Abstract
Various proteins involved in transcriptional regulation possess highly selective DNA-binding domains, known as zinc fingers. However, little is known about small-molecule zinc(II) complexes in the regulation of gene expression and programmed cell death. A new family of zinc(II) complexes is reported, which might be useful against human cancer cells. By using template synthesis and in vitro cell-line screening, a set of zinc(II) complexes has been found to induce apoptosis of cancer cells and display single-reagent in vitro cytotoxicity. The method used to synthesize the molecules resulted in "built-in" luminescent behavior. Confocal optical imaging clearly demonstrated penetration through the cell membrane by these metal complexes. We have discovered that C3, the meso-zinc(II) complex is an extremely efficient regulator of the cell cycle and anti-apoptosis genes bcl-2 and bcl-xL. This study provides a new insight into the development of zinc(II) complexes as potential drugs.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 332-340 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | ChemBioChem |
Volume | 8 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Feb 12 2007 |
Keywords
- Antitumor agents
- Breast cancer
- Gene expression
- Transcription factors
- Zinc
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Molecular Medicine
- Molecular Biology
- Biochemistry
- Organic Chemistry