Contrasting molecular cytotoxic mechanisms of mitomycin C and its two analogs, BMY 25282 and BMY 25067, in isolated rat hepatocytes.

The molecular cytotoxic mechanisms of mitomycin C (MMC) and its analogs, BMY 25282 and BMY 25067, have been investigated using isolated hepatocytes as a model system for studying toxicity to nondividing tissues. These drugs have quinone and aziridine moieties, and tumor cell cytotoxicity has been attributed to DNA alkylation and cross-linking. By contrast, the following results suggest that these drugs cause oxidative stress in nondividing cells by different mechanisms. Both hepatocytes or hepatic microsomes and NADPH were able to catalyse oxygen activation by all three drugs, suggesting that enzymatic reduction results in the formation of auto-oxidizable species. Their relative effectiveness at activating oxygen was BMY 25282 >> BMY 25067 > MMC. However, their relative cytotoxic effectiveness was BMY 25067 >> BMY 25282 > MMC, and it was increased markedly if hepatocyte glutathione-reductase or catalase was inactivated. Furthermore, ascorbate increased the toxic potencies of both BMY 25282 and MMC in catalase-inactivated hepatocytes by as much as 60- and 40-fold, respectively. Hepatocyte glutathione (GSH) oxidation was also increased. The relative resistance of normal hepatocytes to MMC and BMY 25282 can be attributed therefore, to the high levels of enzymes in hepatocytes involved in hydrogen peroxide detoxification. BMY 25067 cytotoxicity unlike that of BMY 25282 or MMC was prevented by the addition of the thiol reductant dithiothreitol. BMY 25067 also differed in being much more toxic towards GSH-depleted hepatocytes. Furthermore, BMY 25067, unlike MMC and BMY 25282, caused a rapid decrease in hepatocyte ATP levels and inhibited mitochondrial respiration. This could be prevented by the addition of the thiol reductant dithiothreitol, which restored intracellular GSH levels. Its toxic potency to catalase- or glutathione reductase-inactivated hepatocytes also was not increased by ascorbate. Therefore, the cytotoxicity of BMY 25067 can probably be attributed to oxidative stress by the aminodisulfide moiety which causes GSH and mixed disulfide formation, resulting in mitochondrial toxicity.