Novel 2 '-Deoxycytidine Analogs As Dna Demethylation Agents

Epigenetic therapies using cytidine/deoxycytidine analogs are proving to be effective as indicated by the recent approvals of 5-azacytidine (5-azaCyd) and 5-aza-2’-deoxycytidine (5-azadCyd) in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and certain leukemias. Studies suggest that the inhibition of DNA cytosine-5 methylation and the re-expression of silenced tumor suppressors contribute to the beneficial effects of these drugs. However inhibition of DNA synthesis and other toxicities of these compounds represent major drawbacks in the clinic. Recently another analog previously examined in our anticancer discovery program, 4’-thio-2’-deoxycytidine (T-dCyd), had been shown to be an inhibitor of methyl transfer by the M. HhaI DNA cytosine-5 methyltransferase. In the current studies we demonstrate that T-dCyd and its 5-aza analogue 4’-thio-5-aza-2’-deoxycytidine (5-aza-T-dCyd), can deplete human DNMT1 protein in NCI-H23 lung carcinoma and the myeloid leukemia lines THP-1 and KG1a. Consistent with this we also found that T-dCyd and 5-aza-T-dCyd were also effective in decreasing DNMT activities in cancer cells. Methylation-specific PCR (MSP) analysis also demonstrated that both T-dCyd and 5-aza-T-dCyd induced CpG demethylation and re-expression of the tumor suppressor p15 in KG1a cells. We have also found that T-dCyd is inserted into replicating DNA at nanomolar doses as readily if not better than the natural 2’-deoxycytidine (dCyd) and exhibited very little toxicity at these doses. T-dCyd is therefore readily activated to its triphosphate T-dCTP, which is a good substrate for DNA polymerase mediated incorporation, and DNA polymerases also readily extend the chain after incorporation. Furthermore we also observed that T-dCyd and 5-aza-T-dCyd are efficacious in in vivo tumor models. Collectively our data suggest that these compounds or their analogs could be developed as novel DNA methylation inhibitors with better properties for cancer therapy. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2537. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-2537