Artificial Zinc(II) Complexes Regulate Cell Cycle and Apoptosis-Related Genes in Tumor Cell Lines

Autor: Linda M. Boxer, F. Ross Woolley, Jian Gao, Ralph A. Zingaro, Yaqing Zhou, Ya Guang Liu
Rok vydání: 2007
Předmět:
Zdroj: ChemBioChem. 8:332-340
ISSN: 1439-7633
1439-4227
DOI: 10.1002/cbic.200600299
Popis: Various proteins involved in transcriptional regulation possess highly selective DNA-binding domains, known as zinc fingers. However, little is known about small-molecule zinc(II) complexes in the regulation of gene expression and programmed cell death. A new family of zinc(II) complexes is reported, which might be useful against human cancer cells. By using template synthesis and in vitro cell-line screening, a set of zinc(II) complexes has been found to induce apoptosis of cancer cells and display single-reagent in vitro cytotoxicity. The method used to synthesize the molecules resulted in "built-in" luminescent behavior. Confocal optical imaging clearly demonstrated penetration through the cell membrane by these metal complexes. We have discovered that C3, the meso-zinc(II) complex is an extremely efficient regulator of the cell cycle and anti-apoptosis genes bcl-2 and bcl-xL. This study provides a new insight into the development of zinc(II) complexes as potential drugs.
Databáze: OpenAIRE