title: Erucylphospho-N,N,N-trimethylpropylammonium shows substantial cytotoxicity in multiple myeloma cells.
abstract: Multiple myeloma (MM) is a frequent hematological malignancy that is incurable despite recent developments, such as proteasome and angiogenic inhibitors. Erucylphospho-N,N,N-trimethylpropylammonium (erufosine) is an i.v. injectable alkylphosphocholine with antineoplastic activity based on an unusual mode of action and is currently undergoing clinical trials in leukemia patients. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the efficacy of erufosine in MM cells and to study the modulation of cell-death pathways. The cytotoxicity of erufosine against three MM cell lines (RPMI-8226, U-266, and OPM-2) was determined by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide-dye reduction assay. All MM cell lines responded to erufosine, RPMI-8226 cells being most and U-266 being least sensitive. The respective IC(50) values were 3.2 and 16.2 micromol/L. Various cell-death characteristics were studied in response to erufosine, such as morphological changes, oligonucleosomal DNA fragmentation, caspase activation, and poly (ADP)-ribose polymerase cleavage. Erufosine was found to cause cell shrinkage, chromatin condensation, and caspase-8 and -3 activation. Taken together, our data indicate that erufosine is a potential antimyeloma drug eliciting specific features of apoptotic cell death in vitro.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Laboratory for Experimental Chemotherapy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria. deyanyosifov@abv.bg
authors.forename: Deyan Y
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Yosifov
authors.forename: Spiro M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Konstantinov
authors.forename: Martin R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Berger
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D015153:Blotting, Western; D053148:Caspase 3 / Q000378:metabolism; D053181:Caspase 8 / Q000378:metabolism; D053453:Caspase 9 / Q000378:metabolism; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects*; D048430:Cell Shape / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002843:Chromatin / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D053938:DNA Fragmentation / Q000187:drug effects; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004789:Enzyme Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D007211:Indoles / Q000737:chemistry; D020128:Inhibitory Concentration 50; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D009101:Multiple Myeloma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D010755:Organophosphates / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011065:Poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerases / Q000378:metabolism; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D002843:Chromatin; D007211:Indoles; D010755:Organophosphates; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds; C472787:erucylphospho-N,N,N-trimethylpropylammonium; C007293:DAPI; D011065:Poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerases; D053148:Caspase 3; D053181:Caspase 8; D053453:Caspase 9