Activity of topoisomerase inhibitors daunorubicin, idarubicin, and aclarubicin in the Drosophila Somatic Mutation and Recombination Test.

Anthracyclines have been widely used as anticancer drugs against different types of human cancers. The present study evaluated the mutagenic and recombinagenic properties of two anthracycline topoisomerase II (topo II) poisons, daunorubicin (DNR) and idarubicin (IDA), as well as the related topo II catalytic inhibitor aclarubicin (ACLA), using the wing Somatic Mutation and Recombination Test (SMART) in Drosophila melanogaster. The three anthracyclines were positive in this bioassay, producing mainly mitotic homologous recombination. The results for spot-size distribution and recombinagenic activity indicate that recombinational DNA damage accounts for approximately 91, 86, and 62% of DNR, IDA, and ACLA genotoxicity, respectively. Besides being a catalytic inhibitor of topo II, ACLA is also a topoisomerase I (topo I) poison. This dual topo I and II inhibitory effect, associated with its DNA-intercalating activity, could contribute to the activity of ACLA in the SMART assay.

Comparative genotoxic effect of vincristine, vinblastine, and vinorelbine in somatic cells of Drosophila melanogaster.

In this study, the vinca alkaloids vincristine (VCR), vinblastine (VBL) and vinorelbine (VNR) were investigated for genotoxicity in the wing Somatic Mutation and Recombination Test (SMART) of Drosophila. Our in vivo experiments demonstrated that all drugs assessed induced genetic toxicity, causing increments in the incidence of mutational events, as well as in somatic recombination. Another point to be considered is the fact that VNR was able to induce, respectively, approximately 13.0 and 1.7 times more mutant clones per millimolar exposure unit as their analogues VCR and VBL. The replacement of a CH(3) attached to vindoline group in VBL by a CHO in VCR seems to be responsible for the approximately seven times higher potency of the former. In contrast, the structural modifications on VNR's catharantine group could be related to its higher genotoxic potency, as well as its similar mutagenic and recombinagenic action.

Comparison of camptothecin derivatives presently in clinical trials: genotoxic potency and mitotic recombination.

The genotoxicity of camptothecin (CPT) and its clinical antineoplastic analogues irinotecan (CPT-11) and topotecan (TPT) were evaluated using the wing somatic mutation and recombination test (SMART) in Drosophila melanogaster. These compounds stabilize and trap the topoisomerase I-DNA complex, preventing the religation step of the breakage/rejoining reaction mediated by the enzyme. The standard version of the wing SMART was used to evaluate the three compounds and to compare the wing spots induced in marker-heterozygous and balancer-heterozygous flies. The results demonstrate that all compounds tested have a significant genotoxic effect in both genotypes analysed. At the same time, a comparison of the clone induction frequencies in marker-heterozygous and balancer-heterozygous flies shows that mitotic recombination is the prevalent mechanism through which the three compounds induce all categories of wing spots (78-93% recombination). TPT was the most genotoxic compound, probably because substitutions of amino groups for the 9-carbon of the CPT A ring leads to compounds with greater in vivo activity. CPT and CPT-11 induced, respectively, about 7 and 28 times fewer mutant clones per millimolar exposure unit than TPT.