Tumor Xenograft Uptake of a Pyrrole–Imidazole (Py-Im) Polyamide Varies as a Function of Cell Line Grafted

[Image: see text] Subcutaneous xenografts represent a popular approach to evaluate efficacy of prospective molecular therapeutics in vivo. In the present study, the C-14 labeled radioactive pyrrole–imidazole (Py-Im) polyamide 1, targeted to the 5′-WGWWCW-3′ DNA sequence, was evaluated with regard to its uptake properties in subcutaneous xenografts, derived from the human tumor cell lines LNCaP (prostate), A549 (lung), and U251 (brain), respectively. Significant variation in compound tumor concentrations was seen in xenografts derived from these three cell lines. Influence of cell line grafted on systemic polyamide elimination was established. With A549, a marked variation in localization of 1 was determined between Matrigel-negative and -positive xenografts. An extensive tissue distribution analysis of 1 in wild-type animals was conducted, enabling the comparison between the xenografts and the corresponding host organs of origin.