2′–Cyano–2′–Deoxyarabinofuranosylcytosine Is Active in Acute Myeloid Leukaemia and Acts in Synergy with Cytarabine.

Abstract 4153

2′–Cyano–2′–deoxyarabinofuranosylcytosine (CNDAC) is the metabolic product of sapacitabine following hydrolysis of the palmitoyl sidechain from the pyrimidine analog primarily by plasma, gut and liver amidases. CNDAC is in turn phosphorylated into the active triphosphate form (CNDACTP) by deoxycytidine kinase (dCK). CNDACTP is incorporated into DNA resulting in single stranded DNA breaks during replication and inducing cell cycle arrest. Previously the cytotoxic effects of CNDAC have also been associated with intracellular accumulation of CNDAC triphosphate and chain termination. CNDAC and sapacitabine have overlapping cytotoxic effects. Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) cell lines NB4 and HL-60 had an LD₅₀ of 0.24μM (± 0.24) for CNDAC and 0.23μM (± 0.21) for cytarabine (AraC) following 24 hours treatment. Primary AML blasts isolated from patients at diagnosis (n = 15) had a higher mean LD₅₀ (25.22μM ± 19.41) for CNDAC and AraC (8.09μM ± 8.93). This is thought to be due to the requirement of cells to be actively cycling in order to be susceptible to these agents. CNDAC induces apoptosis in NB4 and HL-60 cell lines with significant increases in the percentage of cells with increased Annexin V/propidium iodide staining at concentrations of 1.0μM and above (P < 0.04) and significant caspase-3 activation at concentrations of 0.1μM and above (P < 0.05). Treatment with CNDAC also results in a significant concentration-dependent accumulation in the G2 phase of the cell cycle after 24 hours in NB4 and HL-60 cells (P = 0.003 and 0.011 respectively). Synergy was observed in the AML cell lines when CNDAC was combined with AraC at a ratio of 2:1 The mean combination index for CNDAC and AraC was 0.67 (± 0.21). The activity of deoxycytidine kinase (dCK) was blocked by the addition of excess deoxycytidine, under these conditions the effects of CNDAC were abrogated (P < 0.05) in NB4 and HL-60 cells suggesting that CNDAC requires phosphorylation by dCK for its activation in the cells. The nucleoside transporters hENT 1 and 2 and hCNT3 transport a range of nucleoside analogues through the cell membrane into cells, the use of hENT inhibitors led to a 2.5 fold increase in the LD₅₀ for CNDAC (P = 0.028) over 48 hours. This prolonged exposure to CNDAC could have resulted in some passive uptake of CNDAC into the cells potentially explaining why the agent retained some cell killing activity. Equivalent results have been obtained with dCK and hENT inhibitors in other cell lines indicating that there is a general requirement for these enzymes for CNDAC activity. Interestingly, when cells are treated with the parent drug sapacitabine in the presence of excess deoxycytidine the cytotoxicity is reduced, but when cells are treated in the presence of hENT inhibitors, sapacitabine's cytotoxicity is improved. This suggests that the presence of the palmitoyl side-chain allows membrane permeability even in the absence of the traditional nucleoside transporters.