The effect of Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors on collagen-induced platelet aggregation, BTK, and tyrosine kinase expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (TEC).

OBJECTIVES: Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) and tyrosine kinase expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (TEC) are expressed by human platelets. These kinases participate in platelet activation through the collagen receptor glycoprotein VI and may perform overlapping functions. In clinical studies, BTK inhibitors (ibrutinib, acalabrutinib, tirabrutinib, zanubrutinib) have been associated with increased bleeding risk, which may result from inhibition of BTK alone or of both BTK and TEC, although the role of TEC in bleeding risk remains unclear. METHODS: Here, in vitro catalytic and binding activities of ibrutinib and acalabrutinib were determined with four assay systems. Platelet aggregation assays determined inhibitor potency and its relationship to selectivity between BTK and TEC. RESULTS: Neither inhibitor was substantially more selective for BTK over TEC. The potencies at which BTK inhibitors suppressed platelet aggregation correlated with the potencies in on-target BTK assays, including those in cells. At clinically relevant plasma concentration, ibrutinib, acalabrutinib, and tirabrutinib inhibited collagen-induced platelet aggregation to a similar extent, despite differing in vitro IC50 s. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest BTK inhibition is the primary driver for inhibition of platelet aggregation. The subtle differences between these inhibitors suggest only randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical studies can fully address the bleeding risks of different BTK inhibitors.

Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitors for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

The function and role of Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) in human B cell development was demonstrated by its association with X-linked agammaglobulinemia (XLA) manifested by a substantial reduction in immunoglobulins and B cells. BTK has a crucial role in pre-B cell receptor (BCR) and BCR signaling during normal B cell development and activation. Aberrant BCR signaling is associated with autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In addition, BTK is also expressed in myeloid cell populations, including monocytes, macrophages, neutrophils and mast cells. These innate cells infiltrate the synovial cavity and produce inflammatory cytokines, aggravating arthritic symptoms. In myeloid cell populations, BTK functions downstream of the Fcγ receptors (FcγR) and Fcɛ receptors (FcɛR). In the absence of BTK, FcR-mediated functions, such as cytokine production, are impaired. In addition, Xid mice, which have a mutation in BTK, have decreased susceptibility to developing collagen-induced arthritis (CIA). Given that BTK is involved in multiple signaling pathways downstream of the BCR and FcR, it is an attractive therapeutic target for RA.

Facet-dependent optical properties of polyhedral Au-Cu2O core-shell nanocrystals.

We fabricated Au-Cu2O core-shell octahedra, cuboctahedra, and nanocubes having sizes of 90-220 nm using 50 nm octahedral cores. The smaller particle sizes minimize the strong light scattering features from the Cu2O shells and enable the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) absorption band of the gold cores to be clearly identified. Beyond a lower shell thickness limit, the SPR band positions of the gold cores are independent of the shell thickness, but are strongly dependent on the exposed particle surfaces. The plasmonic band red-shifts from Au-Cu2O octahedra to cuboctahedra and nanocubes, and differs by as much as 26 nm between the octahedra and the nanocubes. The same facet-dependent optical effects were observed using larger octahedral gold cores and cubic gold cores. In contrast, simulation spectra show progressively red-shifted SPR band positions with increasing shell thickness. The Cu2O shells are also found to exhibit facet-dependent optical behavior. These nanocrystals can respond to changes in the solvent environment such as solvents with different refractive indices, indicating that the plasmonic field of the gold cores can extend beyond the particle surfaces despite the presence of thick shells. Plane-selective spectral responses to low concentrations of surfactants were also recorded.