Endothelial cells require functional FLVCR1a during developmental and adult angiogenesis.

The Feline Leukemia Virus Subgroup C Receptor 1a (FLVCR1a) is a transmembrane heme exporter essential for embryonic vascular development. However, the exact role of FLVCR1a during blood vessel development remains largely undefined. Here, we show that FLVCR1a is highly expressed in angiogenic endothelial cells (ECs) compared to quiescent ECs. Consistently, ECs lacking FLVCR1a give rise to structurally and functionally abnormal vascular networks in multiple models of developmental and pathologic angiogenesis. Firstly, zebrafish embryos without FLVCR1a displayed defective intersegmental vessels formation. Furthermore, endothelial-specific Flvcr1a targeting in mice led to a reduced radial expansion of the retinal vasculature associated to decreased EC proliferation. Moreover, Flvcr1a null retinas showed defective vascular organization and loose attachment of pericytes. Finally, adult neo-angiogenesis is severely affected in murine models of tumor angiogenesis. Tumor blood vessels lacking Flvcr1a were disorganized and dysfunctional. Collectively, our results demonstrate the critical role of FLVCR1a as a regulator of developmental and pathological angiogenesis identifying FLVCR1a as a potential therapeutic target in human diseases characterized by aberrant neovascularization.

Bioavailability of two different oral formulations of amoxicillin in healthy subjects.

A study was carried out in 12 healthy volunteers to assess the bioavailability of two different oral formulations of amoxicillin (CAS 26787-78-0). A single 1000 mg oral dose of drug was given according to a randomized two-way crossover design as tablet (treatment A) and capsule (treatment B, Gramidil) and blood samples were drawn at selected times during 24 h. A 7-day wash-out period separated each dose. Amoxicillin plasma concentrations were determined by HPLC, and the stability of drug was studied to verify the possibility of an automated batch processing overnight. Amoxicillin was rapidly absorbed after administration of either formulation and individual plasma concentration-time profiles were constructed. Cmax and AUC values were compare by analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Westlake's confidence interval test. 95% confidence limits ranged from 80 to 125% for Cmax and AUC. With respect to tmax, Friedman test was used to compare formulations. It is concluded that the two assayed amoxicillin formulations may be considered to have the same bioavailability.

High-performance liquid chromatography determination of pravastatin in plasma.

Pravastatin is a 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase inhibitor that reduces plasma cholesterol levels. Some analytical methods have been described for determination of pravastatin levels in biological fluids, but these methods are rather cumbersome and involve expensive specialized equipment, usually not available in a clinical setting. A new technique, reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with ultraviolet (UV) detection capability, has been developed for the analytical determination of pravastatin in plasma. Extraction and sample clean-up procedures are simple and rapid to execute, yet yield chromatograms virtually free of interference from endogenous plasma constituents and other antihypercholesterolemic agents or drugs usually taken concomitantly with pravastatin. Our detection limit for pravastatin was 2 ng/ml. Standard curves were linear between 5 and 200 ng/ml, with a coefficient of variation (CV) of < 10% at the limits of quantitation. This method was used to study pravastatin plasma levels in two hypercholesterolemic heart-transplant recipients and two hypercholesterolemic nontransplanted patients. We conclude that the method reported here would be ideal for therapeutic pravastatin monitoring in patients.

Considerable lack of agreement between S-FPIA and EMIT cyclosporine assay in therapeutic drug monitoring, of heart transplant recipients.

The authors performed a comparative analysis of 60 whole blood samples containing cyclosporine (CsA) from heart transplant (HTx) recipients (n = 60) by the two "specific" monoclonal immunoassays, enzyme-multiplied immunoassay technique (EMIT) and fluorescence polarization immunoassay (S-FPIA), using the Altman-Bland approach based on graphical techniques and simple calculations. The CsA blood concentrations measured by S-FPIA [mean (SD): 268.1 (108.8) ng/mL] showed a statistically significant difference (P < 0.001) from the corresponding concentrations measured by EMIT [219.6 (118.7) ng/mL]. The CsA concentrations were 27% (median) higher when determined by monoclonal S-FPIA than by EMIT. The comparison between EMIT and S-FPIA showed a good correlation (S-FPIA conc. (ng/mL) = EMIT conc. (ng/mL) x 0.88 + 76.1, r = 0.96, P < 0.001). However, a high correlation does not mean that the two methods agree, and their use as interchangeable might be misleading. The authors summarized the degree of agreement by calculating the bias estimated by the mean difference (d) and the standard deviation of the difference (SD). For CsA concentration data, the mean difference (S-FPIA minus EMIT) is +49.9 ng/mL and SD is 31.2 ng/mL. Altman-Bland analysis indicates considerable lack of agreement between EMIT and S-FPIA, with discrepancies of more than 100 ng/mL. The present study's data clearly show that there is a considerable and clinically unacceptable lack of agreement between the S-FPIA and the EMIT techniques in HTx recipients for the whole range of concentrations evaluated (25-500 ng/mL), and this is caused by the variation in the overestimation of the CsA parent compound. Even though a similar CsA reference range was reported during maintenance therapy for both methods (150-250 ng/mL), which might encourage their interchangeability in the clinical setting, this approach should be avoided. Laboratory reports should always state both the concentration of CsA and the analytical method.