Inhibition of M-MuLV reverse transcriptase activity by fullerene derivatives

Influence of fullerene (C₆₀) derivatives on M-MuLV reverse transcriptase activity is investigated. Two water-soluble fullerene derivatives, fullerol (C₆₀(OH)_23-24) and trimalonic acid C ₆₀ (TMA C₆₀, C₆₃(COOH)₆) are used in the experiments and their effects on in vitro reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of β-actin mRNA in HeLa cells are determined. PCR products are detected by agarose gel electrophoresis. It is found that the amounts of PCR products decrease with addition of either of two fullerene derivatives to RT reaction mixture. The inhibition of fullerene derivatives is dose-dependent, and IC50 values of fullerol and TMA C₆₀ are 0.089 and 0.039 mmol/L, respectively. The amount of PCR products obtained by direct addition of fullerol or TMA C₆₀ to PCR are greater than those obtained by addition of the equivalent amount of fullerol or TMA C₆₀ to RT, indicating an inhibitory effect of fullerol or TMA C₆₀ on RT. The compensative experiment of M-MuLV reverse transcriptase shows that increasing enzyme amounts can antagonize the activity of fullerol or TMA C ₆₀. These results imply that fullerenes can inhibit M-MuLV reverse transcriptase activity, with the inhibition of TMA C₆₀ slightly stronger than fullerol, and that their potential in treatment of diseases induced by RNA viruses such as leukemia virus needs further investigation.