Inhibition of cell proliferation and antitumor activity of a novel organotin compound

Organotin compounds showed more antineoplastic effect against P388 leukemia in mice than any other class of compounds. However, they have not received as much attention as the platinum compounds. The present compound, Et2SnCl2.L [L = N-(2-pyridylmethylene)-4-toluidine] (OTC), showed an Sn-N bond length of 2.46 A which, because it is bigger than 2.39 A, is expected to achieve better formation of tin-DNA complexes. We previously reported on the synthesis and biological activity of this compound and on its ability to cause a delay in cell proliferation and sister chromatid exchanges in mouse bone marrow cells. In this study, we carried out further investigations on the antiproliferative and antitumor activity of OTC in relation to the cellular glutathione (GSH) level, which plays an important role in the cellular defense mechanism. OTC induced significant delay in the cell cycle in mouse bone marrow cells and, when the GSH level was low, the extent of the delay was reduced. The antitumor activity was determined in accordance with the US National Cancer Institute (NCI) standard protocol for primary screening in Dalton's lymphoma (DL) that was maintained by serial intraperitoneal transplantation. The T/C (treated/control) value was 146% when organotin was treated after transplantation; this improved significantly when buthionine sulfoximine (BSO), a GSH-depleting agent, was added 24 hours before the tin treatment. Our data suggest that the present tin compound has antiproliferative ability and can increase the survival of mice bearing DL. The endogenous GSH level influences the effect of the tin compound.