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Inhibition of neutrophil-myocyte adhesion and adhesion-dependent myocyte injury by adenosine was evaluated using isolated TNF-alpha-activated canine cells. Adenosine inhibited adhesion of activated neutrophils to cardiac myocytes with an IC50 of 11 +/- 4 nM. Inhibition of neutrophil adhesion (92 +/-3% by 100 nM adenosine) led to inhibition of myocyte injury (by 90 +/- 6%, as assessed by dye exclusion). Inhibition of cell adhesion by adenosine was blocked by the A2 antagonist, 1,3-dimethyl-1-propylxanthine, but not by the A1 antagonist, 8-cyclopentyl-1,3-dipropylxanthine. Moreover, the A2 agonist, CGS21680 (2-[4-(2-carboxymethyl)phenethylamino]-5'-N-ethylcarboxamido adenosine), but not the A1 agonist, N6-cyclopentyladenosine, mimicked adenosine in preventing cell adhesion. These observations implicate the A2 receptor in the mechanism of inhibition of cell adhesion. pretreatment and washing of neutrophils, but not cardiac myocytes, with adenosine or CGS21680 led to inhibition of adhesion, suggesting that the neutrophil A2 receptor is the target of adenosine's action. In contrast, inhibition of cell adhesion by adenosine was poteniated by 8-cyclopentyl-1,3-dipropylxanthine (IC50 = 4 +/- 1 nM) and attenuated by N6-cyclopentyladenosine, suggesting that occupancy of A1 receptors can conversely increase cell adhesion. Neutrophil-myocyte adhesion was inhibited by acadesine (IC50 = 12 +/- 2 microM) also via an adenosine-dependent mechanism because it was blocked by 1,3-dimethyl-1-propylxanthine or adenosine deaminase, an enzyme that degrades any adenosine that is formed. Acadesine-induced inhibition if cell adhesion (83 +/- 4% by 100 microM) resulted in inhibition of myocyte injury (by 76 +/- 6%). Other adenosine-regulating agents, including the acadesine analogue, GP531 (5-amino-1 beta-D-(5-benzylamino-5-deoxyribofuranosyl) imidazole-4-carboxamide), and inhibitors of adenosine transport and intracellular metabolism also inhibited cell adhesion. These results indicate that exogenous or endogenous adenosine can inhibit neutrophil-myocyte adhesion and injury in cells activated with TNF-alpha by an A2-mediated mechanism. Although the predominant activity of adenosine is to attenuate cell adhesion, stimulation of A1 receptors has the opposite effect, i.e., to augment adhesive interactions.

In contrast to their inactive parent compound triptycene (code name TT0), several triptycene (TT) analogs (code names TT1 to TT13), most of them new compounds, were synthesized and shown to prevent L1210 leukemic cells from synthesizing macromolecules and growing in vitro. The most potent rigid tetracyclic quinones synthesized so far are TT2 and its C2-brominated derivative, TT13. The antitumor activity of TT2 has been compared to that of daunomycin (DAU), a clinically valuable anthracycline antibiotic which is structurally different from TT2 but also contains a quinone moiety. TT2 inhibits the proliferation (IC50: 300 nM at day 2 and 150 nM at day 4) and viability (IC50: 250 nM at day 2 and 100 nM at day 4) of L1210 cells to the same maximal degree as DAU, suggesting that the cytostatic and cytotoxic activities of TT2 are a combination of drug concentration and duration of drug exposure. Since TT2 does not increase the mitotic index of L1210 cells at 24 h like vincristine, it is unlikely to be an antimitotic drug that disrupts microtubule dynamics. Like DAU, a 1.5-3 h pretreatment with TT2 is sufficient to inhibit the rates of DNA, RNA and protein syntheses determined over 30-60 min periods of pulse-labeling in L1210 cells in vitro (IC50: 6 microM). In contrast to DAU, which is inactive, a 15 min pretreatment with TT2 has the advantage of also inhibiting the cellular transport of nucleosides occuring over a 30 s period in vitro (IC50: 6 microM), suggesting that TT2 prevents the incorporation of [3H]thymidine into DNA because it rapidly blocks the uptake of [3H]thymidine by the tumor cells. After 24 h, TT2 induces as much DNA cleavage as camptothecin and DAU, two anti-cancer drugs producing DNA strand breaks and known to respectively inhibit DNA topoisomerase I and II activities. Interestingly, the abilities of TT2 to block nucleoside transport, inhibit DNA synthesis and induce DNA fragmentation are irreversible upon drug removal, suggesting that this compound may rapidly interact with various molecular targets in cell membranes and nuclei to disrupt the functions of nucleoside transporters and nucleic acids, and trigger long-lasting antitumor effects which persist after cessation of drug treatment. Because inhibition of nucleoside transport is highly unusual among DNA-damaging drugs, the use of bifunctional TTs with antileukemic activity in the nM range in vitro might provide a considerable advantage in polychemotherapy to potentiate the action of antimetabolites and sensitize multidrug-resistant tumor cells.

Tricyclic pyrones (TPs) may represent a novel synthetic class of microtubule (MT) de-stabilizing anticancer drugs previously shown by us to inhibit macromolecule synthesis, tubulin polymerization, and the proliferation of leukemic and mammary tumor cells in vitro. A linear skeleton with a N-containing aromatic ring attached at C3 of the top A-ring, a central pyran B-ring and a six-membered bottom C-ring with no alkylation at C7 are required for the antitumor activities of the lead compounds, a 3-pyridyl benzopyran (code name H10) and its somewhat weaker 2-pyridyl regioisomer (code name H19). Increasing concentrations of H10 do not alter the binding of [3H]vinblastine and [3H]GTP to tubulin but mimic the ability of unlabeled colchicine (CLC) to reduce the amount of [3H]CLC bound to tubulin, suggesting that TPs may interact with the CLC binding site to inhibit tubulin polymerization. Exogenous Mg2+ cations absolutely required for the binding of GTP to tubulin and MT assembly cannot overcome the antitubulin action of H10. H10 reduces the viability of L1210 cells in vitro (IC50: 0.5 microM) but its antitumor activity may be related to its ability to inhibit tubulin polymerization and rapidly increase the mitotic index rather than to induce DNA cleavage and apoptosis. The anticancer potential of TPs in vivo is demonstrated by the fact that i.p. injections of the water-soluble H10-HCl decrease the growth of solid tumors in mice inoculated s.c. with Lewis lung carcinoma. A critical finding is that the antimitotic H10 is a bifunctional anticancer drug, which also blocks the cellular transport of nucleosides (IC50: 6 microM) to inhibit DNA synthesis. Since few CLC site-binding antimitotic agents are active in solid tumor models in vivo, the ability of these new MT destabilizing TPs to totally block nucleoside transport might be valuable in polychemotherapy to arrest tumor cells at several phases of their cycle, potentiate the action of antimetabolites and sensitize multidrug-resistant tumor cells.

Inhibition of neutrophil-myocyte adhesion and adhesion-dependent myocyte injury by adenosine was evaluated using isolated TNF-alpha-activated canine cells. Adenosine inhibited adhesion of activated neutrophils to cardiac myocytes with an IC50 of 11 +/- 4 nM. Inhibition of neutrophil adhesion (92 +/-3% by 100 nM adenosine) led to inhibition of myocyte injury (by 90 +/- 6%, as assessed by dye exclusion). Inhibition of cell adhesion by adenosine was blocked by the A2 antagonist, 1,3-dimethyl-1-propylxanthine, but not by the A1 antagonist, 8-cyclopentyl-1,3-dipropylxanthine. Moreover, the A2 agonist, CGS21680 (2-[4-(2-carboxymethyl)phenethylamino]-5'-N-ethylcarboxamido adenosine), but not the A1 agonist, N6-cyclopentyladenosine, mimicked adenosine in preventing cell adhesion. These observations implicate the A2 receptor in the mechanism of inhibition of cell adhesion. pretreatment and washing of neutrophils, but not cardiac myocytes, with adenosine or CGS21680 led to inhibition of adhesion, suggesting that the neutrophil A2 receptor is the target of adenosine's action. In contrast, inhibition of cell adhesion by adenosine was poteniated by 8-cyclopentyl-1,3-dipropylxanthine (IC50 = 4 +/- 1 nM) and attenuated by N6-cyclopentyladenosine, suggesting that occupancy of A1 receptors can conversely increase cell adhesion. Neutrophil-myocyte adhesion was inhibited by acadesine (IC50 = 12 +/- 2 microM) also via an adenosine-dependent mechanism because it was blocked by 1,3-dimethyl-1-propylxanthine or adenosine deaminase, an enzyme that degrades any adenosine that is formed. Acadesine-induced inhibition if cell adhesion (83 +/- 4% by 100 microM) resulted in inhibition of myocyte injury (by 76 +/- 6%). Other adenosine-regulating agents, including the acadesine analogue, GP531 (5-amino-1 beta-D-(5-benzylamino-5-deoxyribofuranosyl) imidazole-4-carboxamide), and inhibitors of adenosine transport and intracellular metabolism also inhibited cell adhesion. These results indicate that exogenous or endogenous adenosine can inhibit neutrophil-myocyte adhesion and injury in cells activated with TNF-alpha by an A2-mediated mechanism. Although the predominant activity of adenosine is to attenuate cell adhesion, stimulation of A1 receptors has the opposite effect, i.e., to augment adhesive interactions.