Search

Byline: F.U. Leidich, R. Breitenfelder, H. Mandel, J. Krautz, M. Gniazdowski In the coming decades, lignite will become one of the most important fuels for power production in Germany. In the last five years, Vattenfall Europe and RWE have put power plants of the 8001000 MW class with efficiency of up to more than 43% into service. Four to five per cent efficiency can further be gained by using pre-dried lignite as fuel (BOA plus concept of RWE). Additional steps are possible if the lignite-drying process and combustion are operated under pressure. This paper describes the first steps based on the A.M. technology whereby the waste heat of fuel cells is used for operation of the lignite dryer to achieve highest efficiency levels.

DNA-interacting anticancer drugs are able to affect the propensity of DNA to interact with proteins through either reversible binding or covalent bond formation. The effect of the drugs on transcription factor interactions with DNA is reviewed. These effects can be classified as (i) competition between a drug and regulatory protein for target sequences; (ii) weakening of this interaction; (iii) enhancement of this interaction by chemical modification of the DNA and the creation of non-natural binding sites; and (iv) a 'suicide' mechanism, which is observed when a transcription factor induces changes in DNA structure, allowing a drug to bind to a target sequence. Several new strategies -- the antigene approach with oligonucleotides, peptide nucleic acids or locked nucleic acids, and sequence-specific polyamides -- are also reviewed.

Daunorubicin (DRB) and doxorubicin (DOX) in the presence of formaldehyde (CH2O) form covalent adducts with DNA. A G-specific adduct is formed by producing an aminal bridge between the C-3' of daunosamine and the C-2 of guanine. New derivatives of DRB, DOX and epidoxorubicin (EDOX) with an amidine group bonded to the C-3' of the daunosamine moiety, with either a morpholine or hexamethyleneimine ring attached to the amidine group, were studied in this paper. DNase I footprinting and analyses with restriction endonucleases were applied to compare the specificity of adduct formed by the amidine derivatives and their parent compounds. These approaches provide consistent results, proving that a GC pair is required for covalent binding of anthracycline derivatives to DNA and that different flanking sequences are able to modify the sequence preference of the drugs. The 5'-GC-3', 5'-CG-3' and 5'-TC-3' sequences were protected most efficiently by the parent compounds and their morpholine derivatives and some increased protection of 5'-TC-3' sequence was observed for morpholine analogues. Hexamethyleneimine derivatives bind to DNA with much lower efficiency. Finally, the sequence specificity of anthracycline derivatives was correlated with their ability to inhibit binding of transcription factors Sp1 and AP-1 to their DNA recognition sequences. The anthracycline derivatives were more potent in inhibiting Sp1 binding to its cognate GC box than in preventing AP-1 from binding to its mixed A.T and G.C site. Overall, the results indicate that the amidine derivatives of anthracyclines show similar, but not identical sequence specificity as parent compounds, though they exert their effect at a higher concentration.

Doxorubicin (DOX), daunorubicin (DRB), epidoxorubicin (EDOX) and their analogues with a 3'-NH2 group in daunosamine form a covalent bond with a 2-NH2 group of guanine via a methylene group from formaldehyde (CH2O). It is assumed that a Schiff base type intermediate is formed between CH2O and the 3'-NH2 group in the reaction. This reaction is supposed to occur in the cell. New analogues of anthracyclines with formamidine functionality bound to C-3' of daunosamine and containing the bulky morpholine (DRBM, DOXM and EDOXM) or hexamethyleneimine rings attached are studied in our laboratory. These substituents decrease the association of the drugs to DNA and potentially hinder the formation of Schiff base-intermediates. Our experiments indicate that the formation of the covalent complexes by DRB, DOX and EDOX under these conditions is confirmed by a high enhancement (17-40x) of the inhibition of overall RNA synthesis by E. coli RNA polymerase on T7 DNA. DRBM and DOXM exhibit a lower enhancement of the inhibition by CH2O (7-13x). The other analogues show a 1.6-3x increase of inhibition. Hence, their covalent binding is lower than that of the parent compounds. These conclusions are confirmed by spectrophotometric estimations following removal of non-covalently associated drugs. Electrophoretic analysis of drug-DNA complexes formed in the presence of CH2O indicates that DRBM and DOXM as their parent compounds induce labile cross-links in DNA. Comparison of the results obtained at the subcellular level with cytotoxicity estimations indicates that there is a correlation between cytotoxicity of the anthracyclines on L1210 cells and transcriptional template activity of drug-DNA complexes formed in the presence of CH2O (r = 0.64; n = 9). These data confirm a notion that covalent attachment of anthracyclines to DNA is an essential event leading to cytotoxicity.

Gene expression, both tissue specific or inducible, is controlled at the level of transcription by various transcription factors interacting with specific sequences of DNA. Anticancer drugs and other potential therapeutic agents alter interactions of regulatory proteins with DNA by a variety of different mechanisms. The main ones, considered in the review, are: i) competition for the transcription factor DNA binding sequences by drugs that interact non-covalently with DNA (e.g. anthracyclines, acridines, actinomycin D, pyrrole antibiotics and their polyamide derivatives); ii) covalent modifications of DNA by alkylating agents (e.g. nitrogen mustards, cisplatin) that prevent transcription factors from recognizing their specific sequences, or that result in multiple "unnatural" binding sites in DNA which hijack the transcription factors, thus decreasing their availability in the nucleus; iii) competition with binding sites on the transcription factors by synthetic oligonucleotides or peptide nucleic acids in an antigene strategy. The latter compounds may also compete for binding sites on regulatory proteins, acting as decoys to lower their active concentration in the cell. In this review, we have summarized recent advances which have been made towards understanding the above mechanisms by which small molecules interfere with the function of transcription factors.

The effects of DNA interacting drugs on: (1) total RNA synthesis catalyzed by E. coli and T7 RNA polymerase; (2) synthesis of the initiating dinucleotide (pppApU) by E. coli RNA polymerase ("abortive initiation"); (3) elongation of RNA chains synthesized by T7 RNA polymerase on pT7-7 plasmid DNA bearing T7 RNA polymerase promoter phi 10 with human Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase coding sequence, (4) interaction of transcription factor Sp1 and its binding site were studied. Intercalating ligands which form quickly dissociating complexes with DNA (anthracyclines, proflavine, ethidium bromide) are compared with the slowly dissociating drug of d(G x C) specificity (actinomycin D), the non-intercalating, d(A x T) specific pyrrole antibiotics (netropsin and distamycin A) and covalently binding to DNA 1-nitroacridine derivative (nitracrine). The obtained results indicate that rapidly dissociating ligands, proflavine and ethidium bromide, inhibit total RNA synthesis in vitro and the abortive initiation to a similar extent while they do not induce discrete elongation stops of RNA polymerase. Actinomycin D and nitracrine exhibit a high inhibitory effect on total RNA synthesis and induce stops of RNA polymerase while not affecting abortive initiation. Pyrrole antibiotics primarily inhibit the initiation, while no elongation stops are induced. Actinomycin D inhibits complex formation between nuclear proteins and the Sp1 binding site. Netropsin, ethidium bromide, proflavine and other intercalating acridines do not affect Sp1 binding. The results indicate that the effects primarily depend on sequence specificity and secondarily on the dissociation rate of ligands from their complexes with DNA.

New derivatives of doxorubicin and daunorubicin with amidine group bonded to daunosamine at C-3' atom and bearing the morpholine ring attached to the amidine group have been recently synthesized. Their cytotoxic activities and effects on RNA synthesis in vitro were assayed. The drug concentrations inhibiting mouse leukaemia L1210 cell growth to 50% were about two- and three fold higher for the derivatives compared to doxorubicin and daunorubicin respectively. Inhibition of phage T7 RNA polymerase by the non-covalently interacting derivatives was also slightly lower than that by the parent compounds. As doxorubicin and daunorubicin, their amidine derivatives in the presence of dithiothreitol and Fe(III) ions are activated and covalently bind to DNA. The adducts formed affect RNA polymerase activity. Several bands corresponding to prematurely terminated RNA chains are observed by means of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The patterns of bands are virtually identical for all the anthracyclines studied here and are similar to the terminations induced by actinomycin D. This observation is consistent with a notion that the adducts are formed at guanine in GpC sequences which are also binding sites of actinomycin D. A substantial difference between daunorubicin and its amidine derivative is shown by means of high performance liquid chromatography. The derivative undergoes rapid rearrangements in the presence of dithiothreitol and Fe(III) ions, while daunorubicin is stable for several hours under these conditions. The results presented here indicate that the amidine derivatives despite bulky morpholine substitution exhibit biological activity in the systems used here.

The anticancer drug, nitracrine, a 1-nitro-9-aminoalkyl derivative of acridine exhibits potent cytotoxic effects which are due to its metabolic activation, followed by covalent binding to macromolecules--DNA being the target for the drug. The renaturable fraction of DNA from L-1210 cells pretreated with nitracrine is assayed by means of ethidium bromide fluorescence assay and chromatography on hydroxyapatite column. The effect of the drug was compared with furocoumarins of different DNA crosslinking potencies. The existence of crosslinks in DNA upon incubation of cells with nitracrine (1-4 microM) have been confirmed with two different methods under the conditions where 8-methoxypsoralen, a classic crosslinking agent induced the renaturation. The DNA preparation isolated from the drug pretreated cells exhibited decreased transcriptional template activity with E. coli DNA-dependent RNA polymerase.

The effects of acridine derivatives (proflavine and 2,7-dialkyl derivatives, diacridines and triacridines, 9-aminoacridine carboxamides, and 9-anilinoacridine, amsacrine and its congeners) on overall RNA synthesis in vitro, on synthesis of initiating oligonucleotides and the binding of the enzyme to DNA were studied. The primary mechanism of action is related to inhibition of the enzyme binding to DNA. The acridines (intercalating or non-intercalating and bis-intercalating ligands) assayed here differ in the properties of their complexes with DNA. Correlation is generally observed between inhibition of RNA synthesis in vitro and cytotoxicity in cell cultures for di- and triacridines and 9-aminoacridine carboxamide derivatives. No relationship was found between the effect on RNA polymerase system and biological effects for amsacrine and its derivatives in contrast to the other series of acridines studied here. The aniline ring seems to decrease the inhibitory potency of a ligand. The discrepancy between the biological effect and RNA synthesis inhibition may be due to a different mechanism of cytotoxicity action of amsacrine which is a potent topoisomerase II poison.

It was found that methyl green, a major groove binding ligand and the minor groove binding ligands, netropsin and 2,7-di-tert-butylproflavine inhibit, to a similar extend a monoadduct forming benzopsoralen and monoadduct and diadduct forming derivatives of psoralen (8-methoxypsoralen and 3,4'-dimethyl-8-methoxypsoralen). Caffeine exhibits an inhibitory effect on furocoumarin photobinding to DNA at 10(3) fold higher concentration. Together with the previously published results it is concluded that both occupancy of the major and minor groove as well as intercalation hinder photobinding of furocoumarins to DNA.

A series of 9-aminoacridine carboxamide derivatives of systematically varied structure was assayed in an RNA synthesis in vitro system. Escherichia coli DNA-dependent RNA polymerase and DNA derived from phage T7 or calf thymus were used to measure the effect of the drugs on overall RNA and the initiating dinucleotide (pppApU) syntheses. By means of multiple linear regression analysis it was shown that the inhibition of these reactions depends both on the drug equilibrium binding constant and kinetic parameters of dissociation of drug-DNA complexes.

In the presence of sulfhydryl compounds nitracrine, an anticancer drug, binds covalently to DNA. The accessibility of DNA in chromatin both to nitracrine and to 8-methoxypsoralen, which was used as a reference compound in this study, when assayed in NaCl concentrations from 0 to 2 M show similar characteristics. The initial decrease reaches a minimum at 0.15 M NaCl above which dissociation of non-histone proteins and histones at higher ionic strengths is demonstrated by an increase in accessible sites. The relative accessibility of DNA in chromatin to nitracrine is, however, lower than that found for 8-methoxypsoralen. Partial dissociation of chromatin with 0.7 M NaCl increases the accessibility of DNA in chromatin when assayed in the absence of NaCl but has no apparent influence when estimated at ionic strength close to physiological conditions.

The effect of ethidium bromide, actinomycin D, distamycin A and netropsin on covalent binding of nitracrine (1-nitro-9-(3,3-N,N-dimethylaminopropylamino)acridine, Ledakrin, C-283) and 8-methoxypsoralen to DNA was examined. The competition was assayed either directly with [3H]- and [14C]nitracrine or indirectly by estimation of transcriptional template activity of nitracrine-DNA and 8-methoxypsoralen-DNA complexes formed in the presence of the ligands. A higher protective effect of ethidium bromide and distamycin on the photo-binding of 8-methoxypsoralen than on the dithiothreitol-dependent attachement of nitracrine to DNA assayed at 0.15 M KCl or NaCl was observed. The non-intercalating antibiotics showed lower competitive effect on 8-methoxypsoralen binding than ethidium bromide. Actinomycin D showed relatively low competition for both drugs with DNA. In contrast to the reaction of 8-methoxypsoralen, the decrease of nitracrine binding in the presence of competing ligands considerably depends on ionic strength. Particularly high inhibition of the adduct formation in the presence of ethidium at 1 M KCl was shown, while the amount of nitracrine bound in the presence of distamycin increases at elevated ionic strength. The results may indicate steric demands of the reaction between nitracrine and DNA.

In the presence of sulfhydryl compounds an anticancer drug, 1-nitro-9-aminoalkylacridine derivative, forms with DNA irreversible, probably covalent, complexes of decreased template properties. Five 9-substituted 1-nitro-9-aminoacridine derivatives of cytostatic activity show irreversible thiol-dependent inhibitory effects on the RNA synthesis in vitro system while equal inhibition is observed both in the presence and in the absence of dithiothreitol with biologically inactive analogues of nitrocrine. In the absence of sulfhydryl compounds the inhibition depends on the planarity of the acridine ring. Hence, both 1-nitro-9-aminoalkylacridine and tetrahydroacridine derivatives show low inhibitory effect.

In the presence of sulfhydryl compounds, an anticancer drug 1-nitro-9-(3-N,N-dimethylaminopropylamino) acridine (nitracrine, Ledakrin) forms irreversible complexes of decreased template activity with DNA. Stoichiometry of the complexes was estimated using the drug labelled with 14C in the acridine ring or in the propyl chain and with 3H in the acridine ring. Up to 50 irreversibly bound 14C-nitracrine molecules were found per 10(3) nucleotides of calf thymus DNA in the presence of dithiothreitol (DTT). Considerably lower binding observed using 3H-labelled drug, particularly when the complexes were formed in the presence of mercaptoethanol (ME) indicates that substitution of tritium atoms occurred during the reaction. Relationship between stoichiometry and template activity in RNA synthesis in vitro system of the complexes was estimated in the paper.

The effect of the photobinding of 8-methoxypsoralen to phage T7 DNA on different steps of RNA synthesis in vitro was assayed. Total RNA synthesis is reduced to a few percent and the transcript size is decreased, as shown by means of gel filtration on a Sepharose 4B column when DNA of the adduct content of six drug molecules per 10(3) nucleotides is used. The initiation of RNA chains seems to be less affected, as inferred from an abortive initiation assay. Synthesis of pppApU on DNA of the same adduct content is inhibited to 34% of the corresponding controls, while the overall RNA synthesis is inhibited to 6%. The amount of the enzyme needed for maximal retention of DNA, the kinetics of its binding and the decay of the polymerase-DNA complex at high ionic strength (or on decrease of the temperature) are similar with DNA either irradiated in the absence of the drug or DNA bearing six 8-methoxypsoralen molecules per 10(3) nucleotides. It is concluded from this study that 8-methoxypsoralen partially inhibits initiation and blocks movement of RNA polymerase along the template, inducing premature termination. It does not appear to influence the binding of the enzyme to DNA.

Two 1-nitro-9-aminoacridine dimers were prepared: one bearing a spermine flexible linking chain, compound 4, the other a rigid dipiperidine-type linker, compound 7. Both dimers elicited a higher affinity constant for DNA than the parent monomeric drug nitracrine 2. This affinity was several orders lower than what was found for other dimeric compounds having the same linkers and no nitro group on the acridine ring (3, 5, 6 and 8). Bisintercalation was evidenced for compound 4 by viscosimetric measurements. In the absence of dithiothreitol, an inhibitory effect of RNA synthesis in vitro was observed for all the tested compounds except 2 and 7. In the presence of dithiothreitol, 4 and 7 formed irreversible complexes with DNA of decreased template properties. The level of the dimers binding was lower than that of the parent compound 2. Cross-links were detected by means of hydroxylapatite chromatography in a complex of the dimer bearing a flexible linking chain, compound 4 with DNA, while the compound 7-DNA complex eluted in the single-stranded DNA region. The extent of cytotoxicity of the two 1-nitro-9-aminoacridine dimers against L1210 cultured cells was different.

1. Ledakrin (C-283), a 1-nitro-9-aminopropylacridine derivative, inhibits RNA synthesis in vitro if the complex with DNA is formed in the presence of thiol. 2. Using several analogues of Ledakrin, it has been found that the 1-nitro group is essential for enhancement of the inhibition by thiol; the length of 9-aminoalkyl side chain also plays a role in the reaction between DNA and the dye. 3. It is suggested that the low inhibitory effect of Ledakrin in the absence of thiol compounds is due to a steric hindrance between neighbouring 1-nitro and 9-aminoalkyl groups. This hypothesis has been confirmed by assaying inhibition of RNA synthesis by several analogues of Ledakrin.