Antiproliferative effects of sapacitabine (CYC682), a novel 2′-deoxycytidine-derivative, in human cancer cells

• Published in: British journal of cancer 2007-08, Vol.97 (5), p.628-636
• Main Authors: Serova, M, Galmarini, C M, Ghoul, A, Benhadji, K, Green, S R, Chiao, J, Faivre, S, Cvitkovic, E, Le Tourneau, C, Calvo, F, Raymond, E
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 5'-Nucleotidase - genetics; Antineoplastic Agents - pharmacology; Apoptosis; Apoptosis - drug effects; Arabinonucleosides - chemistry; Arabinonucleosides - pharmacology; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Cancer Research; Cell cycle; Cell Cycle - drug effects; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Proliferation - drug effects; Cell Survival - drug effects; Cisplatin - pharmacology; Cytarabine - analogs & derivatives; Cytarabine - chemistry; Cytarabine - pharmacology; Cytosine - analogs & derivatives; Cytosine - chemistry; Cytosine - pharmacology; Cytotoxicity; Deoxycytidine - analogs & derivatives; Deoxycytidine - chemistry; Deoxycytidine - pharmacology; Drug Resistance; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; Drug Synergism; Epidemiology; Equilibrative Nucleoside Transporter 1 - genetics; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic - drug effects; HCT116 Cells; HT29 Cells; Humans; Inhibitory Concentration 50; Medical research; Medical sciences; Molecular Medicine; Molecular Structure; Neoplasms - genetics; Neoplasms - metabolism; Neoplasms - pathology; Oncology; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; Ribonucleotide reductase; Taxoids - pharmacology; Translational Therapeutics; Tumors
• ISSN: 0007-0920; 1532-1827
• DOI: 10.1038/sj.bjc.6603896

This study assessed the antiproliferative activity of sapacitabine (CYC682, CS-682) in a panel of 10 human cancer cell lines with varying degrees of resistance or sensitivity to the commonly used nucleoside analogues ara-C and gemcitabine. Growth inhibition studies using sapacitabine and CNDAC were performed in the panel of cell lines and compared with both nucleoside analogues and other anticancer compounds including oxaliplatin, doxorubicin, docetaxel and seliciclib. Sapacitabine displayed antiproliferative activity across a range of concentrations in a variety of cell lines, including those shown to be resistant to several anticancer drugs. Sapacitabine is biotransformed by plasma, gut and liver amidases into CNDAC and causes cell cycle arrest predominantly in the G 2 /M phase. No clear correlation was observed between sensitivity to sapacitabine and the expression of critical factors involved in resistance to nucleoside analogues such as deoxycytidine kinase (dCK), human equilibrative nucleoside transporter 1, cytosolic 5′-nucleotidase and DNA polymerase-α. However, sapacitabine showed cytotoxic activity against dCK-deficient L1210 cells indicating that in some cells, a dCK-independent mechanism of action may be involved. In addition, sapacitabine showed a synergistic effect when combined with gemcitabine and sequence-specific synergy with doxorubicin and oxaliplatin. Sapacitabine is therefore a good candidate for further evaluation in combination with currently used anticancer agents in tumour types with unmet needs.