NMDAR inhibition-independent antidepressant actions of ketamine metabolites.

Major depressive disorder affects around 16 per cent of the world population at some point in their lives. Despite the availability of numerous monoaminergic-based antidepressants, most patients require several weeks, if not months, to respond to these treatments, and many patients never attain sustained remission of their symptoms. The non-competitive, glutamatergic NMDAR (N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor) antagonist (R,S)-ketamine exerts rapid and sustained antidepressant effects after a single dose in patients with depression, but its use is associated with undesirable side effects. Here we show that the metabolism of (R,S)-ketamine to (2S,6S;2R,6R)-hydroxynorketamine (HNK) is essential for its antidepressant effects, and that the (2R,6R)-HNK enantiomer exerts behavioural, electroencephalographic, electrophysiological and cellular antidepressant-related actions in mice. These antidepressant actions are independent of NMDAR inhibition but involve early and sustained activation of AMPARs (α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid receptors). We also establish that (2R,6R)-HNK lacks ketamine-related side effects. Our data implicate a novel mechanism underlying the antidepressant properties of (R,S)-ketamine and have relevance for the development of next-generation, rapid-acting antidepressants.

Identification of CB1/CB2 ligands from Zanthoxylum bungeanum.

In order to study cannabinoid receptor ligands, a novel plate-based assay was developed previously to measure internalization of CB1/CB2 receptors by determining the change in the intracellular levels of the radiolabeled agonists. This plate-based assay was also used for screening against complex matrices, specifically, in the present study screening for CB1/CB2 receptor activity of extracts for several species of the plant genus Zanthoxylum. The objective of this screen was to identify novel antagonists of the CB1 receptor, which simultaneously displayed agonist activity against the CB2 receptor, since compounds matching this criterion could be potential candidates for the treatment of type-1 diabetes. As a result, two Z. bungeanum extracts were deemed active, leading to the identification of eight compounds, of which compound 7 [(2E,4E,8E,10E,12E)-N-isobutyl-2,4,8,10,12-tetradecapentaenamide, γ-sanshool] was obtained as a promising lead compound.

Evaluation of chlorine containing cellulose-based chiral stationary phases for the LC enantioseparation of basic pharmaceuticals using polar non-aqueous mobile phases.

The discrimination ability of three cellulose-based chiral stationary phases (CSPs) was evaluated towards the enantiomers of basic drugs, using ACN as the main solvent in polar organic mobile phases. The study was focused on CSPs containing cellulose tris(3-chloro-4-methylphenylcarbamate) (3-Cl-4-MePC), cellulose tris(4-chloro-3-methylphenylcarbamate) (4-Cl-3-MePC) or cellulose tris(3,5-dichlorophenylcarbamate) (3,5-diClPC) as the chiral selector. The behaviour of these CSPs was studied systematically in order to investigate the influence of the presence and position of the chlorine substituents on the phenylcarbamate moieties on the retention and resolution of the enantiomers. The evaluation was made with three different generic mobile phases, namely ACN/0.1%DEA/0.1% TFA (DEA, diethylamine), ACN/0.1%DEA/0.2% FA and ACN/0.1%DEA/0.2%AcA, deduced from the previous study. The nature of the acidic additive and of the chiral selector was found to be particularly important for the retention and enantioresolution of these basic compounds. High-resolution values could be obtained for most studied enantiomers with these CSPs, clearly demonstrating the interest of using them in combination with polar organic mobile phases. However, significant differences in enantioresolution between the CSPs have been observed for many compounds, indicating that these phases seem to be quite complementary.

Determination of enantiomeric purity of S-amlodipine by chiral LC with emphasis on reversal of enantiomer elution order.

An LC method was developed and prevalidated for the enantiomeric purity determination of S-amlodipine in polar organic solvent chromatography using a chlorine-containing cellulose-based chiral stationary phase (CSP). The concentration of formic acid (FA) (0.01-0.2%) in the mobile phase containing acetonitrile as the main solvent was found to influence the elution order of amlodipine enantiomers as well as the enantioresolution. A reversal of the enantiomer elution order of amlodipine was only observed with chiral stationary phases with both electron-withdrawing (chloro) and electron-donating groups (methyl) on the phenyl moieties of the chiral selector, namely cellulose tris(3-chloro-4-methylphenylcarbamate) and cellulose tris(4-chloro-3-methylphenylcarbamate). The highest enantioresolution (Rs : 4.1) value was obtained at the lowest FA concentration (0.01%) using cellulose tris(4-chloro-3-methylphenylcarbamate) as the chiral selector and the enantiomeric impurity, R-amlodipine, eluted first under these conditions. Therefore, the mobile phase selected for the prevalidation of the method consisted of ACN/0.1% DEA/0.01% FA and the temperature was set at 25°C. The method was prevalidated by means of the strategy based on the total measurement error and the accuracy profile. The method was found to be selective and the limit of quantification was found to be about 0.05% for R-amlodipine, while the limit of detection was close to 0.02%.

Optimization of the LC enantioseparation of chiral pharmaceuticals using cellulose tris(4-chloro-3-methylphenylcarbamate) as chiral selector and polar non-aqueous mobile phases.

The resolving power of a new commercial polysaccharide-based chiral stationary phase, Sepapak-4, with cellulose tris(4-chloro-3-methylphenylcarbamate) coated on silica microparticles as chiral selector, was evaluated toward the enantioseparation of ten basic drugs with widely different structures and hydrophobic properties, using ACN as the main component of the mobile phase. A multivariate approach (experimental design) was used to screen the factors (temperature, n-hexane content, acidic and basic additives) likely to influence enantioresolution. Then, the optimization was performed using a face-centered central composite design. Complete enantioseparation could be obtained for almost all tested chiral compounds, demonstrating the high chiral discrimination ability of this chiral stationary phase using polar organic mobile phases made up of ACN and containing an acidic additive (TFA or formic acid), 0.1% diethylamine and n-hexane. These results clearly illustrate the key role of the nature of the acidic additive in the mobile phase.

Randomized Pharmacokinetic Crossover Study Comparing 2 Curcumin Preparations in Plasma and Rectal Tissue of Healthy Human Volunteers.

Curcumin is poorly absorbed, which is interest in new preparations. However, little is known about variations in its pharmacokinetics and tissue bioavailability between formulations. In this randomized, crossover study we evaluated the relationship between steady-state plasma and rectal tissue curcuminoid concentrations using standard and phosphatidylcholine curcumin extracts. There was no difference in the geometric mean plasma AUCs when adjusted for the 10-fold difference in curcumin dose between the 2 formulations. Phosphatidylcholine curcumin extract yielded only 20% to 30% plasma demethoxycurcumin and bisdemethoxycurcumin conjugates compared to standard extract, yet yielded 20-fold greater hexahydrocurcumin. When adjusting for curcumin dose, tissue curcumin concentrations were 5-fold greater for the phosphatidylcholine extract. Improvements in curcuminoid absorption due to phosphatidylcholine are not uniform across the curcuminoids. Furthermore, curcuminoid exposures in the intestinal mucosa are most likely due to luminal exposure rather than to plasma disposition. Finally, once-daily dosing is sufficient to maintain detectable curcuminoids at steady state in both plasma and rectal tissues.

Antitumor activity of (R,R')-4-methoxy-1-naphthylfenoterol in a rat C6 glioma xenograft model in the mouse.

(R,R')-4-methoxy-1-naphthylfenoterol (MNF) inhibits cancer cell proliferation in vitro through cell-type specific modulation of ß2-adrenergic receptor and/or cannabinoid receptor function. Here, we report an investigation into antitumor activity of MNF in rat C6 glioma cells. The potent antiproliferative action of MNF in these cells (IC50 of ∼1 nmol/L) was refractory to pharmacological inhibition of ß2-adrenergic receptor while a synthetic inverse agonist of cannabinoid receptor 1 significantly blocked MNF activity. The antitumor activity of MNF was then assessed in a C6 glioblastoma xenograft model in mice. Three days after subcutaneous implantation of C6 cells into the lower flank of nude mice, these animals were subjected to i.p. injections of saline or MNF (2 mg/kg) for 19 days and tumor volumes were measured over the course of the experiment. Gene expression analysis, quantitative RT-PCR and immunoblot assays were performed on the tumors after treatment. Significant reduction in mean tumor volumes was observed in mice receiving MNF when compared with the saline-treated group. We identified clusters in expression of genes involved in cellular proliferation, as well as molecular markers for glioblastoma that were significantly downregulated in tumors of MNF-treated mice as compared to saline-injected controls. The efficacy of MNF against C6 glioma cell proliferation in vivo and in vitro was accompanied by marked reduction in the expression of cell cycle regulator proteins. This study is the first demonstration of MNF-dependent chemoprevention of a glioblastoma xenograft model and may offer a potential mechanism for its anticancer action in vivo.

Enantioresolution of basic pharmaceuticals using cellulose tris(4-chloro-3-methylphenylcarbamate) as chiral stationary phase and polar organic mobile phases.

A polysaccharide-based chiral stationary phase (Sepapak-4), with cellulose tris(4-chloro-3-methylphenylcarbamate) as chiral selector, has been investigated in liquid chromatography (LC). Its enantioresolution power was evaluated towards 13 basic amino-drugs with widely different structures and polarities, using polar organic mobile phases. After preliminary experiments, acetonitrile was selected as the main mobile phase component, to which a low concentration of diethylamine (0.1%) was systematically added in order to obtain efficient and symmetrical peaks. Different organic solvents were first added in small proportions (5-10%) to acetonitrile to modulate analyte retention. Polar organic modifiers were found to decrease retention and enantioresolution while hexane had the opposite effect, indicating normal-phase behaviour under these conditions. The addition of an organic acid (formic, acetic or trifluoroacetic acid) was found to strongly influence the retention of the basic amino drugs in these nonaqueous systems. The nature and proportion of the acidic additive in the mobile phase had also deep impact on enantioresolution. Therefore, the studied compounds could be subdivided in three groups in respect to the acidic additive used. All analytes could be enantioseparated in relatively short analysis times (10-20 min) using these LC conditions.