Hycanthone

Hycanthone is a thioxanthenone DNA intercalator and inhibits RNA synthesis as well as the DNA topoisomerases I and II. Hycanthone inhibits nucleic acid biosynthesis and inhibits apurinic endonuclease-1 (APE1) by direct protein binding with a K_D of 10 nM. Hycanthone is a bioactive metabolite of Lucanthone (HY-B2098) and has anti-schistosomal agent^[1]. IC50 & Target: Parasite^[1] In Vitro: Hycanthone has an IC₅₀ of 80 nM for inhibition of APE1 incision of depurinated plasmid DNA^[1].
Hycanthone (0.05-100 µM; for 2 h) promotes APE1 cleavage in presence of Cycloheximide (CHX) and this cleavage is inhibited by 1% DMSO^[1].
Hycanthone at 20 mg/mL or more is progressively more detrimental to cell viability. Results reveal that increased concentrations of Hycanthone, ranging from 0.1 to 10 μg/mL, progressively reduces viral interferon yields as much as 73% compare to that of controls^[3]. In Vivo: Results show that the incorporation of tritiated thymidine into TCA-precipitable material of adult sensitive worms undergo a progressive decrease after treatment with Hycanthone. Immature worms are totally unaffected by Hycanthone at all times tested. Male worms treated with Hycanthone show signs of a possible partial recovery from the initial low levels of incorporation. The incorporation of tritiated leucine by drug-sensitive worms treated with Hycanthone is inhibited by 40 to 50% in the first four days after treatment. Results show that, 7 days after Hycanthone treatment, both ribosomal RNA species are reduced by at least 80% with respect to untreated worms, with some indication of a possible accumulation of heavier precursor molecules^[2].