RS-1541.

Topics: Animals; Antibiotics, Antineoplastic; DNA, Neoplasm; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Female; Injections, Intravenous; Lactones; Macrolides; Male; Mice; Sarcoma, Experimental; Thymidine; Time Factors

RS-1541, an acyl-derivative of rhizoxin (Fig. 1), is a potent antitumor compound. This agent showed cytotoxicity in vitro on some cultured human tumor cells, although it was less potent than rhizoxin. Rhizoxin exhibited antitumor effects by inhibiting the polymerization of tubulin, whereas RS-1541 did not inhibit tubulin polymerization in vitro. However, cell cycle analysis in vivo showed that the two agents had the same mode of action. The cytotoxicity of RS-1541 was enhanced when the initial cell density of the cells was increased. The cytotoxicity was also enhanced when the membrane fraction of St-4 cells, which were the most sensitive to RS-1541 among the cell lines tested, was added to the target cells. When St-4 cells were incubated with [14C]-RS-1541, significant amounts of [14C]-rhizoxin were produced within the cells. Further fractionation of the crude membrane showed that the activity that enhanced the cytotoxicity of RS-1541 (RS-1541-enhancing activity) belonged to the mitochondrial-lysosomal fraction, not to the microsomal fraction. Both the enhancing activity and the activity that converting [14C]-RS-1541 to [14C]-rhizoxin (RS-1541-converting activity) were inhibited by treatment with chloroquine, an inhibitor of lysosomal function. Cholesterol esterase derived from Candida cylindracea had RS-1541-enhancing and -converting activities. These data suggest that RS-1541 exerts its cytotoxic action after being converted to rhizoxin within the cells by a lysosomal enzyme such as cholesterol esterase.

Topics: Antibiotics, Antineoplastic; Biotransformation; Cell Cycle; Humans; Lactones; Lysosomes; Macrolides; Sterol Esterase; Tumor Cells, Cultured

The tumour uptake as well as the anti-tumour activity of RS-1541 (palmitoyl rhizoxin), a potent antineoplastic agent, were investigated in mice bearing M5076 sarcoma. After intravenous administration, 14C-RS-1541 preferentially bound to the lipoproteins, to which 14C-rhizoxin did not bind. 14C-RS-1541 showed persisting high concentrations of radioactivity in the plasma (T 1/2 alpha, 4.9 h). The uptake of radioactivity by the tumour was second to those by the liver and spleen, and several times greater than those by the other tissues. Selective and sustained uptake by the tumour was also demonstrated by whole-body autoradiography. A considerable amount of rhizoxin was detected only in the tumour after administration of 14C-RS-1541, and the area under the tissue-concentration-time curve (AUCt) and the mean residence time (MRT) of rhizoxin in the tumour were much higher than those after administration of 14C-rhizoxin itself. The rhizoxin formation in the tumour was significantly reduced by chloroquine, a lysosomal enzyme inhibitor. RS-1541 showed a higher therapeutic activity than rhizoxin. At a 4 mg kg-1 dose, the maximum growth inhibition was 92% for RS-1541 and 41% for rhizoxin. These results indicate that RS-1541, but not rhizoxin, is taken up by the tumour via endocytosis, most likely via the low-density-lipoprotein receptor, after binding to lipoproteins. Thus, RS-1541 was considered to exhibit sustained high concentration in tumours and potent anti-tumour activity.

Topics: Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; Autoradiography; Carbon Radioisotopes; Chloroquine; Female; In Vitro Techniques; Lactones; Lipoproteins, LDL; Macrolides; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice, Inbred DBA; Neoplasm Transplantation; Protein Binding; Sarcoma, Experimental; Skin Neoplasms; Tissue Distribution