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¹ Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, ² Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York; and ³ Burke Medical Research Institute, White Plains, New York

Requests for reprints: I. Bernard Weinstein, Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University Medical Center, 701 West 168th Street, Room 1509, New York, NY 10032. Phone: 212-305-6921; Fax: 212-305-6889. E-mail: ibw1{at}columbia.edu

We previously reported that the garlic-derived compound S-allylmercaptocysteine (SAMC) causes growth inhibition, mitotic arrest, and induction of apoptosis in SW480 human colon cancer cells by inducing microtubule depolymerization and c-Jun NH₂ terminus kinase-1 activation. In the present study, we compared the aforementioned effects of SAMC to those of a series of garlic-derived and other organosulfur compounds. Among the 10 compounds tested, only SAMC, diallyl disulfide (DADS), and S-trityl-L-cysteine (trityl-cys) cause significant inhibition of cell growth with IC₅₀ values of 150, 56, and 0.9 µmol/L, respectively. These three compounds also induce G₂-M cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Further studies reveal that, like SAMC, the garlic-derived compound DADS exerts antiproliferative effects by binding directly to tubulin and disrupting the microtubule assembly, thus arresting cells in mitosis and triggering mitochondria-mediated signaling pathways that lead to apoptosis. However, the synthetic compound trityl-cys exerts its effect on M-phase arrest and growth inhibition by mechanisms that involve spindle impairment but do not involve disruption of microtubule structure or dynamics. Furthermore, trityl-cys does not induce marked loss of mitochondrial membrane potential or release of cytochrome c, but it does induce caspase-3 activation and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage. Structure-function analysis suggests that both the allyl and the disulfide moieties are important features for the antiproliferative effects of SAMC and DADS. These findings may be useful in the identification, synthesis, and development of organosulfur compounds that have anticancer activity.

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⁴ http://rsb.info.nih.gov/nih-image/

Received 5/16/05; revised 6/23/05; accepted 7/15/05.