Factors affecting SPF in vitro measurement and correlation with in vivo results.

OBJECTIVE: The in vitro evaluation of SPF is still a problem due to the lack of repeatability and correlation between the in vitro and in vivo data, and many authors are currently working to develop an internationally harmonized method. Very recently, the use of several "adjuvant" ingredients such as boosters, antioxidants, immunomodulators, solvents and film-forming ingredients have further complicated the pattern for product developers that should frequently run in vivo test. The aim of this study was to understand whether a simple and cheap in vitro method could be optimized in order to provide both statistically repeatable and predictive SPF measurement. METHODS: In vitro SPF assessments were carried out on 75 commercial products. The SPF was measured according to two laboratory methods (A and B), using different substrates (PMMA and surgical tape Transpore™), quantity of product and spectrophotometers. In order to evaluate whether a standard technique of spreading could lead to a statistically reliable result, we applied different spreading pressure (100 g and 200 g). Furthermore, we investigate whether other parameters characterizing the product (SPF category, filter and texture) might represent statically significant variables affecting the measures. We then compared the results obtained from in vitro SPF measure of 11 products to in vivo SPF, in order to assess the predictability of in vitro methods. RESULTS: Several problems were encountered in confirming the weakness of the in vitro procedures. Pressure, SPF category, filter and texture did not affect significantly the results. Overall best results were obtained with the B2 method that in terms of repeatability and predictivity provided statistically better results. Method A with Transpore™ tape showed better in vitro-in vivo correlation than Method B with PMMA plates. CONCLUSION: In our investigation, we demonstrated that it is possible for a single laboratory to optimize internal methods and protocols to achieve repeatable and predictive in vitro results, but it is extremely difficult to develop methods reproducible and equally reliable in different laboratories, probably due to "external variables" (e.g. environmental, operator), which are difficult to control.

Fusidic acid betamethasone lipid cream.

Bacterial infections of the skin and soft tissues are frequent disorders. They can be primitive infections (e.g. impetigo, folliculitis) or secondary infections complicating other diseases, particularly atopic dermatitis. The most common aetiologic agent is Staphylococcus aureus. Topical antibiotic therapy may be sufficient in many instances to control these infections. Fusidic acid is an antibiotic used topically on the skin which is very active against S. aureus, including methicillin-resistant strains, and other Gram-positive bacteria. Resistance rates to fusidic acid are stably low. A fusidic acid and betamethasone formulation in a lipid-enriched cream (lipid cream) has been recently developed in order to provide effective antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activities in conjunction with a powerful emollient and moisturising effect. This preparation may be especially useful in patients with atopic-infected eczema.

The topical vehicle as a key factor in the management of the psoriatic patients' therapy.

This review deals with the importance of the topical vehicle as a key factor in the management of the psoriatic patients' therapy.

c-myc overexpression activates alternative pathways for intracellular proteolysis in lymphoma cells.

Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) is a highly malignant B-cell tumour characterized by chromosomal translocations that constitutively activate the c-myc oncogene. Here we show that BL cells are resistant to apoptosis and do not accumulate ubiquitin conjugates in response to otherwise toxic doses of inhibitors of the proteasome. Deubiquitinating enzymes and the cytosolic subtilisin-like protease tripeptidylpeptidase II are upregulated in BLs, and could be rapidly induced by the overexpression of c-myc in normal B cells carrying oestrogen-driven recombinant Epstein-Barr virus. Apoptosis was induced by inhibiting tripeptidylpeptidase II, suggesting that the activity of this protease may be required for the survival of BL cells. We thus show that there is a regulatory link between c-myc activation and changes in proteolysis that may affect malignant transformation.

5'-Phosphoramidates and 5'-diphosphates of 2'-O-allyl-beta-D-arabinofuranosyluracil, -cytosine, and -adenine: inhibition of ribonucleotide reductase.

Continuing our studies on ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) mechanism-based inhibitors, we have now prepared the diphosphates (DP) of 2'-O-allyl-1-beta-D-arabinofuranosyl-uracil and -cytosine and 2'-O-allyl-9-beta-D-arabinofuranosyl-adenine and evaluated their inhibitory activity against recombinant murine RNR. 2'-O-Allyl-araUDP proved to be inhibitory to RNR at an IC(50) of 100 microM, whereas 2'-O-allyl-araCDP was only marginally active (IC(50) 1 mM) and 2'-O-allyl-araADP was completely inactive. The susceptibility of the parent nucleosides to phosphorylation by thymidine kinase and 2'-deoxycytidine kinase was also investigated, and all nucleosides proved to be poor substrates for the above-cited kinases. Moreover, prodrugs of 2'-O-allyl-araU and -araC monophosphates, namely 2'-O-allyl-5'-(phenylethoxy-L-alanyl phosphate)-araU and -araC, were prepared and tested against tumor cell proliferation but proved to be inactive. A molecular modeling study has been conducted in order to explain our results. The data confirm that for both the natural and analogue nucleoside diphosphates, the principal determinant interaction with the active site of RNR is with the diphosphate group, which forms strong hydrogen bonds with Glu623, Thr624, Ser625, and Thr209. Our findings indicate that the poor phosphorylation may represent an explanation for the lack of marked in vitro cytostatic activity of the test compounds.

Retinoic acid conjugates as potential antitumor agents: synthesis and biological activity of conjugates with Ara-A, Ara-C, 3(2H)-furanone, and aniline mustard moieties.

In a dual targeting approach, to explore the ability of tretinoin (all-trans-retinoic acid) to behave as a covalent carrier for cytotoxic entities, conjugates of retinoic acid with a few representative molecules, being important examples of antitumor pharmacophores (i.e., nucleoside analogues and alkylating agents), have been synthesized and tested for their cytostatic and differentiating activity. All compounds were stable to in vitro hydrolysis in human plasma and more lipophilic than the parent compounds, thus consenting enhanced uptake into the cells. Among the nucleoside analogues the Ara-C derivatives 3 and 6 and the Ara-A derivative 7 proved the most cytostatic (IC50 < 0.32 microgram/mL) resulting from 25- to > 144-fold more active (Ara-A derivatives) or at least as equally active (Ara-C derivatives) as compared to the parent nucleosides. Compound 3, endowed with a highly lipophilic silyl moiety at the 3' and 5' positions, showed the highest differentiating activity (54% and 44% differentiated HL-60 cells at 0.2 and 0.05 microgram/mL respectively). With regard to the retinoic acid conjugates of alkylating agents, compound 10 was the most cytostatic agent (IC50 < 0.32 microgram/mL) and the most potent differentiating agent (33-34% at 0.32 and 0.08 microgram/mL). These structures may also be regarded as analogs of either retinoic acid or the cytotoxic compound.

Enzymatic synthesis of 2'-O-acyl prodrugs of 1-(beta-D-arabinofuranosyl)-5(E)-(2-bromovinyl)uracil and of 2'-O-acyl-araU, -araC and -araA.

Pig liver esterase (EC 3.1.1.1) catalysed regioselective hydrolysis of 1-(2,3,5-tri-O-acyl-beta-D-arabinofuranosyl)uracil, -cytosine and -adenine to give the corresponding 2'-monoesters effectively and in high yield. This methodology enabled the preparation of 1-(2-O-acyl-beta-D-arabinofuranosyl)-5-[(E)-(2-bromovinyl)]uracil prodrugs which, although slightly less active than the parent 1-(beta-D-arabinofuranosyl)-5-(E)-(2 bromovinyl)uracil (sorivudine; BV-araU), were strongly active in vitro against varicella-zoster virus (ED50 2.4-45 ng/ml). The retarded rates of enzymatic hydrolysis of the 2'-esters imply that they might function as lipophilic prodrugs, leading to increased plasma and cellular concentrations. In view of the marked in vitro activity, they represent an interesting approach to arabinofuranosyl nucleoside prodrugs with improved pharmacokinetics and enzymatic stability.

Pyrazole related nucleosides 5. Synthesis and biological activity of 2'-deoxy-2',3'-dideoxy- and acyclo-analogues of 4-iodo-1-beta-D-ribofuranosyl-3-carboxymethyl pyrazole (IPCAR).

Continuing our studies on the structure-activity relationships (SAR) of 4-iodo-1-beta-D-ribofuranosyl-3-carboxymethyl pyrazole (IPCAR), the ribofuranosyl moiety has been substituted with acyclic chains, namely 1-[(2-hydroxyethoxy)methyl]- and 1-[(1,3-dihydroxy-2-propoxy)methyl]-pyrazole derivatives (4, 5 and 8, 9 respectively), with the 2'-deoxy-beta-D-ribofuranosyl group (12 and 13) and finally with the 2',3'-dideoxy-D-glycero-pentofuranosyl-moiety (16 and 17). None of the new compounds display any interesting biological activity.

Novel antioxidant agents deriving from molecular combinations of vitamins C and E analogues: 3,4-dihydroxy-5(R).

Molecular combinations of two antioxidants (i.e., ascorbic acid and the pharmacophore of alpha-tocopherol), namely the 2,3-dihydroxy-2,3-enono-1,4-lactone and the chromane residues, have been designed and tested for their radical scavenging activities. When evaluated for their capability to inhibit malondialdehyde (MDA) production in rat liver microsomal membranes, the 3,4-dihydroxy-5R-2(R,S)-(6-hydroxy-2,5,7,8-tetramethylchroman-2(R,S)yl-methyl)-1,3]dioxolan-4S-yl]-5H-furan-2-one (11a-d), exhibited an interesting activity. In particular the 5R,2R,2R,4S and 5R,2R,2S,4S isomers (11c,d) displayed a potent antioxidant effect compared to the respective synthetic alpha-tocopherol analogue (5) and natural alpha-tocopherol or ascorbic acid, used alone or in combination. Moreover, the mixture of stereoisomers 11a-d also proved to be effective in preventing damage induced by reperfusion on isolated rabbit heart, in particular at the higher concentration of 300 microM. In view of these results our study represents a new approach to potential therapeutic agents for applications in pathological events in which a free radical damage is involved. Design, synthesis and preliminary biological activity are discussed.

Design, synthesis and binding at cloned muscarinic receptors of N-[5-(1'-substituted-acetoxymethyl)-3-oxadiazolyl] and N-[4-(1'-substituted-acetoxymethyl)-2-dioxolanyl] dialkyl amines.

Few muscarinic antagonists differentiate between the M4 and M2 muscarinic receptors. In a structure activity study, aimed at discovering leads for the development of a M4 muscarinic receptor-selective antagonist, we have synthesized and tested at cloned muscarinic receptors the binding of a group of dioxolane- or oxadiazole-dialkyl amines, and compared them to our compound 1, which contains the furan nucleus. Although none of these agents were particularly potent at M4 receptors (Kd values were typically 30-70 nM), furan derivatives (-)1 and (+)1 were significantly more potent at M4 receptors than at M2 receptors (approximately 3- and 4-fold, respectively). The dioxolane derivatives 12b and 12c were more than 10-fold selective for the M4 versus the M2 receptors, while the dioxolane derivative 12e was 15-fold more potent at M4 receptors than for M2 receptors. However, these agents bound to M3 receptors with potencies like that for the M4 receptor, so they are not M4-selective. The M4/M2 relative selectivities of some of our compounds are similar to the better hexahydrosiladifenidol derivatives, and may provide some important structural clues for the development of potent and selective M4 antagonists.

Determination of antioxidant efficacy of cosmetic formulations by non-invasive measurements.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Antioxidants have been proposed, over the last decade, as functional ingredients for anti aging preparations and to prevent and modulate oxidative skin damages. Up to date, beside the photo-induced oxidative skin damages model, none in vivo protocols have shown sufficient reproducibility for the validation of the antioxidant claim for a cosmetic finished product. To this aim, we have recently anticipated a new in vivo protocol based on a microinflammatory model, driven by reactive oxygen species. In the present study our model was validated by comparison with four different instrumental methods. METHODS: The effects of a pre-treatment of two different formulations based on antioxidant functional ingredients, were investigated on forearm skin of 15 healthy volunteers, and compared to a cosmetic base and control area. The instruments considered in the study were Chromameter (CR-300 Minolta), Tewameter TM 210 (Courage-khazaka, Cologne, Germany), Laser Doppler Perfusion Imager (PIM1.0 Lisca Development AB, Sweden), in comparison to DermAnalyzer(R), an easy to use software program developed by us, using the CIE L*a*b* color space parameters. RESULTS: The comparative measurements showed that the antioxidant formulations tested were all able to reduce, in different but statistically significant extent, the intensity of skin redness, and of cutaneous blood flow, when compared to control area (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: The methyl nicotinate (MN) based microinflammatory model, in conjunction with objective measure- ments, resulted an effective tool for in vivo assessment of oxidative skin injuries. In view of the high level of repeatability, short time of answer and simplicity, the procedure by us developed, is proposed as a possible protocol for the evaluation of in vivo efficacy of antioxidant functional ingredients in cosmetic formulations.

Supra-agonist peptides enhance the reactivation of memory CTL responses.

Single amino acid substitutions at TCR contacts may transform a natural peptide Ag in CTL ligands with partial agonist, antagonist, or null activity. We obtained peptide variants by changing nonanchor amino acid residues involved in MHC class I binding. These peptides were derived from a subdominant HLA-A2-presented, latent membrane protein 2-derived epitope expressed in EBV-infected cells and in EBV-associated tumors. We found that small structural changes produced ligands with vastly different activities. In particular, the variants that associated more stably to HLA-A2/molecules did not activate any CTL function, behaving as null ligands. Interestingly, T cell stimulations performed with the combination of null ligands and the natural epitope produced significantly higher specific CTL reactivation than reactivation of CTLs induced by the wild-type epitope alone. In addition, these particular variants activated memory CTL responses in the presence of concentrations of natural epitope that per se did not induce T cell responses. We show here that null ligands increased ZAP-70 tyrosine kinase activation induced by the natural epitope. Our results demonstrate for the first time that particular peptide variants, apparently behaving as null ligands, interact with the TCR, showing a supra-agonist activity. These variant peptides did not affect the effector T cell functions activated by the natural epitope. Supra-agonist peptides represent the counterpart of antagonists and may have important applications in the development of therapeutic peptides.

Design, synthesis and enzymatic activity of highly selective human mitochondrial thymidine kinase inhibitors.

Highly selective arabinofuranosyl nucleosides, which inhibit the mitochondrial thymidine kinase (TK-2) without affecting the closely related herpes simplex virus type 1 thymidine kinase (HSV-1 TK), varicella-zoster virus thymidine kinase (VZV-TK), cytosolic thymidine kinase (TK-1) or the multifunctional Drosophila melanogaster deoxyribonucleoside kinase (Dm-dNK), have been obtained. SAR studies indicate a close relation between the length of the substituent at the 2' position of the arabinofuranosyl moiety and the inhibitory activity.