Liposomal 9-Aminoacridine for Treatment of Ischemic Stroke: From Drug Discovery to Drug Delivery.

Neuroinflammation plays a pivotal part in the pathogenesis of stroke. Orphan nuclear receptor NR4A1 is involved in the inflammatory response of microglia and macrophages. In this study, we discovered an old drug, 9-aminoacridine (9-AA), as a novel NR4A1 activator from our in-house FDA-approved drug library, which exhibited anti-inflammatory activities through an NR4A1/IL-10/SOCS3 signaling pathway and modulated the microglia activation. To improve the druggability of 9-AA, different liposomal formulations were screened and investigated. 9-AA-loaded liposome (9-AA/L) was prepared to reduce the adverse effect of 9-AA. Furthermore, 9-AA-loaded PEG/cRGD dual-modified liposome (9-AA/L-PEG-cRGD) was obtained, which displayed prolonged circulation, improved biodistribution, and increased brain accumulation. In the transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) rat model, 9-AA/L-PEG-cRGD significantly reduced brain infarct area, ameliorated ischemic brain injury, and promoted long-term neurological function recovery. This "from drug discovery to drug delivery" methodology provides a potential therapeutic strategy using the liposomal 9-AA, the NR4A1 activator to suppress neuroinflammation for treatment of ischemic stroke.

9-Amino acridine pharmacokinetics, brain distribution, and in vitro/in vivo efficacy against malignant glioma.

PURPOSE: The delivery of drugs to the brain is a major obstacle in the design and development of useful treatments for malignant glioma. Previous studies by our laboratory have identified a series of 9-amino acridine compounds that block the catalytic cycle of topoisomerase II resulting in apoptosis and cell death in a variety of cancer cell lines. METHODS: This study reports the in vitro and in vivo activity of two promising lead compounds, [{9-[2-(1H-Indol-3-yl)-ethylamino]-acridin-4-yl}-(4-methyl-piperazin-1-yl)-methanone (1) and [9-(1-Benzyl-piperidin-4-ylamino)-acridin-3-yl]-(4-methyl-piperazin-1-yl)-methanone] (2), using an orthotopic glioblastoma mouse model. In addition, the absorption, distribution, and metabolism properties are characterized by determining metabolic stability, MDCK accumulation, Pgp efflux transport, plasma protein binding, and brain distribution in mouse pharmacokinetic studies. RESULTS: The efficacy results indicate low micromolar ED(50) values against glioma cells and a significant increase in the survival of glioma-bearing mice dosed with (2) (p < 0.05). Pharmacokinetic data collected at time intervals following a 60 mg/kg oral dose of acridine 1 and 2 showed both compounds penetrate the blood-brain barrier yielding peak concentrations of 0.25 µM and 0.6 µM, respectively. Peak plasma concentrations were determined to be 2.25 µM (1) and 20.38 µM (2). The results were further compared with data collected using a 15 mg/kg intravenous dose of 2 which yielded a peak concentration in the brain of 1.7 µM at 2.0 h relative to a 2.04 µM peak plasma concentration. The bioavailability was calculated to be 83.8%. CONCLUSION: Taken overall, the results suggest compounds in this series may offer new strategies for the design of chemotherapeutics for treating brain cancers with high oral bioavailability and improved efficacy.

Pharmacokinetics of SM-10888 and its metabolites depending on their physicochemical properties.

To investigate how the physicochemical properties and pharmacokinetics of SM-10888 are altered by metabolic reactions, physicochemical and pharmacokinetic parameters of its phase I and phase II metabolites were determined. The metabolic pathways of SM-10888 in rats include oxidation at the C1 position (via the hydroxylated metabolite M3 to the cyclic ketone M4) and glucuronidation of both SM-10888 and M3 (SMG and M3G). Partition coefficients between n-octanol/pH 7.4 buffer (logP*) were determined to be 2.23 for SM-10888, 1.59 for M3, 2.66 for M4, -1.37 for SMG, and -1.72 for M3G. The phase I metabolite M3 showed lower lipophilicity and serum protein binding at pH 7.4, and larger renal clearance (CLr) than SM-10888. In contrast, the further oxidized metabolite M4 demonstrated higher lipophilicity and protein binding and lower CLr than SM-10888 and M3. Among these nonconjugated forms, only the pKa value of M4 was found to be below 7.4 (6.2 for M4, 8.5 for SM-10888, and 8.0 for M3), indicating that M4 exists in a more lipophilic nonionized form at the physiological pH, whereas SM-10888 and M3 are present as ionized forms. The significant shift in pKa of M4 could be the result of a cooperative effect of the electron withdrawing carbonyl group and resonating structure allowing hydrogen bond formation between CO and NH2 group, and might explain its high lipophilicity and low CLr. Glucuronidation significantly increased hydrophilicity with CLr's in excess of the glomerular filtration rate, suggesting involvement of active transport.