Efficient hypoxic activation of the anticancer agent AQ4N by CYP2S1 and CYP2W1

AQ4N [1,4-bis{[2-(dimethylamino-N-oxide)ethyl]amino}-5,8-dihydroxyanthracene-9,10-dione], a prodrug with two dimethylamino N-oxide groups, is converted to the topoisomerase II inhibitor AQ4 [1,4-bis{[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl]amino}-5,8-dihydroxy-anthracene-9,10-dione] by reduction of the N-oxides to dimethylamino substituents. Earlier studies showed that several drug-metabolizing cytochrome P450 (P450) enzymes can catalyze this reductive reaction under hypoxic conditions comparable with those in solid tumors. CYP2S1 and CYP2W1, two extrahepatic P450 enzymes identified from the human genome whose functions are unknown, are expressed in hypoxic tumor cells at much higher levels than in normal tissue. Here, we demonstrate that CYP2S1, contrary to a published report (Mol Pharmacol 76:1031-1043, 2009), is efficiently reduced by NADPH-P450 reductase. Most importantly, both CYP2S1 and CYP2W1 are better catalysts for the reductive activation of AQ4N to AQ4 than all previously examined P450 enzymes. The overexpression of CYP2S1 and CYP2W1 in tumor tissues, together with their high catalytic activities for AQ4N activation, suggests that they may be exploited for the localized activation of anticancer prodrugs.