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Male contraceptive Adjudin is a potential anti-cancer drug.

ABSTRACT: Adjudin, also known as AF-2364 and an analog of lonidamine (LND), is a male contraceptive acting through the induction of premature sperm depletion from the seminiferous epithelium when orally administered to adult rats, rabbits or dogs. It is also known that LND can target mitochondria and block energy metabolism in tumor cells. However, whether Adjudin exhibits any anti-cancer activity remains to be elucidated. Herein we described the anti-proliferative activity of Adjudin on cancer cells in vitro and on lung and prostate tumors inoculated in nude mice. We found that Adjudin induced apoptosis in cancer cells through a Caspase-3-dependent pathway. Further experiments revealed that Adjudin could trigger mitochondrial dysfunction in cancer cells, apparently affecting the mitochondrial mass, inducing the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and reducing cellular ATP levels. Intraperitoneal administration of Adjudin to tumor-bearing athymic nude mice also significantly suppressed the lung and prostate tumor growth. When used in combination with cisplatin, Adjudin enhances the sensitivity to cisplatin-induced cancer cell cytotoxicity. Taken together, these findings have demonstrated that Adjudin may be a potential drug for cancer therapy.

SUBMITTER: Xie QR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4108200 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Male contraceptive Adjudin is a potential anti-cancer drug.

Xie Qian Reuben QR Liu Yewei Y Shao Jiaxiang J Yang Jian J Liu Tengyuan T Zhang Tingting T Wang Boshi B Mruk Dolores D DD Silvestrini Bruno B Cheng C Yan CY Xia Weiliang W

Biochemical pharmacology 20121123 3

Adjudin, also known as AF-2364 and an analog of lonidamine (LND), is a male contraceptive acting through the induction of premature sperm depletion from the seminiferous epithelium when orally administered to adult rats, rabbits or dogs. It is also known that LND can target mitochondria and block energy metabolism in tumor cells. However, whether Adjudin exhibits any anti-cancer activity remains to be elucidated. Herein we described the anti-proliferative activity of Adjudin on cancer cells in v ...[more]

PMID: 23178657

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Project description:OBJECTIVE:The bioavailability of the non-hormonal male contraceptive adjudin is low in rats due to the blood-testis barrier (BTB). This study was designed to examine if F5-peptide, an endogenously produced reversible BTB modifier, could enhance the bioavailability of adjudin to affect spermatogenesis and provide a contraceptive effect in rats while reducing systemic toxicity. STUDY DESIGN:We overexpressed F5-peptide in adult male rats (n=10 rats; with 3 or 4 rats for each of the three different experiments noted in the three regimens) by intratesticular injection of a mammalian expression vector pCI-neo (pCI-neo/F5-peptide) vs. empty vector alone (pCI-neo/Ctrl) to be followed by treatment with adjudin by oral gavage at a dose of 10 or 20 mg/kg. The status of spermatogenesis was assessed by histological analysis and dual-labeled immunofluorescence analysis on Day 16. To assess fertility, we allowed treated males (n=3-4 rats) to mate with mature female rats (n=3-4) individually, and assessed the number of pups on Days 23, 36 and 82 to assess fertility and reversibility. RESULTS:All 4 treated rats overexpressed with F5-peptide and low-dose adjudin were infertile by Day 36, and half of these rats were fertile by Day 82, illustrating reversibility. However, overexpression of F5-peptide alone (or low-dose adjudin alone) had no effects on fertility in n=3 rats. These findings were consistent with the histology data that illustrated the BTB modifier F5-peptide promoted the action of adjudin to induce germ cell exfoliation, mediated by changes in cytoskeletal organization of F-actin and microtubules across the epithelium, thereby reducing the systemic toxicity of adjudin. CONCLUSION:In this proof-of-concept study, it was shown that overexpression of the F5-peptide prior to administration of adjudin to rats at a low (and ineffective dose by itself) was found to induce reversible male infertility. IMPLICATIONS:Overexpression of F5-peptide, an endogenously produced biomolecule in the testis known to induce BTB remodeling, enhanced the contraceptive effect of adjudin in rats, supporting proof of concept studies of BTB disrupters in men.

Project description:For non-hormonal male contraceptives that exert their effects in the testis locally instead of via the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis, such as adjudin that disrupts germ cell adhesion, a major hurdle in their development is to improve their bioavailability so that they can be efficiently delivered to the seminiferous epithelium by transporting across the blood-testis barrier (BTB). If this can be done, it would widen the gap between their efficacy and general toxicity. However, Sertoli cells that constitute the BTB, peritubular myoid cells in the tunica propria, germ cells at different stages of their development, as well as endothelial cells that constitute the microvessels in the interstitium are all equipped with multiple drug transporters, most notably efflux drug transporters, such as P-glycoprotein, multidrug resistance-related protein 1 (MRP1) and breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP) that can actively prevent drugs (e.g., adjudin) from entering the seminiferous epithelium to exert their effects. Recent studies have shown that BCRP is highly expressed by endothelial cells of the microvessels in the interstitium in the testis and also peritubular myoid cells in tunica propria even though it is absent from Sertoli cells at the site of the BTB. Furthermore, BCRP is also expressed spatiotemporally by Sertoli cells and step 19 spermatids in the rat testis and stage-specifically, limiting to stage VII?VIII of the epithelial cycle, and restricted to the apical ectoplasmic specialization [apical ES, a testis-specific F-actin-rich adherens junction (AJ)]. Interestingly, adjudin was recently shown to be capable of downregulating BCRP expression at the apical ES. In this Opinion article, we critically discuss the latest findings on BCRP; in particular, we provide some findings utilizing molecular modeling to define the interacting domains of BCRP with adjudin. Based on this information, it is hoped that the next generation of adjudin analogs to be synthesized can improve their efficacy in downregulating BCRP and perhaps other drug efflux transporters in the testis to improve their efficacy to traverse the BTB by modifying their interacting domains.

Dataset Information

Male contraceptive Adjudin is a potential anti-cancer drug.

Publications

Male contraceptive Adjudin is a potential anti-cancer drug.

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