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Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Jan 2021Amsacrine, an anticancer drug first synthesised in 1970 by Professor Cain and colleagues, showed excellent preclinical activity and underwent clinical trial in 1978... (Review)
Review
Amsacrine, an anticancer drug first synthesised in 1970 by Professor Cain and colleagues, showed excellent preclinical activity and underwent clinical trial in 1978 under the auspices of the US National Cancer Institute, showing activity against acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. In 1984, the enzyme DNA topoisomerase II was identified as a molecular target for amsacrine, acting to poison this enzyme and to induce DNA double-strand breaks. One of the main challenges in the 1980s was to determine whether amsacrine analogues could be developed with activity against solid tumours. A multidisciplinary team was assembled in Auckland, and Professor Denny played a leading role in this approach. Among a large number of drugs developed in the programme, -[2-(dimethylamino)-ethyl]-acridine-4-carboxamide (DACA), first synthesised by Professor Denny, showed excellent activity against a mouse lung adenocarcinoma. It underwent clinical trial, but dose escalation was prevented by ion channel toxicity. Subsequent work led to the DACA derivative SN 28049, which had increased potency and reduced ion channel toxicity. Mode of action studies suggested that both amsacrine and DACA target the enzyme DNA topoisomerase II but with a different balance of cellular consequences. As primarily a topoisomerase II poison, amsacrine acts to turn the enzyme into a DNA-damaging agent. As primarily topoisomerase II catalytic inhibitors, DACA and SN 28049 act to inhibit the segregation of daughter chromatids during anaphase. The balance between these two actions, one cell cycle phase specific and the other nonspecific, together with pharmacokinetic, cytokinetic and immunogenic considerations, provides links between the actions of acridine derivatives and anthracyclines such as doxorubicin. They also provide insights into the action of cytotoxic DNA-binding drugs.
Topics: Adenocarcinoma of Lung; Amsacrine; Anaphase; Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; Chromatids; Chromosome Segregation; DNA Topoisomerases, Type II; DNA, Neoplasm; History, 20th Century; History, 21st Century; Humans; Lung Neoplasms; Mice; Naphthyridines; Neoplasm Proteins; Topoisomerase II Inhibitors
PubMed: 33494466
DOI: 10.3390/molecules26030552 -
Acta Poloniae Pharmaceutica 2012Acridine is a heterocyclic nucleus. It plays an important role in various medicines. A number of therapeutic agents are based on acridine nucleus such as quinacrine... (Review)
Review
Acridine is a heterocyclic nucleus. It plays an important role in various medicines. A number of therapeutic agents are based on acridine nucleus such as quinacrine (antimalarial), acriflavine and proflavine (antiseptics), ethacridine (abortifacient), amsacrine and nitracine (anticancer), and tacrine. Acridine is obtained from high boiling fraction of coal tar. It is also obtained in nature from plant and marine sources. Acridine undergoes a number of reactions such as nucleophilic addition, electrophilic substitution, oxidation, reduction, reductive alkylation and photoalkylation. The present review article summarizes the synthesis, reaction, literature review and pharmaceutical importance of acridine.
Topics: Abortifacient Agents; Acridines; Animals; Anti-Infective Agents, Local; Antimalarials; Antineoplastic Agents; Humans
PubMed: 22574501
DOI: No ID Found -
Frontiers in Microbiology 2018Amsacrine, which inhibits eukaryotic type II topoisomerase via DNA intercalation and stabilization of the cleavable topoisomerase-DNA complex, promotes DNA damage and...
Amsacrine, which inhibits eukaryotic type II topoisomerase via DNA intercalation and stabilization of the cleavable topoisomerase-DNA complex, promotes DNA damage and eventually cell death. Amsacrine has also been shown to inhibit structurally distinct bacterial type I topoisomerases (TopAs), including mycobacterial TopA, the only and essential topoisomerase I in . Here, we describe the modifications of an amsacrine sulfonamide moiety that presumably interacts with mycobacterial TopA, which notably increased the enzyme inhibition and drug selectivity . To analyse the effects of amsacrine and its derivatives treatment on cell cycle, we used time-lapse fluorescence microscopy (TLMM) and fusion of the β-subunit of DNA polymerase III with enhanced green fluorescence protein (DnaN-EGFP). We determined that treatment with amsacrine and its derivatives increased the number of DnaN-EGFP complexes and/or prolonged the time of chromosome replication and cell cycle notably. The analysis of TopA depletion strain confirmed that lowering TopA level results in similar disturbances of chromosome replication. In summary, since TopA is crucial for mycobacterial cell viability, the compounds targeting the enzyme disturbed the cell cycle and thus may constitute a new class of anti-tuberculosis drugs.
PubMed: 30065714
DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.01592 -
The Western Journal of Medicine Mar 1987Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a subtype of acute myelogenous leukemia frequently associated with disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). Data on 11...
Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a subtype of acute myelogenous leukemia frequently associated with disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). Data on 11 patients with APL treated at our institution were analyzed and compared with those of 147 published cases. Most had a bleeding diathesis at presentation and evidence of DIC eventually developed in all. Seven patients (64%) showed the t(15;17)(q22;q21) karyotype or a similar translocation. Using a chemotherapy induction regimen containing an anthracycline, complete remission, requiring a total of 14 courses of treatment, was achieved in six patients (55%). The median duration of response and median survival for complete responders were 10 and 15 months, respectively. Three patients (27%) died of bleeding complications during induction therapy. The tritiated-thymidine labeling index of leukemia cells predicted which patients would achieve a complete remission. Review of six studies of 147 patients with APL from the past 12 years supports the use of a chemotherapy induction regimen containing anthracycline or amsacrine and heparin for the treatment of DIC.
Topics: Antineoplastic Agents; Humans; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute
PubMed: 3472414
DOI: No ID Found -
RSC Medicinal Chemistry Mar 2020A series of eleven 9-acridinyl amino acid derivatives were synthesized using a two-step procedure. Cytotoxicity was tested on the K562 and A549 cancer cell lines and...
A series of eleven 9-acridinyl amino acid derivatives were synthesized using a two-step procedure. Cytotoxicity was tested on the K562 and A549 cancer cell lines and normal diploid cell line MRC5 using the MTT assay. Compounds , , and were the most active, with IC values comparable to or lower than that of chemotherapeutic agent amsacrine. and were especially effective in the A549 cell line (IC ≈ 6 μM), which is of special interest since amsacrine is not sufficiently active in lung cancer patients. Cell cycle analysis revealed that and caused G2/M block, amsacrine caused arrest in the S phase, while and induced apoptotic cell death independently of the cell cycle regulation. In comparison to amsacrine, , , , and showed similar inhibitory potential towards topoisomerase II, whereas only showed DNA intercalation properties. In contrast to amsacrine, , , and showed a lack of toxicity towards unstimulated normal human leucocytes.
PubMed: 33479643
DOI: 10.1039/c9md00597h -
PloS One 2013Amsacrine is an anilinoacridine derivative anticancer drug, used to treat a wide variety of malignancies. In cells, amsacrine poisons topoisomerase 2 by stabilizing...
Amsacrine is an anilinoacridine derivative anticancer drug, used to treat a wide variety of malignancies. In cells, amsacrine poisons topoisomerase 2 by stabilizing DNA-drug-enzyme ternary complex. Presence of amsacrine increases the steady-state concentration of these ternary complexes which in turn hampers DNA replication and results in subsequent cell death. Due to reversible binding and rapid slip-out of amsacrine from DNA duplex, structural data is not available on amsacrine-DNA complexes. In the present work, we designed five oligonucleotide duplexes, differing in their minor groove widths and hydration pattern, and examined their binding with amsacrine using attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. Complexes of amsacrine with calf thymus DNA were also evaluated for a comparison. Our results demonstrate for the first time that amsacrine is not a simple intercalator; rather mixed type of DNA binding (intercalation and minor groove) takes place between amsacrine and DNA. Further, this binding is highly sensitive towards the geometries and hydration patterns of different minor grooves present in the DNA. This study shows that ligand binding to DNA could be very sensitive to DNA base composition and DNA groove structures. Results demonstrated here could have implication for understanding cytotoxic mechanism of aminoacridine based anticancer drugs and provide directions to modify these drugs for better efficacy and few side-effects.
Topics: Amsacrine; Animals; Cattle; DNA; Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared
PubMed: 23922861
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0069933 -
Journal of Clinical Medicine Sep 2019Reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) regimens are established options for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML)... (Review)
Review
Reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) regimens are established options for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). However, the efficacy of RIC regimens for patients with high-risk disease is limited. The addition of a fludarabine, amsacrine, and cytarabine (FLAMSA)-sequential conditioning regimen was introduced for patients with high-risk MDS and AML to combine a high anti-leukemic activity with the advantages of RIC. The current systematic literature review and meta-analysis was conducted with the aim of identifying all cohort studies of patients with AML and/or MDS who received FLAMSA-RIC to determine its efficacy and toxicity. Out of 3044 retrieved articles, 12 published studies with 2395 overall patients (18.1-76.0 years; 96.8% AML and 3.2% MDS; follow-up duration of 0.7-145 months; 50.3% had active AML disease before HSCT) met the eligibility criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. In the pooled analysis, the 1- and 3-year overall survival (OS) rates were 59.6% (95% confidence interval (CI), 47.9-70.2%) and 40.2% (95% CI, 28.0-53.7%), respectively. The pooled 3-year OS rate of the patients who achieved CR1 or CR2 prior to HSCT was 60.1% (95% CI, 55.1-64.8%) and the percentage of those with relapse or refractory disease was 27.8% (95% CI, 23.3-32.8%). The pooled 3-year leukemia-free survival (LFS) rate was 39.3% (95% CI, 26.4-53.9%). Approximately 29% of the patients suffered from grades 2-4 acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), while 35.6% had chronic GVHD. The pooled 1- and 3-year non-relapse mortality (NRM) rates were 17.9% (95% CI, 16.1-19.8%) and 21.1% (95% CI, 18.8-23.7%), respectively. Our data indicates that the FLAMSA-RIC regimen is an effective and well-tolerated regimen for HSCT in patients with high-risk AML and MDS.
PubMed: 31514339
DOI: 10.3390/jcm8091437 -
IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of... 2000
Review
Topics: Amsacrine; Antineoplastic Agents; Carcinogens; Disease Models, Animal; Etoposide; Evidence-Based Medicine; Humans; Intestinal Absorption; Mitoxantrone; Neoplasms; Nucleic Acid Synthesis Inhibitors; Research Design; Risk Factors; Teniposide; Tissue Distribution; Topoisomerase II Inhibitors
PubMed: 11000976
DOI: No ID Found -
Drug Design, Development and Therapy 2016Amsacrine analog is a novel chemotherapeutic agent that provides potentially broad antitumor activity when compared to traditional amsacrine. However, the major...
Amsacrine analog is a novel chemotherapeutic agent that provides potentially broad antitumor activity when compared to traditional amsacrine. However, the major limitation of amsacrine analog is that it is highly lipophilic, making it nonconductive to intravenous administration. The aim of this study was to utilize solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) to resolve the delivery problem and to investigate the biodistribution of amsacrine analog-loaded SLN. Physicochemical characterizations of SLN, including particle size, zeta potential, entrapment efficiency, and stability, were evaluated. In vitro release behavior was also measured by the dialysis method. In vivo pharmacokinetics and biodistribution behavior of amsacrine analog were investigated and incorporated with a non invasion in vivo imaging system to confirm the localization of SLN. The results showed that amsacrine analog-loaded SLN was 36.7 nm in particle size, 0.37 in polydispersity index, and 34.5±0.047 mV in zeta potential. More than 99% of amsacrine analog was successfully entrapped in the SLN. There were no significant differences in the physicochemical properties after storage at room temperature (25°C) for 1 month. Amsacrine analog-loaded SLN maintained good stability. An in vitro release study showed that amsacrine analog-loaded SLN sustained a release pattern and followed the zero equation. An in vivo pharmacokinetics study showed that amsacrine analog was rapidly distributed from the central compartment to the tissue compartments after intravenous delivery of amsacrine analog-loaded SLN. The biodistribution behavior demonstrated that amsacrine analog mainly accumulated in the lungs. Noninvasion in vivo imaging system images also confirmed that the drug distribution was predominantly localized in the lungs when IR-780-loaded SLN was used.
Topics: Amsacrine; Animals; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Drug Delivery Systems; Injections, Intraperitoneal; Lipids; Mice; Mice, Inbred ICR; Molecular Structure; Nanoparticles; Particle Size; Solubility; Surface Properties; Tissue Distribution
PubMed: 27019595
DOI: 10.2147/DDDT.S97161 -
Briefings in Bioinformatics Sep 2021Current coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused massive loss of lives. Clinical trials of vaccines and drugs are currently being conducted around the...
Current coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused massive loss of lives. Clinical trials of vaccines and drugs are currently being conducted around the world; however, till now no effective drug is available for COVID-19. Identification of key genes and perturbed pathways in COVID-19 may uncover potential drug targets and biomarkers. We aimed to identify key gene modules and hub targets involved in COVID-19. We have analyzed SARS-CoV-2 infected peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) transcriptomic data through gene coexpression analysis. We identified 1520 and 1733 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from the GSE152418 and CRA002390 PBMC datasets, respectively (FDR < 0.05). We found four key gene modules and hub gene signature based on module membership (MMhub) statistics and protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks (PPIhub). Functional annotation by enrichment analysis of the genes of these modules demonstrated immune and inflammatory response biological processes enriched by the DEGs. The pathway analysis revealed the hub genes were enriched with the IL-17 signaling pathway, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction pathways. Then, we demonstrated the classification performance of hub genes (PLK1, AURKB, AURKA, CDK1, CDC20, KIF11, CCNB1, KIF2C, DTL and CDC6) with accuracy >0.90 suggesting the biomarker potential of the hub genes. The regulatory network analysis showed transcription factors and microRNAs that target these hub genes. Finally, drug-gene interactions analysis suggests amsacrine, BRD-K68548958, naproxol, palbociclib and teniposide as the top-scored repurposed drugs. The identified biomarkers and pathways might be therapeutic targets to the COVID-19.
Topics: Algorithms; Brain Neoplasms; Central Nervous System Diseases; Computational Biology; Disease Progression; Glioblastoma; Humans; Machine Learning
PubMed: 33839760
DOI: 10.1093/bib/bbab120