Rollover Cyclometalation vs Nitrogen Coordination in Tetrapyridyl Anticancer Gold(III) Complexes: Effect on Protein Interaction and Toxicity

[Image: see text] In this work, a pair of gold(III) complexes derived from the analogous tetrapyridyl ligands H(2)biqbpy1 and H(2)biqbpy2 was prepared: the rollover, bis-cyclometalated [Au(biqbpy1)Cl ([1]Cl) and its isomer [Au(biqbpy2)Cl ([2]Cl). In [1](+), two pyridyl rings coordinate to the metal via a Au–C bond (C(∧)N(∧)N(∧)C coordination) and the two noncoordinated amine bridges of the ligand remain protonated, while in [2](+) all four pyridyl rings of the ligand coordinate to the metal via a Au–N bond (N(∧)N(∧)N(∧)N coordination), but both amine bridges are deprotonated. As a result, both complexes are monocationic, which allowed comparison of the sole effect of cyclometalation on the chemistry, protein interaction, and anticancer properties of the gold(III) compounds. Due to their identical monocationic charge and similar molecular shape, both complexes [1]Cl and [2]Cl displaced reference radioligand [(3)H]dofetilide equally well from cell membranes expressing the K(v)11.1 (hERG) potassium channel, and more so than the tetrapyridyl ligands H(2)biqbpy1 and H(2)biqbpy2. By contrast, cyclometalation rendered [1]Cl coordinatively stable in the presence of biological thiols, while [2]Cl was reduced by a millimolar concentration of glutathione into metastable Au(I) species releasing the free ligand H(2)biqbpy2 and TrxR-inhibiting Au(+) ions. The redox stability of [1]Cl dramatically decreased its thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) inhibition properties, compared to [2]Cl. On the other hand, unlike [2]Cl, [1]Cl aggregated into nanoparticles in FCS-containing medium, which resulted in much more efficient gold cellular uptake. [1]Cl had much more selective anticancer properties than [2]Cl and cisplatin, as it was almost 10 times more cytotoxic to human cancer cells (A549, A431, A375, and MCF7) than to noncancerous cells (MRC5). Mechanistic studies highlight the strikingly different mode of action of the two compounds: while for [1]Cl high gold cellular uptake, nuclear DNA damage, and interaction with hERG may contribute to cell killing, for [2]Cl extracellular reduction released TrxR-inhibiting Au(+) ions that were taken up in minute amounts in the cytosol, and a toxic tetrapyridyl ligand also capable of binding to hERG. These results demonstrate that bis-cyclometalation is an appealing method to improve the redox stability of Au(III) compounds and to develop gold-based cytotoxic compounds that do not rely on TrxR inhibition to kill cancer cells.