All-trans-retinoic acid increases cytosine arabinoside cytotoxicity in HL-60 human leukemia cells in spite of decreased cellular ara-CTP accumulation. (1/66)

BACKGROUND: Accumulation of the cytosine arabinoside (ara-C) metabolite ara-C-triphosphate (ara-CTP) in leukemic blast cells is considered to be the main determinant of ara-C cytotoxicity in vitro and in vivo. Retinoids such as all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) have been shown to increase the sensitivity of acute myelogenous leukemic (AML) blast cells to ara-C. To investigate the mechanism of this sensitisation, the hypothesis was tested that ATRA augments cellular ara-CTP levels in human-derived myelogenous leukemia HL-60 cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The effect of ATRA and 13-cis-retinoic acid on ara-CTP accumulation and ara-C-induced apoptosis was studied. Ara-CTP levels were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), cytotoxicity by the tetrazolium (MTT) assay, and apoptosis by occurrence of DNA fragmentation (gel electrophoresis), cell shrinkage and DNA loss (flow cytometry). RESULTS: Pretreatment of HL-60 cells with ATRA (0.01-1 microM) caused a significant decrease in intracellular ara-CTP levels; e.g., incubation for 72 hours with ATRA 1 microM prior to one hour ara-C 10 microM reduced ara-CTP levels to 41% +/- 4% of control. Similar results were obtained after preincubation with 13-cis-retinoic acid. In spite of decreased ara-CTP levels, the cytotoxicity of the combination was supraadditive and ATRA augmented ara-C-induced apoptosis. CONCLUSION: At therapeutically relevant concentrations ATRA increased ara-C cytotoxicity and ara-C induced apoptosis but this augmentation is not the corollary of elevated ara-CTP levels. The feasibility of ara-C treatment optimisation via strategies other than those involving elevation of ara-CTP levels should be investigated further.  (+info)

Interim comparison of a continuous infusion versus a short daily infusion of cytarabine given in combination with cladribine for pediatric acute myeloid leukemia. (2/66)

PURPOSE: To identify the optimal schedule for infusion of cytarabine (ara-C) given with cladribine (2-CdA) to pediatric patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and to compare the effects of the two schedules on the pharmacokinetics of ara-C triphosphate (ara-CTP) in leukemic cells. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Forty-nine pediatric patients with newly diagnosed primary AML received a 5-day course of ara-C 500 mg/m(2)/d and 2-CdA 9 mg/m(2)/d. They were randomly assigned to receive ara-C as either a 2-hour daily infusion (arm A) or a continuous infusion (arm B). Cellular pharmacokinetics were studied on days 1 and 2. All patients then received two courses of remission induction chemotherapy with daunorubicin, ara-C, and etoposide (DAV). RESULTS: Thirty-two percent of patients (seven of 22) in arm A and 63% (17 of 27) in arm B entered complete remission (P =.045) after ara-C and 2-CdA therapy. Coadministration of 2-CdA increased the intracellular concentration of ara-CTP in 20 of 36 patients, although we found no statistically significant difference between the treatment arms in this effect (P =.63). The incidence of toxicity did not differ significantly between the two treatment arms (P =.53). After two courses of DAV, the rate of complete remission was 91% in arm A and 96% in arm B (P =.58). CONCLUSION: Intracellular accumulation of ara-CTP is increased when 2-CdA is given with ara-C, but no schedule-dependent differences in this effect were seen. The combination of 2-CdA and ara-C seems to be effective therapy for pediatric AML.  (+info)

Differential mRNA expression of Ara-C-metabolizing enzymes explains Ara-C sensitivity in MLL gene-rearranged infant acute lymphoblastic leukemia. (3/66)

Infant acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is characterized by a high incidence of mixed lineage leukemia (MLL) gene rearrangements, a poor outcome, and resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs. One exception is cytosine arabinoside (Ara-C), to which infant ALL cells are highly sensitive. To investigate the mechanism underlying Ara-C sensitivity in infants with ALL, mRNA levels of Ara-C-metabolizing enzymes were measured in infants (n = 18) and older children (noninfants) with ALL (n = 24). In the present study, infant ALL cells were 3.3-fold more sensitive to Ara-C (P =.007) and accumulated 2.3-fold more Ara-CTP (P =.011) upon exposure to Ara-C, compared with older children with ALL. Real-time quantitative reverse trancriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) (TaqMan) revealed that infants express 2-fold less of the Ara-C phosphorylating enzyme deoxycytidine kinase (dCK) mRNA (P =.026) but 2.5-fold more mRNA of the equilibrative nucleoside transporter 1 (hENT1), responsible for Ara-C membrane transport (P =.001). The mRNA expression of pyrimidine nucleotidase I (PN-I), cytidine deaminase (CDA), and deoxycytidylate deaminase (dCMPD) did not differ significantly between both groups. hENT1 mRNA expression inversely correlated with in vitro resistance to Ara-C (r(s) = -0.58, P =.006). The same differences concerning dCK and hENT1 mRNA expression were observed between MLL gene-rearranged (n = 14) and germ line MLL cases (n = 25). An oligonucleotide microarray screen (Affymetrix) comparing patients with MLL gene-rearranged ALL with those with nonrearranged ALL also showed a 1.9-fold lower dCK (P =.001) and a 2.7-fold higher hENT1 (P =.046) mRNA expression in patients with MLL gene-rearranged ALL. We conclude that an elevated expression of hENT1, which transports Ara-C across the cell membrane, contributes to Ara-C sensitivity in MLL gene-rearranged infant ALL.  (+info)

The antimetabolite ara-CTP blocks long-term memory of conditioned taste aversion. (4/66)

We examined the hypothesis that processes related to DNA recombination and repair are involved in learning and memory. Rats received intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) infusions of the antimetabolite 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine triphosphate (ara-CTP) or its precursor cytosine arabinoside (ara-C) 30 min prior to conditioned taste aversion (CTA) training. Both ara-CTP and ara-C caused significant impairments in long-term memory (LTM) of CTA. Control experiments indicate that the effect of ara-CTP on CTA memory is related to interference with learning. Furthermore, as it was previously demonstrated for the protein synthesis inhibitor anisomycin, ara-CTP had no effect on CTA memory when it was injected 1 h after training. Importantly, although both ara-CTP and anisomycin significantly blocked LTM in the task, short-term memory (STM) measured 1 h after training was not affected by either of the drugs. Finally, ara-CTP had no effect on in vitro transcription, but it did effectively block nonhomologous DNA end joining (NHEJ) activity of brain protein extracts. We suggest that DNA ligase-mediated DNA recombination and repair processes are necessary for the expression of LTM in the brain.  (+info)

The value of fludarabine in addition to ARA-C and G-CSF in the treatment of patients with high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes and AML in elderly patients. (5/66)

Fludarabine in addition to cytosine-arabinoside (ARA-C) increases the accumulation of ARA-C-5'-triphosphate (ARA-CTP), which is responsible for the cytotoxic effect in leukemic blasts. In a randomized phase 3 trial, patients with high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) (n = 91) or elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) (n = 43) were randomized to receive 2 induction courses consisting of ARA-C (2 g/m2 days 1 through 5) and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) (filgrastim, 5 microg/kg) during and after chemotherapy with or without fludarabine (25 mg/m2, days 1 through 5) (FLAG versus AG). Consolidation consisted of daunorubicin (45 mg/m2, days 1 through 3) and ARA-C (200 mg/m2, days 1 through 7). Complete remission (CR) rate following AG was 65% versus 71% with FLAG (P =.49). Overall survival (OS) at 24 months was 24% for AG treatment and 39% for FLAG (P =.32). Event-free survival (EFS) at 2 years was 10% and 19% (P =.31) for the AG and FLAG treatments, respectively. Platelet and granulocyte recovery times after the second cycle were prolonged in the FLAG treatment group. Grades 3 to 4 neurotoxicities were more often reported in the FLAG arm (14% versus 3%, P =.03), whereas no significant differences in other toxicities were observed. In a cohort of patients, the in vivo accumulation of ARA-CTP in leukemic cells was determined. Although ARA-CTP accumulation in leukemic cells after FLAG was enhanced, clinical outcome in terms of CR rate, OS, EFS, and disease-free survival (DFS) was not significantly improved by combining fludarabine with ARA-C.  (+info)

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 induces 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine resistance in human H9 cell line. (6/66)

We have found that chronically HIV-1(IIIB)-infected H9 cells showed 21-fold resistance to 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine (ARA-C) compared with uninfected H9 cells. In the infected H9 cells, a 37% increase of dCTP pool and a 34% increase of dATP were observed, and no alteration of dTTP and dGTP was observed, compared with the uninfected H9 cells. A marked decrease of ARA-CTP generation was observed in the infected H9 cells after 3-h incubation with 0.1-10 microM ARA-C. The level of deoxycytidine kinase activity with ARA-C as substrate was similar in both the infected and the uninfected cells; however, a 37-fold increase of cytidine deaminase activity was observed in the infected H9 cells. These results indicate that the induction of cytidine deaminase activity by HIV-1(IIIB) infection conferred ARA-C resistance to H9 cells. This conclusion was supported by the observation that a marked reversal of ARA-C resistance in the infected H9 cells occurred after treatment with the inhibitor of cytidine deaminase, 3,4,5,6-tetrahydrouridine. The understanding of these cellular alterations in drug sensitivity may facilitate the development of effective therapeutic strategies against HIV-1-infected cells.  (+info)

GATA1, cytidine deaminase, and the high cure rate of Down syndrome children with acute megakaryocytic leukemia. (7/66)

Down syndrome children with acute megakaryocytic leukemia (AMkL) have higher cure rates than non-Down syndrome acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients treated with cytosine arabinoside (ara-C). Megakaryoblasts from Down syndrome AML patients are more sensitive in vitro to ara-C than cells from non-Down syndrome AML patients. Somatic mutations in the GATA1 transcription factor have been detected exclusively and almost uniformly in Down syndrome AMkL patients, suggesting a potential linkage to the chemotherapy sensitivity of Down syndrome megakaryoblasts. Stable transfection of wild-type GATA1 cDNA into the Down syndrome AMkL cell line CMK resulted in decreased (8- to 17-fold) ara-C sensitivity and a threefold-lower generation of the active ara-C metabolite ara-CTP compared with that for mock-transfected CMK cells. High intracellular levels of uridine arabinoside (ara-U) (an inactive ara-C catabolite generated by cytidine deaminase) and cytidine deaminase transcripts were detected in GATA1-transfected CMK sublines, whereas no ara-U was detected in mock-transfected cells. Cytidine deaminase transcripts were a median 5.1-fold (P = .002) lower in Down syndrome megakaryoblasts (n = 16) than in blast cells from non-Down syndrome patients (n = 56). These results suggest that GATA1 transcriptionally upregulates cytidine deaminase and that the presence or absence of GATA1 mutations in AML blasts likely confers differences in ara-C sensitivities due to effects on cytidine deaminase gene expression, which, in turn, contributes to the high cure rate of Down syndrome AMkL patients.  (+info)

An inhibitor of DNA recombination blocks memory consolidation, but not reconsolidation, in context fear conditioning. (8/66)

Genomic recombination requires cutting, processing, and rejoining of DNA by endonucleases, polymerases, and ligases, among other factors. We have proposed that DNA recombination mechanisms may contribute to long-term memory (LTM) formation in the brain. Our previous studies with the nucleoside analog 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine triphosphate (ara-CTP), a known inhibitor of DNA ligases and polymerases, showed that this agent blocked consolidation of conditioned taste aversion without interfering with short-term memory (STM). However, because polymerases and ligases are also essential for DNA replication, it remained unclear whether the effects of this drug on consolidation were attributable to interference with DNA recombination or neurogenesis. Here we show, using C57BL/6 mice, that ara-CTP specifically blocks consolidation but not STM of context fear conditioning, a task previously shown not to require neurogenesis. The effects of a single systemic dose of cytosine arabinoside (ara-C) on LTM were evident as early as 6 h after training. In addition, although ara-C impaired LTM, it did not impair general locomotor activity nor induce brain neurotoxicity. Importantly, hippocampal, but not insular cortex, infusions of ara-C also blocked consolidation of context fear conditioning. Separate studies revealed that context fear conditioning training significantly induced nonhomologous DNA end joining activity indicative of DNA ligase-dependent recombination in hippocampal, but not cortex, protein extracts. Finally, unlike inhibition of protein synthesis, systemic ara-C did not block reconsolidation of context fear conditioning. Our results support the idea that DNA recombination is a process specific to consolidation that is not involved in the postreactivation editing of memories.  (+info)

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