Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0023418 (leukemia)
93,477 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The interrelated enzymic reactions of folate metabolism are presented and key tetrahydrofolate-producing reactions are emphasized. As observed with the methotrexate (MTX)-resistant mutant strain Streptococcus faecium var. durans/Ak, the regulatory roles of serine and purines in controlling their own synthesis by the repression of enzymes required for co-factor synthesis are reviewed. Positive induction of the dihydrofolate reductase activity of this mutant by folate and the antagonism of the folate effect by purines and thymine are discussed. A protective agent of the reductase-active protein, MTX is viewed also as a "positive" inducer of dihydrofolate reductase. Preliminary studies with L1210 leukemia-bearing mice and the murine leukemia ERLD in vitro suggest that citrovorum factor (CF) also triggers a positive induction of the reductase of the small intestine and of ERLD cells without apparently influencing the reductase level of L1210 in vivo. The possibility that control mechanisms, by which MTX and CF indirectly regulate enzyme synthesis in drug-stressed, CF-rescued cells, contribute to the success of high-dose MTX-CF rescue therapy is introduced.
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PMID:Regulatory control of tetrahydrofolate coenzymes in folate auxotrophs. 30 76

In an aseptic microbiological assay of folate compounds and their breakdown compounds, using Lactobacillus casei, Streptococcus faecalis, and Pediococcus cerevisiae, 4a-hydroxy-5methyl-4,5,6,7-tetrahydrofolate and 5-methyl-5,8-dihydrofolate were inactive under all conditions to all three organisms and 5-methyl-5,6-dihydrofolate was inactive unless ascorbate was present in the incubation medium, and then only to L. casei. 5-Methyltetrahydrofolate was active only for L. casei, and activity in purified samples to S. faecalis was due to trace amounts of folic acid. Analysis of S. faecalis values in the serum in normal subjects and in patients with various disorders showed that levels of 10-formyltetrahydrofolate are raised in coeliac disease, leukaemia, rheumatoid arthritis, and schizophrenia. 5-Methyltetrahydrofolate is readily absorbed by normal human subjects and by patients with pernicious anaemia but poorly absorbed by patients with coeliac disease or leukaemia. 5-Methyl-5,6-dihydrofolate was quickly absorbed by normal human subjects, being reflected by a considerably raised level of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate in serum when sodium bicarbonate was given by mouth before the 5-methyl-5,6-dihydrofolate. These higher levels were comparable to those in patients with pernicious anaemia after oral administration of 5-methyl-5,6-dihydrofolate. Oral 5-methyl-5,8-dihydrofolate and 4a-hydroxy-5-methyl-tetrahydrofolate did not appear as microbiologically active folates in the serum. The findings of this study suggest that the availability for biological utilisation of the major dietary folate compounds will depend on the amount of gastric acidity and of ascorbate in the intestinal chyme. Many may be unavailable for metabolic utilization in the body.
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PMID:Serum folates in man. 40 3

A series of Nepsilon-poly-alpha-glutamyl and Nepsilon-polylysyl derivatives of Nalpha-pteroyllysine and Nalpha-homopteroyllysine, analogues of the naturally occurring gamma-polyglutamyl forms of folate, was prepared and tested as substrates for dihydrofolate reductase and as substrates and inhibitors of thymidylate synthetase. Nalpha-Dihydropteroyl-Nepsilon-(tri-alpha-glutamyl)lysine was 1.8 times as active as Nalpha-dihydropteroyl glutamate (dihydrofolate) as a substrate for L1210 murine leukemia dihydrofolate reductase. N-alpha-Dihydropteroyl-Nepsilon-(di-alpha-lysyl)lysine was 1.2 times as active as dihydrofolate in spite of its strong positive charge. The most active compound tested, Nepsilon-(tert-butyloxycarbonyl)lysine, was 3.5 times as active as dihydrofolate. None of the enzymatically prepared Nalpha-tetrahydropteroyllysine derivatives tested was as active as Nalpha-tetrahydropteroyl glutamate (tetrahydrofolate) as a substrate for E. coli thymidylate synthetase. However, there was a progressive increase in activity with the addition of each alpha-glutamyl residue, the Nepsilon-(penta-alpha-glutamyl)lysine being 88% as active as tetrahydrofolate. Nalpha-Tetrahydropteroyl-Nepsilon-(di-alpha-lysyl)lysine was the most active thymidylate synthetase substrate of the polylysine derivatives, being 67% as active as tetrahydrofolate. Addition or deletion of lysyl residues resulted in diminished activity. It is noteworthy that substrate activity is retained in spite of the positively charged poly(amino acid) side chain. None of the enzymatically prepared tetrahydrohomopteroyl derivatives tested was as active as Nalpha-tetrahydrohomopteroyl glutamate (tetrahydrohomofolate) as an inhibitor of E. coli thymidylate synthetase.
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PMID:Polyglutamyl and polylysyl derivatives of the lysine analogues of folic acid and homofolic acid. 79 72

Compound 21 (N10-methyl-4-thiofolic acid) and related compounds were prepared as potential inhibitors of the cofactor forms of tetrahydrofolate. The preparation of 2-acetylamino-4-(benzylthio)-6-chloro-5-nitropyrimidine (4) provided an intermediate that was allowed to react with methyl p-[(3-aminoacetonyl)methylamino]benzoate oxime (16). The oxime function of the resulting 6-substituted aminopyrimidine 6 was hydrolyzed to give the corresponding acetonylaminopyrimidine 7, which on reductive cyclization gave methyl p-[[[2-amino-4-(benzylthio)-7,8-dihydro-6-pteridinyl]methyl]methylamino]benzoate (9). This dihydropteridine was oxidized with potassium permanganate, and the product was treated successively with sodium hydrosulfide to replace the benzylthio group and with aqueous sodium hydroxide to hydrolyze the ester function to give p-[[(2-amino-3,4-dihydro-4-thioxo-6-pteridinyl)methyl]methylamino]benzoic acid (N10-methyl-4-thiopteroic acid, 12). Another route to 12 involved the interaction of 2,5-diamino-4,6-dichloropyrimidine (15) with 16 to give methyl p-[[(2-amino-4-chloro-7,8-dihydro-6-pteridinyl)methyl]methylamino]benzoate (13). Displacement of the chloro group of 13 with sodium hydrosulfide followed by the simultaneous air oxidation of the dihydropteridine ring and saponification of the ester group gave 12. After protection of the 2-amino and 4-thioxo moieties of 12, the resulting intermediate benzoic acid was coupled with diethyl L-glutamate. The product of this reaction was deblocked to give 21. Methylation of 21 gave the corresponding 4-(methylthio) derivative 22, which on reaction with hydrazine gave the 4-hydrazino analog 23 of methotrexate. Reduction of 12 and 21 with sodium hydrosulfite gave the dihydropteridines 24 and 25, respectively. The title compound was an excellent inhibitor of the growth of Streptococcus faecium ATCC 8043. However, this and related compounds were ineffective inhibitors of dihydrofolic reductase and showed no significant activity in either the KB cell culture screen or against L1210 leukemia cells in mice.
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PMID:Synthesis of N-10-methyl-4-thiofolic acid and related compounds. 80 32

Previous studies from this laboratory demonstrated that marked suppression of thymidylate synthase activity is required to slow the rate of interconversion of tetrahydrofolate cofactors to dihydrofolate when dihydrofolate reductase is blocked by an antifolate. This finding is due to the high catalytic activity of thymidylate synthase within cells in comparison to the tetrahydrofolate cofactor pool size. In the present study, we assessed the rate of resumption of thymidylate synthase catalytic activity in terms of [3H]deoxyuridine incorporation into DNA and dihydrofolate generation from tetrahydrofolate cofactors following exposure of cells to fluorodeoxyuridine. Log phase L1210 leukemia cells, incubated with fluorodeoxyuridine to abolish thymidylate synthase catalytic activity, were suspended into drug-free medium. Resumption of [3H]deoxyuridine incorporation into DNA was negligible; by 4 hr enzyme activity was still inhibited by approximately 98%. However, this was sufficient to interconvert all available tetrahydrofolate cofactors to dihydrofolate (T1/2 approximately 2 hr) when dihydrofolate reductase was inhibited by the lipophilic antifolate trimetrexate. Interconversion of tetrahydrofolate cofactors to dihydrofolate correlated with a decline, then cessation, of purine synthesis as measured by the incorporation of [14C]formate into purine bases. These data suggest that an earlier than previously expected depletion of tetrahydrofolate cofactors with consequent inhibition of purine and other folate-dependent synthetic processes is likely to occur when antifolates are administered after a fluoropyrimidine.
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PMID:Interconversion of tetrahydrofolate cofactors to dihydrofolate induced by trimetrexate after suppression of thymidylate synthase by fluorodeoxyuridine in L1210 leukemia cells. 138 49

Thymus humoral factor-gamma 2 (THF gamma 2), an octapeptide important for T-lymphocyte regulation, was assessed for its effect on the in vitro growth of human hematopoietic progenitor cells. This was achieved using a recombinant granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (rGM-CSF)-stimulated myeloid cell colony formation (granulocyte-macrophage colony-forming cells, GM-CFC) assay as well as a recombinant erythropoietin (rEpo)-stimulated erythroid burst formation (erythroid burst-forming units, BFU-E) assay. Cells were obtained from bone marrow (BM) and peripheral blood (PB) of normal healthy donors and from patients with suppressed bone marrows. The latter group included aplastic anemia, leukemia, and lymphoma patients and patients with solid tumors who responded to intensive chemotherapy with significant pancytopenia. THF gamma 2 significantly enhanced normal BM and PB GM-CFC and PB BFU-E by 2- to 2.5-fold. This effect was totally dependent on the presence of the respective growth factors, that is, rGM-CSF or rEpo, and was specifically reversed by an anti-THF gamma 2 antiserum. Furthermore, although THF gamma 2-induced enhancement of GM-CFC colony formation was not affected by lymphocyte or monocyte depletion, the augmenting effect of the peptide on BFU-E was completely abrogated in the absence of lymphocytes. THF gamma 2-induced augmented growth of progenitor cells derived from severely suppressed marrows was minimal. However, cells from moderately neutropenic patients with leukemia in remission or with lymphoma under chemotherapy responded to the peptide similarly to cells from normal donors. These results suggest a stimulatory role for THF gamma 2 on human myeloid and erythroid hematopoietic progenitor cells. They also suggest the lymphocyte dependence of BFU-E enhancement and lymphocyte independence of GM-CFC stimulation by THF gamma 2. In the former case the thymus-derived peptide may act through the induction of certain erythroid-enhancing lymphokines.
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PMID:Thymic humoral factor-gamma 2, an immunoregulatory peptide, enhances human hematopoietic progenitor cell growth. 154 85

The synthesis of a novel series of gamma-substituted folic acid analogues, pteroyl-S-alkyl-DL-homocysteine (RS)-sulfoximines, and the corresponding S-methylhomocysteine sulfone is described. Side reactions of the sulfoximine groups of the amino acid ester reactants were considered. The correct structures of the isolated target compounds were confirmed by NMR and FAB/MS excluding other alternatives. The replacement of the gamma-COOH of the glutamate moiety of folic acid with S-alkylsulfoximine groups or S-methylsulfone did not affect the substrate activity of the vitamin for dihydrofolate reductase. The resulting tetrahydrofolate analogues could serve as cofactors for the thymidylate synthase cycle of murine leukemia L1210 cells in situ. The analogues inhibited the growth of these cells in culture with 2 orders of magnitude lower IC50 values [(2-4) x 10(-4) M] than the parent folic acid.
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PMID:Synthesis and biological activity of novel folic acid analogues: pteroyl-S-alkylhomocysteine sulfoximines. 156 Apr 36

5,10-Dideazatetrahydrofolic acid (DDATHF) is a new potent antitumor agent that specifically inhibits purine biosynthesis, primarily through inhibition of glycinamide ribonucleotide transformylase, the first of the tetrahydrofolate-requiring enzymes in the de novo synthesis pathway. DDATHF has been shown to be an excellent substrate for mouse liver folylpolyglutamate synthetase in vitro, suggesting that intracellular conversion to polyglutamates could play an important role in the action of this antifolate. In this report, metabolic studies of the 6R-diastereomer of DDATHF in the cultured human leukemia cell lines CCRF-CEM and HL-60 are presented. At both 1 and 10 microM (6R)-DDATHF was rapidly converted to polyglutamates in both cell lines. DDATHF(Glu)5 and DDATHF(Glu)6 were the main intracellular metabolites. After incubation in drug-free medium, (6R)-DDATHF polyglutamates were better retained intracellularly with increasing glutamate chain length. (6R)-DDATHF showed reduced cytotoxicity toward a folylpolyglutamate synthetase-deficient cell line, CCRF-CEM30/6 related to a dramatically diminished accumulation of polyglutamates. The activity of (6R)-DDATHF in CCRF-CEM30/6 cells was decreased after both short and prolonged exposures. These results suggest that polyglutamylation of (6R)-DDATHF not only represents a mechanism for trapping the drug inside the cells but also produces a more potent inhibitor of the target enzyme.
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PMID:Intracellular metabolism of 5,10-dideazatetrahydrofolic acid in human leukemia cell lines. 170 76

Two species of DHFR were identified in wild-type L1210 murine leukemia cells by analysis of the kinetics of the binding of MTX and dissociation of the MTX-enzyme complex at pH 5.0 and pH 7.2. The two forms of DHFR were also distinguished by immunoinhibition of the binding of MTX and the catalytic reduction of FH2 to FH4 using an antiserum raised to the purified high affinity form of DHFR. The Ka for the binding of MTX by the low affinity form of the enzyme is 4.5 x 10(7) M-1, substantially lower than the reported Ka for the binding of this drug by the high affinity enzyme. The low affinity form of the enzyme catalyzed the reduction of FH2 to FH4 at a rate slower than the high affinity form of DHFR.
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PMID:Evidence for kinetic and immunologic heterogeneity of dihydrofolate reductase in L1210 leukemia cells. 178 10

Previous studies from this laboratory established that the rapid but partial interconversion of tetrahydrofolate cofactors to dihydrofolate after exposure of L1210 leukemia cells to antifolates cannot be due to direct feedback inhibition of thymidylate synthase by dihydrofolate or any other endogenous folylpolyglutamates when dihydrofolate reductase activity is abolished by antifolates. Rather, the data suggested this preservation of tetrahydrofolate cofactor pools is likely due to a fraction of cellular folates unavailable for oxidation to dihydrofolate. This paper explores the role of cell cycle phase in L1210 leukemia cells in logarithmic versus stationary phase growth as a factor in the rate and extent of tetrahydrofolate cofactor interconversion to dihydrofolate after exposure of cells to the dihydrofolate reductase inhibitor trimetrexate. The S phase fraction was reduced by inoculating L1210 leukemia cells at high density to achieve a stationary state. Flow cytometric analysis of DNA content indicated that log phase cultures were 53.0% S phase; this decreased to 42.1% at 24 h and 24.1% at 48 h in stationary phase cultures. 5-Bromo-2'-deoxyuridine incorporation into DNA decreased 80 and 96%, while [3H]dUrd incorporation into DNA declined 70 and 95% for stationary cultures at 24 and 48 h, respectively, as compared with the log phase rates. Log phase cells interconverted 28.0% of the total pool of radiolabeled folates to dihydrofolate with a half-time of approximately 30 s. Stationary cells at 24 h interconverted 20.4% of the total folate pool with a t1/2 of approximately 3 min, and at 48 h, net interconversion to dihydrofolate decreased further to 12.1% with a t1/2 of approximately 6 min. The decrease in the extent of tetrahydrofolate cofactor interconversion to dihydrofolate in stationary phase cells was directly proportional to the decrease in the S phase fraction determined by total DNA content. This suggests that tetrahydrofolate cofactor depletion occurs only in S phase cells. The much larger drop in [3H]dUrd and 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine incorporation into DNA in comparison with the decline in the S phase fraction measured by DNA content along with the reduced rate of tetrahydrofolate cofactor interconversion to dihydrofolate indicates that the rate of DNA synthesis is decreased in S phase cells in stationary cultures. Network thermodynamic simulations suggest that a reduction in the number of S phase cells and their thymidylate synthase catalytic activity would account for the observed decrease in the rate and extent of interconversion of tetrahydrofolate cofactors to dihydrofolate after trimetrexate in stationary phase cultures.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Rate and extent of interconversion of tetrahydrofolate cofactors to dihydrofolate after cessation of dihydrofolate reductase activity in stationary versus log phase L1210 leukemia cells. 182 99


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