Analysis of chloroquine resistance transporter (CRT) isoforms and orthologues in S. cerevisiae yeast.

Previous work from our laboratory optimized MeOH-inducible expression of the P. falciparum malarial parasite transporter PfCRT in P. pastoris yeast. These strains are useful for many experiments but do not allow for inducible protein expression under ambient growth conditions. We have therefore optimized galactose-inducible expression of PfCRT in S. cerevisiae yeast. We find that expression of PfCRT confers CQ hypersensitivity to growing yeast and that this is due to plasma membrane localization of the transporter. We use quantitative analyses of growth rates to compare hypersensitivity for yeast expressing various PfCRT isoforms. We also report successful high level inducible expression of the P. vivax orthologue, PvCRT, and compare CQ hypersensitivity for PvCRT vs PfCRT expressing yeast. We test the hypothesis that hypersensitivity is due to increased transport of CQ into yeast expressing the transporters via direct (3)H-CQ transport experiments and analyze the effect that membrane potential has on transport. The data suggest important new tools for rapid functional screening of PfCRT and PvCRT isoforms and provide further evidence for a model wherein membrane potential promotes charged CQ transport by PfCRT. Data also support our previous conclusion that wild type PfCRT is capable of CQ transport and provide a basis for understanding the lack of correspondence between PvCRT mutations and resistance to CQ in the important malarial parasite P. vivax.

Pharmacologic doses of ascorbate act as a prooxidant and decrease growth of aggressive tumor xenografts in mice.

Ascorbic acid is an essential nutrient commonly regarded as an antioxidant. In this study, we showed that ascorbate at pharmacologic concentrations was a prooxidant, generating hydrogen-peroxide-dependent cytotoxicity toward a variety of cancer cells in vitro without adversely affecting normal cells. To test this action in vivo, normal oral tight control was bypassed by parenteral ascorbate administration. Real-time microdialysis sampling in mice bearing glioblastoma xenografts showed that a single pharmacologic dose of ascorbate produced sustained ascorbate radical and hydrogen peroxide formation selectively within interstitial fluids of tumors but not in blood. Moreover, a regimen of daily pharmacologic ascorbate treatment significantly decreased growth rates of ovarian (P < 0.005), pancreatic (P < 0.05), and glioblastoma (P < 0.001) tumors established in mice. Similar pharmacologic concentrations were readily achieved in humans given ascorbate intravenously. These data suggest that ascorbate as a prodrug may have benefits in cancers with poor prognosis and limited therapeutic options.

Evidence that histidine protonation of receptor-bound anthrax protective antigen is a trigger for pore formation.

The protective antigen (PA) component of the anthrax toxin forms pores within the low pH environment of host endosomes through mechanisms that are poorly understood. It has been proposed that pore formation is dependent on histidine protonation. In previous work, we biosynthetically incorporated 2-fluorohistidine (2-FHis), an isosteric analogue of histidine with a significantly reduced pK(a) ( approximately 1), into PA and showed that the pH-dependent conversion from the soluble prepore to a pore was unchanged. However, we also observed that 2-FHisPA was nonfunctional in the ability to mediate cytotoxicity of CHO-K1 cells by LF(N)-DTA and was defective in translocation through planar lipid bilayers. Here, we show that the defect in cytotoxicity is due to both a defect in translocation and, when bound to the host cellular receptor, an inability to undergo low pH-induced pore formation. Combining X-ray crystallography with hydrogen-deuterium (H-D) exchange mass spectrometry, our studies lead to a model in which hydrogen bonds to the histidine ring are strengthened by receptor binding. The combination of both fluorination and receptor binding is sufficient to block low pH-induced pore formation.

Structural basis of the selectivity of the beta(2)-adrenergic receptor for fluorinated catecholamines.

The important and diverse biological functions of adrenergic receptors, a subclass of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), have made the search for compounds that selectively stimulate or inhibit the activity of different adrenergic receptor subtypes an important area of medicinal chemistry. We previously synthesized 2-, 5-, and 6-fluoronorepinehprine (FNE) and 2-, 5-, and 6-fluoroepinephrine (FEPI) and found that 2FNE and 2FEPI were selective beta-adrenergic agonists and that 6FNE and 6FEPI were selective alpha-adrenergic agonists, while 5FNE and 5FEPI were unselective. Agonist potencies correlated well with receptor binding affinities. Here, through a combination of molecular modeling and site-directed mutagenesis, we have identified N293 in the beta(2)-adrenergic receptor as a crucial residue for the selectivity of the receptor for catecholamines fluorinated at different positions.

A new and efficient method for the synthesis of trifluoromethylthio- and selenoethers.

[reaction: see text] A new atom-economic procedure for preparation of trifluoromethyl thio- and selenoethers is reported, wherein both halves of aryl and alkyl disulfides and diselenides are able to be utilized with high efficiency.

Ascorbate in pharmacologic concentrations selectively generates ascorbate radical and hydrogen peroxide in extracellular fluid in vivo.

Ascorbate (ascorbic acid, vitamin C), in pharmacologic concentrations easily achieved in humans by i.v. administration, selectively kills some cancer cells but not normal cells. We proposed that pharmacologic ascorbate is a prodrug for preferential steady-state formation of ascorbate radical (Asc(*-)) and H(2)O(2) in the extracellular space compared with blood. Here we test this hypothesis in vivo. Rats were administered parenteral (i.v. or i.p.) or oral ascorbate in typical human pharmacologic doses ( approximately 0.25-0.5 mg per gram of body weight). After i.v. injection, ascorbate baseline concentrations of 50-100 microM in blood and extracellular fluid increased to peaks of >8 mM. After i.p. injection, peaks approached 3 mM in both fluids. By gavage, the same doses produced ascorbate concentrations of <150 microM in both fluids. In blood, Asc(*-) concentrations measured by EPR were undetectable with oral administration and always <50 nM with parenteral administration, even when corresponding ascorbate concentrations were >8 mM. After parenteral dosing, Asc(*-) concentrations in extracellular fluid were 4- to 12-fold higher than those in blood, were as high as 250 nM, and were a function of ascorbate concentrations. By using the synthesized probe peroxyxanthone, H(2)O(2) in extracellular fluid was detected only after parenteral administration of ascorbate and when Asc(*-) concentrations in extracellular fluid exceeded 100 nM. The data show that pharmacologic ascorbate is a prodrug for preferential steady-state formation of Asc(*-) and H(2)O(2) in the extracellular space but not blood. These data provide a foundation for pursuing pharmacologic ascorbate as a prooxidant therapeutic agent in cancer and infections.

Nucleophilic perfluoroalkylation of aldehydes, ketones, imines, disulfides, and diselenides.

Using a procedure analogous to that developed for nucleophilic trifluoromethylation, the perfluoroalkyl anion reagents created by mixing C2F5I and n-C4F9I with tetrakis(dimethylamino)ethylene (TDAE) were effective in their nucleophilic reactions with aldehydes, ketones, imines, disulfides, and diselenides. Irradiation proved beneficial in the aldehyde and ketone reactions.