skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: The endoperoxide ascaridol shows strong differential cytotoxicity in nucleotide excision repair-deficient cells

Journal Article · · Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology
 [1];  [2];  [1];  [3];  [4];  [1];  [1]
  1. Division of Epigenomics and Cancer Risk Factors, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120 Heidelberg (Germany)
  2. Institute of Pharmacy und Biochemistry, Johannes Gutenberg University, Staudinger Weg 5, 55128 Mainz (Germany)
  3. Institute of Organic Chemistry, Johannes Gutenberg University, Duesbergweg 10-14, 55128 Mainz (Germany)
  4. Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650204 (China)

Targeting synthetic lethality in DNA repair pathways has become a promising anti-cancer strategy. However little is known about such interactions with regard to the nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathway. Therefore, cell lines with a defect in the NER genes ERCC6 or XPC and their normal counterparts were screened with 53 chemically defined phytochemicals isolated from plants used in traditional Chinese medicine for differential cytotoxic effects. The screening revealed 12 drugs that killed NER-deficient cells more efficiently than proficient cells. Five drugs were further analyzed for IC{sub 50} values, effects on cell cycle distribution, and induction of DNA damage. Ascaridol was the most effective compound with a difference of > 1000-fold in resistance between normal and NER-deficient cells (IC{sub 50} values for cells with deficiency in ERCC6: 0.15 μM, XPC: 0.18 μM, and normal cells: > 180 μM). NER-deficiency combined with ascaridol treatment led to G2/M-phase arrest, an increased percentage of subG1 cells, and a substantially higher DNA damage induction. These results were confirmed in a second set of NER-deficient and -proficient cell lines with isogenic background. Finally, ascaridol was characterized for its ability to generate oxidative DNA damage. The drug led to a dose-dependent increase in intracellular levels of reactive oxygen species at cytotoxic concentrations, but only NER-deficient cells showed a strongly induced amount of 8-oxodG sites. In summary, ascaridol is a cytotoxic and DNA-damaging compound which generates intracellular reactive oxidative intermediates and which selectively affects NER-deficient cells. This could provide a new therapeutic option to treat cancer cells with mutations in NER genes. -- Highlights: ► Thousand-fold higher Ascaridol activity in NER-deficient versus proficient cells. ► Impaired repair of Ascaridol-induced oxidative DNA damage in NER-deficient cells. ► Selective activity of Ascaridol opens new therapy options in NER-deficient tumors.

OSTI ID:
22215266
Journal Information:
Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, Vol. 259, Issue 3; Other Information: Copyright (c) 2012 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved.; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0041-008X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English