Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61K—PREPARATIONS FOR MEDICAL, DENTAL OR TOILETRY PURPOSES
  • A61K31/00—Medicinal preparations containing organic active ingredients
  • A61K31/095—Sulfur, selenium, or tellurium compounds, e.g. thiols
  • A61K31/10—Sulfides; Sulfoxides; Sulfones
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61P—SPECIFIC THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OR MEDICINAL PREPARATIONS
  • A61P35/00—Antineoplastic agents
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61P—SPECIFIC THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OR MEDICINAL PREPARATIONS
  • A61P43/00—Drugs for specific purposes, not provided for in groups A61P1/00-A61P41/00
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C07—ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
  • C07C—ACYCLIC OR CARBOCYCLIC COMPOUNDS
  • C07C317/00—Sulfones; Sulfoxides
  • C07C317/02—Sulfones; Sulfoxides having sulfone or sulfoxide groups bound to acyclic carbon atoms
  • C07C317/10—Sulfones; Sulfoxides having sulfone or sulfoxide groups bound to acyclic carbon atoms of an unsaturated carbon skeleton containing rings

Definitions

• the invention relates to compounds and compositions for the treatment of cancer.
• Extracellular signals received at transmembrane receptors are relayed into the cells by the signal transduction pathways (Pelech et al. , Science 257:1335 (1992)) which have been implicated in a wide array of physiological processes such as induction of cell proliferation, differentiation or apoptosis (Davis etal, J. Biol. Chem. 268:14553 (1993)).
• the Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK) cascade is a majorsignaling system by which cells transduce extracellular cues into intracellular responses (Nishida et al, Trends Biochem. Sci. 18:128 (1993); Blumer er al, Trends Biochem. Sci. 19:236 (1994)). Many steps of this cascade are conserved, and homologous for MAP kinases have been discovered in different species.
• Extracellular-Signal-Regulated Kinases ERKs
• ERK-1 and ERK-2 are the archetypal and best-studied members of the MAPK family, which all have the unique feature of being activated by phosphorylation on threonine and tyrosine residues by an upstream dual specificity kinase (Posada et al, Science 255:212 (1992); Biggs III et al, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89:6295 (1992); Garner et al, Genes Dev. 6:1280 (1992)).
• ERKs Extracellular-Signal-Regulated Kinases
• JNK-1 and JNK-2 c-Jun NH2-terminal kinases 1 and 2
• SPKs stress-activated protein kinases
• the activated JNK binds to the amino terminus of the c-Jun protein and increases the protein's transcriptional activity by phosphorylating it at ser63 and ser73 (Adler et al, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89:5341 (1992); Kwok et al, Nature 370:223 (1994)).
• Thr-Pro-Tyr JNK
• Thr-Glu-Tyr ERK
• Phosphorylation of MAPKs and JNKs by an external signal often involves the activation of protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs) (Gille et al, Nature 358:414 (1992)), which constitute a large family of proteins encompassing several growth factor receptors and other signal transducing molecules.
• PTKs protein tyrosine kinases
• Protein tyrosine kinases are enzymes which catalyze a well defined chemical reaction: the phosphorylation of a tyrosine residue (Hunter et al, Annu Rev Biochem 54:897 (1985)).
• Receptor tyrosine kinases in particular are attractive targets for drug design since blockers for the substrate domain of these kinases is likely to yield an effective and selective antiproliferative agent.
• kinase blockers as antiproliferative agents was recognized as early as 1981 , when quercetin was suggested as a PTK blocker (Graziani et al, Eur. J. Biochem. 135:583-589 (1983)).
• MAPK extracellular signal-regulated kinases which constitute the Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK kinase cascade (Boudewijn et al, Trends Biochem. Sci. 20, 18 (1995)). Once this pathway is activated by different stimuli, MAPK phosphorylates a variety of proteins including several transcription factors which translocate into the nucleus and activate gene transcription. Negative regulation of this pathway could arrest the cascade of these events.
• Oncoproteins in general, and signal transducing proteins in particular, are likely to be more selective targets for chemotherapy because they represent a subclass of proteins whose activities are essential for cell proliferation, and because their activities are greatly amplified in proliferative diseases.
• novel compounds are provided according to formula I:
• R j and R 2 are independently selected from the group consisting of chlorine, fluorine and bromine;
• R 3 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and fluorine
• R, and R 2 may not both be chlorine when R 3 is hydrogen;
• R may not be chlorine when R 2 is fluorine and R 3 is hydrogen in the same compound.
• a pharmaceutical composition comprising a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier and a compound of formula II
• n is zero or one
• R ! is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, chlorine, fluorine and bromine
• R 2 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, chlorine, fluorine, bromine, methyl and methoxy; and R 3 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, chlorine and fluorine; provided,
• R 2 may not be methyl or methoxy when R [ and R 3 are both hydrogen and n is zero or one;
• R,, R 2 and R 3 may not all be hydrogen when n is one.
• the pharmaceutical composition comprises a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier and a compound of the formula II, wherein R 3 is hydrogen, and R, and R 2 are independently selected from the group consisting of chlorine, fluorine and bromine.
• a pharmaceutical composition comprising a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier and a compound of the formula III
• R is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, chlorine, fluorine and bromine.
• a method of treating an individual for cancer or other proliferative disease comprising administering to said individual an effective amount of a compound according to formula II or formula III, alone or in combination with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
• a method of inhibiting growth of tumor cells in an individual afflicted with cancer comprising administering to said individual an effective amount of a compound according to formula III, alone or in combination with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
• a method of inducing apoptosis of tumor cells in an individual afflicted with cancer comprising administering to said individual an effective amount of a compound according to formula III. alone or in combination with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
• the treatment is for breast or prostate cancer
• the cells whose growth is inhibited are breast or prostate tumor cells. Likewise, these cells are induced to undergo apoptosis.
• the invention also relates to a pharmaceutical composition and therapeutic methods as described above, wherein the compound is of the formula IV:
• R is selected from the group consisting of fluorine and bromine
• R 2 is selected from the group consisting of 2-chlorophenyl, 4-chlorophenyl, 4-fluorophenyl and 2-nitrophenyl.
• Figs. 1A and IB are bar graphs of the effect of compounds E-2,4- difluorostyryl-4-fluorobenzyl sulfone (FRI-2), E-4-fluorostyryl 4-bromobenzyl sulfone (FRI-6), E-4-bromostyryl 4-fluorobenzyl sulfone (FRI-7), E-4- fluorostyryl 4-chlorobenzyl sulfone (FRI-20) and E-4-chlorostyryl 4-chlorobenzyl sulfone (FRI-22) on NIH3T3, MCF7. BT-20 and LnCaP cells. Cells were treated with the compounds at 2.5 ⁇ M (Fig. 1A) or 5.0 ⁇ M (Fig. IB) concentration and cell viability was determined after 48 hours by Trypan blue exclusion method. Each data point represents the average of three independent experiments. The standard deviation did not exceed 10% .
• Fig. 2 A is a bar graph of the concentration dependent inhibition of MCF7, BT20, LnCaP and NIH3T3 cells by treatment with FRI-20.
• the cells were treated with 0, 250 nM. 500 nM. 1 wM, 2.5 ⁇ M and 5.0 ⁇ M FRI-20 for
• Fig. 2B is a bar graph of the viability of MCF7, BT20, LnCaP and
• NIH3T3 cells after treatment with FRI-20 at different time periods. All the cells were treated with FRI-20 at 2.5 ⁇ M, and the number of viable cells was determined at 12, 24, 48, and 72 hours by Trypan blue exclusion. The mean of three independent experiments is shown.
• Fig. 3 A is a plot of the activity of compound FRI-20 on the normal cell lines NIH3T3, HeLa and HFL; the estrogen receptor-positive breast tumor cell lines MCF-7 and 361 ; the estrogen receptor-negative breast tumor cell lines SKBR-3, 435 and BT-20).
• Fig. 3B is similar to Fig. 3A except the treated cells comprise the androgen-dependent prostate cell line LnCaP, and the androgen independent prostate cell lines DU-145 and PC-3). All cells were treated with 2.5 and 5.0 ⁇ M concentration of FRI-20 and assayed for cell viability after 48 hours by Trypan blue exclusion. The mean of three experiments is shown. Variance did not exceed 10% .
• Fig. 4 comprises a series of blots of the cell cycle analysis of FRI- 20-treated or control-treated LnCaP cells.
• LnCaP cells were treated with 120 ml of DMSO (control cells) or 2.5 ⁇ M FRI-20 in 10 ml of DMSO. Cells were harvested 6, 12, 24 and 48 hours following treatment and stained with propidium iodide and subjected to flow cytometry.
• Fig. 5 is an SDS-PAGE autoradiograph of the effect of FRI-20 on ERK/MAPK activity.
• FRI-20-treated LnCaP, MCF-7 and NIH3T3 cells, along with DMSO-treated cells (control), were processed for ERK/MAPK immune complex kinase essay using myelin basic protein (MBP) as a substrate.
• MBP myelin basic protein
• the activity of ERK-2 toward MBP was then assayed in the presence of [ ⁇ 32 P]ATP.
• the phosphorylated MBP was separated on 12% SDS-PAGE and visualized by autoradiography .
• Fig. 5 is an SDS-PAGE autoradiograph of the effect of FRI-20 on ERK/MAPK activity.
• FRI-20-treated LnCaP, MCF-7 and NIH3T3 cells, along with DMSO-treated cells (control) were processed for ERK/MAPK immune complex kinase essay using mye
• Fig . 7 is an SDS-PAGE autoradiograph of the effect of FRI-20 on NIH3T3, LnCaP and MCF-7 cells. Ly sates of cultured cells containing 100 mg of proteins were loaded per lane. Following electrophoresis and transfer to a polyvinylidene membrane, proteins were blotted against ERK-2 and JNK-2 polyclonal antibodies and visualized by chemiluminescence.
• Fig . 7 is an SDS-PAGE autoradiograph of the effect of FRI-20 on
• JNK/SAPK activity JNK was immunoprecipitated from 100 mg of cultured cell lysates with JNK polyclonal antibody, and an immune complex kinase assay was carried out using GST-c-Jun (1-79) as a substrate. The phosphorylated proteins were separated by SDS-PAGE and visualized by autoradiography. The experiment was repeated three times with similar results.
• certain styryl sulfone derivatives affect the MAPK signal transduction pathway, thereby affecting tumor cell growth and viability.
• the compounds affect the MAPK signal transduction pathway, thereby affecting tumor cell growth and viability.
• This cell growth inhibition is associated with regulation of the ERK and JNK types of MAPK.
• the compounds selectively kill various tumor cell types without killing normal cells.
• the compounds inhibit the growth and proliferation of tumor cells in a dose-dependent manner.
• This cell growth inhibition is associated with regulation of the ERK and JNK types of MAPK.
• the ability of the styryl sulfones to regulate these MAPKs and induce cell growth arrest is dictated by the nature and position of the functional groups present in the compound.
• styryl sulfone compounds of the invention leads to inhibition of tumor cell proliferation and induction of apoptotic cell death.
• the effect is observed for estrogen receptor (ER) positive as well as estrogen receptor negative cells, although one breast cancer cell line tested, cell line 361 , showed considerable resistance to styryl sulfones.
• Inhibition of cell proliferation and induction of apoptotic cell death is also observed for androgen- dependent as well as androgen-independent prostate tumor cells, although the former are considerably more sensitive to the styryl sulfones.
• Tumor cells treated with the compounds of the invention accumulate in the G2/M phase of the cell cycle. As the cells exit the G2/M phase, they appear to undergo apoptosis. Treatment of normal cells with the styryl sulfones fails to produce a similar effect on cell cycle progression.
• styryl sulfones of the present invention block the phosphorylating capacity of ERK-2.
• the styryl sulfones of the present invention enhance the ability of JNK to phosphorylate c-Jun protein compared to mock-treated cells. Without wishing to be bound by any theory, this result suggests that the styryl sulfones may be acting like pro-inflammatory cytokines or UV light, activating the JNK pathway, which in turn may switch on genes responsible for cell growth inhibition and apoptosis.
• the compounds of the invention are characterized by cis-trans isomerism resulting from the presence of one or more double bonds.
• the compounds are named according to the Cahn-Ingold-Prelog system, the IUPAC 1974 Recommendations, Section E: Stereochemistry, in Nomenclature of Organic Chemistry, Pergamon, Elmsford, NY, 1979 (the “Blue Book”). See also, March, Advanced Organic Chemistry, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. , New York, NY, 4th ed., 1992, p. 127-138. Stearic relations around a double bond are designated as "Z" or "E”.
• (E)-styryl and benzyl sulfones are prepared by Knoevenagel condensation of aromatic aldehydes with active methylene molecules such as aryl, benzyl, styryl sulfonyl acetic acids, phenacyl aryl sulfones and sulfonyl diacetic acid.
• the procedure is described by Reddy et al , Ada. Chim. Hung. 115:269 (1984): Reddy et al . Sulfur Letters 13:83 (1991); Reddy et al , Synthesis 322 (1984); and Reddy et al .
• Aryl and benzylsulfonyl acetic acids are the starting compounds for the synthesis of (E)-styryl aryl and (E)-styryl benzyl sulfones.
• Arylsulfonyl acetic acids may be prepared by the condensation of sodium aryl sulfinate with chloroacetic acid at alkaline pH.
• An alternate method for the synthesis of same compounds involves oxidizing the products obtained by the condensation of sodium arylthiolate with chloroacetic acid.
• Benzylsulfonyl acetic acids may be synthesized by 30% hydrogen peroxide oxidation of the condensation products of the condensation of benzyl chlorides with sodium thioglycollate.
• benzylsulfonyl acetic acids may be synthesized by 30% hydrogen peroxide oxidation of the products of the condensation of sodium salts of benzyl thiols with chloroacetic acids.
• (Z)-Styryl aryl and (Z)-styryl benzyl sulfones may be prepared by the addition of sodium arylthiolate or benzylthiolate prepared from appropriate thiol (e.g. , 10 mmol) and sodium hydroxide (e.g. , 20 mmol) to freshly distilled phenylacetylene in methanol. The mixture is refluxed for 24 hours and poured onto crushed ice.
• the (Z)-styryl aryl and (Z)-styryl benzyl sulfides are oxidized with 30% hydrogen peroxide to provide (Z)-styryl aryl and (Z)-styryl benzyl sulfones, respectively.
• (E),(E)-bis(styryl) sulfones may be prepared by the condensation of sulfonyl diacetic acid with aromatic aldehydes in the presence of benzylamine as catalyst. The reaction mixture is refluxed for 2 hours in glacial acetic acid. After cooling, absolute ether is added to the reaction mixture, which is washed successively with saturated solution of sodium bicarbonate, sodium bisulfite, dilute hydrochloric acid and water. Evaporation of the dried etherial layer yields (E),(E)-bis(styryl) sulfones.
• (Z),(E)-bis(styryl) sulfones may be prepared by mixing a solution of (Z)-styrylsulfonyl acetic acid in glacial acetic acid with araldehyde and benzylamine. The solution is boiled for 3 hours. The reaction mixture is cooled and dry ether is added. Any product separated is filtered. The filtrate is diluted with more ether and washed with saturated solution of sodium hydrogen carbonate, sodium bisulfite, dilute hydrochloric acid and water. The ether layer is separated, dried and evaporated to give (Z),(E)-bis(styryl) sulfones.
• the styryl sulfones of the invention may be administered in the form of a pharmaceutical composition, in combination with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
• the active ingredient in such formulations may comprise from 0.1 to 99.99 weight percent.
• pharmaceutically acceptable carrier is meant any carrier, diluent or excipient which is compatible with the other ingredients of the formulation and to deleterious to the recipient.
• the compounds of the invention may be administered to individuals (mammals, including animals and humans) afflicted with cancer.
• the compounds may be administered by any route, including oral and parenteral administration.
• Parenteral administration includes, for example, intravenous, intramuscular, intraarterial. intraperitoneal, intranasal, rectal, or subcutaneous administration.
• the active agent is preferably administered with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier selected on the basis of the selected route of administration and standard pharmaceutical practice.
• the active agent may be formulated into dosage forms according to standard practices in the field of pharmaceutical preparations. See Gennaro Alphonso, ed. , Remington 's Pharmaceutical Sciences, 18th Ed. , (1990) Mack Publishing Co. , Easton, PA. Suitable dosage forms may comprise, for example, tablets, capsules, solutions, parenteral solutions, troches, suppositories, or suspensions.
• the active agent may be mixed with a suitable carrier or diluent such as water, an oil, saline solution, aqueous dextrose (glucose) and related sugar solutions, or a glycol such as propylene glycol or polyethylene glycol.
• Solutions for parenteral administration preferably contain a water soluble salt of the active agent.
• Stabilizing agents, antioxidizing agents and preservatives may also be added.
• Suitable antioxidizing agents include sulfite, ascorbic acid, citric acid and its salts, and sodium EDTA.
• Suitable preservatives include benzalkonium chloride, methyl- or propyl-paraben, and chlorbutanol .
• the active agent may be combined with one or more solid inactive ingredients for the preparation of tablets, capsules, or other suitable oral dosage forms.
• the active agent may be combined with carboxymethylcellulose calcium, magnesium stearate, mannitol and starch, and then formed into tablets by conventional tableting methods.
• the specific dose of compound according to the invention to obtain therapeutic benefit will, of course, be determined by the particular circumstances of the individual patient including, the size, weight, age and sex of the patient, the nature and stage of the disease, the aggressiveness of the disease, and the route of administration.
• a daily dosage of from about 0.05 to about 50 mg/kg/day may be utilized. Higher or lower doses are also contemplated.
• the styrylthioacetic acid is then oxidized to styrylsulfonylacetic acid as follows.
• a mixture of styrylthioacetic acid (5 g, 25 mmol) in glacial acetic acid (35 ml) and 30% hydrogen peroxide (15 ml) is heated under reflux for 60 minutes and the mixture is poured onto crushed ice (200 ml) after cooling.
• the compound separated is filtered and recrystallized from hot water to give white crystalline flakes of (Z)-styrylsulfonylacetic acid; yield 2.4 g (41 %): m.p. 150-51 °C.
• (E),(E)-bis(styryl)sulfones are prepared following the same procedure as described above with exception that sulfonyldiacetic acid is used in place of (Z)-styrylsulfonylacetic acid, and twice the amount of aromatic aldehyde (20 mmol) is used.
• Phenacyl aryl sulfones are made by refluxing ⁇ -bromoacetophenones (0.05 mol) and sodium arylsulfinates (0.05 mol) in absolute ethanol (200 ml) for 6-8 hours. The product which separates on cooling is filtered and washed several times with water to remove sodium bromide. The product is then recrystallized from ethanol: phenacyl-phenyl sulfone, m.p. 90-91 °C ; phenacyl-p-fluorophenyl sulfone , m. p . 148-149 °C; phenacyl-p-bromophenyl sulfone, m.p.
• a solution of phenacyl aryl sulfone (0.01 mol) in acetic acid (10 ml) is mixed with an araldehyde (0.01 mol) and benzylamine (0.02 ml) and refluxed for 3 hours.
• the solution is cooled and dry ether (50 ml) is added.
• the ethereal solution is washed successively with dilute hydrochloric acid, aqueous 10% NaOH, saturated NaHSO 3 solution and water. Evaporation of the dried ethereal layer gives a solid product which is purified by recrystallization.
• Method 2 Dry tetrahydrofuran (200 ml) is taken in a 500 ml conical flask flushed with nitrogen. To this, a solution of titanium (IV) chloride ( 11 ml, 0.01 mol) in absolute carbon tetrachloride is added dropwise with continuous stirring. The contents of the flask are maintained at -20°C throughout the course of the addition. A mixture of phenacyl aryl sulfone (0.01 mol) and aromatic aldehyde (0.01 mol) is added to the reaction mixture and pyridine (4 ml, 0.04 mol) in tetrahydrofuran (8 ml) is added slowly over a period of 1 hour.
• NIH3T3 cells represent normal fibroblasts while LnCap is an androgen-dependent prostate tumor cell line.
• MCF-7 is an estrogen- responsive breast tumor cell line
• BT-20 is an estrogen-unresponsive breast tumor cell line.
• MCF-7 and BT-20 were grown in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM) containing 10% fetal bovine serum supplemented with penicillin and streptomycin.
• DMEM Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium
• LnCaP were cultured in RPMI with 10% fetal bovine serum containing penicillin and streptomycin.
• NIH3T3 cells were grown in DMEM containing 10% calf serum supplemented with penicillin and streptomycin. All cell cultures were maintained at 37°C in a humidified atmosphere of 5% CO 2 .
• Example R R 2 % viable LnCaP and MCF-7 cells
• FRI-2 Five of the more active compounds which exhibited the highest activity were designated as FRI-2 (E-2,4-difluorostyrl-4-fluorobenzyl sulfone).
• FRI-6 E- 4-fluorostyryl 4-bromobenzyl sulfone
• FRI-7 E-4-bromostyryl 4-fluorobenzyl sulfone
• FRI-20 E-4-fluorostyryl 4-chlorobenzyl sulfone
• FRI-22 E-4- chlorostyryl 4-chlorobenzyl sulfone
• the dose dependency of the styryl sulfone was established by treating the cells with FRI-20, one of the five most active compounds.
• NIH3T3, MCF-7, BT-20 and LnCaP cells were treated with FRI-20 dissolved in DMSO to concentrations of 250 nM, 500 nM, 1 ⁇ M. 2.5 ⁇ M and 5 ⁇ M and examined for their proliferation and viability after 48 hours (Figure 2A). The percentage of living cells was determined by Trypan blue exclusion.
• the control cells were treated with DMSO to determine the effect of solvent on cells. At a concentration of 250 nM, there was about 10% cell death in MCF-7, BT-20 and LnCaP cells and about 15-20% inhibition in cell division compared to untreated cells after 48 hours.
• the LnCap, BT-20 and MCF-7 cells treated with 5 ⁇ M FRI- 20 showed nearly 90% cell death.
• NIH3T3 showed little or no alteration in their ability to grow and maintain > 80% viability in the presence of FRI-2, -6, -7, -20 or -22, at 5 ⁇ M concentration.
• NIH/3T3 and HFL normal fibroblast cell lines
• MCF-7 and 361 estrogen-receptor negative breast tumor cell lines
• BT-20, 435 and SKBR-3 estrogen-receptor positive breast tumor cell lines
• LnCaP androgen sensitive prostate tumor cell line
• PC-3 and DU-145 androgen insensitive prostate tumor cell line.
• FR-20 was dissolved in DMSO and added to the cells at 2.5 ⁇ M and 5.0 ⁇ M concentration.
• DMSO was added equivalent to the volume of solvent (DMSO) present at the highest concentration of the compound.
• the activity of the compound was evaluated after 48 hours by Trypan blue exclusion.
• NIH3T3 and HFL cells were found to maintain a percent viability of 85-90% at 2.5 and 5.0 ⁇ M concentration.
• MCF-7, HTB126, T470 and 435 cells showed very high mortality with less than 25 % and 10% viability at 2.5 and 5.0 ⁇ M concentrations of the drug (Figure 3A).
• the androgen-dependent prostate tumor cell line LnCaP was grown as in Ex. 22. A, and treated with 2.0 ⁇ M FRI-20 dissolved in DMSO or with equivalent amounts (10 ml) of DMSO alone. Cells were harvested 6, 12, 24. and 48 hours following treatment and stained with propidium iodide and subjected to flow cytometry (FACS) for analysis of DNA content. As shown in Fig. 4. the addition of FR-20 to the culture medium results in the accumulation of cells in the G2/M phase of the cell cycle and as the cells exit this phase of the cell cycle, they appeared to undergo apoptosis.
• NIH3T3 and HFL exhibited normal cell cycle progression in the presence and absence of drug.
• NIH3T3, LnCaP and MCF-7 cells were incubated with FRI-20 at a concentration 2.5 mM for 48 hours. Following incubation of cells in the presence and absence of FRI- 20, the cells were lysed using ERK lysis buffer containing 20 mM HEPES (pH 7.4), 50 mM ⁇ -glycerophosphate, 0.5 % Triton X-100, 2 mM MgCl 2 , 1 mM EGTA, 1 mM dithiothreitol, 2 ⁇ g/ml leupeptin.
• ERK-2 in 100 mg of cell lysate was immunoprecipitated by incubating lysate protein with 1 mg of ERK-2 polyclonal antibody (antibody sc-154 to ERK2 is from Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Inc.) for one hour followed by an additional incubation of 20 ⁇ l of protein A- Sepharose (Pharmacia) for one hour.
• the immune complex-bound protein A- Sepharose beads were washed twice with lysis buffer and twice with ERK/MAPK buffer containing 20 mM HEPES (pH 7.4).
• MAP kinase activity 50 mM ⁇ -glycerophosphate, 10 mM MgCl 2 , 1 mM EGTA, 1 mM dithiothreitol, and 100 MM Na 3 VO 4 .
• the immunoprecipitates were then tested for MAP kinase activity by an in vitro assay which utilizes myelin basic proteins (MBP) as a substrate for ERK- 2 in the presence of [ ⁇ - 32 P] ATP.
• MBP myelin basic proteins
• the beads were resuspended in 40 ⁇ l of MAPK buffer containing 100 ⁇ M [ ⁇ - 32 P] ATP (5000 cpm/pmol), and the kinase assay was carried out for 20 minutes at 30 °C using 5 ⁇ g of MBP as substrate.
• the reaction was stopped by the addition of Laemmli's buffer followed by the boiling of the samples for 3 minutes.
• the proteins were resolved on 12% SDS-PAGE; the gel was dried, and an autoradiogram was developed.
• the cells were washed twice with 10 ml of ice cold phosphate -buffered saline and harvested in 400 ⁇ l of lysis buffer containing 25 mM HEPES (pH 7.6), 0.1 % Triton X-100. 300 mM NaCl, 1.5 mM MgCl 2 .
• SAPKs stress activated protein kinases
• the biochemical activity of the JNK present in the FRI-20-treated and mock-treated cell lysates was also determined by immunoprecipitation of JNK followed by incubation with GST-c-Jun protein as a substrate for JNK in the presence of [ ⁇ - 32 P]ATP.
• JNK-1 in 100 mg of cell extracts was immunoprecipitated by incubating the lysate with 1 mg of JNK-1 polyclonal antibody (sc from Santa Cruz Biotechnology) for one hour followed by an additional incubation with 20 ⁇ l of protein A-Sepharose (Pharmacia) for one hour.
• the beads were washed twice with JNK lysis buffer (as described above) followed by two washes with JNK reaction buffer.
• the beads were resuspended in 40 ⁇ l of JNK buffer containing 20 mM [ ⁇ - 32 P] ATP (5000 cpm/pmol), and the kinase reaction was carried out for 20 minutes at 30 °C using 3 ⁇ g of purified GST-c-Jun(l-79) as substrate. The reaction was stopped, and the radioactivity in the phosphorylated GST-c-Jun protein was quantitated.
• the results show that the FRI-20 treatment enhanced the ability of JNK to phosphorylate recombinant GST-c-Jun protein by 60-80% compared to mock-treated cells (Figure 7). JNK has been shown to be activated by treatment of cells with UV radiation, pro-inflammatory cytokines and environmental stress (Derijard et al.
• the activated JNK binds to the amino terminus of c-jun and increases its transcriptional activity by phosphorylating at ser63 and ser73 (Adler et al. , Proc. Nat Acad. Sci. USA 89:5341 (1992); Kwok et al. , Nature 370:223 (1994)).
• FRI-20 may act like a pro-inflammatory cytokine or UV light in activating the JNK pathway, which in turn may switch on genes responsible for cell growth inhibition and apoptosis.
• the killing effect of FR-20 on androgen-sensitive (LnCaP) and androgen insensitive (DU145) prostate tumor cells was compared to the effect of cisplatin (cis-diamminedichloroplatinum II), a widely used anti-prostate cancer agent.
• the cells were grown as in Example 26.
• FRI-20 or cisplatin was dissolved in DMSO and added to the cells at various concentrations. Viability was determined after 72 hours by the Trypan blue exclusion method.
• the concentration of FRI-20 required to completely kill LnCaP and DU145 cells was 2.5 ⁇ M and 5.0 ⁇ M, respectively.

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