Doxorubicin – CAS: 25316-40-9 – Cytotoxic payload
Doxorubicin (DOX) is a cytotoxic payload, member of the DNA damage agents family. Indeed, Doxorubicin interacts with DNA by intercalation and inhibition of topoisomerase II. Doxorubicin involves DNA damage, deregulation of transcription, increase of cellular oxidative stress and induce the death in DOX-exposed cells. Doxorubicin is used in the composition of Antibody-Drug Conjugate (ADC) and Peptide-Drug Conjugate (PDC) for cancer therapies.
Doxorubicin as cytotoxic payload is available for the design of your Peptide-Drug conjugate.
1- Pilco-Ferreto Nesstor and Calaf Gloria M. Int J Oncol. 49(2):753-62 (2016)
Influence of doxorubicin on apoptosis and oxidative stress in breast cancer cell lines
Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of mortality among women worldwide due to aggressive behavior, early metastasis, resistance to existing chemotherapeutic agent and high mortality rate. Doxorubicin (Dox) is a powerful antitumoral drug. It is one of the most active agents for treatment of breast cancer. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of Dox in apoptosis and oxidative stress in the breast cancer cell lines MCF-10F, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231. These studies showed that Dox decreased anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 protein expression and affected oxidative stress by increasing hydrogen peroxide production and simultaneously decreasing NF-κB gene and protein expression in MCF-7, a tumorigenic triple-positive cell line. Results also indicated that Dox induced apoptosis by upregulating Bax, caspase-8 and caspase-3 and downregulation of Bcl-2 protein expression. On the contrary, ROS damage decreased by increasing SOD2 gene and protein expression and hydrogen peroxide production with parallel NF-κB protein expression decrease in MDA-MB-231, a tumorigenic triple-negative breast cancer cell line. It can be concluded that Dox activated apoptosis by inducing proteolytic processing of Bcl-2 family, caspases and simultaneously decreased oxidative stress by influencing ROS damage in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines.
2- Nitiss John L. Nat Rev Cancer. 9(5):338-50 (2009)
Targeting DNA topoisomerase II in cancer chemotherapy
Recent molecular studies have expanded the biological contexts in which topoisomerase II (TOP2) has crucial functions, including DNA replication, transcription and chromosome segregation. Although the biological functions of TOP2 are important for ensuring genomic integrity, the ability to interfere with TOP2 and generate enzyme-mediated DNA damage is an effective strategy for cancer chemotherapy. The molecular tools that have allowed an understanding of the biological functions of TOP2 are also being applied to understanding the details of drug action. These studies promise refined targeting of TOP2 as an effective anticancer strategy.