New comprehensive studies of a gold(III) Dithiocarbamate complex with proven anticancer properties: Aqueous dissolution with cyclodextrins, pharmacokinetics and upstream inhibition of the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway

The gold(III)-dithiocarbamate complex AuL12 (dibromo [ethyl-N-(dithiocarboxy-kS,kS′)-N-methylglycinate] gold(III)), is endowed with promising in vitro/in vivo antitumor activity and toxicological profile. Here, we report our recent strategies to improve its water solubility and stability under physiological conditions along with our efforts for unravelling its tangled mechanism of action. We used three types of α-cyclodextrins (CDs), namely β-CD, Me-β-CD and HP-β-CD to prepare aqueous solutions of AuL12. The ability of these natural oligosaccharide carriers to enhance water solubility of hydrophobic compounds, allowed drug stability of AuL12 to be investigated. Moreover, pharmacokinetic experiments were first carried out for a gold(III) coordination compound, after i.v. injection of the nanoformulation AuL12/HP-β-CD to female mice. The gold content in the blood samples was detected at scheduled times by AAS (atomic absorption spectrometry) analysis, highlighting a fast biodistribution with a tβ1/2 of few minutes and a slow escretion (tα1/2 of 14.3 h). The in vitro cytotoxic activity of AuL12 was compared with the AuL12/HP-β-CD mixture against a panel of three human tumor cell lines (i.e., HeLa, KB and MCF7). Concerning the mechanism of action, we previously reported the proteasome-inhibitory activity of some our gold(III)-based compounds. In this work, we moved from the proteasome target to upstream of the important ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, testing the effects of AuL12 on the polyubiquitination reactions involving the Ub–activating (E1) and –conjugating (E2) enzymes.