Effect of the amine non-leaving group on the structure and stability of DNA complexes with cis-[Pt(R-NH2)2(NO3)2]

The antitumor compound cis-[Pt(NH3)2Cl2] (cisplatin), conserves two ammine ligands during the reaction with its cellular target DNA. Modifications of these non-leaving groups change the antineoplastic properties of this compound and its genotoxic effects. It is therefore of interest to determine the influence of non-leaving groups on the structure and stability of DNA in vitro. We have investigated platinum-DNA adducts formed by cis-[Pt(R-NH2)2(NO3)2] (where R-NH2 = NH3, methylamine, cyclobutylamine, cyclopentylamine and cyclohexylamine) as a function of DNA binding. All compounds quantitatively reacted with DNA in less than 1 h at 37 degrees C. They formed bifunctional adducts with adjacent nucleotides judging from the displacement of the intercalating molecule ethidium bromide, ultraviolet absorption spectroscopy and circular dichroism. Substitution of a H on the NH3 ligand by alkyl groups dramatically destabilized the platinum-DNA complex. Thermal stability decreased progressively with an increasing number of carbon atoms, delta tm = -4.4 degrees C for 3 cyclohexylamine-platinum-DNA adducts/1000 nucleotides, conditions where cisplatin had no effect. DNA adducts with cyclobutylamine and cyclohexylamine ligands inhibited the hydrolysis of platinum-DNA complexes by S1 nuclease. Km for the digestion of DNA containing these lesions was 2.3 times greater than for cisplatin, indicating steric inhibition of enzyme-substrate complex formation. These results show that the non-leaving groups of substituted cis-Pt(II) compounds may destabilize DNA and interfere with protein-DNA interactions. These perturbations may have consequences for the genotoxic and antitumor activities of platinum compounds.     

Endothelial cell junctions

In the course of a freeze-cleave study on intercellular junctions in the regenerating rat liver, we observed an unusual array of intramembranous particles located in regions of contact between endothelial cells lining the hepatic sinusoids. These arrays were characterized by an accumulation of particles which resembled a zonula occludens in their linear deployment but differed in that the contact regions were composed of individual particles which remained separated from each other by regular particle-free intervals.