Volume 52, Issue 27 pp. 6921-6925
Communication

The Two Faces of Potent Antitumor Duocarmycin-Based Drugs: A Structural Dissection Reveals Disparate Motifs for DNA versus Aldehyde Dehydrogenase 1 Affinity

Tanja Wirth

Tanja Wirth

Department Chemie, Center for Integrated Protein Science CIPSM, Institute of Advanced Studies IAS, Technische Universität München, Lichtenbergstrasse 4, 85747 Garching (Germany)

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Dr. Galina F. Pestel

Dr. Galina F. Pestel

Institute of Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Tammannstrasse 2, 37033 Göttingen (Germany)

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Vanessa Ganal

Vanessa Ganal

Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, 80804 Munich (Germany)

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Thomas Kirmeier

Thomas Kirmeier

Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, 80804 Munich (Germany)

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Dr. Ingrid Schuberth

Dr. Ingrid Schuberth

Institute of Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Tammannstrasse 2, 37033 Göttingen (Germany)

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Theo Rein

Theo Rein

Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, 80804 Munich (Germany)

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Professor Lutz F. Tietze

Corresponding Author

Professor Lutz F. Tietze

Institute of Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Tammannstrasse 2, 37033 Göttingen (Germany)

Professor Lutz F. Tietze, Institute of Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Tammannstrasse 2, 37033 Göttingen (Germany)

Professor Stephan A. Sieber, Department Chemie, Center for Integrated Protein Science CIPSM, Institute of Advanced Studies IAS, Technische Universität München, Lichtenbergstrasse 4, 85747 Garching (Germany)

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Professor Stephan A. Sieber

Corresponding Author

Professor Stephan A. Sieber

Department Chemie, Center for Integrated Protein Science CIPSM, Institute of Advanced Studies IAS, Technische Universität München, Lichtenbergstrasse 4, 85747 Garching (Germany)

Professor Lutz F. Tietze, Institute of Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Tammannstrasse 2, 37033 Göttingen (Germany)

Professor Stephan A. Sieber, Department Chemie, Center for Integrated Protein Science CIPSM, Institute of Advanced Studies IAS, Technische Universität München, Lichtenbergstrasse 4, 85747 Garching (Germany)

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First published: 16 May 2013
Citations: 26

We thank Mona Wolff and Anna-Maria Werner for excellent scientific support and Nina Bach and Katrin Lorenz-Baath for scientific discussions. S.A.S. was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft SFB749, SFB1035, FOR1406, an ERC starting grant and the Center for Integrated Protein Science Munich CIPSM. T.W. thanks the TUM Graduate School for project funding. L.F.T. is thankful to the DFG, the VW-foundation, the State of Lower Saxony, and the Fonds der Chemischen Industrie for financial support.

Graphical Abstract

Duocarmycin-derived seco-cyclopropabenzindole (CBI) drugs have been shown to bind DNA and an aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH1A1) in lung cancer cells. The removal of the DNA-binding indole moiety results in a CBI compound that does not bind to DNA in whole cells but still exhibits remarkable cytotoxicity. This CBI compound has an increased affinity for ALDH1A1. Rh=rhodamine.

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