The first Pt(IV) derivative of oxaliplatin carrying a ligand for TSPO (the 18-kDa mitochondrial translocator protein) has been developed. The expression of the translocator protein in the brain and liver of healthy humans is usually low, oppositely to steroid-synthesizing and rapidly proliferating tissues, where TSPO is much more abundant. The novel Pt(IV) complex, cis,trans,cis-[Pt(ethanedioato)Cl{2-(2-(4-(6,8-dichloro-3-(2-(dipropylamino)-2-oxoethyl)imidazo[1,2-a]pyridin-2-yl)phenoxy)acetate)-ethanolato}(1R,2R-DACH)] (DACH = diaminocyclohexane), has been fully characterized by spectroscopic and spectrometric techniques and tested in vitro against human MCF7 breast carcinoma, U87 glioblastoma, and LoVo colon adenocarcinoma cell lines. In addition, affinity for TSPO (IC50 = 18.64 nM), cellular uptake (ca. 2 times greater than that of oxaliplatin in LoVo cancer cells, after 24 h treatment), and perturbation of cell cycle progression were investigated. Although the new compound was less active than oxaliplatin and did not exploit a synergistic proapoptotic effect due to the presence of the TSPO ligand, it appears to be promising in a receptor-mediated drug targeting context towards TSPO-overexpressing tumors, in particular colorectal cancer (IC50 = 2.31 μM after 72 h treatment).
Keywords: TSPO; antitumor drugs; colorectal cancer; oxaliplatin; platinum(IV); translocator protein 18 kDa.