XK469, a selective topoisomerase IIβ poison

XK469 (NSC 697887) is a synthetic quinoxaline phenoxypropionic acid derivative that possesses unusual solid tumor selectivity and activity against multidrug-resistant cancer cells. We report here that XK469 and its S(−) and R(+)-isomers induce reversible protein-DNA crosslinks in mammalian cells. Under protein denaturing conditions, the protein-DNA crosslinks are rendered irreversible and stable to DNA banding by CsCl gradient ultracentrifugation. Several lines of evidence indicate that the primary target of XK469 is topoisomerase IIβ. Preferential targeting of topoisomerase IIβ may explain the solid tumor selectivity of XK469 and its analogs because solid tumors, unlike leukemias, often have large populations of cells in the G(1)/G(0) phases of the cell cycle in which topoisomerase IIβ is high whereas topoisomerase IIα, the primary target of many leukemia selective drugs, is low.