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Degradation and intracellular phosphorylation of showdomycin

Cancer Letters
|May 1, 1978
PubMed

Insights

The anti-tumor drug showdomycin degrades into a negatively charged compound via basic hydrolysis. Intracellularly, showdomycin is phosphorylated to showdomycintriphosphate in mouse lymphoma cells.

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Pharmacology
  • Organic Chemistry

Background:

  • Showdomycin is an anti-tumor agent.
  • Understanding showdomycin's degradation pathways is crucial for its therapeutic application.
  • Previous studies (Darnall et al., 1967) indicated potential reactivity with ammonia.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the degradation products of showdomycin under specific conditions.
  • To elucidate the mechanism of showdomycin degradation.
  • To explore the intracellular metabolic fate of showdomycin.

Main Methods:

  • Incubation of showdomycin with 0.05 M NH4HCO3 at pH 8.0.
  • Analysis of degradation products to identify chemical modifications.
  • Intracellular studies using mouse lymphoma cells (L5178y) to track phosphorylation.

Main Results:

  • Showdomycin degrades to a compound with a negative charge.
  • Ammonia induces basic hydrolysis of the maleimide moiety, forming a maleic acid-like compound.
  • The C-glycosidic bond remains intact during degradation.
  • Intracellularly, showdomycin is converted to showdomycintriphosphate through mono- and diphosphate intermediates.

Conclusions:

  • Showdomycin undergoes chemical modification in the presence of ammonia, yielding a negatively charged derivative.
  • The maleimide ring is susceptible to basic hydrolysis, but the C-glycosidic bond is stable.
  • Showdomycin is metabolically activated intracellularly via phosphorylation in mouse lymphoma cells.

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