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Tommasino C, Gambardella L, Buoncervello M, Griffin RJ, Golding BT, Alberton M, Macchia D, Spada M, Cerbelli B, d'Amati G, Malorni W, Gabriele L, Giammarioli AM. New derivatives of the antimalarial drug Pyrimethamine in the control of melanoma tumor growth: an in vitro and in vivo study. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL & CLINICAL CANCER RESEARCH : CR 2016; 35:137. [PMID: 27599543 PMCID: PMC5013574 DOI: 10.1186/s13046-016-0409-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2016] [Accepted: 08/17/2016] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Background The antimalarial drug Pyrimethamine has been suggested to exert an antitumor activity by inducing apoptotic cell death in cancer cells, including metastatic melanoma cells. However, the dose of Pyrimethamine to be considered as an anticancer agent appears to be significantly higher than the maximum dose used as an antiprotozoal drug. Methods Hence, a series of Pyrimethamine analogs has been synthesized and screened for their apoptosis induction in two cultured metastatic melanoma cell lines. One of these analogs, the Methylbenzoprim, was further analyzed to evaluate cell-cycle and the mechanisms of cell death. The effects of Methylbenzoprim were also analyzed in a severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID)-mouse xenotransplantation model. Results Low dose of Methylbenzoprim was capable of inducing cytotoxic activity and a potent growth-inhibitory effect by arresting cell cycle in S-phase in melanoma cells. Methylbenzoprim was also detected as powerful antineoplastic agents in SCID-mouse although used at very low dose and as a single agent. Conclusions Our screening approach led to the identification of a “low cost” newly synthesized drug (methylbenzoprim), which is able to act as an antineoplastic agent in vitro and in vivo, inhibiting melanoma tumor growth at very low concentrations. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13046-016-0409-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Tommasino
- Department of Therapeutic Research and Medicine Evaluation, Section of Cell Aging and Degeneration, Istituto Superiore di Sanita, 00161, Rome, Italy
| | - Lucrezia Gambardella
- Department of Therapeutic Research and Medicine Evaluation, Section of Cell Aging and Degeneration, Istituto Superiore di Sanita, 00161, Rome, Italy
| | - Maria Buoncervello
- Department of Hematology, Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Roger J Griffin
- Newcastle Cancer Centre, Northern Institute for Cancer Research, School of Chemistry, Bedson Building, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK
| | - Bernard T Golding
- Newcastle Cancer Centre, Northern Institute for Cancer Research, School of Chemistry, Bedson Building, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK
| | - Manuela Alberton
- Department of Therapeutic Research and Medicine Evaluation, Section of Cell Aging and Degeneration, Istituto Superiore di Sanita, 00161, Rome, Italy
| | - Daniele Macchia
- Department of Hematology, Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Massimo Spada
- Department of Hematology, Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Bruna Cerbelli
- Department of Radiological, Oncological and Pathological Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Policlinico Umberto I, Rome, Italy
| | - Giulia d'Amati
- Department of Radiological, Oncological and Pathological Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Policlinico Umberto I, Rome, Italy
| | - Walter Malorni
- Department of Therapeutic Research and Medicine Evaluation, Section of Cell Aging and Degeneration, Istituto Superiore di Sanita, 00161, Rome, Italy.
| | - Lucia Gabriele
- Department of Hematology, Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Anna Maria Giammarioli
- Department of Therapeutic Research and Medicine Evaluation, Section of Cell Aging and Degeneration, Istituto Superiore di Sanita, 00161, Rome, Italy
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