POTENT GROWTH-SUPPRESSIVE ACTIVITY OF A SERINE-PROTEASE INHIBITOR, ONO-3403, TOWARD MALIGNANT HUMAN NEUROBLASTOMA CELL-LINES

FOY-305 is a synthetic serine protease inhibitor and ONO-3403 and FO-3 49 are its derivatives. The effects of these compounds on the prolifer ation of 13 human neuroblastoma cell lines were investigated in vitro by MTT colorimetric assay. The half maximum inhibition concentrations of ONO-3403 varied between 22 and 90 mu g/ml while those of FOY-305 an d FO-349 were higher than 100 mu g/ml. ONO-3403 showed higher growth-i nhibitory activity for N-myc-amplified neuroblastomas as compared with that for non-amplified cells. Since N-myc amplification in neuroblast omas is well correlated with a poor prognosis, ONO-3403 could be an ef fective anticancer drug for malignant neuroblastomas. (C) 1998 Elsevie r Science Ireland Ltd.