The Widely Used Antihelmintic Drug Albendazole is a Potent Inducer of Loss of Heterozygosity

The antihelmintic drug ABZ and its metabolites belong to the chemical family of benzimidazoles (BZM) that act as potent tubulin polymerization inhibitors, suggesting a potential re-direction of BZMs for cancer therapy. Applying UV-Vis spectrometry we here demonstrate ABZ as a DNA intercalator. This...

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Published in:Frontiers in pharmacology Vol. 12; p. 596535
Main Authors: Will Castro, Luiza S. E. P., Pieters, Wietske, Alemdehy, Mir Farshid, Aslam, Muhammad A., Buoninfante, Olimpia Alessandra, Raaijmakers, Jonne A., Pilzecker, Bas, van den Berk, Paul C. M., te Riele, Hein, Medema, René H., Pedrosa, Rozangela C., Jacobs, Heinz
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 18.02.2021
Subjects:
albendazole
aneuploidy
cancer predisposition
helminth
loss of heterozygosity (LOH)
Pharmacology
spindle poison
aneuploidy
cancer predisposition
spindle poison
helminth
albendazole
loss of heterozygosity (LOH)
ISSN:1663-9812, 1663-9812
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Summary:The antihelmintic drug ABZ and its metabolites belong to the chemical family of benzimidazoles (BZM) that act as potent tubulin polymerization inhibitors, suggesting a potential re-direction of BZMs for cancer therapy. Applying UV-Vis spectrometry we here demonstrate ABZ as a DNA intercalator. This insight led us to determine the primary mode of ABZ action in mammalian cells. As revealed by RNA sequencing, ABZ did neither grossly affect replication as analyzed by survival and replication stress signaling, nor the transcriptome. Actually, unbiased transcriptome analysis revealed a marked cell cycle signature in ABZ exposed cells. Indeed, short-term exposure to ABZ arrested mammalian cells in G2/M cell cycle stages associated with frequent gains and losses of chromatin. Cellular analyses revealed ABZ as a potent mammalian spindle poison for normal and malignant cells, explaining the serious chromosome segregation defects. Since chromosomal aberrations promote both cancer development and cell death, we determined if besides its general cytotoxicity, ABZ could predispose to tumor development. As measured by loss of heterozygosity (LOH) in vitro and in vivo ABZ was found as a potent inducer of LOH and accelerator of chromosomal missegregation.
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Jan Willem Van Der Laan, Medicines Evaluation Board, Netherlands
This article was submitted to Predictive Toxicology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Pharmacology
These authors have contributed equally to this work
Edited by: Elias Georges, McGill University, Canada
Reviewed by: Thavy Long, McGill University, Canada
ISSN:1663-9812
1663-9812
DOI:10.3389/fphar.2021.596535