Platinum-containing cisplatin, a drug widely used in chemotherapy, lands more readily on cellular RNA than on DNA, researchers have found.

The drug kills cancer by attaching itself to DNA and preventing DNA replication. However, scientists have now found that up to 20 times more cisplatin actually lands on the cell's RNA than on the DNA.

Victoria DeRose and colleagues at the University of Oregon studied the build-up of platinum on RNA and DNA on yeast cells, reports Chemical and Engineering News (C&EN).

Mass spectrometry was used to measure how much platinum accumulated on the nucleic acids.

Accumulation of platinum on RNA outpaced that of DNA by between four and 20 times, the researchers said.

"We thought that the platinated RNAs wouldn't build up because the cell would just degrade them," a surprised DeRose told C&EN.

The bulk of the platinum molecules attached onto RNA in the ribosome, while the study also identified a few places on the ribosome that the drug bound to.

Poniard Pharmaceuticals recently developed a drug, picoplatin, which is designed to overcome platinum resistance associated with chemotherapy for patients with small cell lung cancer and ovarian cancer.

Source:

Cisplatin Hitches A Ride On RNA (01/11/11) 

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