DNA topoisomerases relax supercoiled DNA during replication, transcription, recombination, repair, and chromosome condensation. The relaxation of DNA supercoiling by topoisomerase I at single-
strand breaks represents a target for anticancer agents to intercalate between DNA base pairs, leading to the activation of apoptotic and cell cycle arrest pathways.
1 (S)-
10-
hydroxy-
Camptothecin is an inhibitor of topoisomerase I originally isolated from the Chinese tree
C. acuminata. It is a member of the camptothecin family that demonstrates less toxicity than its parent compound.
2 (S)-
10-
hydroxy-
Camptothecin has strong anti-
tumor activity against a wide range of experimental tumors including L1210 leukemia cells (IC
50 = 1.15 μM).
2 In vitro treatment of human HepG2 cells with 5-
20 μM (S)-
10-
hydroxy-
camptothecin results in cell cycle arrest at the G
2/M phase.
3