Effect of buthionine sulfoximine and ethacrynic acid on cytotoxic activity of mitomycin C analogues BMY 25282 and BMY 25067.

BMY 25282 and BMY 25067, analogues of mitomycin C (MMC), were synthesized in an attempt to increase the therapeutic potential of the parent drug. The present studies were undertaken to determine if the cytotoxicity of MMC or its analogues is affected by cellular glutathione (GSH) and/or GSH transferase (GST) levels by using sensitive (P388/S) and multidrug resistant (P388/R-84) mouse leukemia cells as a model. P388/R-84 cells were cross-resistant to all three drugs. BMY 25067 was > 100 times more cytotoxic than MMC in both the cells. MMC and BMY 25282 produced significantly lower DNA interstrand cross-links (ISC) in P388/R-84 cells, whereas BMY 25067 induced ISC formation was comparable in these cells. GSH depletion with D,L-buthionine-S,R-sulfoximine (BSO) increased sensitivity to MMC, BMY 25282, and BMY 25067 by 3.4-, 4.1-, and 1.8-fold, respectively, in the resistant cells. Pretreatment of P388/R-84 cells with a nontoxic concentration of ethacrynic acid (EA) (10 micrograms/ml for 1 h), an inhibitor of GST activity, also resulted in a significant increase in the cytotoxic activities of MMC and BMY 25282 (3.8- and 3.1-fold, respectively), but not of BMY 25067. Combined pretreatment of P388/R-84 cells with BSO and EA caused further increase in the cytotoxic activities of both MMC and BMY 25282. Potentiation of BMY 25067 cytotoxicity by combined BSO and EA pretreatments was similar to that observed by BSO pretreatment alone. The ISC formation by MMC and BMY 25282 were also increased significantly by BSO or EA pretreatment in these cells. Whereas BSO treatment increased BMY 25067 induced ISC formation, it was not affected by EA pretreatment. These results suggest that (a) a potentiation of the cytotoxic activity of MMC or BMY 25282 can be achieved by GSH depletion and/or GST inhibition, (b) the enhanced cytotoxicity may be caused at least in part by the increased formation of drug-DNA cross-links, and (c) the mechanism of BMY 25067 cytotoxicity may be different from the other two drugs. The results of the present study also suggest that BMY 25067 may be seriously considered for further clinical development because it is much more active than MMC, and unlike the parent drug cytotoxicity of BMY 25067 does not seem to be affected by GST levels, which have been suggested to play an important role in cellular resistance to several cancer chemotherapy drugs.