Selection and analysis of a DNA aptamer binding α-amanitin from Amanita phalloides.

Mushroom foraging is very popular in some regions of the world. Sometimes toxic and edible mushrooms are mistaken by mushroom collectors, leading to serious human poisoning. The group of mushrooms highly dangerous for human health includes Amanita phalloides. This mushroom produces a toxic octapeptide called α-amanitin which is an inhibitor of nuclear RNA polymerase II. The inhibition of this polymerase results in the abortion of mRNA synthesis. The ingestion of A. phalloides causes liver failure due to the fact that most of the toxin is uptaken by hepatocytes. The hospitalization of poisoned patients involves the removal of the toxin from the digestive tract, its dilution in the circulatory system and the administration of therapeutic adjuvants. Since there is no effective antidote against amanitin poisoning, in this study we developed a DNA aptamer exhibiting specific binding to α-amanitin. This aptamer was selected using the SELEX (Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enrichment) method. Next, its ability of toxin removal from aqueous solution was confirmed by pull-down assay. The aptamer region sufficient for α-amanitin binding was determined. Finally, the dissociation constant of the α-amanitin/DNA aptamer complex was calculated.

Antibody-drug conjugate payloads.

Toxin payloads, or drugs, are the crucial components of therapeutic antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). This review will give an introduction on the requirements that make a toxic compound suitable to be used in an antitumoral ADC and will summarize the structural and mechanistic features of four drug families that yielded promising results in preclinical and clinical studies.

Chemical modification allows phallotoxins and amatoxins to be used as tools in cell biology.

Phallotoxins inhibit the dynamics of microfilaments in cells and lead to apoptosis. Due to poor cellular uptake these effects cannot be studied in live cells, even at millimolar toxin concentrations, nor can phalloidin be used for the elimination of tumor cells. Uptake is greatly enhanced by conjugation of phallotoxins to either lipophilic or polycationic moieties, such as oleic acid, polylysine, or Tat-peptide. These conjugates were lethally toxic for cells, e.g., mouse fibroblasts or Jurkat leukemia cells, in the micromolar range. Uptake into cells starts with the attachment of the toxin conjugates to the plasma membrane, followed by endocytosis and, in most cases, cleavage of the toxin from the carrier. Interestingly, the internalization rate of phalloidin into cells was also significantly increased by the fluorescent moiety tetramethylrhodaminyl, as well as by high molecular weight methoxy-polyethyleneglycol, two compounds unknown so far for their uptake-mediating activity. Conjugation to carriers as investigated in this work will allow the use of phallotoxins in experimental cell biology and possibly in tumor therapy. The findings obtained with phallotoxins could be applied also to the family of amatoxins, where α-amanitin, for example, when conjugated to oleic acid was more than 100-fold more toxic for cells than the native toxin. This suggests the possibility of a more general use of the moieties examined here to enhance the uptake of hydrophilic peptides, or drugs, into live cells.

Therapeutic potential of amanitin-conjugated anti-epithelial cell adhesion molecule monoclonal antibody against pancreatic carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Human epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) is overexpressed in many cancers. Anti-EpCAM antibodies have shown promise in preclinical studies, but showed no tumor regression in a recent phase II clinical trial. Therefore, we generated a novel anti-EpCAM antibody-drug conjugate and assessed whether it showed enhanced antitumor effects. METHODS: Chemical cross-linking was conducted to covalently conjugate α-amanitin, a toxin known to inhibit DNA transcription, with chiHEA125, a chimerized anti-EpCAM monoclonal antibody, to generate the antibody-drug conjugate α-amanitin-glutarate-chiHEA125 (chiHEA125-Ama). Antiproliferative activity of chiHEA125-Ama was tested in human pancreatic (BxPc-3 and Capan-1), colorectal (Colo205), breast (MCF-7), and bile duct (OZ) cancer cell lines in vitro using [(3)H]-thymidine incorporation assay. Antitumor activity of chiHEA125-Ama was assessed in vivo in immunocompromised mice bearing subcutaneous human BxPc-3 pancreatic carcinoma xenograft tumors (n = 66 mice). Cell proliferation and apoptosis were evaluated in xenograft tumors by immunohistochemistry. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS: In all cell lines, chiHEA125-Ama reduced cell proliferation (mean half maximal inhibitory concentration [IC(50)] = 2.5 × 10(-10) to 5.4 × 10(-12) M). A single dose of chiHEA125-Ama inhibited BxPc-3 xenograft tumor growth (chiHEA125 [control, n = 4 mice] vs. chiHEA125-Ama [n = 6 mice], dose of 15 mg/kg with respect to IgG and 50 µg/kg with respect to α-amanitin, mean relative increase in tumor volume on day 16 = 884% vs. -79%, difference = 963%, 95% CI = 582% to 1344%, P = .019). Two higher doses of chiHEA125-Ama (100 µg/kg with respect to α-amanitin), administered 1 week apart (n = 10 mice per group), led to complete tumor regression in nine of 10 (90%) mice compared with chiHEA125, during the observation period of 16 days; increased apoptosis and reduced cell proliferation were observed in mice treated with chiHEA125-Ama. CONCLUSION: This preclinical study suggests that anti-EpCAM antibody conjugates with α-amanitin have the potential to be highly effective therapeutic agents for pancreatic carcinomas and various EpCAM-expressing malignancies.

Molecular characterization and inhibition of amanitin uptake into human hepatocytes.

Amatoxins are the main poison of the green death cap (Amanita phalloides) and among the most dangerous natural toxins causing hepatic failure. A possible therapeutic approach is the inhibition of the transporting systems mediating the uptake of amatoxins into human hepatocytes, which, however, have yet to be identified. In the current study we tested whether members of the organic anion-transporting polypeptide (OATP) family, localized in the sinusoidal membranes of human hepatocytes, are involved in amatoxin uptake. For this, Madin Darby canine kidney strain II (MDCKII) cells stably expressing human OATP1B3, OATP2B1, or OATP1B1, were assayed for the uptake of 3H-labeled O-methyl-dehydroxymethyl-alpha-amanitin. Under our conditions, only OATP1B3 was able to transport amanitin with a K(m) value of 3.7 microM +/- 0.6 microM. Accordingly, toxin uptake was inhibited by OATP1B3 substrates and inhibitors (cyclosporin A, rifampicin, the quinoline derivatives MK571 ([(3-(3-(2-(7-chloro-2-quinolinyl)ethenyl)phenyl)((3-dimethylamino-3-oxopropyl)thio)methyl)thiopropanoic acid]) and montelukast, the cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK-8), paclitaxel, and bromosulfophthalein), as well as by some antidotes used in the past for the treatment of human amatoxin poisoning (silibinin dihemisuccinate, penicillin G, prednisolone phosphate, and antamanide). These transport studies are in line with viability assays monitoring the toxic effect of amanitin on the transfected MDCKII cells. Further support for amatoxin transport was found in primary human hepatocytes, expressing OATP1B3, OATP2B1, and OATP1B1, where CCK-8, a substrate specific for OATP1B3, prevented the fragmentation of nucleoli, a lesion typical for amanitin action. In conclusion, we have identified OATP1B3 as the human hepatic uptake transporter for amatoxins; moreover, substrates and inhibitors of OATP1B3, among others rifampicin, may be useful for the treatment of human amatoxin poisoning.

Identification of phalloidin uptake systems of rat and human liver.

To determine whether the liver toxin phalloidin is transported into hepatocytes by one of the known bile salt transporters, we expressed the sodium-dependent Na+/taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide (Ntcp) and several sodium-independent bile salt transporters of the organic anion transporting polypeptide (OATP/SLCO) superfamily in Xenopus laevis oocytes and measured uptake of the radiolabeled phalloidin derivative [3H]demethylphalloin. We found that rat Oatp1b2 (previously called Oatp4 (Slc21a10)) as well as human OATP1B1 (previously called OATP-C (SLC21A6)) and OATP1B3 (previously called OATP8 (SLC21A8)) mediate uptake of [3H]demethylphalloin when expressed in X. laevis oocytes. Transport of increasing [3H]demethylphalloin concentrations was saturable with apparent Km values of 5.7 microM (Oatp1b2), 17 microM (OATP1B1) and 7.5 microM (OATP1B3). All other tested Oatps/OATPs as well as the rat liver Ntcp did not transport [3H]demethylphalloin. Therefore, we conclude that rat Oatp1b2 as well as human OATP1B1 and OATP1B3 are responsible for phalloidin uptake into rat and human hepatocytes.

Characterization of the transport of the bicyclic peptide phalloidin by human hepatic transport proteins.

Phalloidin, the major phallotoxin of the mushroom Amanita phalloides, enters hepatocytes by a carrier-mediated mechanism. The molecular identity of the transport proteins mediating phalloidin uptake was so far unknown. Earlier studies in rat liver indicated that phalloidin may share a common mechanism of uptake with organic anions like bile salts. In the current study on human transporters, we analyzed the uptake of phalloidin into transfected HEK293 cells stably expressing the recombinant hepatocyte-specific organic anion uptake transporters OATP2 (also termed OATP1B1, OATP-C, LST1, symbol SLC21A6) or OATP8 (OATP1B3 or SLC21A8). Time-dependent uptake of phalloidin was observed with SLC21A6-expressing cells and was inhibited by typical substrates of SLC21A6 such as bromosulfophthalein or cholyltaurine. A K(m) value of 39+/-11 micro M was determined for SLC21A6-mediated phalloidin uptake. Additional inhibitors of phalloidin uptake mediated by SLC21A6 included the immunosuppressive drugs cyclosporin A, FK506, and rapamycin, whereas alpha-amanitin was only a weak inhibitor. Cyclosporin A was a most potent competitive inhibitor for SLC21A6-mediated phalloidin transport with a K(i) value of 51 nM.