Impact of age, hypercholesterolemia, and the vitamin D receptor on brain endogenous ß-amyloid peptide accumulation in mice.

Age, hypercholesterolemia, and vitamin D deficiency are risk factors that increase the brain accumulation of pathogenic ß-amyloid peptides (40 and 42), precursors leading to Alzheimer's disease (AD) in humans. The relative changes accompanying aging, high cholesterol, and/or treatment of calcitriol, active vitamin D receptor (VDR) ligand, under normal physiology are unknown. We examined these relative changes in C57BL/6 mice of ages 2, 4-8, and more than 10 months old, which were fed a normal or high fat / high cholesterol diet and treated with calcitriol, active ligand of the vitamin D receptor (0 or 2.5 µg/kg ×4, intraperitoneally, every other day to elicit cholesterol lowering in liver). Aß40 but not Aß42 accumulation in brain and lower P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and neprilysin protein expressions for Aß efflux and degradation, respectively, were found to be associated with aging. But there was no trend for BACE1 (ß-secretase 1, a cholesterol-sensitive enzyme) toward Aß synthesis with age. In response to calcitriol treatment, P-gp was elevated, mitigating partially the age-related changes. Although age-dependent decreasing trends in mRNA expression levels existed for Cyp46a1, the brain cholesterol processing enzyme, whose inhibition increases BACE1 and ApoE to facilitate microglia Aß degradation, mRNA changes for other cholesterol transporters: Acat1 and Abca1, and brain cholesterol levels remained unchanged. There was no observable change in the mRNA expression of amyloid precursor protein (APP) and the influx (RAGE) and efflux (LRP1) transporters with respect to age, diet, or calcitriol treatment. Overall, aging poses as a risk factor contributing to Aß accumulation in brain, and VDR-mediated P-gp activation partially alleviates the outcome.

Highlighting Vitamin D Receptor-Targeted Activities of 1α,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 in Mice via Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic-Pharmacodynamic Modeling.

We expanded our published physiologically based pharmacokinetic model (PBPK) on 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2D3], ligand of the vitamin D receptor (VDR), to appraise VDR-mediated pharmacodynamics in mice. Since 1,25(OH)2D3 kinetics was best described by a segregated-flow intestinal model (SFM) that described a low/partial intestinal (blood/plasma) flow to enterocytes, with feedback regulation of its synthesis (Cyp27b1) and degradation (Cyp24a1) enzymes, this PBPK(SFM) model was expanded to describe the VDR-mediated changes (altered/basal mRNA expression) of target genes/responses with the indirect response model. We examined data on 1) renal Trpv5 (transient receptor potential cation channel, subfamily V member 5) and Trpv6 and intestinal Trpv6 (calcium channels) for calcium absorption; 2) liver 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (Hmgcr) and cytochrome 7α-hydroxylase (Cyp7a1) for cholesterol synthesis and degradation, respectively; and 3) renal and brain Mdr1 (multidrug-resistance protein that encodes the P-glycoprotein) for digoxin disposition after repetitive intraperitoneal doses of 120 pmol 1,25(OH)2D3 Fitting, performed with modeling software, yielded reasonable prediction of a dominant role of intestinal Trpv6 in calcium absorption, circadian rhythm that is characterized by simple cosine models for Hmgcr and Cyp7a1 on liver cholesterol, and brain and renal Mdr1 on tissue efflux of digoxin. Fitted parameters on the Emax, EC50, and turnover rate constants of VDR-target genes [zero-order production (kin) and first-order degradation (kout) rate constants] showed low coefficients of variation and acceptable median prediction errors (4.5%-40.6%). Sensitivity analyses showed that the Emax and EC50 values are key parameters that could influence the pharmacodynamic responses. In conclusion, the PBPK(SFM)-pharmacodynamic model successfully characterized VDR gene activation and serves as a useful tool to predict the therapeutic effects of 1,25(OH)2D3.

Potencies of vitamin D analogs, 1α-hydroxyvitamin D3 , 1α-hydroxyvitamin D2 and 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 , in lowering cholesterol in hypercholesterolemic mice in vivo.

Vitamin D3 and the synthetic vitamin D analogs, 1α-hydroxyvitamin D3 [1α(OH)D3 ], 1α-hydroxyvitamin D2 [1α(OH)D2 ] and 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 [25(OH)D3 ] were appraised for their vitamin D receptor (VDR) associated-potencies as cholesterol lowering agents in mice in vivo. These precursors are activated in vivo: 1α(OH)D3 and 1α(OH)D2 are transformed by liver CYP2R1 and CYP27A1 to active VDR ligands, 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2 D3 ] and 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D2 [1,25(OH)2 D2 ], respectively. 1α(OH)D2 may also be activated by CYP24A1 to 1α,24-dihydroxyvitamin D2 [1,24(OH)2 D2 ], another active VDR ligand. 25(OH)D3 , the metabolite formed via CYP2R1 and or CYP27A1 in liver from vitamin D3 , is activated by CYP27B1 in the kidney to 1,25(OH)2 D3 . In C57BL/6 mice fed the high fat/high cholesterol Western diet for 3 weeks, vitamin D analogs were administered every other day intraperitoneally during the last week of the diet. The rank order for cholesterol lowering, achieved via mouse liver small heterodimer partner (Shp) inhibition and increased cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase (Cyp7a1) expression, was: 1.75 nmol/kg 1α(OH)D3  > 1248 nmol/kg 25(OH)D3 (dose ratio of 0.0014) > > 1625 nmol/kg vitamin D3 . Except for 1.21 nmol/kg 1α(OH)D2 that failed to lower liver and plasma cholesterol contents, a significant negative correlation was observed between the liver concentration of 1,25(OH)2 D3 formed from the precursors and liver cholesterol levels. The composite results show that vitamin D analogs 1α(OH)D3 and 25(OH)D3 exhibit cholesterol lowering properties upon activation to 1,25(OH)2 D3 : 1α(OH)D3 is rapidly activated by liver enzymes and 25(OH)D3 is slowly activated by renal Cyp27b1 in mouse.

Strategies and limitations associated with in vitro characterization of vitamin D receptor activators.

In vitro cell-based assays are common screening tools used for the identification of new VDR ligands. For 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 [25(OH)D3] and 1α-hydroxyvitamin D3 [1α(OH)D3], protein expressions of CYP2R1 and CYP27B1, respectively, that form the active 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2D3] ligand were detected in human embryonic kidney (HEK293) cells expressing the GAL4-hVDR, the human brain microvessel endothelial (hCMEC/D3) and adenocarcinoma colonic (Caco-2) cells. The impact of bioactivation enzymes was shown upon the addition of ketoconazole (10 µM KTZ), a pan-CYP inhibitor, which reduced the apparent potency of 25(OH)D3 and increased the EC50 from 272 to 608 nM in HEK293 cells. EIA assays verified that 1,25(OH)2D3 was formed and contributed to VDR activity independently of its precursors. In hCMEC/D3 cells where enzyme protein levels were lowest, changes in MDR1/P-gp expression with KTZ were minimal. In Caco-2 cells, the induction of TRPV6 (calcium channel), CYP24A1, CYP3A4, OATP1A2 and MDR1 mRNA expression was 1,25(OH)2D3 > 1α(OH)D3 > 25(OH)D3, with the magnitude of change being blunted by KTZ. Upon inclusion of KTZ in the cell-based assays, high transcriptional activities were observed for synthetic VDR activators from Teijin Pharma. Cyclopentanone derivatives: TPD-003, TPD-005, TPD-006, TPD-008 and TPD-009 (EC50s 0.06 to 67 nM, unchanged with KTZ) were found more potent over straight chain and lactone derivatives (antagonists). Most TPD compounds activated OATP1A2, CYP24A1, CYP3A4, and MDR1 (28-67%) and TRPV6 transcriptionally in Caco-2 cells. The results identified that cell-based assays with added KTZ could accurately identify new VDR activators, although these may be hypercalcemic with strong TRPV6 inducing properties.