Compound
1a (6-chloro-5-{3-[4-(1
H-indazol-3-yl)-piperazin-1-yl]-propyl}-3,3-dimethyl-1,3-dihydro-indol-2-one) was mutagenic to
Salmonella typhimurium TA98 in the presence of rat liver S9 subcellularfraction. The metabolism of
1a in rat liver S9 or microsomes demonstrated that it underwent a P450-mediated N-deindazolation (loss of indazole ring) as a predominant metabolic pathway. To investigatea possible link between metabolism and mutagenicity, a structural analogue
1b (6-chloro-5-{3-[4-(1
H-indazol-3-yl)-piperidin-1-yl]-propyl}-3,3-dimethyl-1,3-dihydro-indol-2-one), the cleaved product
2a (6-chloro-3,3-dimethyl-5-(3-piperazin-1-yl-propyl)-1,3-dihydro-indol-2-one), and the core motif
3a (3-piperazinyl indazole) were evaluated in the Ames assay. It was found that
1b was not mutagenic to
Salmonella typhimurium TA98 in the absence or presence of a metabolic activating system. In contrastto
1a,
1b did not undergo the metabolic cleavage (loss of indazole ring). Marginal mutagenicity of
2a toTA98 was observed with rat liver S9, whereas
3a was shown to be a promutagen. It was furtherdemonstrated that
1a inactivated P450 3A, the principle enzyme catalyzing the N-deindazolation reaction,in an NADPH-, time-, and concentration-dependent manner. The kinetics of inactivation was characterizedby a
KI of 8.1
M and
kinact of 0.114 min
-1. The differences in mutagenicity between
1a and
1b suggestthat a chemical bond extending from the 3-position of the indazole to a heteroatom (as part of anothercyclic ring) is a prerequisite for the toxicity. The metabolic process leading to the elimination of theindazole from the rest of the molecule apparently plays a key role in causing mutagenicity. It is postulatedthat the N-deindazolation of
1a proceeds
via an oxaziridine intermediate, the formation of which isindirectly inferred from the presence of benzoic acid in microsomal incubations. Benzoic acid is thoughtto be derived from the hydrolysis of 3-indazolone, an unstable product generated from the oxaziridine.Evidence suggests that the electrophilic oxaziridine intermediate may be responsible for the mutagenicityand inactivation of P450 3A.