In vitro reconstitution of exocytosis from plasma membrane and isolated secretory vesicles.

We describe the reconstitution of exocytotic function through recombination of purified cortical secretory vesicles (CVs) and plasma membrane from sea urchin eggs. CVs were dislodged from a cell surface complex preparation by gentle homogenization in an isotonic dissociation buffer, and purified by differential centrifugation. CV-free plasma membrane fragments were obtained by mechanically dislodging CVs from cortical lawn (CL) preparations with a jet of CL isolation buffer. This procedure produced a "plasma membrane lawn" preparation, consisting of plasma membrane fragments attached via their vitelline layer (an extracellular glycocalyx) to a polylysine-coated microscope slide. When freshly prepared CVs were incubated with plasma membrane lawns, CVs reassociated with the cytoplasmic face of the plasma membrane, forming an exocytotically competent, reconstituted cortical lawn (RL). Exocytosis in RLs was monitored by phase-contrast microscopy, and quantitated with a sensitive microphotometric assay. Half-maximal exocytosis in RLs occurred at 18.5 microM free Ca2+; half-maximal exocytosis in control lawns occurred at 5.7 microM free Ca2+. Greater than 90% of the purified CVs that were not attached to a plasma membrane lawn remained intact when bathed in a buffer containing millimolar Ca2+. This result excluded the possibility that Ca2+-triggered CV lysis was responsible for our observations, and confirmed that the association of CVs with the plasma membrane was required for exocytosis in RLs. Evidence that the Ca2+-stimulated release of CV contents in CLs and RLs is the in vitro equivalent of exocytosis was obtained with an immunofluorescence-based vectorial transport assay, using an antiserum directed against a CV content protein: stimulation of RLs or partially CV-depleted CLs with Ca2+ resulted in fusion of the CV and plasma membranes, and the vectorial transport of CV contents from the cytoplasmic to the extracytoplasmic face of the egg plasma membrane.

Mild proteolytic digestion restores exocytotic activity to N-ethylmaleimide-inactivated cell surface complex from sea urchin eggs.

The Ca2+-stimulated release of cortical vesicle (cortical granule) contents from the cell surface complex (CSC) of the sea urchin egg is an in vitro model for exocytosis. To gain insight into the molecular mechanism of exocytosis we investigated the sensitivity of this model to sulfhydryl modification and proteolytic digestion. Our findings include the following: (a) Proteolytic treatment with trypsin or pronase of CSC prepared from the eggs of Strongylocentrotus purpuratus increased the free Ca2+ concentration required to elicit exocytosis. Although a small increase in the Ca2+ threshold was detected after mild proteolysis, high concentrations of trypsin (0.5 mg/ml) and prolonged incubation (3 h) were required to render the CSC unresponsive to high concentrations of Ca2+ (0.5 mM). Despite the severity of the proteolytic digestions required to inactivate the CSC, the individual cortical vesicles remained intact, as gauged by the latency of ovoperoxidase, a cortical vesicle enzyme. (b) As previously shown (Haggerty, J. C., and R. C. Jackson, 1983, J. Biol. Chem. 258:1819-1825), cortical exocytosis can be blocked by sulfhydryl-modifying reagents such as N-ethylmaleimide (NEM). In this report we demonstrate that NEM inhibits by increasing the Ca2+ threshold required for exocytosis. When CSC that had been completely inactivated by NEM modification was briefly digested, on ice, with a low concentration of trypsin (or several other proteases), exocytotic activity was restored. Although the Ca2+ threshold of the reactivated CSC was slightly higher than that of untreated CSC, it was nearly identical to that of control CSC, which was trypsinized but not treated with NEM. We discuss the significance of these results with regard to the molecular mechanism of exocytosis.

Using a mammalian cell cycle simulation to interpret differential kinase inhibition in anti-tumour pharmaceutical development.

Systems biology needs to show practical relevance to commercial biological challenges such as those of pharmaceutical development. The aim of this work is to design and validate some applications in anti-cancer therapeutic development. The test system was a group of novel cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitors synthesised by Cyclacel Ltd. The measured in vitro IC50s of each compound were used as input data to a proprietary cell cycle model developed by Physiomics plc. The model was able to predict over three orders of magnitude the cytotoxicity of each compound without model adaptation to specific cancer cell types. This pattern matched the experimentally determined data. One class of compounds was predicted to cause an increase of the cell cycle length with a non-linear dose-response curve. Further work will use apoptosis and DNA replication simulations to look at overall cell effects.

The kinetic properties of switch antimetabolites.

BACKGROUND: Maintaining homeostasis is the biological function of negative feedback, a process that plays a well-understood role in the biochemistry of antimetabolite drugs. An equally important property of living systems--the ability to respond to external stimuli by switching rapidly from one state to another--is mediated by positive feedback. Kinetic analysis of multi-enzyme biochemical pathways has shown that pathways containing positive feedback coupled with negative feedback may act as biochemical switching systems in which multiple steady states are possible. PURPOSE: A computer model was used to study the kinetic effects of antimetabolites that inhibit biochemical pathways at positive feedback sites and to determine whether the kinetics of such systems differed from those of classical antimetabolites. METHODS: Kinetics were simulated by microcomputer to model the effects of inhibitors on a simplified metabolic pathway. RESULTS: Antimetabolite drugs that act at positive feedback sites are predicted to display highly nonclassical properties. Three nonclassical properties are kinetically possible. First, the drugs may switch off the pathway at substoichiometric concentrations; classical antimetabolites require stoichiometric levels and sometimes much more. Second, instead of demonstrating classical continuous inhibition, antimetabolite drugs that act at positive feedback sites may give "all-or-none" dose-response curves with discontinuity at a specific value. Inhibitor concentrations below this value would have no overall effect on the system, while inhibitor concentrations at or above this value would give an abrupt transition to an inhibited steady state. Third, the inhibited system may show hysteresis and remain switched off after the inhibitor is removed. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that antimetabolites acting at switch points could have kinetic properties very different from those of classical antimetabolites and could provide a noncytotoxic method of switching off pathways in neoplastic cells, perhaps leading to cell stasis. IMPLICATIONS: Experimental validation of these conclusions will require identification of the positive feedback sites of metabolic and signaling pathways and exploration of the effects of inhibitors of these sites. The properties of "switch antimetabolites" should prompt a search for new kinds of targets for drug design.

Rat hepatomas: chemotherapy with lycurim and pyrazofurin.

Hepatoma 8999 was sensitive to Lycurim [1,4-di-(methylsulfonyloxy-ethylamino)-1,4-dideoxy-ms-erythritol] with a mean lethal dose (LD50) of 8.1 X 10(-8) M for a 6-hour treatment in vitro. The drug dose lethal to 10% of the rats with Lycurim (10 mg/kg) injected ip 12 times into hepatoma 8999-bearing BUF rats at 10-day intervals provided a mean increase in life-span (ILS) of 156%. The more rapidly growing, less differentiated hepatoma 3924A was tenfold less sensitive to Lycurim in vitro, and three treatments in vivo (10 mg/kg given every 8 days) gave an ILS of only 18% in ACI/N rats. Because hepatoma 8999 had a high adenosine kinase activity, the effect of Pyrazofurin (PF; 3-beta-D-ribofuranosyl-4-hydroxypyrazole-5-carboxamide) was examined in vitro: The LD50 was 8.5 X 10(-8) M in a 6-hour exposure. In hepatoma 3924A, with a fifteenfold lower adenosine kinase, the LD50 was 22-fold higher. Three treatments with PF (4 mg/kg given every 2 days) in hepatoma 8999 caused an 18% ILS and no host toxicity, but in hepatoma 3924A no significant ILS was observed. Lycurim combined with PF (0.05 microM each) in hepatoma 8999 cells in vitro provided synergistic kill, but Lycurim and PF (0.3 and 1 microM, respectively) in hepatoma 3924A cells yielded summation. When 10 rats with hepatoma 8999 were treated 15 times with the optimal dose of Lycurim (7.5 mg/kg every 10 1/2 days), 1-year survivors numbered 7. Alternate doses of Lycurim (7.5 mg/kg) and PF (3 mg/kg) at 5-day intervals for 4 months to 10 rats gave an ILS of 152% with eight 1-year survivors and no host toxicity.

Amphibolic drug combinations: the design of selective antimetabolite protocols based upon the kinetic properties of multienzyme systems.

Computer simulation of a simple biochemical pathway containing a divergent branch has been used to study the interaction of two inhibitors that straddle the branch point. The combined effects of the two sequentially acting inhibitors could be synergistic, additive, or antagonistic, depending upon the regulation of the pathway. Factors that influenced the interaction included relative Vmax and Km values for the competing enzymes, the sink capacity of the system (i.e., the capacity of the system for eliminating the shared intermediate in relation to its capacity for producing it), the competitive or noncompetitive nature of the second inhibitor, and the presence or absence of feedback in the system. In certain cases, a two-fold change in the Vmax value of one of the competing enzymes was sufficient to change the interaction from synergistic to antagonistic. The existence of such drug combinations (which this article terms amphibolic combinations) means that it is possible in principle to identify binary drug combinations that will be synergistic against a tumor cell but antagonistic against normal cells. Identification of amphibolic drug combinations should be a means of designing more selective chemotherapy.

Patterns of cross-resistance to the antifolate drugs trimetrexate, metoprine, homofolate, and CB3717 in human lymphoma and osteosarcoma cells resistant to methotrexate.

Methotrexate (MTX)-resistant sublines of malignant human cells were selected in vitro by stepwise increase in drug concentration in the medium. By this procedure a subline of Burkitt's lymphoma cells (RAJI) was made 290-fold resistant (RAJI/MTX-R), T-cell leukemia cells (CCRF-CEM) were obtained 210-fold resistant (CEM/MTX-R), and 3 MTX-resistant human osteosarcoma lines were selected: TE-85/MTX-R (19-fold resistant; relative to wild-type); MG-63/MTX-R (8-fold resistant); and SAOS-2/MTX-R (200-fold resistant). We also studied a B-cell lymphoblastoid line, WI-L2/m4, that was 13,000-fold resistant. Assay of cellular dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) showed the following pattern of activity in resistant cell lines, relative to parental cell activity: RAJI/MTX-R, 550-fold increased; CEM/MTX-R, unchanged; TE-85/MTX-R, 4-fold increased; MG-63/MTX-R, 6-fold increased; SAOS-2/MTX-R, unchanged; and WI-L2/m4, 110-fold increased. Measurement of MTX membrane transport showed decreased uptake in CEM/MTX-R and SAOS-2/MTX-R, relative to parental cell lines. The other DHFR-overproducing cells all gave normal initial MTX uptake rates but increased total uptake. The DHFR-overproducing lines all had significant cross-resistance to both metoprine and trimetrexate; the two lines with defective MTX transport were not cross-resistant, and the CEM/MTX-R cells showed collateral sensitivity to these agents. Only minor cross-resistance to homofolic acid was found in all MTX-resistant lines. The highly MTX-resistant RAJI/MTX-R and WI-L2/m4 cells showed minor cross-resistance to the dual inhibitor of thymidylate synthetase and DHFR, CB3717 (5- and 15-fold, respectively). These studies demonstrated that, depending upon the mechanism of resistance, MTX-resistant human tumor cells may be effectively killed by antifolates with different routes of uptake into cells, or with a different enzyme target. Thus, there are at least three functionally distinct classes of folate antagonist with antitumor activity.

Intrinsic resistance to methotrexate of cultured mammalian cells in relation to the inhibition kinetics of their dihydrololate reductases.

Four cultured mammalian cell lines, differing in intrinsic resistance to methotrexate over a 70-fold range, have been compared with respect to several biochemical factors that might influence response to the drug. Cellular activity of the enzymes dihydrofolate reductase and thymidylate synthetase and the total levels of folate cofactors did not vary by more than a factor of 2 among the cell lines. All the cell types were able to transport extracellular methotrexate efficiently across the cell membrane, and at comparable rates. A kinetic study of highly purified dihydrofolate reductases from the four sources revealed small differences in the Km values for dihydrofolate and reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate. A study was made of the inhibition of the four dihydrofolate reductases by methotrexate, and Ki values were obtained by fitting the Zone B equation of Goldstein (Goldstein, A., J. Gen. Physiol., 27: 529-580, 1944) to the resulting data. Values Ki determined by this method correlated with intrinsic resistance of the cell lines and showed a 25-fold range from the most sensitive to the most resistant line. It is concluded that the response of a cell to methotrexate is significantly influenced by the dissociation constant of its dihydrofolate reductase-methotrexate complex.

Resistance to anthrapyrazoles and anthracyclines in multidrug-resistant P388 murine leukemia cells: reversal by calcium blockers and calmodulin antagonists.

A series of anthrapyrazoles was examined for their cytotoxic effect on P388 cells resistant (P388R) to anthracyclines, N-[4-(9-acridinylamino)-3-methoxyphenyl] methanesulfonamide, trimetrexate, and vinblastine. The degree of resistance of P388R cells to Adriamycin (ADR) and daunomycin was 50-fold and 38-fold, respectively, when compared to the parent cell line (P388S). The Adriamycin-resistant cells were highly cross-resistant to some anthrapyrazoles, but the degree of cross-resistance was not uniform and was less than 3-fold for one member of the series. The lipophilicity of these compounds appeared to correlate to some extent with the level of resistance. The calcium channel blockers verapamil (VER) and diltiazem and the calmodulin antagonist trifluoperazine potentiated the cytotoxicity of the anthrapyrazoles and ADR in P388R. This potentiating effect was concentration dependent with VER being the most efficacious. VER increased ADR cytotoxicity by greater than 10-fold and CI-937 by almost 40-fold. However, VER, diltiazem, and trifluoperazine had no effect on ADR or anthrapyrazole activity in P388S cells. The antiarrhythmic drug, quinidine, and the detergent, Tween 80, also potentiated ADR activity in P388R cells to the same extent as VER. Both the net accumulation and efflux of [3H]daunomycin were altered in P388R cells by nontoxic concentrations of Tween 80 in a fashion virtually identical to that demonstrated for VER. These data suggest that agents which potentiate drug cytotoxicity in P388R cells may do so by their interaction with the lipid domain of the plasma membrane. In addition, these results demonstrate that some members of the new series of DNA binding drugs, the anthrapyrazoles, may be active against anthracycline-resistant tumors and that, where cross-resistance to them occurs, it can be partially reversed by agents such as VER.

Anthrapyrazoles, a new class of intercalating agents with high-level, broad spectrum activity against murine tumors.

A series of 5-[(aminoalkyl)amino]-substituted anthra[1,9-cd] pyrazol-6(2H)ones (anthrapyrazoles) were synthesized. These compounds, which differ from the anthracenediones in that an additional pyrazole ring has been fused to the anthracene system in place of one carbonyl group, were evaluated in vivo for their anticancer activity in eight different mouse tumor systems. Compounds were selected for testing primarily on the basis of their high levels of activity P388 leukemia and occasionally for structural considerations. Sixty-seven % of the 21 analogues studied were curative in the National Cancer Institute P388 screen. Many of the compounds tested were highly active against each of the tumors of the National Cancer Institute panel. Thus 82, 73, 45, and 80% of the compounds tested were curative for L1210 leukemia, B16 melanoma, M5076 sarcoma, and the MX-1 mammary xenograft, respectively. Several of the compounds studied were curative against every tumor of the above panel. Because of the high activity of the anthrapyrazole series as a class in the National Cancer Institute tumor panel, additional testing was necessary to allow selection of clinical candidates. Twenty-one anthrapyrazoles were tested against mammary adenocarcinoma 16C, colon adenocarcinoma 11a, and the Ridgway osteogenic sarcoma. Four compounds, PD 113,309 (Cl-937), PD 113,785 (Cl-941), PD 111,815 (Cl-942), and PD 115,593, were judged superior to the rest on the basis of the expanded panel testing. The preclinical data to date suggest that these anthrapyrazoles are similar to doxorubicin in both degree and spectrum of activity. Each of these anthrapyrazoles were significantly more active than were the other synthetic intercalating agents, the anthracenediones mitoxantrone and ametantrone, against the tumors of the expanded panel. On the basis of their high level of broad spectrum activity in preclinical systems, ease of formulation, possible lack of cross-resistance with doxorubicin, and potential lack of cardiotoxicity, Cl-937, Cl-941, and Cl-942 have been selected for further preclinical evaluation and possible clinical development.

Pyrazoloacridines, a new class of anticancer agents with selectivity against solid tumors in vitro.

A series of 2-aminoalkyl-5-nitropyrazolo[3,4,5-kl]acridines (pyrazoloacridines) was evaluated in vitro for activity against a panel of human tumor cell lines of breast, colon, or lung origin. Several pyrazoloacridines were found to possess solid tumor selectivity relative to their activity against murine leukemia L1210 cells as well as human lymphoblastoid cells. The superior compounds in this regard were also found to exhibit excellent activity against primary human tumors in stem cell clonogenic assays. In addition, many of the compounds tested were found to be selectively cytotoxic to hypoxic relative to oxic HCT-8 colon adenocarcinoma cells, a property that may be a consequence of the potentially reducible 5-nitro function. A number of pyrazoloacridines were also found to exhibit potency against noncycling Chinese hamster ovary cells comparable to that observed against actively dividing cultures. Consistent with their favorable activity against nondividing cells, further testing of the pyrazoloacridines revealed that generally less drug is required to inhibit RNA synthesis than DNA synthesis in L1210 cells. Collectively these data indicate that the pyrazoloacridines represent a novel class of antitumor agents which warrant further preclinical evaluation for their potential clinical usefulness in the treatment of solid tumors.

Anticancer activity of the structurally novel antibiotic Cl-920 and its analogues.

Cl-920 is a structurally novel phosphate ester antibiotic that contains an unsaturated lactone and a conjugated triene system. It has potent antileukemic activity in mice. At doses of 25 mg/kg given i.p. once daily for 5 days to mice bearing approximately 10(7) L1210 leukemia cells, Cl-920 is curative in about 10% of the mice. Life span increases in noncured mice are typically in excess of 150%. The unsaturated lactone and phosphate ester moieties are required for activity against L1210 leukemia. Ring hydroxylation or removal of the terminal hydroxyl group have only modest effects on activity. Schedule studies suggest that prolonged exposure to low levels of Cl-920 is considerably more toxic than is daily or intermittent administration. Daily administration produces optimal activity against L1210 leukemia. Administration i.p. and i.v. of Cl-920 produce roughly equal toxicity and equal activity against an i.p. implant of L1210 leukemia. Cl-920 is inactive when given p.o. or s.c. Cl-920 failed to show confirmed activity against the following tumors in mice: M5076 sarcoma, B16 melanoma, and Ridgway osteogenic sarcoma. The lack of solid tumor activity in mice may be caused by a transport deficiency similar to that found with methotrexate.

Super in vitro synergy between inhibitors of dihydrofolate reductase and inhibitors of other folate-requiring enzymes: the critical role of polyglutamylation.

The combined action among polyglutamylatable and nonpolyglutamylatable antifolates, directed against dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR), glycinamide ribonucleotide formyltransferase (GARFT), 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleotide formyltransferase (AICARFT), and thymidylate synthase (TS), in human ileocecal HCT-8 cells was examined in a 96-well plate growth inhibition assay (96-h continuous drug exposure). An interaction parameter, alpha, was estimated for each of 95 experiments by fitting a seven-parameter model to data with weighted nonlinear regression. In a representative experiment, raising the folic acid concentration in the medium dramatically increased the Loewe synergy for the combination of trimetrexate (TMTX) and the GARFT inhibitor AG2034 (from a mean alpha +/- SE of 1.50 +/- 0.25 at 2.3 microM folic acid to 146 +/- 20 at 78 microM folic acid). Enhancements were also found for combinations of TMTX with the GARFT inhibitors AG2032, Lometrexol, and LY309887, the AICARFT inhibitor AG2009, and the TS inhibitors LY231514 and Tomudex but not with the GARFT inhibitor LL95509 or with the TS inhibitors AG337, ZD9331, and BW1843U89. Replacing TMTX with methotrexate in two-drug mixtures decreased the intensity of Loewe synergy. Examination of isobolograms at different effect levels revealed informative reproducible changes in isobol patterns. No two-drug combinations among inhibitors of GARFT, AICARFT, and TS exhibited Loewe synergy at either 2.3 or 78 microM folic acid. Thus, the ideal requirement for the folic acid-enhanced synergy is that a nonpolyglutamylatable DHFR inhibitor be combined with a polyglutamylatable inhibitor of another folate-requiring enzyme. A hypothesis to explain this general phenomenon involves the critical role of folylpoly-gamma-glutamate synthetase and the effect of the DHFR inhibitor in decreasing the protection by folic acid of cells to the other antifolates.

Guanosine-5'-phosphate synthetase and guanosine-5'-phosphate kinase in rat hepatomas and kidney tumors.

The behavior of the activities of GMP synthetase (xanthosine-5'-phosphate: L-glutamine amino-ligase(AMP-forming),EC 6.3.5.2) and GMP kinase (ATP: (d)GMP phosphotransferase,EC 2.7.4.8) was elucidated in cytosol preparations of rat tissues, including fetal, neonatal and regenerating liver, in a transplantable kidney tumor, and in a spectrum of 11 hepatomas of different growth rates. GMP kinase activity was 60-fold or more higher than GMP synthetase activity in all of the examined tissues. GMP synthetase activity was increased in all hepatomas and in the kidney tumor, compared to control tissues, reaching 5.5-fold the normal liver values in the most rapidly growing hepatoma. This increase correlated with the tumor growth rates. GMP kinase activity showed no consistent pattern of alteration in the tumors. In both fetal and neonatal rat liver the activity of GMP synthetase was 2.5-times higher than in livers of adult rats, but GMP kinase activity did not change markedly during liver development. After partial hepatectomy GMP synthetase activity was elevated, reaching a peak of 155% of the sham-operated control values by 36 h after the operation. GMP kinase activity was not affected by partial hepatectomy. After 3 days starvation hepatic GMP kinase activity decreased slightly faster than total cytosol protein, while GMP synthetase activity was preferentially maintained. These results indicate that GMP synthetase activity was linked with cellular proliferation in differentiating, regenerating and neoplastic tissues.

Update on computer-aided drug design.

Recent advances in computational methods for drug design include developments in quantitative structure-activity relationship approaches as well as novel structure-based strategies. Many new protein structures of pharmaceutical interest have been solved, a number of which contain a bound inhibitor. Continued progress has been reported in algorithms for de novo design, ligand docking, and scoring of protein-ligand binding energy. Meanwhile, several drugs that were designed by intensive use of computational methods are advancing through clinical trials.

Clinical pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies with the nonclassical antifolate thymidylate synthase inhibitor 3, 4-dihydro-2-amino-6-methyl-4-oxo-5-(4-pyridylthio)-quinazolone dihydrochloride (AG337) given by 24-hour continuous intravenous infusion.

3,4-Dihydro-2-amino-6-methyl-4-oxo-5-(4-pyridylthio)-quinazolon e dihydrochloride (AG337) is a nonclassical inhibitor of thymidylate synthase (TS) designed to avoid potential resistance mechanisms that can limit the activity of classical antifolate antimetabolites. A clinical pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic study of AG337 given as a 24-h i.v. infusion was performed. Thirteen patients received 27 courses over the dose range 75-1350 mg/m2. Plasma AG337 concentrations were achieved which, in preclinical models, were associated with antitumor effects. AG337 clearance was saturable, and the pharmacokinetics of the drug at doses above 300 mg/m2 was best described by a one-compartment model with saturable elimination (median Km = 6.5 microgram/ml; range, 4.1-13 microgram/ml; median Vmax = 2.0 microgram/ml/h/m2; range, 0.96-5.6 microgram/ml/h/m2). Following the end of the infusion, AG337 was cleared rapidly (t1/2, 53-193 min), and levels were less than 0.2 microgram/ml in all patients by 48 h. Plasma protein binding was 96-98%, and the urinary excretion of AG337 as unchanged drug did not exceed 30% of the dose administered. Measurements of plasma deoxyuridine (dUrd) concentrations showed that doses of 600 mg/m2 and above of AG337 produced a consistent elevation in plasma dUrd levels (60-290%), suggesting that TS inhibition was being achieved in patients. However, in all cases dUrd concentrations had returned to pretreatment levels 24 h after the end of the infusion, suggesting that TS inhibition was not maintained. Local toxicity, probably due to the infusate pH, was the only significant adverse effect observed. These studies have shown that cytotoxic AG337 plasma concentrations can be readily achieved without acute toxicity and that these concentrations are associated with elevations in plasma dUrd levels. The lack of prolonged dUrd elevations indicates that extended administration should be explored using central line or p.o. administration to avoid local toxicity.

Implicit perceptual training: how, when, and why?

The perceptual skills underlying anticipatory movement in sport have been the focus of much research over the past 20 years. Methods for training such skills have tended to emphasise explicit specification of discriminative cues and the rules linking changes in the perceptual field with required responses. Recently, researchers have begun to examine less prescriptive methods of training. In the present paper, we examine conceptual, methodological, and practical issues associated with whether such skills can or indeed should be trained implicitly. The implications of two ways of conceptualising the explicit-implicit distinction for the methods used to promote implicit learning and the tests used to assess the nature of learning are considered. Finally, potential advantages of implicitly learned skills relating to task complexity and robustness under stress are discussed.

The effect of learning condition on perceptual anticipation, awareness, and visual search.

The efficacy of explicit and implicit learning paradigms was examined during the very early stages of learning the perceptual-motor anticipation task of predicting ball direction from temporally occluded footage of soccer penalty kicks. In addition, the effect of instructional condition on point-of-gaze during learning was examined. A significant improvement in horizontal prediction accuracy was observed in the explicit learning group; however, similar improvement was evident in a placebo group who watched footage of soccer matches. Only the explicit learning intervention resulted in changes in eye movement behaviour and increased awareness of relevant postural cues. Results are discussed in terms of methodological and practical issues regarding the employment of implicit perceptual training interventions.

Contributions of protein structure-based drug design to cancer chemotherapy.

Protein structure-based drug design (SBDD) uses a knowledge of the molecular structure of a target macromolecule, normally obtained by x-ray crystallography, to design potent, selective inhibitors. This technique has played a major role in the design of a number of drugs that have progressed to clinical trials. Most of these compounds have been developed to treat viral diseases and cancer. In the antiviral area, drugs designed by SBDD have been developed for treatment of influenza and acquired immune deficiency syndrome. Three human immunodeficiency virus-I protease inhibitors that were designed at least partially using the x-ray crystal structure of the target enzyme are now approved for sale in the United States. In the anticancer field, no SBDD-designed drugs have yet progressed to market, but several experimental anticancer agents that were designed from a knowledge of the molecular structure of their target enzyme have advanced to clinical trials, of which at least one has shown clinical activity. The present article discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the SBDD approach, and shows its contributions to cancer chemotherapy by discussing rationally designed inhibitors of thymidylate synthase, purine nucleoside phosphorylase, glycinamide ribonucleotide formyltransferase, and matrix metalloproteases.

Anthrapyrazole anticancer agents. Synthesis and structure-activity relationships against murine leukemias.

Chromophore modification of the anthracenediones related to mitoxantrone in an attempt to provide agents with diminished or no cardiotoxicity has resulted in a novel class of DNA binders, the anthrapyrazoles. Their synthesis was carried out by a two-stage condensation sequence starting from requisite 1,4- or 1,5-dichloro-9,10-anthracenedione precursors. Reaction with a monoalkylhydrazine gave a chloroanthrapyrazole intermediate whose subsequent condensation with primary or secondary alkylamines provided the target "two-armed" anthrapyrazoles. A-ring 7,10-dihydroxy anthrapyrazoles were derived from amine condensation with intermediate 5-chloro-7,10-dihydroxyanthrapyrazoles or, alternatively, from intermediate 5-chloro-7,10-bis(benzyloxy)anthrapyrazoles followed by hydrogenolysis of the benzyl protecting groups to provide the target compounds. Potent in vitro activity was demonstrated against murine L1210 leukemia in vitro (IC50 = 10(-7)-10(-8) M) as well as against P388 leukemia in vivo over a wide range of structural variants. In general, activity against the P388 line was maximized by basic side chains at N-2 and C-5, two to three carbon spacers between proximal and distal nitrogens of the side chain, and A-ring hydroxylation. Besides having curative activity against the P388 line, the more active compounds were curative against murine B-16 melanoma in vivo. On the basis of their exceptional in vivo anticancer activity, A-ring dihydroxy compounds 71 and 74 reported in this study have been selected for development toward clinical trials.