Compositions comprising ONCONASE(™) and cisplatin, melphalan, or doxorubicin HCl
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/921,180, filed Jul. 30, 1992, now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 07/436,141, filed Nov. 13, 1989, now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 07/178,118, filed Apr. 6, 1988, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,882,421. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to pharmaceuticals, and more particularly relates to pharmaceuticals for use in treating cells which cause cancer tumor in humans. 
     The above-referenced patent application discloses a pharmaceutical which will be referred to herein by the trademark ONCONASE. It has not been determined that when this pharmaceutical is used in vitro in a combined therapy with three other drugs, the results of the combined therapy are, in certain instances, much more bioactive than would be expected. 
     These other drugs are known as Cisplatin, Melphalan and ADRIAMYCIN. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     In vitro data indicate that a combination of ONCONASE with a drug sold under the name Cisplatin is much more bioactive against human ovarian OVCAR-3 adenocarcinoma than would be expected, given the separate activities of ONCONASE and Cisplatin. In vitro also data indicate that a combination of ONCONASE with a drug sold under the name Melphalan is much more bioactive against human ovarian OVCAR-3 adenocarcinoma than would be expected, given the separate activities of ONCONASE and Melphalan. In vitro data indicate that a combination of ONCONASE with a drug sold under the trademark ADRIAMYCIN is much more bioactive against human ovarian OVCAR-3 adenocarcinoma than would be expected given the separate activities of ONCONASE and ADRIAMYCIN. 
     The preferred embodiment of the invention was tested using a cell culture assay. In such an assay, a cell line of known growth rate over a predetermined period is treated with the substance under test and the growth of the treated cells is compared with the growth which would ordinarily be expected from untreated cells. 
     ONCONASE, described in the above-referenced pending patent application and manufactured in accordance with the methodology described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,882,421 (which methodology is hereby incorporated herein by reference as if fully set forth herein) was dissolved in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) to obtain 1 mg/ml stock solution. 
     Cisplatin, also known as cis-diamminedichloroplatinum, is a heavy metal complex containing a central atom of platinum surrounded by two chloride atoms and two ammonia molecules in the cis position. It has the molecular formula Pt Cl 2  H 6  N 2  and a molecular weight of 300.1. 
     Melphalan, also known as L-phenylalanine mustard, phenylalanine mustard, L-PAM, or L-sarcolysin, is 4-[bis(2-chloroethyl)amino]-L-phenylalanine. 
     ADRIAMYCIN is a trademark for Doxorubicin HCl, USP. Doxorubicin is an anthracycline antibiotic isolated from cultures of Streptomyces peucetius var. caesius. Doxorubicin consists of a napthacenequinone nucleus linked through a glycosidic bond at ring atom 7 to an amino sugar, daunosamine. 
     The assay system utilized the OVCAR-3 human ovarian adenocarcinoma cell line, obtained from the American Type Culture Collection (accession number ATCC HTB 161). The cell line was cultured in RPMI 1640 medium and supplemented with 20% heat-inactivated fetal bovine serum, 200 mM L-glutamine, 10,000 units per 1 ml penicillin, 10 mg per 1 ml streptomycin, 25 μg per 1 ml fungizone, 10 mM HEPES buffer and 10 μg per 1 ml bovine insulin. This was the complete growth medium. 
     The cells were seeded into 96-well tissue culture plates at a density of 6000 viable cells (50 μl ) per well. The cells were allowed to settle for 24 hours and then 50 μl of appropriate ONCONASE and/or Cisplatin, Melphalan or ADRIAMYCIN solutions were added per well. The following final concentrations were used: 
     a) ONCONASE, 20 ng to 10 μg/ml; 
     b) Cisplatin, 10 to 500 nM; 
     c) Melphalan, 0.25 to 5 μM; and 
     d) ADRIAMYCIN, 5 to 100 nM. 
     The plates were incubated for an additional six days at 37° C. and 5% carbon dioxide atmosphere. The total assay time was consequently seven days (one day in which the cells are allowed to settle, and six days of incubation). Percentages of viable cells were then determined using the MTT colorimetric assay using the Bio-Rad EIA microtiter plate reader. 
     The number of cells was determined by a direct count in an AO-Spencer &#34;Brightline&#34; hemocytometer with a Neubauer ruling. Attached cells were washed three times with Hanks&#39; Balanced Salt Solution and treated with 2 ml of a 0.25% Trypsin--0.02% EDTA solution in buffered saline for about thirty seconds. The solution was removed and the cells were left at 37° C. for 10 minutes, then suspended in 10 ml of the complete growth medium. The 0.25 ml of the cell suspension was diluted with 0.75 ml of the complete growth medium and then 1 ml of 0.5% Trypan Blue solution was added and viable cells were counted. 
     Tables 1, 2 and 3 present the result of the above experiments. Except for the ED 50  values, these tables are expressed in the Interaction Index developed by Berenbaum. In this Interaction Index, a result of 1.0 indicates that the two drugs do not interact, i.e. that their combined effectiveness against a particular cell line is unchanged from what would be expected from using them individually. An Interaction Index result which is greater than 1.0 indicates that the two drugs are antagonistic, i.e. that their combined effectiveness against a particular cell line is less than what would be expected from using them individually. Progressively higher Interaction Index results indicate progressively greater antagonism. An Interaction Index result which is less than 1.0 indicates that the two drugs are synergistic, i.e. that their combined effectiveness against a particular cell line is greater than what would be expected from using them individually. As the Interaction Index approaches 0 (maximum synergism), this indicates progressively greater synergism. Thus, a lower number indicates a higher bioactivity against the cell line used in the experiment. The ED 50  values represent isoeffective doses; they indicate the dose required to halve the growth rate of the cells undergoing the assay. Thus, the lower the ED 50  figure, the smaller the dose required to achieve the same bioactivity. 
     
                       TABLE 1                                                     
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Interaction Index and ED.sub.50 Values for varying doses of               
ONCONASE together with Cisplatin for OVCAR-3 human                        
ovarian adenocarcinoma cells and ED.sub.50 values for                     
ONCONASE and Cisplatin individually                                       
ONCONASE                                                                  
Dose (μg/ml)                                                           
             0       0.02    0.2   2.0   ED.sub.50                        
______________________________________                                    
ONCONASE                                 1.447                            
Alone                                                                     
ONCONASE +           1.159   0.891 0.482 0.697                            
10 mM Cisplatin                                                           
ONCONASE +           1.098   0.830 0.421 0.609                            
25 mM Cisplatin                                                           
ONCONASE +           1.132   0.864 0.455 0.658                            
50 mM Cisplatin                                                           
ONCONASE +           0.858   0.590 0.181 0.262                            
100 mM Cisplatin                                                          
ONCONASE +           0.700   0.432 0.023 0.034                            
250 mM Cisplatin                                                          
ONCONASE +           0.685   0.417 0.008 0.011                            
500 mM Cisplatin                                                          
ED.sub.50 Values*:                                                        
             316.509 214.299 129.616                                      
                                   &lt;0.001                                 
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 *for Cisplatin in combination with respective concentrations of ONCONASE 
 (vertically); ED.sub.50 value for Cisplatin at 0 μl ONCONASE is for   
 Cisplatin alone, OVCAR3 cells being considered resistant to Cisplatin    
 alone                                                                    
 
    
     
                       TABLE 2                                                     
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Interaction Index and ED.sub.50 Values for varying doses of               
ONCONASE together with Melphalan for OVCAR-3 human                        
ovarian adenocarcinoma cells and ED.sub.50 values for                     
ONCONASE and Melphalan individually                                       
ONCONASE Dose (μg/ml)                                                  
                 0      0.02   0.2  2.0  ED.sub.50                        
______________________________________                                    
ONCONASE Alone                                                            
ONCONASE + 0.25 μM   1.701  1.492                                      
                                    0.747                                 
                                         1.705                            
Melphalan                                                                 
ONCONASE + 0.5 μM    1.778  1.569                                      
                                    0.824                                 
                                         1.881                            
Melphalan                                                                 
ONCONASE + 0.75 μM   1.746  1.537                                      
                                    0.792                                 
                                         1.808                            
Melphalan                                                                 
ONCONASE + 1.0 μM    1.142  0.934                                      
                                    0.189                                 
                                         0.411                            
Melphalan                                                                 
ONCONASE + 2.5 μM    0.987  0.779                                      
                                    0.034                                 
                                         0.051                            
Melphalan                                                                 
ONCONASE + 5.0 μM    0.975  0.766                                      
                                    0.021                                 
                                         0.022                            
Melphalan                                                                 
ED.sub.50 Values*:                                                        
                 4.786  4.623  3.624                                      
                                    0.056                                 
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 *for Melphalan in combination with respective concentrations of ONCONASE 
 (vertically); ED.sub.50 value for Melphalan at 0 μl ONCONASE is for   
 Melphalan alone, OVCAR3 cells being considered resistant to Melphalan    
 alone                                                                    
 
    
     
                       TABLE 3                                                     
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Interaction Index and ED.sub.50 Values for varying doses of               
ONCONASE together with ADRIAMYCIN for OVCAR-3                             
human ovarian adenocarcinoma cells and ED.sub.50 values for               
ONCONASE and ADRIAMYCIN individually                                      
ONCONASE                                                                  
Dose (μg/ml)                                                           
              0       0.02    0.2   2.0  ED.sub.50                        
______________________________________                                    
ONCONASE Alone                           1.166                            
ONCONASE + 5 nM       1.744   1.305 0.881                                 
                                         0.957                            
ADRIAMYCIN                                                                
ONCONASE + 10 nM      1.702   1.263 0.839                                 
                                         0.908                            
ADRIAMYCIN                                                                
ONCONASE + 25 nM      1.208   0.769 0.346                                 
                                         0.332                            
ADRIAMYCIN                                                                
ONCONASE + 50 nM      0.923   0.484 0.061                                 
                                         0.001                            
ADRIAMYCIN                                                                
ED.sub.50 Values*:                                                        
              37.340  34.473  18.090                                      
                                    2.265                                 
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 *for ADRIAMYCIN in combination with respective concentrations of ONCONASE
 (vertically); ED.sub.50 value for Adriamycin at 0 μl ONCONASE is for  
 ADRIAMYCIN alone, OVCAR3 cells being considered resistant to ADRIAMYCIN  
 alone                                                                    
 
    
     These results demonstrate that, in the instances shown, the bioactivities of ONCONASE combined with Cisplatin, Melphalan and ADRIAMYCIN on OVCAR-3 human ovarian adenocarcinoma are much greater than would be expected from the bioactivities of the individual drugs alone. (Indeed, the OVCAR-3 cell line originated from a patient who was clinically resistant to Cisplatin, Melphalan and ADRIAMYCIN.) This may be seen from the ED 50  figures which are along the right edge of the Tables. These figures represent computed isoeffective doses; the figure shown is the amount of material which would be required to halve the growth rate of the cells undergoing the assay. Thus, the lower the ED 50  figure, the smaller the dose required to achieve the same bioactivity. 
     Chemical Analysis and Composition of ONCONASE 
     ONCONASE has been well characterized chemically. While ONCONASE is a protein isolated from Rana pipiens, it is believed that ONCONASE may be produced using genetic engineering techniques, as long as the end result has the following chemistry and structure: 
     ONCONASE is a pure protein (i.e. homogeneous, as established by standard tests which are used to assay the homogeneity of proteins). By electrophoresis, the molecular weight of ONCONASE is approximately 14,500 Daltons. Calculation of the molecular weight based upon the below listed amino acid sequence indicates that the molecular weight should be 11,819 Daltons. However, because metal ions may have bonded to the protein despite all efforts to remove them, and because different isotopes may be involved, the molecular weight of ONCONASE as determined by mass spectroscopy is 12,430 Daltons. In view of this discrepancy, the molecular weight of ONCONASE as determined by mass spectrometry will be considered to be approximately 12,000 Daltons. ONCONASE has an isoelectric point pI which is at least 9.5 and may be as high as 10.5. ONCONASE has a blocked amino terminal group and is essentially free of carbohydrates (as determined by anthrone and orcinol methods). ONCONASE has the following amino acid composition: 
     
         ______________________________________                                    
Amino Acid Analysis                                                       
                MOL %                                                     
AMINO ACID RESIDUE                                                        
                (24 HOUR ACID HYDROLYSIS)                                 
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Aspartic acid/Aspargine                                                   
                13.39                                                     
Threonine       9.84          (Note 1)                                    
Serine          8.08          (Note 1)                                    
Glutamic acid/Glutamine                                                   
                5.88                                                      
Proline         3.98                                                      
Glycine         2.98                                                      
Alanine         2.92                                                      
Cystine/2       7.77                                                      
Valine          7.77                                                      
Methionine      0.94                                                      
Isoleucine      5.29          (Note 2)                                    
Leucine         4.95                                                      
Tyrosine        2.85                                                      
Phenylalanine   5.73                                                      
Histidine       2.99                                                      
Lysine          11.78                                                     
Arginine        2.85                                                      
Tryptophan      Not Determined                                            
                              (Note 3)                                    
Approximate Total                                                         
                99.99%                                                    
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 Note 1: Threonine and serine are partially destroyed during hydrolysis an
 this value is corrected for such partial destruction.                    
 Note 2: This value is corrfected for incomplete hydrolysis.              
 Note 3: Tryptophan cannot be detected in acid hydrolysis of proteins     
 becase it is destroyed and is consequently shown as Not Determined.      
 However, analysis of the ultraviolet spectrum revealed the presence of on
 tryptophan residue per molecule.                                         
 
    
     
         ______________________________________                                    
Amino Acid Composition                                                    
(as calculated from amino acid sequence)                                  
              NUMBER OF RESIDUES                                          
AMINO ACID    PER MOLECULE OF MATERIAL                                    
______________________________________                                    
Aspartic acid 6                                                           
Asparagine    8                                                           
Threonine     10                                                          
Serine        8                                                           
Glutamic acid 3                                                           
Pyroglutamic acid                                                         
              1                                                           
Glutamine     2                                                           
Proline       4                                                           
Glycine       3                                                           
Alanine       3                                                           
Cystine/2     8                                                           
Valine        8                                                           
Methionine    1                                                           
Isoleucine    6                                                           
Leucine       5                                                           
Tyrosine      3                                                           
Phenylalanine 6                                                           
Histidine     3                                                           
Lysine        12                                                          
Arginine      3                                                           
Tryptophan    1                                                           
Approximate Total                                                         
              104                                                         
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     ONCONASE has been sequenced. As is shown below, the total length of the sequence is 104 residues. The N-terminus of the protein is pyroglutamic acid (&lt;Glu). This is a cyclized derivative of glutamic acid which is devoid of the free amino group necessary for direct sequencing and which therefore &#34;blocks&#34; the N-terminus of the protein. 
     When the shorter fragment described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,882,421 was cleaved with pyroglutamate aminopeptidase, pyroglutamic acid was removed from the shorter fragment, permitting sequencing to commence at the second residue. Such cleavage is a strong indication that the N-terminus is pyroglutamic acid since pyroglutamate aminopeptidase only cleaves pyroglutamic acid. The presence of pyroglutamic acid was further confirmed by mass spectrometry of the referenced shorter fragment. The molecular weight of this shorter fragment determined by mass spectrometry agreed well with the weight as calculated assuming that pyroglutamic acid was present and disagreed with the weight as calculated assuming that glutamic acid was present. 
     ONCONASE has the following amino acid sequence: ##STR1## 
     
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SEQUENCE LISTING                                                          
(1) GENERAL INFORMATION:                                                  
(iii) NUMBER OF SEQUENCES: 1                                              
(2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:1:                                          
(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                             
(A) LENGTH: 104 amino acids                                               
(B) TYPE: amino acid                                                      
(C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                  
(D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                      
(ii) MOLECULE TYPE: protein                                               
(iii) HYPOTHETICAL: N                                                     
 (iv) ANTI-SENSE: N                                                       
(v) FRAGMENT TYPE: N-terminal                                             
(vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:                                                     
(A) ORGANISM: Rana pipiens                                                
(D) DEVELOPMENTAL STAGE: Embryo                                           
(xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:1:                                   
GluAspTrpLeuThrPheGlnLysLysHisIleThrAsnThrArgAsp                          
15 1015                                                                   
ValAspCysAspAsnIleMetSerThrAsnLeuPheHisCysLysAsp                          
202530                                                                    
LysAsnThrPheIleTyrS erArgProGluProValLysAlaIleCys                         
354045                                                                    
LysGlyIleIleAlaSerLysAsnValLeuThrThrSerGluPheTyr                          
50 5560                                                                   
LeuSerAspCysAsnValThrSerArgProCysLysTyrLysLeuLys                          
65707580                                                                  
LysSerThrAsnLysPheCys ValThrCysGluAsnGlnAlaProVal                         
859095                                                                    
HisPheValGlyValGlySerCys                                                  
100                                                                       
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     Although a preferred embodiment has been described above, the scope of the invention is limited only by the following claims: