Mechanisms of action of FdUMP[10]: metabolite activation and thymidylate synthase inhibition

FdUMP[10] is a multimer of FdUMP, a suicide inhibitor of thymidylate synthase (TS), and was designed to bypass resistance to 5-fluorouracil (5FU). The aim of the study was to compare the effect of FdUMP[10] with 5FU and 5-fluoro-2-deoxyuridine (FUdR) in their efficacy to inhibit their target TS in resistant cells. Therefore cell lines FM3A/0, FM3A/TK- (deficient in thymidine kinase) and FM3A/TS- (deficient in thymidylate synthase) were used to determine TK dependency and specificity for TS inhibition. FdUMP[10] inhibited cell growth with greater potency than 5FU and FdUMP. Direct folate-based inhibitors Raltitrexed, GW1843U89 and Pemetrexed were also evaluated using these cell lines. In TK-deficient cells these folate-based inhibitors had greater potency than the fluoropyrimidines (FPs). Surprisingly, Pemetrexed even inhibited cell growth in TS-deficient cells. Incubation with nucleotidase and phosphatase inhibitors resulted in a reduction of cytotoxicity of FdUMP[10], indicating that the drug can be degraded outside the cells. In the TS in situ inhibition assay (TSIA) 24 h exposure of FM3A cells to 0.5 microM FdUMP and 0.05 microM FdUMP[10] decreased TSIA to 7 and 1% of control. Inhibition of nucleotidase and phosphatase activities reduced the effect of FdUMP[10], while the inhibitory effect was lower in cells lacking TK. FdUMP[10] can enter the cells intact, but also to some extent after dephosphorylation. In conclusion, FdUMP[10] can bypass resistance to FUdR by direct inhibition of TS.