Lactoperoxidase-catalyzed oxidation of the anticancer agent mitoxantrone by nitrogen dioxide (NO2.) radicals.

Mitoxantrone [1,4-dihydroxy-5,8-bis[[2-[(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]ethyl] amino]-9,10-anthracenedione, MXH2] is a novel anticancer agent frequently employed in the chemotherapy of leukemia and breast cancer. Earlier studies have shown that metabolic oxidation to reactive 1,4-quinone or/and 5,8-diiminequinone intermediates may be an important mechanism of activation of this agent, pertinent to its cytotoxic action in vivo. Here we report that in the presence of nitrite ions (NO2-), MXH2 undergoes oxidation by the mammalian enzyme lactoperoxidase (LPO) and hydrogen peroxide and that the process proceeds at a rate that is proportional to NO2- concentration. In contrast, when MXH2 was exposed to LPO/H2O2 in the absence of nitrite, oxidation of the drug was either completely absent or markedly inhibited. These experiments were carried out using concentrated solutions of MXH2 (approximately 100 microM) at near neutral pH where dimers of the drug predominate. We propose that oxidation of MXH2 is mediated by an LPO/ H2O2 metabolite of NO2-, most likely the .NO2 radical. Because in mitoxantrone therapy the drug is administered intravenously, it is directly exposed to nitrogen oxides and other free radicals produced by blood components. It is therefore possible that the ability of mitoxantrone to react with the nitrogen dioxide radical may be relevant to the biological action of the drug in vivo.