N-Acyloxymethyl-phthalimides deliver genotoxic formaldehyde to human cells.

ABSTRACT: Formaldehyde is a pollutant and human metabolite that is toxic at high concentrations. Biological studies on formaldehyde are hindered by its high reactivity and volatility, which make it challenging to deliver quantitatively to cells. Here, we describe the development and validation of a set of N-acyloxymethyl-phthalimides as cell-relevant formaldehyde delivery agents. These esterase-sensitive compounds were similarly or less inhibitory to human cancer cell growth than free formaldehyde but the lead compound increased intracellular formaldehyde concentrations, increased cellular levels of thymidine derivatives (implying increased formaldehyde-mediated carbon metabolism), induced formation of cellular DNA-protein cross-links and induced cell death in pancreatic cancer cells. Overall

SUBMITTER: Emms VL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10646869 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature