Context: N'-(7-Fluoro-5-N-methyl-10H-indolo[3,2-b]quinolin-5-ium)-N,N-dimethylpropane-1,3-diamine iodide (SYUIQ-FM05) is a semi-synthetic derivative of cryptolepine which is from Cryptolepis sanguinolenta (Lindl.) Schlechter (Periplocaeae). This ligand inhibits telomerase activity by stabilizing the G-quadruplex structure and induces growth arrest in cancer cells.
Objective: The anticancer activity of SYUIQ-FM05 via inhibiting c-kit transcription was investigated in leukemic cells.
Materials and methods: The cytotoxicity of SYUIQ-FM05 in K562 cells was evaluated using a cell viability assay and flow cytometry (FCM) at 0.4, 2.0, 10.0 and 20.0 nM. Under the same concentrations of SYUIQ-FM05 or 100 nM imatinib mesylate (IM), quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR) investigated transcription of c-kit and bcl-2, and western blotting analyzed the expression levels of c-Kit, total mitogen-activated protein kinase kinases (MEKs), phospho-MEK (p-MEK), total extracellular regulated protein kinases (ERKs), phospho-ERK (p-ERK), Bcl-2 and Bax.
Results: SYUIQ-FM05 inhibited cellular growth with an IC(50) of 10.83 ± 0.05 nM in K562 cells. c-Kit transcription was suppressed 2.69-, 4.39-, 7.71- and 10.52-fold at 0.4, 2.0, 10.0 and 20.0 nM SYUIQ-FM05, respectively, which produced proportional loss of total c-Kit protein except IM. Both SYUIQ-FM05 and IM downregulated p-MEK and p-ERK. Furthermore, bcl-2 transcription was suppressed 1.58- and 1.86-fold at 10.0 and 20.0 nM SYUIQ-FM05, respectively, but 0.4 and 2.0 nM SYUIQ-FM05 had no effect. A decrease in Bcl-2 and an increase in Bax appeared in these treated cells.
Discussion and conclusion: These findings demonstrate that SYUIQ-FM05 could induce apoptosis in a leukemic cell line through inhibiting c-kit transcription, which supports the anticancer potency of SYUIQ-FM05 in c-Kit-positive leukemic cells.