Metabolism of antitumor acylfulvene by rat liver cytosol.

Illudins are novel compounds from which a potent class of antitumor agents, called acylfulvenes, have been synthesized. The model illudin, illudin S, has marked in vitro and in vivo toxicity but displays a poor therapeutic index. The toxicity of illudin S is believed to involve a combination of enzymatic reduction and chemical reaction. Enzymatic reduction by a cytosolic NADPH-dependent enzyme produces an aromatic metabolite, as does reaction with thiols. Acylfulvene is formed from illudin S by reverse Prins reaction. Acylfulvene is 100-fold less toxic in vitro and in vivo than illudin S but possesses marked antitumor efficacy in vivo, thus displaying opposite properties from illudin S. For this reason we investigated the in vitro metabolism of acylfulvene. Incubation of acylfulvene with NADPH and rat liver cytosol yielded two metabolites. One metabolite, the aromatic product, is similar to that obtained with illudin S in this in vitro system and was anticipated. The other metabolite, the hydroxylated product, was not expected and no corresponding metabolite for illudin S could be detected. The production of this hydroxylated metabolite from acylfulvene may explain, in part, the increased antitumor activity of novel acylfulvenes as compared with the illudins.