Inhibition of cytosolic phospholipase A2alpha: hit to lead optimization.

Compound 1 was previously reported to be a potent inhibitor of cPLA(2)alpha in both artificial monomeric substrate and cell-based assays. However, 1 was inactive in whole blood assays previously used to characterize cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase inhibitors. The IC(50) of 1 increased dramatically with cell number or lipid/detergent concentration. In an attempt to insert an electrophilic ketone between the indole and benzoic acid moieties, we discovered that increasing the distance between the two moieties gave a compound with activity in the GLU (7-hydroxycoumarinyl-gamma-linolenate) micelle assay, which contains lipid and detergent. Extensive structure-activity relationship work around this lead identified a potent pharmacophore for cPLA(2)alpha inhibition. The IC(50)s between the GLU micelle and rat whole blood assays correlated highly. No correlation was found for other parameters, including lipophilicity or acidity of the required acid functionality. Compounds 25, 39, and 94 emerged as potent, selective inhibitors of cPLA(2)alpha and represent well-validated starting points for further optimization.

Gel electrophoresis-autoradiographic image analysis of radiolabeled protein drug concentration in serum for pharmacokinetic studies.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of using gel electrophoresis combined with autoradiographic image analysis for quantitating protein drug concentrations in biological fluid for pharmacokinetic studies. METHODS: Protein drugs were iodinated using the Iodogen reagent and injected into Sprague-Dawley rats for pharmacokinetic evaluation. Serum samples were analyzed using trichloroacetic acid (TCA)-precipitable counts or sodium dodecylsulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Commercially available precasted Bis-Tris gradient gels were used for SDS-PAGE. Autoradiography of gel samples was performed using phosphoimager and quantitated using the ImageQuant software. RESULTS: The maximum loading volume for protein drugs with molecular weight close to that of albumin ( approximately 70 kDa) was about 1 microl, whereas for protein drugs with larger or smaller molecular weight (i.e., >80 or <40 kDa), the maximum loading volume was up to 20 microl/lane. The optimal exposure time was about 18 h or overnight. Standard curves were constructed using serially diluted dosing solution, which was linear over a 10-fold concentration range with a correlation coefficient of.98. Comparing to the soluble human interleukin-13 receptor (shIL-13R) pharmacokinetic profiles from TCA-precipitable counts, the quantitative gel analysis revealed lower concentrations at later time points and a lower bioavailability from intraperitoneal injection. DISCUSSION: This study provided the first systemic evaluation of gel electrophoresis technology for quantitative protein drug determination in serum and its application in pharmacokinetic studies. The combination of gel electrophoresis with autoradiographic image analysis provided accurate and specific quantitation results. The overnight turnover time allowed routine application in preclinical pharmacokinetic studies.

The pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of levodopa in the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

Levodopa, a prodrug of dopamine, remains to be one of the main drugs in the treatment of Parkinson's disease. All current levodopa products are formulated with aromatic amino acid decarboxylase inhibitors such as carbidopa or benserazide to prevent the metabolism of levodopa in the gastrointestinal tract and systemic circulation. Levodopa pharmacokinetic profiles remain unchanged after multiple doses, and are similar between healthy volunteers and patients and among patients at different stages of disease. Entacapone inhibits the metabolism of levodopa therefore increases the area under the plasma concentration-time profile of levodopa; however, it may decrease the initial absorption rate of levodopa in some patients probably due to competitive absorption. Food appears to affect the absorption of levodopa, but its effects vary with formulations. The results of positron emission tomography study suggest that a high protein diet may compete with the uptake of levodopa into the brain, therefore, may result in reduced levodopa effects. Since infusion studies demonstrated that it is beneficial to maintain stable plasma concentrations of levodopa, controlled-release formulations have been designed to provide prolonged absorption of levodopa. However, subsequent pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies demonstrated that a threshold concentration of levodopa appears to be necessary to switch patients "on". Once patients are turned "on", the duration of levodopa effects may be correlated with plasma concentration of levodopa. As such, more recent studies have demonstrated significant clinical benefits such as shorter time to "on" and longer duration of "on" when combining the immediate- and controlled-release levodopa products as compared to controlled-release levodopa products. Given these findings, it is important for physicians to understand the relationship between the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of levodopa in order to provide dosage regimens that meet patient needs. The pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics data of levodopa reported in the literature are reviewed here.