Anticancer Potential of Pyridoxine-Based Doxorubicin Derivatives: An In Vitro Study.

Doxorubicin (DOX) is a prevalent anticancer agent; however, it is unfortunately characterized by high cardiotoxicity, myelosuppression, and multiple other side effects. To overcome DOX limitations, two novel pyridoxine-derived doxorubicin derivatives were synthesized (DOX-1 and DOX-2). In the present study, their antitumor activity and mechanism of action were investigated. Of these two compounds, DOX-2, in which the pyridoxine fragment is attached to the doxorubicin molecule via a C3 linker, revealed higher selectivity against specific cancer cell types compared to doxorubicin and a promising safety profile for conditionally normal cells. However, the compound with a C1 linker (DOX-1) was not characterized by selectivity of antitumor action. It was revealed that DOX-2 obstructs cell cycle progression, induces apoptosis via the mitochondrial pathway without the development of necrosis, and showcases antioxidant capabilities, underlining its cell-regulatory roles. In contrast to doxorubicin's DNA-centric mechanism, DOX-2 does not interact with nuclear DNA. Given these findings, DOX-2 presents a new promising direction in cancer therapeutics, which is deserving of further in vivo exploration.

Synthesis, antitumor activity and structure-activity studies of novel pyridoxine-based bioisosteric analogs of estradiol.

A new efficient approach to the synthesis of 6-alkenyl substituted pyridoxine derivatives has been developed. A series of 31 novel alkenyl pyridoxine derivatives, stilbene-based bioisosteric analogs of estradiol, were synthesized. In vitro cytotoxicity of the obtained compounds against MCF-7 (ER+) breast cancer tumor cells was studied using the MTT assay. The most active compounds with IC50,MCF-7 < 10 µM were also tested for cytotoxicity in vitro against MDA-MB-231 (ER-) breast adenocarcinoma cells and conditionally normal human skin fibroblasts (HSF). The patterns of structure-antitumor activity relationships of the obtained compounds were analyzed. The most active compounds were found to contain a six-membered ketal ring, a methyl group in position 5, a 3,4-dimethoxystyryl fragment in positions 2 or 6 of the pyridoxine ring, and a trans-configuration of the double bond. Using the most active compound 5a as a representative cytotoxic agent, we have demonstrated that it has high specificity and antiproliferative activity against MCF-7 (ER+) tumor cells (IC50 < 5 µM), and a higher therapeutic index compared to the reference compound raloxifene (48 versus 5.8). Compound 5a decreased the mitochondrial membrane potential and increased the level of reactive oxygen species in MCF-7 cells, but not MDA-MB-231 cells. Compound 5a did not affect the distribution of cell cycle phases and induced apoptosis in MCF-7 cells, but not MDA-MB-231. Unlike compound 5a, raloxifene decreased mitochondrial potential, increased the ROS level, and induced apoptosis in both MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells, which indicated a lack of selectivity for cells with estrogen receptor expression. It was also shown that compound 5a reduced the level of ERα expression in cells to a lesser extent than raloxifene and, unlike the latter, did not activate the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

Targeting pathogenic fungi, bacteria and fungal-bacterial biofilms by newly synthesized quaternary ammonium derivative of pyridoxine and terbinafine with dual action profile.

Many pathogenic bacteria and microscopic fungi form rigid polymicrobial biofilms this way enhancing their resistant to treatment. A series of novel pyridoxine-based quaternary ammonium derivatives of terbinafine characterized by both antifungal and antibacterial activities was designed. The leading compound named KFU-127 exhibits promising antifungal and antibacterial activities against various bacteria and micromycetes in both planktonic and biofilm-embedded forms demonstrating MIC values comparable with those of conventional antifungals and antimicrobials. Similar to other antiseptics like benzalkonium chloride and miramistin, KFU-127 is considerably toxic for eukaryotic cells that limits is application to topical treatment options. On the other hand, KFU-127 reduces the number of viable biofilm-embedded bacteria and C. albicans by 3 orders of magnitude at concentrations 2-4 times lower than those of reference drugs and successfully eradicates S. aureus-C. albicans mixed biofilms. The mechanism of antimicrobial action of KFU-127 is bimodal including both membrane integrity damage and pyridoxal-dependent enzymes targeting. We expect that this bilateral mechanism would result in lower rates of resistance development in both fungal and bacterial pathogens. Taken together, our data suggest KFU-127 as a new promising broad spectrum topical antimicrobial capable of one-shot targeting of bacterial and fungal-bacterial biofilms.

Synthesis and in vitro antitumor activity of novel alkenyl derivatives of pyridoxine, bioisosteric analogs of feruloyl methane.

Two series of novel pyridoxine-based azaheterocyclic analogs of feruloyl methane (Dehydrozingerone, DZG) were synthesized, and their biological activity against a panel of tumor and normal cell lines was evaluated in vitro. The most active compounds possessed expressed cytotoxic activity, which was comparable to cytotoxic activity of doxorubicin and significantly higher than that of DZG, and a remarkable selectivity for the studied cancer cell lines as compared to the normal cells. The leading compound and DZG initiated arrest of the cell cycle in the G2/M phase, preventing normal division and further transition of daughter cells to the G0/G1 phase. Similar to DZG, but with higher efficiency, the leading compound was able to inhibit migration activity and, therefore, invasiveness of tumor cells. It also increased concentration of reactive oxygen species in tumor cells, induced depolarization of mitochondrial membranes and initiated apoptosis accompanied by disruption of integrity of cytoplasmic cell membranes. By contrast to DZG, the leading compound did not possess antioxidant properties. The obtained data make the described chemotype a promising starting point for the development of new anticancer agents.

Synthesis and Antibacterial Activity of Quaternary Ammonium 4-Deoxypyridoxine Derivatives.

A series of novel quaternary ammonium 4-deoxypyridoxine derivatives was synthesized. Two compounds demonstrated excellent activity against a panel of Gram-positive methicillin-resistant S. aureus strains with MICs in the range of 0.5-2 µg/mL, exceeding the activity of miramistin. At the same time, both compounds were inactive against the Gram-negative E. coli and P. aeruginosa strains. Cytotoxicity studies on human skin fibroblasts and embryonic kidney cells demonstrated that the active compounds possessed similar toxicity with benzalkonium chloride but were slightly more toxic than miramistin. SOS-chromotest in S. typhimurium showed the lack of DNA-damage activity of both compounds; meanwhile, one compound showed some mutagenic potential in the Ames test. The obtained results make the described chemotype a promising starting point for the development of new antibacterial therapies.

Lipid-like trifunctional block copolymers of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide: effective and cytocompatible modulators of intracellular drug delivery.

A new glycerol-based trifunctional block copolymer (TBC) of propylene oxide and ethylene oxide and its conjugate with succinic acid (TBC-SA) were studied as a drug delivery system and compared with Pluronic L61. TBCs have multiple effects on the plasma membrane of human cells, e.g. increasing its fluidity and ion permeability, inhibiting ATPase activity of efflux transporter P-glycoprotein through reversible membrane destabilization. Such membrane-modulating properties attributed to the unimer form of copolymers increase in the order Pluronic L61≪TBC

Binding and purification of plasmid DNA using multi-layered carbon nanotubes.

We propose a new method for the separation of nucleic acids using multi-layered carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as an adsorbent. According to agarose gel electrophoresis, oxidized water-stable CNTs adsorb certain forms of nucleic acids, such as high molecular weight RNA, chromosomal DNA, linear and denatured forms of plasmid DNA. However, CNTs do not adsorb supercoiled form of plasmid DNA. Nucleic acids bound to CNTs can be readily removed by centrifugation whereas supercoiled plasmid DNA remains in solution. Upon the addition of divalent metal ions supercoiled plasmid DNA forms relatively stable complexes with CNTs due to chelation. Thus, new details about association of nucleic acids with CNTs were revealed and stoichiometry of the complexes was estimated. Our results can be used for fine purification of supercoiled plasmid DNA for gene therapy applications as well as manipulation of nucleic acids for biosensor design.

Effect of size and protein environment on electrochemical properties of gold nanoparticles on carbon electrodes.

We studied the electrochemical properties of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) and their complexes with proteins using square-wave voltammetry. Effect of the nanoparticle size and detection procedure was explored upon the oxidation of GNPs on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE). For pre-characterized GNPs of 13, 35 and 78 nm diameter, the oxidation peak potential was +0.98, +1.03 and +1.06 V vs. Ag/AgCl, respectively. The conjugation of GNPs with four different proteins was verified by UV-Vis spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy indicated the formation of protein shells around GNPs. This process hampered the oxidation of GNPs on bare GCE causing pronounced decrease in the current response by an average factor of 72. GCE modification with carbon nanotubes weakly influenced the sensitivity of GNP detection but resulted in a 14.5-fold signal increase averaged for all GNP-protein complexes. The acidic dissolution and electrodeposition of GNPs or their complexes adsorbed on GCE allowed superior signal amplification directly proportional to nanoparticle size. The results are useful for the optimization of voltammetric analysis of GNP-protein complexes and can be extended to the characterization of other metal nanostructures and their complexes with biological components.