Metabolism and disposition of the anticancer quinolone derivative vosaroxin, a novel inhibitor of topoisomerase II.

Background Vosaroxin is a first-in-class anticancer quinolone derivative that is being investigated for patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The primary objective of this study was to quantitatively determine the pharmacokinetics of vosaroxin and its metabolites in patients with advanced solid tumors. Methods This mass balance study investigated the pharmacokinetics (distribution, metabolism, and excretion) of vosaroxin in cancer patients after a single dose of 60 mg/m2 14C-vosaroxin, administered as short intravenous injection. Blood, urine and feces were collected over 168 h after injection or until recovered radioactivity over 24 h was less than 1% of the administered dose (whichever was earlier). Total radioactivity (TRA), vosaroxin and metabolites were studied in all matrices. Results Unchanged vosaroxin was the major species identified in plasma, urine, and feces. N-desmethylvosaroxin was the only circulating metabolite detected in plasma, accounting for <3% of the administered dose. However, in plasma, the combined vosaroxin + N-desmethylvosaroxin AUC0-∞ was 21% lower than the TRA AUC0-∞ , suggesting the possible formation of protein bound metabolites after 48 h when the concentration-time profiles diverged. The mean recovery of TRA in excreta was 81.3% of the total administered dose; 53.1% was excreted through feces and 28.2% through urine. Conclusions Unchanged vosaroxin was the major compound found in the excreta, although 10 minor metabolites were detected. The biotransformation reactions were demethylation, hydrogenation, decarboxylation and phase II conjugation including glucuronidation.

JH Zero: New Naturally Occurring Insect Juvenile Hormone from Developing Embryos of the Tobacco Hornworm.

A new insect juvenile hormone was isolated from developing embryos of the tobacco hornworm moth, Manduca sexta. The new hormone was found with juvenile hormone I and is a 1-carbon homolog of this substance. The assigned structure is methyl (2E,6E,10-cis)-10,11-epoxy-3,7-diethyl-11-methyl-2,6-tridecadienoate, which constitutes a trishomosesquiterpenoid skeleton. This is the first chemical idetification of any juvenile hormone from insect eggs.

Quantification of 5- and 15-HPETE's by direct chemical ionization mass spectrometry.

This report describes the application of direct chemical ionization mass spectrometry (DCIMS) to the identification and quantification of 5- and 15-HPETEs. A unique feature of the method is use of a polyimide-coated fused silica fiber that allows vaporization of the hydroperoxides, with very low excess energy, into the plume of the chemical ionization reagent gas plasma. Mass spectra are obtained that allow identification of the nonreduced and nonderivatized free acid forms of 5- and 15-HPETE as well as their quantification from 1 microgram to 100 picograms.

Detection of only JH III in several life-stages of Nauphoeta cinerea and Thermobia domestica.

We have conducted a reinvestigation into both the identification and quantification of juvenile hormone (JH) from several developmental stages of the cockroach, Nauphoeta cinerea, and the firebrat, Thermobia domestica, using a gas chromatography-mass spectrometric (GC/MS) method. We detected only JH III in these animals in contrast to prior studies in which JH I, II, and/or III had been reported using a different scheme relying on HPLC purification and subsequent GC/MS analysis under chemical ionization (CI) conditions. Very high levels (approximately 800 ng/g) of JH III were found in N. cinerea embryos at stages after dorsal closure whereas first stadium nymphs and female penultimate stadium nymphs contained only low levels (approximately 1 ng/g and approximately 7 ng/ml respectively); in adult females at the stage of rapid oocyte growth approximately 150 ng JH III per ml of hemolymph was measured. T. domestica nymphs and egg laying adults contained only low levels (approximately 1 ng/g) of JH III. The results emphasize the caution which must be used in interpreting results of procedures for analysis of JH at parts-per-billion levels, and also enforce prior observations that the higher JH homologs are not present except in the Lepidoptera.

Phospholpid studies of marine organisms: 2.(1) Phospholipids, phospholipid-bound fatty acids and free sterols of the spongeAplysina fistularis (Pallas) formafulva (Pallas) (=Verongia thiona)(2). Isolation and structure elucidation of unprecedented branched fatty acids.

The free sterols and phospholipids of the demospongeAplysina fistularis were isolated and analyzed. The free sterols consisted mainly of the unusual 26-methylated sterols aplysterol (53%) and 24(28)-dehydroaplysterol (7%) together with 7 commonly occurring sterods. The major phospholipids were phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylserine and diphosphatidylglycerol. The major fatty acyl components of the phospholipids consisted of 85% C14-C20 acids, including the unprecedented 2,6,10-trimethyl-5-tetradecenoic acid and 11-methyloctadecanoic acid. The remaining 15% were C27-C30 demospongic acids, including 2 novel acids tentatively assigned the structures 5,9,23-octacosatrienoic acid and 5,9,23-nonacosatrienoic acid, and 3 novel acids proven to be 5,9,21-octacosatrienoic acid, Z,Z-20-methyl-5,9-hexacosadienoic acid and Z,Z-22-methyl-5,9-octacosadienoic acid. The biosyntheses of the novel demospongic acids are proposed to occur by chain elongation of monoenoic or branched precursors followed by desaturation. The large quantities of typically bacterial phospholipids and fatty acids found implied the presence of bacteria in the sponge, in agreement with microscopic studies. Analysis of the phospholipid-bound fatty acids in a sponge cell-enriched fraction indicated that the demospongic acids, including the 2 branched structures, were the major acids of the sponge cells. The presence inA. fistularis of demospongic acids containing membrane disordering groups-methyl branches or double bonds-on the ω7 carbon is proposed to be due to the need by the sponge for membranes possessing fluidity near the middle of the phospholipid bilayer. It is also proposed that the C26 methyl group of aplysterol causes disordering of the phospholipid bilayer in the same region, and thus also evolved in response to this need.

Determination of dysprosium in monkey serum by inductively-coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) after the administration of Sprodiamide Injection, a new contrast medium for magnetic resonance imaging.

Sprodiamide Injection (S-043 Injection, Nycomed Salutar; WIN 59080, Sterling Winthrop) is a magnetic susceptibility-based MRI contrast agent which contains 500 mM dysprosium diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid bis(methylamide) (DyDTPA-BMA), and 25 mM caldiamide sodium (CaNaDTPA-BMA). A study was conducted to evaluate clearance of drug in cynomolgus monkeys. Eighteen cynomolgus monkeys, divided into three groups of six animals each, were administered Sprodiamide Injection intravenously at dose levels of 0.25, 0.5 and 2.5 mmol kg-1, respectively. The concentration of dysprosium in serum was determined in a monkey serum-hydrochloric acid matrix by inductively-coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). The ICP-AES method was demonstrated to be valid for sensitivity, precision, accuracy, and specificity. The dynamic range was linear from 0 to 50 micrograms ml-1 and the limit of quantification was 24 ng ml-1. The measured dysprosium concentration in monkey serum ranged from 0 to 339 micrograms ml-1 for the 0.25 mmol kg-1 Sprodiamide Injection dose group, from 0 to 633 micrograms ml-1 for the 0.5 mmol kg-1 and from 0 to 2920 micrograms ml-1 for 2.5 mmol kg-1 dose groups. Dysprosium was not detected after 480 min in any of the serum samples from the 0.25 and 0.5 mmol kg-1 dose groups after the administration of Sprodiamide Injection. All the monkeys in the 2.5 mmol kg-1 dose group, with one exception, required 720 min for clearance of the drug from the serum. The drug was completely cleared from serum in all monkeys within 24 h.

Detection and quantitation of gadolinium chelates in human serum and urine by high-performance liquid chromatography and post-column derivatization of gadolinium with Arsenazo III.

A narrow-bore high-performance liquid chromatography method was developed for simultaneous separation of gadolinium diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (GdDTPA), the monomethylamide (GdDTPA-MMA) and the bis-methylamide (GdDTPA-BMA) in human serum and urine. The Gd complexes were detected at 658 nm after post-column derivatization with Arsenazo III. The serum samples were ultrafiltrated, whereas the urine samples were centrifuged and diluted before analysis. With an injection volume of 10 microliters on a 2.1 mm ID reversed-phase column, the limit of detection of GdDTPA-BMA was calculated as 0.3 microM and 1.1 microM in serum and urine, respectively. The method was validated with respect to GdDTPA-BMA with a limit of quantification set to 2 microM and 10 microM in serum and urine, respectively. The best fit of the calibration curve was obtained using non-linear regression according to the equation Y = A+BX+CX2 in the concentration ranges 2-800 microM and 10-2000 microM of GdDTPA-BMA in serum and urine, respectively. The precision of the method was found to range from 1 to 4% RSD. The recoveries of GdDTPA-BMA spiked in serum and urine were higher than 95% with an RSD equal to or less than 4%. The serum samples were stable for at least 5 months when stored at -70 degrees C, and the urine samples were stable for a least 6 months when stored at -20 degrees C.

Leukotriene biosynthesis: direct chemical ionization mass spectrometry of underivatized arachidonic acid metabolites.

An improved direct chemical ionization (DCI) mass spectrometric technique, using a polyimide-coated fused silica fiber as an extended probe tip, was used to obtain molecular ions and diagnostic fragment ions of underivatized arachidonic acid, 5-hydroperoxyeicosatetraenoic acid, 15-hydroperoxyeicosatetraenoic acid, leukotriene B4 (LTB4) and, for the first time, of leukotriene A4 (LTA4)-free acid. In this technique, sample compounds are coated onto the fused silica fiber and vaporized in the plume of the reagent gas plasma of a chemical ionization source without external heating of the probe. Both ammonia and isobutane DCI spectra were obtained for each compound. A volatile alkaline eluent system was developed that allowed reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography of LTA4 to be followed rapidly by DCI mass spectrometry. With these techniques, the conversion of LTA4 to LTB4 during incubation with human liver microsomes was confirmed. Selected ion monitoring (SIM) of preselected ion fragments in the spectrum increases the selectivity of this technique and improves quantification in the range 100 ng to 10 pg.

Conversion of leukotriene A4 to leukotriene B4: catalysis by human liver microsomes under anaerobic conditions.

During a 2-min incubation of leukotriene A4 (LTA4) with human liver microsomes, 1.7 mol% was converted into leukotriene B4 (LTB4). The reaction was dependent on protein concentration, time, and substrate concentration, was not supported by heat-inactivated microsomes, and did not require NADPH. Kinetic analysis of the reaction revealed apparent Michaelis-Menten type behavior (app Km approximately 20 microM). Production rates varied widely among three patients examined. Piperonyl butoxide, propanethiol, and cyclohexene oxide (1 mM) inhibited LTB4 formation by microsomal LTA4-hydrolase by 52, 40, and 60%, respectively. The latter two compounds were shown not to inhibit cytosolic LTA4-hydrolase activity. The activity of microsomal and cytosolic LTA4-hydrolase was decreased in the presence of 100% O2 by 45 and 64%, respectively. Direct chemical ionization mass spectrometry was used to obtain a mass spectrum of 50 ng of underivatized synthetic LTB4 free acid and show that this spectrum is identical with that of 10 ng of the product isolated from LTA4 hydrolysis by human liver microsomes. The authenticity of the biologically generated LTB4 was confirmed by functional characterization in a receptor displacement assay. Displacement of [3H]LTB4 from the high affinity receptors of LTB4 on human neutrophils revealed KD50 values of 8.2 and 5.1 nM for human liver microsome derived and synthetic LTB4, respectively. The nearly two-fold higher KD50 of the microsomally generated LTB4 is suggested to result from an epimeric mixture of the active 5(S),12(R)- and the less active 5(S),12(S)-dihydroxy-6,14-cis-8,10-trans-eicosatetraenoic acid.

Amino Acid Metabolism of Lemna minor L. : II. Responses to Chlorsulfuron.

Chlorsulfuron, an inhibitor of acetolactate synthase (EC 4.1.3.18) (TB Ray 1984 Plant Physiol 75: 827-831), markedly inhibited the growth of Lemna minor at concentrations of 10(-8) molar and above, but had no inhibitory effects on growth at 10(-9) molar. At growth inhibitory concentrations, chlorsulfuron caused a pronounced increase in total free amino acid levels within 24 hours. Valine, leucine, and isoleucine, however, became smaller percentages of the total free amino acid pool as the concentration of chlorsulfuron was increased. At concentrations of chlorsulfuron of 10(-8) molar and above, a new amino acid was accumulated in the free pool. This amino acid was identified as alpha-amino-n-butyrate by chemical ionization and electron impact gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The amount of alpha-amino-n-butyrate increased from undetectable levels in untreated plants, to as high as 840 nanomoles per gram fresh weight (2.44% of the total free pool) in plants treated with 10(-4) molar chlorsulfuron for 24 hours. The accumulation of this amino acid was completely inhibited by methionine sulfoximine. Chlorsulfuron did not inhibit the methionine sulfoximine induced accumulations of valine, leucine, and isoleucine, supporting the idea that the accumulation of the branched-chain amino acids in methionine sulfoximine treated plants is the result of protein turnover rather than enhanced synthesis. Protein turnover may be primarily responsible for the failure to achieve complete depletion of valine, leucine, and isoleucine even at concentrations of chlorsulfuron some 10(4) times greater than that required to inhibit growth. Tracer studies with (15)N demonstrate that chlorsulfuron inhibits the incorporation of (15)N into valine, leucine, and isoleucine. The alpha-amino-n-butyrate accumulated in the presence of chlorsulfuron and [(15)N]H(4) (+) was heavily labeled with (15)N at early time points and appeared to be derived by transamination from a rapidly labeled amino acid such as glutamate or alanine. We propose that chlorsulfuron inhibition of acetolactate synthase may lead to accumulation of 2-oxobutyrate in the isoleucine branch of the pathway, and transamination of 2-oxobutyrate to alpha-amino-n-butyrate by a constitutive transaminase utilizing either glutamate or alanine as alpha-amino-N donors.

Determination of Betaines by Fast Atom Bombardment Mass Spectrometry : Identification of Glycine Betaine Deficient Genotypes of Zea mays.

A rapid, sensitive, and selective method for the determination of betaines is described and discussed. The method entails derivatizing the quaternary ammonium compounds to increase their sensitivity to detection by fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry. Sensitivity of detection increases markedly as the length of the carbon chain of the alcohol used to esterify the betaine carboxylic acid group is increased (C4 > C3 > C2 > C1 > C0). The lower limit of detection of glycine betaine as the n-propyl ester is 0.05 nanomole per microliter of glycerol. Betaine aldehyde can be readily derivatized to the di-n-butyl or di-n-propyl acetal derivatives which exhibit lower limits of detection of about 5 picomoles and 10 picomoles per microliter of glycerol, respectively. Accurate quantification of these compounds is accomplished by the use of deuterium labeled internal standards or quaternary ammonium compound homologs of distinct mass. Methods for the synthesis of these internal standards are reported. Some applications of these methods are illustrated with stable isotope tracer studies on the kinetics of metabolism of choline to betaine aldehyde and glycine betaine in spinach leaf discs, and the identification of several Zea mays genotypes which appear deficient in glycine betaine. Tracer studies with deuterium labeled betaine aldehyde suggest that the deficiency of glycine betaine in one sweet corn hybrid is probably not due to a deficiency in the capacity to oxidize betaine aldehyde.

Betaine synthesis in chenopods: Localization in chloroplasts.

PLANTS FROM SEVERAL FAMILIES (CHENOPODIACEAE, GRAMINEAE, COMPOSITAE) ACCUMULATE BETAINE (GLYCINE BETAINE) IN RESPONSE TO SALT OR WATER STRESS VIA THE PATHWAY: choline --> betainal (betaine aldehyde) --> betaine. Betaine accumulation is probably a metabolic adaptation to stress. Intact protoplasts from leaves of spinach (Spinacia oleracea) oxidized [(14)C]choline to betainal and betaine, as did protoplast lysates. Upon differential centrifugation, the [(14)C]choline-oxidizing activity of lysates sedimented with chloroplasts. Chloroplasts purified from protoplast lysates by a Percoll cushion procedure retained strong [(14)C]choline-oxidizing activity (1-3 nmol/mg of chlorophyll per hr), although the proportion of the intermediate, [(14)C]betainal, in the reaction products was usually higher than for protoplasts. Isolated chloroplasts also readily oxidized [(14)C]betainal to betaine (20-100 nmol/mg of chlorophyll per hr). Light increased the oxidation of both [(14)C]choline and [(14)C]betainal by isolated chloroplasts approximately 3-fold; this light-stimulation was abolished by 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea (DCMU). Similar results were obtained with another chenopod (Beta vulgaris) but not with pea (Pisum sativum), a species that accumulates no betaine. The chloroplast site for betaine synthesis in chenopods contrasts with the mitochondrial site in mammals.

Carcinoembryonic antigen in management of colorectal carcinoma.

Carcinoembryonic antigen (C.E.A.) estimation has been used in the preoperative assessment of colorectal carcinoma patients and has been shown to give a useful guide to the presence of metastatic disease and ultimately to a poor prognosis if the serum concentration is 100 ng/ml or more. C.E.A. has been shown to be a more reliable index of tumour spread than either clinical examination or serum alkaline phosphatase estimation. Raised C.E.A. levels of less than 100 ng/ml do not, however, necessarily imply a poor prognosis. Routine C.E.A. estimation may have a valuable role in the assessment of the colorectal cancer patient by identifying those likely to benefit from postoperative chemotherapy.The test has also been assessed in a group of patients attending cancer follow-up clinics after radical resection of a colorectal tumour. Raised C.E.A. occurred in most of those developing recurrent disease, and in several patients a rising C.E.A. level preceded clinical or biochemical evidence of recurrence. C.E.A. estimation is a superior guide and of clinical importance when applied to the follow-up of the colorectal cancer patient.

Amino Acid Metabolism of Lemna minor L. : I. Responses to Methionine Sulfoximine.

When Lemna minor L. is supplied with the potent inhibitor of glutamine synthetase, methionine sulfoximine, rapid changes in free amino acid levels occur. Glutamine, glutamate, asparagine, aspartate, alanine, and serine levels decline concomitantly with ammonia accumulation. However, not all free amino acid pools deplete in response to this inhibitor. Several free amino acids including proline, valine, leucine, isoleucine, threonine, lysine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, histidine, and methionine exhibit severalfold accumulations within 24 hours of methionine sulfoximine treatment. To investigate whether these latter amino acid accumulations result from de novo synthesis via a methionine sulfoximine insensitive pathway of ammonia assimilation (e.g. glutamate dehydrogenase) or from protein turnover, fronds of Lemna minor were prelabeled with [(15)N]H(4) (+) prior to supplying the inhibitor. Analyses of the (15)N abundance of free amino acids suggest that protein turnover is the major source of these methionine sulfoximine induced amino acid accumulations. Thus, the pools of valine, leucine, isoleucine, proline, and threonine accumulated in response to the inhibitor in the presence of [(15)N]H(4) (+), are (14)N enriched and are not apparently derived from (15)N-labeled precursors. To account for the selective accumulation of amino acids, such as valine, leucine, isoleucine, proline, and threonine, it is necessary to envisage that these free amino acids are relatively poorly catabolized in vivo. The amino acids which deplete in response to methionine sulfoximine (i.e. glutamate, glutamine, alanine, aspartate, asparagine, and serine) are all presumably rapidly catabolized to ammonia, either in the photorespiratory pathway or by alternative routes.

Isolation and primary structure of two peptides with cardioacceleratory and hyperglycemic activity from the corpora cardiaca of Periplaneta americana.

Two cardioacceleratory peptides from the corpora cardiaca of Periplaneta americana have been purified by gel filtration and reversed-phase liquid chromatography, Based on analysis of the intact factors and their chymotryptic fragments, we have assigned the primary structure of these octapeptides as pGlu-Val-Asn-Phe-Ser-Pro-Asn-Trp-NH2, designated periplanetin CC-1, and pGlu-Leu-Thr-Phe-Thr-Pro-Asn-Trp-NH2, designated periplanetin CC-2. They represent new members of a family of invertebrate peptides that includes locust adipokinetic hormone and crustacean red-pigment concentrating hormone. Both peptides show adipokinetic activity in grasshoppers and hyperglycemic activity in cockroaches. One of these peptides (CC-2) has provocative sequence homology with the NH2-terminal portion of glucagon.

Structures of paralytic acylpolyamines from the spider Agelenopsis aperta.

The structures are given for five paralytic acylpolyamines from the venom of the funnel web spider, Agelenopsis aperta. The acyl moieties are derived from (3-indolyl)acetic acid, (4-hydroxy-3-indolyl)acetic acid, and 4-hydroxybenzoic acid. The polyamine portions of the toxins are novel. Three toxins (AG489, AG505, and AG452) contain 1, 5, 9, 13, 18, 22-hexaazadocosane which is unique as a natural polyamine because of its length and hydroxylation at the 5-aza position. The polyamine portions of two other alpha-agatoxins (AG488 and AG504) are unusual also, containing guanidinooxy moieties.