ER-37328

12,13-Dihydro-5-[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl]-4H-benzo[c] pyrimido[5,6,1-jk] carbazole-4,6,10(5H,11H)-trione hydrochloride (ER-37328) is a novel topoisomerase II poison with potent tumoricidal activity against solid tumor cells both in vitro and in vivo. Here, we describe studies on the effects of ER-37328 on the primary tumor, liver metastasis, and survival in a murine Colon 38 orthotopic transplantation model. When ER-37328 (10 mg/kg) was administered i.v. at 11 days or 20 days after transplantation, strong regression of the primary tumor was observed on both administration schedules. On the later schedule, ER-37328 completely blocked liver metastasis, whereas the mean number of metastases in the control group was 23.9. To examine the antitumor activity against Colon 38 at the liver in more detail, ER-37328 was administered to mice that had received an inoculation of Colon 38 tumor into the liver. ER-37328 showed strong tumor-regression activity against Colon 38 growing in the liver. In addition, administration of ER-37328 on a schedule of every 7 days four times caused a significant increase of 79% in life span in the orthotopic transplantation model, calculated by using mean survival times. Pharmacokinetic study revealed that ER-37328 was highly distributed to the tumor and organs. The ratios of the area under the concentration-time curves of ER-37328 in the tumor, lung, liver, and kidney versus plasma were 81, 77, 47, and 40, respectively. This high distribution to the tumor and liver may explain the potent antitumor activity of ER-37328 against Colon 38 tumor in the liver. In conclusion, the topoisomerase II poison ER-37328 is a promising candidate for clinical application against colon cancer.

DNA topoisomerase II has been shown to be an important therapeutic target in cancer chemotherapy. Here, we describe studies on the antitumor activity of a novel topoisomerase II inhibitor, ER-37328 [12,13-dihydro-5-[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl]-4H-benzo[c]pyrimido[5,6,1- jk]carbazole-4,6,10(5H,11H)-trione hydrochloride]. ER-37328 inhibited topoisomerase II activity at 10 times lower concentration than etoposide in relaxation assay and induced double-strand DNA cleavage within 1 h in murine leukemia P388 cells, in a bell-shaped manner with respect to drug concentration. The maximum amount of DNA cleavage was obtained at 2 microM. Like etoposide, ER-37328 (2 microM) induced topoisomerase II-DNA cross-linking in P388 cells. A spectroscopic study of ER-37328 mixed with DNA demonstrated that ER-37328 has apparent binding activity to DNA. ER-37328 showed potent growth-inhibitory activity against a panel of 21 human cancer cell lines [mean (50% growth-inhibitory concentration) GI50 = 59 nM]. COMPARE analysis according to the National Cancer Institute screening protocol showed that the pattern of the growth-inhibitory effect of ER-37328 was similar to that of etoposide, but different from that of doxorubicin. Studies on etoposide-, amsacrine [4'-(9-acridinylamino)methanesulfon-m-anisidide (m-AMSA)]-, and camptothecin-resistant P388 cell lines showed that: (a) etoposide- and m-AMSA-resistant P388 cell lines were partially resistant to ER-37328 compared with the parental cell line; and (b) a camptothecin-resistant cell line showed no cross-resistance to ER-37328. In addition, ER-37328 overcame P-glycoprotein-mediated resistance. In vivo, ER-37328 produced potent tumor regression of Colon 38 carcinoma inoculated s.c., and its activity was superior to that of etoposide or doxorubicin. These results indicate that ER-37328 inhibits topoisomerase II activity through the formation of topoisomerase II-DNA cleavable complex and has potent antitumor activity both in vitro and in vivo.