Justin J. Wilson, S. Lippard
Nov 1, 2013
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3
Influential Citations
461
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Quality indicators
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Chemical reviews
Abstract
The demonstration in the 1960's that cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II), or cisplatin, inhibits cellular division of Escherichia coli1 led to the subsequent discovery that this simple coordination compound is also an effective antitumor agent in mouse models.2 Subsequent studies validated cisplatin as an effective anticancer agent in humans as well,3–7 and FDA approval of cisplatin for the treatment of metastatic ovarian and testicular cancers was granted in 1978.8 Its introduction as a chemotherapeutic agent significantly improved the survival outlook for many cancer patients; the cure rate for testicular cancer before the approval of cisplatin was less than 10%, significantly lower than the 90% cure rate attained with modern platinum chemotherapy.9,10 Cisplatin kills cancer cells primarily by cross-linking DNA and inhibiting transcription.11 The chemical origin of this process begins when cisplatin enters the cell and undergoes aquation involving loss of one or both chloride ligands. The resulting platinum(II) aqua complexes are potent electrophiles that readily react with a number of biological ligands with loss of the bound water molecules. The purine bases of nucleic acids are strongly nucleophilic at the N7 position. Thus, cisplatin binds readily to DNA, forming primarily bifunctional adducts with loss of both chloride ligands. The major cisplatin-DNA adduct is the intrastrand 1,2-d(GpG) cross-link, which accounts for 60–65% of the bound platinum.12 The resulting Pt-DNA adducts, which distort and bend the DNA structure,13–15 impede transcription.16 The downstream effects of transcription inhibition ultimately lead to cell death. Despite its great curative success in testicular cancer, cisplatin is not universally effective in other cancer types and induces a number of toxic side effects.17–19 Additionally, certain cancers are resistant to cisplatin therapy. This resistance is either intrinsic or developed during prolonged treatment.20,21 To circumvent these problems, new platinum complexes have been pursued and investigated for their antitumor properties. Although well over a thousand complexes have been prepared and tested thus far,22 only two other platinum drugs are approved for clinical use worldwide, and three additional compounds are approved for regional use in Asia.23 These complexes, displayed in Chart 1, operate with a mechanism of action similar to that of cisplatin, which involves DNA binding and transcription inhibition. Open in a separate window Chart 1 Chemical structures of the clinically used platinum-based anticancer drugs. The top three complexes, cisplatin, carboplatin, and oxaliplatin, are approved for use worldwide. The bottom three complexes, nedaplatin, lobaplatin, and heptaplatin, are approved for use in Japan, China, and Korea, respectively.