1H HR-MAS NMR-Based Metabolomics of Cancer Cells in Response to Treatment with the Diruthenium Trithiolato Complex [(p-MeC6H4iPr)2Ru2(SC6H4-p-But)3]+ (DiRu-1)

The trithiolato bridged diruthenium complex DiRu-1 [(p-MeC6H4 iPr) 2Ru2(SC6H4-p-But) 3]+ is highly cytotoxic against various cancer cell lines, but its exact mode of action remains unknown. The present 1H HR-MAS NMR-based metabolomic study was performed on ovarian cancer cell line A2780, on its cis-Pt resistant variant A2780cisR, and on the cell line HEK-293 treated with 0.03 mu M and 0.015 mu M of DiRu-1 corresponding to full and half IC50 doses, respectively, to investigate the mode of action of this ruthenium complex. The resulting changes in the metabolic profile of the cell lines were studied using HR-MAS NMR of cell lysates and a subsequent statistical analysis. We show that DiRu-1 in a 0.03 mu M dose has significant impact on the levels of a number of metabolites, such as glutamine, glutamate, glutathione, cysteine, lipid, creatine, lactate, and acetate, especially pronounced in the A2780cisR cell line. The IC50 / 2 dose shows some significant changes, but full IC50 appears to be necessary to observe the full e ff ect. Overall, the metabolic changes observed suggest that redox homeostasis, the Warburg e ff ect, and the lipid metabolism are a ff ected by DiRu-1.