2008 - 04

J Transl Med. 2008 Feb 26;6:9.

NCX-4040, a nitric oxide-releasing aspirin, sensitizes drug-resistant human ovarian xenograft tumors to cisplatin by depletion of cellular thiols.

Bratasz A, Selvendiran K, Wasowicz T, Bobko A, Khramtsov VV, Ignarro LJ, Kuppusamy P. Center for Biomedical EPR Spectroscopy and Imaging, Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute, Department of Internal Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. kuppusamy.1@osu.edu

BACKGROUND: Ovarian carcinoma is the leading cause of mortality among gynecological cancers in the world. The high mortality rate is associated with lack of early diagnosis and development of drug resistance. The antitumor efficacy and mechanism of NCX-4040, a nitric oxide-releasing aspirin derivative, against ovarian cancer is studied. METHODS: NCX-4040, alone or in combination with cisplatin (cis-diamminedichloroplatinum, cDDP), was studied in cisplatin-sensitive (A2780 WT) and cisplatin-resistant (A2780 cDDP) cell lines as well as xenograft tumors grown in nude mice. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) was used for measurements of nitric oxide and redox state. Immunoblotting analysis of A2780 cDDP tumor xenografts from mice was used for mechanistic studies. RESULTS: Cells treated with NCX-4040 (25 microM) showed a significant reduction of cell viability (A2780 WT, 34.9 +/- 8.7%; A2780 cDDP, 41.7 +/- 7.6%; p <>