Fluorine-containing polyamines: biochemistry and potential applications.

Investigations with the fluorinated spermidine analogues show clearly that these compounds have significant potential for studying the metabolism and functions of the polyamines. However, the biochemical and biological properties of these analogues are dissimilar. This is due to the influence of the fluorine substituent(s) on the basicity of the amine function proximal to the fluoromethylene group, this effect being amplified by geminal disubstitution. The monofluorinated spermidine analogues compare well with the natural amine in their ability to regulate the expression of the decarboxylase enzymes, to be substrates of spermine synthase and to support growth of polyamine-deficient cells. It is also likely that 6-monofluorospermine, formed biochemically in situ, shares with spermine similar functions. These findings raise the possibility of using these spermidine analogues to study the metabolism and pharmacology of polyamines in vivo but also to provide more insight into the regulatory role of spermidine in ODC and SAM-DC expression. Another potential application may be the use of these analogues as probes in tumor imaging and therapy control. This indication has been inferred by studies in tumor-bearing animals, using 19F-NMR spectroscopy determination of tissue fluorospermidine and fluorospermine, formed biochemically from the precursors 2-fluoro or 2,2-difluoroputrescine, and which demonstrate preferential accumulation in tumor versus normal tissue. Finally, these monofluorinated spermidine analogues may exert beneficial effects in pathological states associated with polyamine deficiency. These diseases remain however to be identified. Among the difluorinated spermidine analogues, 7,7-difluorospermidine possesses the most interesting properties. This spermidine analogue still possesses ODC and SAM-DC repressing activities although at much higher concentration than spermidine. More importantly it is a potent inhibitor of spermine synthesis both in cultured cells and in vivo due to its efficient competition with spermidine in the spermine synthase reaction. This compound not only depletes tumor cell of its spermine content but, in addition, appears to exert by itself and/or via 6,6-difluorospermine, the product of its metabolism, polyamine antagonist effects. Combined with MAP but also with DFMO, two potent irreversible inhibitors of ODC which block the synthesis of the natural endogenous polyamines, 7,7-difluorospermidine causes an immediate decrease of viability in cultured HTC cells and promotes tumor regression and stabilization in hepatoma-bearing rats.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)