Thermal stability of DNA adducts induced by cyanomorpholinoadriamycin in vitro

The Adriamycin derivative, cyanomorpholinoadriamycin (CMA) was reacted with DNA in vitro to form apparent interstrand crosslinks. The extent of interstrand crosslink formation was monitored by a gel electrophoresis assay and maximal crosslinking of DNA was observed within 1 hr with 5 microM of drug. The interstrand crosslinks were heat labile, with a midpoint melting temperature of 70 degrees C (10 min exposure to heat) in 45% formamide. When CMA-induced adducts were detected as blockages of lambda-exonuclease, 12 blockage sites were observed with 8 being prior to 5'-GG sequences, one prior to 5'-CC, one prior to 5'-GC and 2 at unresolved combinations of these sequences. These exonuclease-detected blockages reveal the same sites of CMA-induced crosslinking as detected by in vitro transcription footprinting and primer-extension blockages on single strand DNA, where the blockages at 5'-GG and 5'-CC were identified as sites of intrastrand crosslinking and the 5'-GC blockage as a probable site of interstrand crosslinking. The thermal stability of both types of crosslink (10 min exposure to heat) ranged from 63-70 degrees C at individual sites. High levels of adduct were detected with poly (dG-dC) but not with poly (dI-dC). These results suggest adduct formation involving an aminal linkage between the 3 position of the morpholino moiety and N2 of guanine.