Specific killing of human melanoma cells with an efficient 10B-compound on monoclonal antibodies

We previously established methods which have enabled us to target a sufficient number of 10B atoms on human melanoma cells to destroy them by thermal neutron irradiation. Monoclonal antibodies were here used as vector of 10B atoms on the target cell. Thermal neutrons require at least 10(9) 10B atoms to destroy the cell. In order to accumulate an adequate number of 10B atoms on target cells, our first approach was to make an effective compound that contains 12 atoms of 10B in a molecule. The second step was to conjugate the compound with an avidin molecule (10B12-avidin). One molecule of the 10B12-avidin carries about 30 atoms of 10B. This 10B12-avidin can be specifically targeted on human melanoma cells by biotinated monoclonal antibodies specific for the cells. Furthermore, the number of 10B atoms on target cells can be augmented by a hapten-antihapten monoclonal antibody system. The cultured human melanoma cells treated with these methods were damaged by thermal neutron irradiation. This is the first study that indicates thermal neutrons do injure target cells boronated by monoclonal antibodies.     

Evidence for similarities between radiation damage expressed by beta-araA and damage involved in the interaction effect observed after exposure of V79 cells to mixed neutrons and gamma radiation

Plateau-phase V79 cells were exposed sequentially to fast neutrons and gamma rays. A dose-dependent reduction in the shoulder width of the gamma-ray survival curve was observed after preexposure of cells to neutrons. A similar effect was demonstrated on the neutron survival curve when cells were preirradiated with gamma rays. Treatment of cells with 150 microM beta-araA after either gamma or neutron irradiation reduced primarily the shoulder of the survival curve. When beta-araA was given to the cells after exposure to mixed radiation modalities, survival curves similar to those observed after exposure to a single radiation modality and treatment with beta-araA were obtained. The kinetics of loss of the interaction observed after exposure of cells to gamma rays following neutron irradiation was similar to the kinetics of loss of sensitivity to beta-araA (T1/2 = 1 h) measured by delaying drug administration after exposure to gamma rays. The results suggest that the PLD expressed by beta-araA is at least partly involved in the interactive effect observed after combined exposure of plateau-phase V79 cells to neutrons and gamma rays.     

Potentially lethal radiation damage repair and its inhibition by hyperthermia in normal hamster cells, mouse cells, and transformed mouse cells

The capacity of plateau-phase Chinese hamster V79 and normal and transformed C3H-10T1/2 cells for repair of potentially lethal radiation damage (PLD) was evaluated for cells irradiated alone or given combined treatments of heat and radiation. The data show that all cell lines tested could repair PLD and that transformation to the tumorigenic state may reduce the capacity to repair PLD, especially if cells are evaluated at equal survival levels. Hyperthermia treatments before irradiation produced less sensitization than treatments after irradiation. In addition, hyperthermia treatment led to the inhibition of cellular capacity to repair PLD. This effect was the greatest for cells heated after irradiation, and repair of PLD could be completely eliminated. Several temperature isodose heat treatments were evaluated, and the lower temperature heat treatments were more effective in the inhibition of PLD than the higher temperature heat treatments; this is consistent with earlier results indicating temperature dependence in thermal radiosensitization (S. A. Sapareto et al., Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. 5, 343-347 (1979)).     

RBE of a thermal neutron beam and the 10B(n, alpha)7Li reaction on cultured B-16 melanoma cells

The RBE of a thermal neutron beam and the 10B(n, alpha)7Li reaction were determined in cultured B-16 melanoma cells. The Kyoto University Research Reactor (KUR) was used as a thermal neutron source which had a very low contamination of gamma-rays and fast neutrons. The cells were irradiated with the beam in the presence or absence of 10B-boric acid. The absorbed dose from the neutron capture reaction to the cells was calculated by a method of Kitao (1975). Survival curves in both conditions had no shoulder and Do values were 0.506 or 0.604 Gy in the presence or absence of 5 micrograms 10B/ml-medium, respectively. The Do value of the 10B(n, alpha)7Li reaction was also estimated at 0.466 Gy, assuming each component of radiation was additive. The RBEs of the KUR thermal neutron beam and the 10B(n, alpha)7Li reaction relative to 60Co gamma-rays were estimated as 4.62 and 6.01 at 0.1 surviving fraction, respectively. Using these results, we calculated the absorbed dose from the 10B-compound and estimated the specific accumulation in the cultured cells of 10B-compounds which we have previously reported but not quantified (Nakanishi et al. 1980, Ichihashi et al. 1982).     

Neutron irradiation of human melanoma cells

The biological characteristics and in vitro radiosensitivity of melanoma cells to thermal neutrons were investigated as a guide to the effectiveness of boron neutron capture therapy. Plateau phase cultures of three human malignant melanoma-established cell lines were examined for cell density at confluence, doubling time, cell cycle parameters, chromosome constitution, and melanin content. Cell survival dose-response curves, for cells preincubated in the presence or absence of p-boronophenylalanine. HCl (10B1-BPA), were measured over the dose range 0.6-8.0 Gy (N + gamma). The neutron fluence rate was 2.6 x 10(9) n/cm2/s and the total dose rate 3.7 Gy/h (31% gamma). Considerable differences were observed in the morphology and cellular properties of the cell lines. Two cell lines (96E and 96L) were amelanotic, and one was melanotic (418). An enhanced killing for neutron irradiation was found only for the melanotic cells after 20 h preincubation with 10 micrograms/ml 10B1-BPA. In view of the doubling times of the cell lines of about 23 h (96E and 96L) or of 36 h (418), it seems likely that an increased boron uptake, and hence increased radiosensitivity, might result if the preincubation period with 10B1-BPA is extended to several hours longer than the respective cell cycle times.     

New thermal neutron capture therapy for malignant melanoma: melanogenesis-seeking 10B molecule-melanoma cell interaction from in vitro to first clinical trial

Human melanoma regression by single thermal neutron capture therapy (NCT) using melanoma-seeking 10B compounds has been achieved. Since 1972, the aim of my team has been to synthesize tumor-seeking 10B-compounds possessing selective affinity for specific metabolic activity of the target cancer cells. Once the melanoma takes up these 10B compounds, thermal neutrons, which cause insignificant cell damage, are easily absorbed by nonradioactive 10B, inducing the 10B(n, alpha)7Li reaction and releasing the high LET particles to 14 mu melanoma cell diameter, destroying the tumor without damaging surrounding tissue. Radiobiological and preclinical studies culminated in the first successful human NCT treatment, with no recurrence of the treated melanoma since July, 1987.     

Morphological changes in human melanoma cells following irradiation with thermal neutrons

Morphological changes in two human melanoma cell lines, MM96 and MM418, following irradiation with thermal neutrons, were studied using light and electron microscopy. The results show that the response of human malignant melanoma cells to neutron irradiation is both cell line dependent and dose dependent, and that in any given cell line, some cells are more resistant to irradiation than others, thus demonstrating heterogeneity in respect to radiosensitivity. Cells repopulating MM96 flasks after irradiation were morphologically similar to the cells of origin whereas in MM418 flasks cells differentiated into five morphologically distinct subgroups and showed increased melanization. The results also show that radiation causes distinctive morphological patterns of damage although ultrastructural changes unique to the high LET particles released from boron 10 neutron capture are yet to be identified.     

The relative biological effectiveness in V79 Chinese hamster cells of the neutron capture reactions in boron and nitrogen

V79 Chinese hamster cells were irradiated in the presence of different amounts of boric acid with thermal neutrons at the Medical Research Reactor at Brookhaven National Laboratory. From the linear dose-survival curves observed, a D0 value of 66 rad for the 10B(n, alpha) 7Li neutron capture reaction was obtained. No dependence of this value on the concentration of boric acid was found. Comparing this value to the D0 value of 150 rad obtained with 250 kVp X rays between 10 and 0.01% survival, an extrapolated RBE value of 2.3 was calculated. By irradiation of the same line of cells with cold neutrons at the Institut Laue - Langevin , a D0 value for the 14N(n,p)14C reaction of 77 rad was obtained, with a corresponding RBE value of 1.9. Comparison is made with previously published RBE values for the 10B(n, alpha) 7Li reaction.     

Specific Kilting of Human Melanoma Cells With an Efficient 10B-Compound on Monoclonal Antibodies

We previously established methods which have enabled us to target a sufficient number of ¹⁰B atoms on human melanoma cells to destroy them by thermal neutron irradiation. Monoclonal antibodies were here used as vector of ¹⁰B atoms on the target cell. Thermal neutrons require at least 10⁹¹⁰B atoms to destroy the cell. In order to accumulate an adequate number of ¹⁰B atoms on target cells, our first approach was to make an effective compound that contains 12 atoms of ¹⁰B in a molecule. The second step was to conjugate the compound with an avidin molecule (¹⁰B₁₂-avidin). One molecule of the ¹⁰B₁₂-avidin carries about 30 atoms of ¹⁰B. This ¹⁰B₁₂-avidin can be specifically targeted on human melanoma cells by biotinated monoclonal antibodies specific for the cells. Furthermore, the number of ¹⁰B atoms on target cells can be augmented by a hapten-antihapten monoclonal antibody system. The cultured human melanoma cells treated with these methods were damaged by thermal neutron irradiation. This is the first study that indicates thermal neutrons do injure target cells boronated by monoclonal antibodies.     

Relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of thermal neutron capture therapy of cultured B-16 melanoma cells preincubated with 10B-paraboronophenylalanine

An experimental study of the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of thermal neutron capture therapy (TNCT) for melanoma cell inactivation using 10B1-paraboronophenylalanine (10B1-BPA) was carried out to demonstrate a high therapeutic effect of TNCT, compared with that of fast neutron. Cells preincubated with or without 10B1-BPA at a concentration of 50 micrograms/ml for 20 h were irradiated with 60Co gamma-ray, fast neutron or thermal neutron. The absorbed dose of the cells from thermal neutron was calculated by Kobayashi's model. The D0 value of fast neutron was 1.07 Gy, and the D0S of thermal neutron radiation with or without preincubation of the cells with 10B1-BPA were 0.46 Gy or 0.67 Gy, respectively. The RBEs of fast neutron, thermal neutron beams, and neutron capture therapy relative to 60Co gamma-ray were calculated as 2.78, 4.18, and 6.15 at 0.1 surviving fraction, respectively. These results indicate radiologically that thermal neutron capture therapy using 10B1-BPA is an excellent radiation therapy for malignant melanoma.     

Evidence for differences among the sectors of potentially lethal damage expressed by hypertonic treatment in plateau-phase V79 cells after exposure to neutrons or gamma rays: the importance of distinction between alpha and beta-PLD forms

Expotentially growing and plateau-phase V79 cells were exposed to various doses of neutrons and plated either immediately or after treatment in hypertonic medium (250-500 mM NaCl) to express radiation-induced potentially lethal damage (PLD). Postirradiation treatment of exponentially growing cells in hypertonic medium (500 mM) resulted in a decrease in both Dq and D0, whereas postirradiation treatment of plateau-phase cells in hypertonic medium (in the range between 200 to 1,500 mM) resulted mainly in a reduction of Dq. This difference in response between exponentially growing and plateau-phase cells may reflect differences in the chromatin structure in cells at various stages of the cell cycle, affecting fixation of radiation-induced damage. Exposure of plateau-phase cells to gamma rays, on the other hand, resulted in a treatment time and salt concentration-dependent decrease in Dq along with a decrease in D0. Repair of neutron-induced, hypertonic treatment-sensitive PLD, measured by delaying treatment for various periods after irradiation, was found to proceed with a t1/2 of about 1 h. This is similar to the repair kinetics obtained by delaying treatment of plateau-phase cells with 150 microM beta-D-arabinofuranosyladenine (araA) after exposure to gamma rays or neutrons and contrasts the repair kinetics observed after exposure of cells to gamma rays. In this case, hypertonic treatment was found to affect a form of PLD repaired with a t1/2 of 10-15 min (beta-PLD) and araA, a different form of PLD, repaired with a t1/2 of about 1 h (alpha-PLD). Based on these results it is hypothesized that the sector of lesions affected by hypertonic treatment and araA coincides after exposure to neutrons (effect on alpha-PLD) but only partly overlaps after exposure to gamma rays (due to the effect on beta-PLD of hypertonic treatment). The results presented, together with previously published observations, suggest a differential induction and/or fixation by hypertonic medium of the alpha- and beta-PLD forms as the LET of the radiation increases. Furthermore, they indicate that direct comparison of the effects of a postirradiation treatment, as well as of the repair kinetics obtained by its delayed application after exposure to radiations of various LET, should be made with caution.     

Enhanced cell killing, inhibition of recovery from potentially lethal damage and increased mutation frequency by 3-aminobenzamide in Chinese hamster V79 cells exposed to X-rays

X-ray induced potentially lethal damage and its inhibition by the aromatic amide 3-aminobenzamide have been investigated in Chinese hamster V79 cells. 3-Aminobenzamide (3-AB) is a known inhibitor of polyadenosine diphosphoribose synthetase. With increasing concentrations of 3-AB an increasing inhibition of PLD repair was observed. Little inhibition of PLD repair was seen when 3-AB was added 3 h following irradiation. Utilizing the 6-thioguanine mutation assay, the effect of poly(ADP-R) synthetase inhibition under conditions of PLD repair upon mutation frequency were also studied. A large increase in mutation frequency following 24 h post-irradiation recovery in the presence of 3-AB was seen. These results favour a possible role of 3-AB in preventing repair by facilitating early damage fixation before repair can occur, simultaneously reducing G2-arrest.     

Use of nude mice in experimental neutron capture therapy with 10B-BPA

Mouse B16 melanoma allografts in nude mice were successfully treated by thermal neutron irradiation after IP injection of 10B-paraboronophenylalanine hydrochloride. The tumor growth was significantly suppressed for 4 weeks after irradiation, compared with animals given neutron irradiation alone. Tumor-bearing nude mice were shown to be useful for evaluating the treatment for melanoma.     

RBEs of thermal neutron capture therapy and 10B(n, alpha)7 Li reaction on melanoma-bearing hamsters

Using Greene's melanoma transplanted into Syrian (golden) hamsters, we determined the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of thermal neutron capture therapy (TNCT) using 10B-paraboronophenylalanine (10B-BPA) in comparison with a 9-MeV electron beam. We also obtained the RBE of the 10B(n, alpha)7 Li reaction by calculation based on summed dose data from TNCT. Throughout this study, the Kyoto University Research Reactor was used as the source for thermal neutrons; the reactor was specially altered to attain a low contamination level both for gamma-rays and fast neutrons. 10B-BPA was administered 8 hours before thermal neutron irradiation to the hamsters with melanoma. The tumor was then irradiated at 5 MW for 90 minutes. The absorbed dose from this TNCT was calculated by the method of Fairchild and Goodman (Phys. Med. Biol. 1966; 2:15-30). The RBEs of the TNCT and the 10B(n, alpha)7 Li reaction obtained by the tumor growth delay time (TGDT) method were 2.22 and 2.51, respectively, at 10.5 days of TGDT. These RBE values varied with TGDT and the absorbed dose. The RBE value of TNCT had a peak at 7.0 days of TGDT; that of the 10B(n, alpha)7Li reaction was higher at a low absorbed dose level and lower at a high absorbed dose level.     

Evidence to support the existence of efficient DNA double-strand break rejoining in a radiosensitive mutant of V79-4 following irradiation with 250 kVp X-rays or neutrons

The repair of ionising-radiation-induced DNA double-strand break type damage was measured by Kohn neutral elution in an X-ray-sensitive mutant of V79-4, irs1. This was done in order to investigate further the likelihood that irs1 carries a defect which leads to error-prone repair of DNA damage, and not simply a reduced ability to rejoin DNA double-strand breaks. The mutant displayed an equal increase in sensitivity to the lethal effects of neutrons, as compared to X-rays. Both irs1 and V79-4 showed an increased sensitivity to the killing effects of neutrons of around 2 at 10% survival. irs1 also showed an exponential survival after either X-rays or neutrons. The induction of DNA double-strand breaks was measured in both cell lines over a dose range of 10-40 Gy using Kohn neutral filter elution. Induction of breaks by X-rays in irs1 seemed to increase slightly with dose, relative to induction in V79-4, so that at 40 Gy 1.5 times more DNA double-strand breaks were measured in irs1 cells than in V79-4. Neutron irradiation resulted in a more similar level of induction in either strain after 10-40 Gy. This difference in induction of damage may be due to a different cell-cycle composition in either cell line. The rejoining of X-ray induced double-strand breaks showed a very similar pattern (on a percentage rejoined basis) in both cell lines, although from the induction data at 40 Gy, the dose at which rejoining was measured, fewer breaks were rejoined in V79-4 but also fewer breaks remained unsealed. Neutron-induced breaks, however, were rejoined more efficiently in irs1 again on a percentage basis, but also in absolute terms since similar induction was seen after 40 Gy. This data, together with the differences seen in the rejoining of X-ray compared to neutron induced breaks, may indirectly support the proposal that irs1 is a misrepair mutant.     

The relationship between molecular and cellular repair from potentially lethal damage induced by N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine in Chinese hamster V79 cells

The relationship between molecular and cellular repair from potentially lethal damage (PLD) induced by N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) was investigated in exponentially growing V79 Chinese hamster cells. We compared the repair processes by an alkaline sucrose sedimentation analysis and a colony formation assay. MNNG-treated cells were exposed to the conditioned medium (CM) from density-inhibited plateau-phase V79 cell cultures, as a post-treatment for the induction of PLD repair. When MNNG-treated cells were postincubated in CM, cell survival continuously increased for 18 h, and during this period, DNA replication was substantially suppressed. CM did not inhibit the rejoining of the single-strand breaks of parental DNA. Rather, parental DNA fragments sedimented more rapidly when postincubated in CM than in fresh medium. These data indicate that cellular recovery from MNNG-induced PLD increases in proportion to the resealing of MNNG-induced single-strand breaks of DNA during the suppression of DNA replication, suggesting that excision repair is involved in the PLD repair process.     

Human epithelial teratocarcinoma cells (P3): radiobiological characterization, DNA damage, and comparison with other rodent and human cell lines

Survival parameters and immediate DNA damage induced by 60Co gamma rays, 50-kVp X rays, and Janus fission-spectrum neutrons in human epithelial P3 cells (derived from an embryonic teratocarcinoma) are compared with those for Chinese hamster lung V79 cells. DNA damage caused by X and gamma irradiation, measured by alkaline elution methods, is the same in both cell types, whereas the P3 cells are about two times more sensitive (as measured by Do ratios of the final survival curve slope) to the lethal effects of these radiations than are the V79 cells. Human P3 cells are also more sensitive to the lethal effects of fission-spectrum neutrons than V79 cells. Survival experiments with split radiation doses and hypertonic salt treatment indicate that both P3 cells and V79 cells can recover from radiation-induced damage efficiently.     

2-Chlorodeoxyadenosine inhibits the repair of DNA double-strand breaks and does not inhibit the repair of DNA single-strand breaks in X-irradiated Chinese hamster V79 cells.

The exposure of log-phase Chinese hamster V79 cells to 2-chlorodeoxyadenosine (CdA) for 3 h after X irradiation enhanced the lethal effects of X-rays in a concentration-dependent manner. The enhancement of the killing efficiency of X-rays by CdA was mainly observed in the reduction of quasi-threshold doses (Dq) of the dose-response curves. When the ability of CdA to inhibit the repair of X-ray-induced double- and single-strand breaks (dsb and ssb) of DNA was investigated by neutral- and alkaline-filter elution techniques, respectively, it was observed that 90% of dsb were rejoined in the absence of CdA within 30 min after X irradiation and 15-40% of dsb rejoining was suppressed by co-incubation of the cells with 5-10 microM of CdA for 3 h after X irradiation, whereas almost 100% of ssb were rejoined within 15 min regardless of the presence or absence of CdA. From these results it was concluded that CdA interfered exclusively with the repair of DNA dsb in X-irradiated Chinese hamster V79 cells and thereby increased the lethality of X-rays.     

A novel 10B-enriched carboranyl-containing phthalocyanine as a radio- and photo-sensitising agent for boron neutron capture therapy and photodynamic therapy of tumours: in vitro and in vivo studies.

The synthesis of a Zn(ii)-phthalocyanine derivative bearing four 10B-enriched o-carboranyl units (10B-ZnB4Pc) and its natural isotopic abundance analogue (ZnB4Pc) in the peripheral positions of the tetraazaisoindole macrocycle is presented. The photophysical properties of ZnB4Pc, as tested against model biological systems, were found to be similar with those typical of other photodynamically active porphyrin-type photosensitisers, including a singlet oxygen quantum yield of 0.67. The carboranyl-carrying phthalocyanine was efficiently accumulated by B16F1 melanotic melanoma cells in vitro, appeared to be partitioned in at least some subcellular organelles and, upon red light irradiation, induced extensive cell mortality. Moreover, ZnB4Pc, once i.v.-injected to C57BL/6 mice bearing a subcutaneously transplanted pigmented melanoma, photosensitised an important tumour response, provided that the irradiation at 600-700 nm was performed 3 h after the phthalocyanine administration, when appreciable concentrations of ZnB4Pc were still present in the serum. Analogously, irradiation of the 10B-ZnB4Pc-loaded pigmented melanoma with thermal neutrons 24 h after injection led to a 4 day delay in tumour growth as compared with control untreated mice. These results open the possibility to use one chemical compound as both a photosensitising and a radiosensitising agent for the treatment of tumours by the combined application of photodynamic therapy and boron neutron capture therapy.     

Yield of sister chromatid exchanges and survival of V79-4 Chinese hamster cells irradiated with 0.7 MeV neutrons

The dependence of the survival rate and the number of sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) in Chinese hamster V79-4 cells on the dose of gamma-rays and neutrons with average energy of 0.7 MeV has been investigated. The value of RBE for neutrons is 5.5. The number of SCEs increased with the dose of gamma-radiation while no induction of SCEs could be detected after neutron irradiation.