Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry 

About: Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry is an academic journal published by Elsevier BV. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Chemistry & Ligand. It has an ISSN identifier of 0162-0134. Over the lifetime, 8374 publications have been published receiving 229802 citations. The journal is also known as: Inorganic biochemistry.

From bench to bedside – preclinical and early clinical development of the anticancer agent indazolium trans-[tetrachlorobis(1H-indazole)ruthenate(III)] (KP1019 or FFC14A)

Abstract: Indazolium trans-[tetrachlorobis(1H-indazole)ruthenate(III)] (KP1019 or FFC14A) is just the second ruthenium-based anticancer agent after NAMI-A which was developed to the stage of clinical trials. Important steps in the mode of action of KP1019 are thought to be the binding to the serum protein transferrin and the transport into the cell via the transferrin pathway. Additionally, the selective activation by reduction in the tumor might contribute to the low side effects observed in in vivo studies. Apoptosis is induced at non-toxic levels via the mitochondrial pathway. These features distinguish it from the established platinum anticancer drugs and suggest that different types of cancer might be treatable with this drug. Indeed, promising activity against certain types of tumors, which are not successfully treatable with cisplatin, and only a very low incidence of acquired resistance has been observed in in vitro and in vivo studies. Recently, a clinical phase I trial was finished in which none of the treated patients experienced serious side effects, while disease stabilization in five of six evaluable patients was achieved. In this review, the preclinical and early clinical development of KP1019 - from bench to bedside - is recapitulated.

Cadmium carcinogenesis in review.

Abstract: Cadmium is an inorganic toxicant of great environmental and occupational concern which was classified as a human carcinogen in 1993. Occupational cadmium exposure is associated with lung cancer in humans. Cadmium exposure has also, on occasion, been linked to human prostate cancer. The epidemiological data linking cadmium and pulmonary cancer are much stronger than for prostatic cancer. Other target sites for cadmium carcinogenesis in humans (liver, kidney, stomach) are considered equivocal. In rodents, cadmium causes tumors at several sites and by various routes. Cadmium inhalation in rats results in pulmonary adenocarcinomas, supporting a role in human lung cancer. Prostate tumors and preneoplastic proliferative lesions can be induced in rats after cadmium ingestion or injection. Prostatic carcinogenesis in rats occurs only at cadmium doses below those that induce chronic degeneration and dysfunction of the testes, a well-known effect of cadmium, confirming the androgen dependency of prostate tumors. Other targets of cadmium in rodents include the testes, adrenals, injection sites, and hematopoietic system. Various treatments can modify cadmium carcinogenesis including supplemental zinc, which prevents cadmium-induced injection site and testicular tumors while facilitating prostatic tumors. Cadmium is poorly mutagenic and probably acts through indirect mechanisms, although the precise mechanisms remain unknown.

Oxidation of nitrogen oxides by bound dioxygen in hemoproteins.

Abstract: Nitric oxide is unique among the higher oxides of nitrogen in its reactivity and efficiency for the oxidation of oxygen-bound hemoproteins. Dinitrogen trioxide serves as a nitric oxide donor, but dinitrogen tetroxide does not exhibit similar reactivity. Details are provided of the stoichiometric transformation through which nitric oxide is converted to nitrate with accompanying oxidation of myoglobin or hemoglobin to the corresponding iron(III) hemoprotein, including an estimate of the rate constant for nitric oxide oxidation of oxygen-associated myoglobin and the effect of unassociated oxygen on the stoichiometry and rates for nitric oxide oxidation. Evidence is presented to establish the mechanism of oxidation in the direct combination of nitric oxide with iron(II)-bound dioxygen.

High-valent iron in chemical and biological oxidations.

Abstract: Various aspects of the reactivity of iron(IV) in chemical and biological systems are reviewed. Accumulated evidence shows that the ferryl species [Fe(IV)O](2+) can be formed under a variety of conditions including those related to the ferrous ion-hydrogen peroxide system known as Fenton's reagent. Early evidence that such a species could hydroxylate typical aliphatic C-H bonds included regioselectivities and stereospecificities for cyclohexanol hydroxylation that could not be accounted for by a freely diffusing hydroxyl radical. Iron(IV) porphyrin complexes are also found in the catalytic cycles of cytochrome P450 and chloroperoxidase. Model oxo-iron(IV) porphyrin complexes have shown reactivity similar to the proposed enzymatic intermediates. Mechanistic studies using mechanistically diagnostic substrates have implicated a radical rebound scenario for aliphatic hydroxylation by cytochrome P450. Likewise, several non-heme diiron hydroxylases, AlkB (Omega-hydroxylase), sMMO (soluble methane monooxygenase), XylM (xylene monooxygenase) and T4moH (toluene monooxygenase) all show clear indications of radical rearranged products indicating that the oxygen rebound pathway is a ubiquitous mechanism for hydrocarbon oxygenation by both heme and non-heme iron enzymes.

Molecular and cellular mechanisms of iron homeostasis and toxicity in mammalian cells

Abstract: Iron is an essential metal for almost all living organisms due to its involvement in a large number of iron-containing enzymes and proteins, yet it is also toxic. The mechanisms involved in iron absorption across the intestinal tract, its transport in serum and delivery to cells and iron storage within cells is briefly reviewed. Current views on cellular iron homeostasis involving the iron regulatory proteins IRP1 and IRP2 and their interactions with the iron regulatory elements, affecting either mRNA translation (ferritin and erythroid cell delta-aminolaevulinate synthase) or mRNA stability (transferrin receptor) are discussed. The potential of Fe(II) to catalyse hydroxyl radical formation via the Fenton reaction means that iron is potentially toxic. The toxicity of iron in specific tissues and cell types (liver, macrophages and brain) is illustrated by studies with appropriate cellular and animal models. In liver, the high levels of cyoprotective enzymes and antioxidants, means that to observe toxic effects substantial levels of iron loading are required. In reticuloendothelial cells, such as macrophages, relatively small increases in cellular iron (2-3-fold) can affect cellular signalling, as measured by NO production and activation of the nuclear transcription factor NF kappa B, as well as cellular function, as measured by the capacity of the cells to produce reactive oxygen species when stimulated. The situation in brain, where anti-oxidative defences are relatively low, is highly regionally specific, where iron accumulation in specific brain regions is associated with a number of neurodegenerative diseases. In the brains of animals treated with either trimethylhexanoylferrocene or aluminium gluconate, iron and aluminium accumulate, respectively. With the latter compound, iron also increases, which may reflect an effect of aluminium on the IRP2 protein. Chelation therapy can reduce brain aluminium levels significantly, while iron can also be removed, but with greater difficulty. The prospects for chelation therapy in the treatment and possible prevention of neurodegenerative diseases is reviewed.