In vitro cytotoxicity, protein binding, red blood cell partitioning, and biotransformation of oxaliplatin

The in vitro cytotoxicity, protein binding, partitioning of platinum from whole blood into erythrocytes, its exchange back into plasma, and the in vitro biotransformation in plasma were studied for the new nonnephrotoxic platinum analogue oxaliplatin. The cytotoxicity studies were carried out against a panel of human tumor cell lines derived from carcinomas of the ovary (A2780, A2780/cp), bladder (TCCSUP, RT4), colon (HT-29), melanoma (SKMEL-2, HTB144), and glioma (U373MG and U87MG). The relative potency of the five platinum complexes was oxaliplatin = tetraplatin > cisplatin > iproplatin > carboplatin. Oxaliplatin was active against HT-29 and only minimally cross-resistant with cisplatin against A2780/cp. Both bladder carcinoma cell lines, both melanoma cell lines, and one of the two glioblastoma cell lines were resistant to both oxaliplatin and tetraplatin. The cytotoxicity profiles of the drug pairs oxaliplatin-tetraplatin and cisplatin-carboplatin showed statistically significant correlation by the Spearman rank correlation test. Oxaliplatin was similar to cisplatin and tetraplatin in protein binding; 85-88% of all platinum from oxaliplatin (5, 10, or 20 micrograms/ml) was bound to plasma proteins within the first 5 h with an average half-life of 1.71 +/- 0.06 h. When oxaliplatin was incubated in whole blood (5, 10, and 20 micrograms/ml), the erythrocytes took up 37.1 +/- 2.1% of the total platinum in 2 h (maximum uptake) which was not exchangeable into plasma. Thus the erythrocyte-bound fraction does not serve as a reservoir of drug. In plasma, oxaliplatin was unchanged at 0.5 h, but at 1 h, 30% of the total platinum in plasma was in a peak which had identical retention to that of (trans-1,2-diaminocyclohexane)dichloroplatinum(II), the major biotransformation product of tetraplatin. At 2 h, (trans-1,2-diaminocyclohexane)dichloroplatinum(II) and three other platinum-containing peaks were detected but no unchanged oxaliplatin. All the platinum eluted in a single peak near the solvent front at 4 h. The marked similarity in cytotoxicity between oxaliplatin and tetraplatin may be due to the formation of (trans-1,2-diaminocyclohexane)dichloroplatinum(II) in tissue culture media.