UC Berkeley

Cranial irradiation is a standard therapy for primary and metastatic brain tumors. A major drawback of radiotherapy (RT), however, is long-term cognitive loss that affects quality of life. Radiation-induced oxidative stress in normal brain tissue is thought to contribute to cognitive decline. We evaluated the effectiveness of a novel mimic of superoxide dismutase enzyme (SOD), MnTnBuOE-2-PyP(5+)(Mn(III) meso-tetrakis(N-n-butoxyethylpyridinium-2-yl)porphyrin), to provide long-term neuroprotection following 8 Gy of whole brain irradiation. Long-term RT damage can only be assessed by brain imaging and neurocognitive studies. C57BL/6J mice were treated with MnTnBuOE-2-PyP(5+) before and after RT and evaluated three months later. At this time point, drug concentration in the brain was 25 nmol/L. Mice treated with MnTnBuOE-2-PyP(5+)/RT exhibited MRI evidence for myelin preservation in the corpus callosum compared with saline/RT treatment. Corpus callosum histology demonstrated a significant loss of axons in the saline/RT group that was rescued in the MnTnBuOE-2-PyP(5+)/RT group. In addition, the saline/RT groups exhibited deficits in motor proficiency as assessed by the rotorod test and running wheel tests. These deficits were ameliorated in groups treated with MnTnBuOE-2-PyP(5+)/RT. Our data demonstrate that MnTnBuOE-2-PyP(5+) is neuroprotective for oxidative stress damage caused by radiation exposure. In addition, glioblastoma cells were not protected by MnTnBuOE-2-PyP(5+) combination with radiation in vitro. Likewise, the combination of MnTnBuOE-2-PyP(5+) with radiation inhibited tumor growth more than RT alone in flank tumors. In summary, MnTnBuOE-2-PyP(5+) has dual activity as a neuroprotector and a tumor radiosensitizer. Thus, it is an attractive candidate for adjuvant therapy with RT in future studies with patients with brain cancer.