title: Antitumor activity of alpha-fetoprotein conjugate with doxorubicin in vitro and in vivo.
abstract: alpha-Fetoprotein (AFP) was conjugated with doxorubicin (DR) using glutaraldehyde as a cross-linking agent. The protein/DR molar ratio in the conjugate is 1 : 2. Cytotoxic activities (CTA) of the AFP-DR conjugate and of the free DR were compared using human mammary gland carcinoma cells, both DR-sensitive (MCF-7Wt) and DR-resistant (MCF-7AdrR). The CTA of the AFP-DR conjugate was fivefold higher than the CTA of the free DR for sensitive cells of the MCF-7Wt line and sevenfold higher for resistant cells of the MCF-7AdrR line. The CTA of the AFP-DR conjugate was also studied in vitro using the proliferating endothelium taken for a model of endothelial cell lining of blood vessels that supply the tumor. The AFP-DR conjugate was shown to have a high CTA for the endothelial cells (IC50 = 2.5 nM); thus, the conjugate is suggested to manifest an anti-angiogenic effect in vivo. The antitumor activity of the AFP-DR conjugate was studied using mice with inoculated melanoma B16 tumors. The treatment of animals significantly inhibited the tumor growth (>97%) and increased by 60% the mean life span of the animals compared to the control. The high antitumor efficiency of the AFP-DR conjugate and the possibility to significantly decrease the tumor cell resistance to DR make this conjugate a promising chemotherapeutic agent.
authors.affiliation: Moscow Research Institute of Medical Ecology, Moscow, 113149, Russia.
authors.forename: N B
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Feldman
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Kiselev
authors.forename: N V
authors.initials: NV
authors.lastname: Gukasova
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Posypanova
authors.forename: S V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Lutsenko
authors.forename: S E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Severin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004317:Doxorubicin / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008546:Melanoma, Experimental / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009368:Neoplasm Transplantation; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins; D004317:Doxorubicin