Batracylin (NSC 320846), a dual inhibitor of DNA topoisomerases I and II induces histone gamma-H2AX as a biomarker of DNA damage.

Batracylin (8-aminoisoindolo [1,2-b]quinazolin-10(12H)-one; NSC320846) is an investigational clinical anticancer agent. Previous animal studies showed activity against solid tumors and Adriamycin-resistant leukemia. We initially sought to test the proposed Top2-mediated DNA cleavage activity of batracylin and identify potential biomarkers for activity. COMPARE analysis in the NCI-60 cell lines showed batracylin activity to be most closely related to the class of Top2 inhibitors. The 50% growth inhibition (GI50) value for batracylin in HT29 colon carcinoma cells was 10 micromol/L. DNA-protein cross-links, consistent with Top2 targeting, were measured by alkaline elution. DNA single-strand breaks were also detected and found to be protein associated. However, only a weak induction of DNA double-strand breaks was observed. Because batracylin induced almost exclusively DNA single-strand breaks, we tested batracylin as a Top1 inhibitor. Batracylin exhibited both Top1- and Top2alpha/beta-mediated DNA cleavage in vitro and in cells. The phosphorylation of histone (gamma-H2AX) was tested to measure the extent of DNA damage. Kinetics of gamma-H2AX "foci" showed early activation with low micromol/L concentrations, thus presenting a useful early biomarker of DNA damage. The half-life of gamma-H2AX signal reversal after drug removal was consistent with reversal of DNA-protein cross-links. The persistence of the DNA-protein complexes induced by batracylin was markedly longer than by etoposide or camptothecin. The phosphorylated DNA damage-responsive kinase, ataxia telangiectasia mutated, was also found activated at sites of gamma-H2AX. The cell cycle checkpoint kinase, Chk2, was only weakly phosphorylated. Thus, batracylin is a dual Top1 and Top2 inhibitor and gamma-H2AX could be considered a biomarker in the ongoing clinical trials.