1. Academic Validation
  2. Gold(III) bis(thiosemicarbazonate) compounds in breast cancer cells: Cytotoxicity and thioredoxin reductase targeting

Gold(III) bis(thiosemicarbazonate) compounds in breast cancer cells: Cytotoxicity and thioredoxin reductase targeting

  • Eur J Med Chem. 2018 Mar 25;148:372-383. doi: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2018.02.009.
Vanessa Rodríguez-Fanjul 1 Elena López-Torres 2 M Antonia Mendiola 2 Ana María Pizarro 3
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 IMDEA Nanociencia, Faraday 9, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
  • 2 Departamento de Química Inorgánica, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Francisco Tomás y Valiente 7, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
  • 3 IMDEA Nanociencia, Faraday 9, 28049, Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: ana.pizarro@imdea.org.
Abstract

Gold(III) compounds have received increasing attention in Cancer research. Three gold complexes of general formula [AuIIIL]Cl, where L is benzil bis(thiosemicarbazonate), compound 1, benzil bis(4-methyl-3-thiosemicarbazonate), compound 2, or benzil bis(4-cyclohexyl-3-thiosemicarbazonate), compound 3, have been synthesized and fully characterized, including the X-ray crystal structure of compound 3, confirming square-planar geometry around the gold(III) centre. Compound 1 showed moderate cytotoxicity and accumulation in MCF7 breast Cancer cells but did not inhibit thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) activity and did not induce Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) production. Compound 2, the least cytotoxic, was found to be capable of modestly inhibiting TrxR activity and produced low levels of ROS in the MCF7 cell line. The most cytotoxic compound, 3, had the highest cellular accumulation and its distribution pattern showed a clear preference for the cytosol and mitochondria of MCF7 cells. It readily hampered intracellular TrxR activity leading to a dramatic alteration of the cellular redox state and to the induction of cell death.

Keywords

Cisplatin; Gold(III); Reactive oxygen species; Thioredoxin reductase; Thiosemicarbazones.

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