Nicotinamide nucleotide analogues of nicotine and cotinine--enzymic studies

Structural characterization of novel adenine dinucleotide phosphate conjugates of imatinib in incubations with rat and human liver microsomes

Imatinib, a potent and selective protein tyrosine kinase inhibitor, has been approved for the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia and metastatic and unresectable malignant gastrointestinal stromal tumors. In vitro metabolism of imatinib was investigated in rat and human liver microsomes. Besides several oxidative metabolites and an N-desmethyl metabolite, as previous reported, a novel metabolite with a mass addition of 621 atomic mass units to the parent was detected as the major metabolite in the incubations with rat liver microsomes, using NADPH as a cofactor. The analysis of MS(2) and MS(n) data revealed that this metabolite corresponded to adenine dinucleotide phosphate (ADP+) conjugate of imatinib. The ADP+ adduct was scaled up from rat liver microsomal incubations and isolated for NMR analysis. NMR data confirmed and conclusively showed the conjugation had occurred between the pyridine nitrogen of imatinib to the ribose ring of ADP+ moiety. The formation of this adduct was enzymatic and required NADP+ as a reactant. In addition, ADP+ adducts of imatinib N-oxide and desmethyl imatinib were also detected as minor metabolites in the incubations with rat liver microsomes. In contrast, only trace levels of ADP+ adducts of imatinib and desmethyl imatinib were detected in the incubations with human liver microsomes. Imatinib-ADP+ adducts have been observed only in in vitro studies to date. The physiological role of these adducts is not clear, nor is their in vivo relevance.

The in vitro metabolism of norcotinine and related biotransformation products by microsomal preparations

Since norcotinine and 4-(3-pyridyl)-4-oxobutyramide (POBAM) are probable metabolites of nicotine and cotinine, it was of interest to investigate the further in vitro metabolism of these compounds. We now report our preliminary findings using rat microsomal preparations (induced and/or non-induced with phenobarbitone) fortified with NADPH. Following norcotinine metabolism, two compounds, i.e. the corresponding ketoamide (POBAM) and another product, were detected. The latter metabolite has an identical HPLC retention time as that of nicotinamide. Both metabolites showed identical UV spectra when compared to authentic compounds using a multi-array UV detector linked to a HPLC system. The structures of these metabolites were also confirmed by mass spectral analyses. The amount of POBAM was significantly increased when phenobarbitone induced rat microsomes was used. It indicates that the ketoamide is formed via a phenobarbitone inducible isozyme of CYP450. Following the metabolism of POBAM, two compounds, i.e. the corresponding acid (POBA) and an unidentified product, were detected. The uncharacterised compound had an identical HPLC retention time as nicotinamide. Both metabolites gave a UV spectrum identical to the authentic compounds. The detection of nicotinamide in incubates of norcotinine and POBAM suggests that it is released from NADP(H) by a stimulatory effect on glycohydrolase by the substrates. Further studies on the enzymology of these processes are in progress.

Formation of the N'-methylnicotinamide adenine dinucleotide derivative of NAD in intact rat pituitary tumor GH3 and human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells

The NAD analog N'-methylnicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (N'AD) is formed in intact human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 and in rat pituitary tumor GH3 cells during treatment of the cultured cells with the nicotinamide derivative N'-methylnicotinamide (N'CH3NAm). N'AD formation is associated with the induced maturation of HL-60 cells and increased hormone production by GH3 cells during treatment with the nicotinamide derivative. N'AD is detected by HPLC analysis of cytoplasmic extracts as a peak which elutes near NAD. Four facts indicate that this compound is N'AD. First, a compound which elutes with identical time retention is produced by transglycosylation during reaction of NAD with pig brain NAD glycohydrolase in the presence of excess N'CH3NAm. Second, the putative N'AD is degraded by prolonged digestion with the NAD glycohydrolase to ADP-ribose. Third, N'AD formation is prevented by addition of nicotinamide along with N'CH3NAm to compete with binding of N'CH3NAm to the NAD glycohydrolase. Fourth, radioactive precursor labeling demonstrates that it contains adenosine, but it is not labeled by radioactive nicotinamide. The biological relevance of N'AD formation was evaluated. The appearance of N'AD precedes development of HL-60 maturation, and NAD levels increase, not decrease, as observed in other cell types, during treatment with N'CH3NAm. Therefore, we propose that N'AD, not the pyridine base itself, is the active species in inducing maturation. The results provide support of a role for NAD metabolism, probably ADP-ribosylation, in the regulation of HL-60 maturation and in hormone production by pituitary cells.

Studies on the mechanism of action of tiazofurin metabolism to an analog of NAD with potent IMP dehydrogenase-inhibitory activity

Following the parenteral administration of tiazofurin, 2-beta D-ribofuranosylthiazole-4-carboxamide (thiazole nucleoside, TR), a potent but reversible inhibitor of IMP dehydrogenase is generated in subcutaneous nodules of the P388 leukemia. The compound responsible for this effect has been isolated from homogenates of the tumor by ion-exchange HPLC, and its presence monitored by enzyme-inhibition assay. The inhibitor has also been prepared by incubation of tiazofurin with P388 cells in culture. Chromatographically, the inhibitory principle exhibits a moderately strong set negative charge at pH 3, and elutes in the general vicinity of the nucleoside-5'-diphosphates; its absorption maximum in aqueous solution (pH 7) lies at 252 nm. Exposure of the molecule to snake-venom phosphodiesterase or to nucleotide pyrophosphatase destroys its inhibitory potency, whereas other phosphodiesterases are either less effective or inert. Since these results suggested that the anabolite might be a dinucleotide with a phosphodiester linkage of the kind found in NAD, attempts were made to synthesize such an analogue from the 5'-monophosphate of thiazole nucleoside and ATP-Mg2+, using a purified preparation of NAD pyrophosphorylase; modest yields were obtained of a compound with chromatographic, spectral and enzyme-inhibitory properties identical to those of the material isolated from P388 tumor nodules. This enzyme-synthesized material was radioactive when [3H]ATP was used as cosubstrate, and yielded both AMP and thiazole nucleoside-5'-monophosphate on treatment with phosphodiesterase. It resisted attack by NAD glycohydrolase. An apparently identical dinucleotide was also synthesized chemically by means of the Khorana condensation. Mass spectral analysis and nuclear magnetic resonance studies with homogeneous preparations of both the enzymically and chemically synthesized compound were compatible with its being a dinucleotide in which the nicotinamide of NAD has been replaced by thiazole-4-carboxamide. Versus IMP dehydrogenase, the dinucleotide exhibited a K1 of approximately 2 X 10(-7) M and was non-competitive with NAD as the variable substrate. Other NAD utilizing enzymes, including representative dehydrogenases and poly ADP ribose polymerase, were, by comparison to mammalian IMPD, resistant to inhibition by TAD. The properties of this novel dinucleotide are compared and contrasted with those of analogs of NAD containing modifications in the pyridine, adenine or ribofuranose rings, as well as in the pyrophosphate bridge.