Experimental and mathematical analysis of in vitro Pitavastatin hepatic uptake across species.

1. To investigate the non-linear kinetics of in vitro hepatocyte uptake across species, the OATP substrate Pitavastatin was used as a probe. 2. Experiments were conducted at AstraZeneca (Alderley Park, Macclesfield) using freshly isolated rat, dog and human hepatocytes, utilising the "oil spin" methodology described by Hassen et al. (1996). Very few mechanistic models have previously been used to characterise the uptake process. 3. Here two candidate pharmacokinetic non-linear compartmental models are proposed. Both models have been shown to be structurally identifiable and distinghishable previously, which establishes that all unknown parameters could be identified from the experimental observations available and that input/output relationships for both the candidate models were structurally different. 4. A kinetic modelling software package, FACSIMILE (MCPA Software, Faringdon, UK), was used to obtain numerical solutions for the system equations and for parameter estimation. Model fits gave good agreement with the in vitro data and suggest the current widely accepted assumption that the rate of diffusion across the hepatocyte cell membrane is the same at both 4 °C and 37 °C is not valid, at least for Pitavastatin. Although this finding has already been proposed, this is the first time it is comprehensively debunked using statistical testing.

Design and optimization of pyrazinecarboxamide-based inhibitors of diacylglycerol acyltransferase 1 (DGAT1) leading to a clinical candidate dimethylpyrazinecarboxamide phenylcyclohexylacetic acid (AZD7687).

A new series of pyrazinecarboxamide DGAT1 inhibitors was designed to address the need for a candidate drug with good potency, selectivity, and physical and DMPK properties combined with a low predicted dose in man. Rational design and optimization of this series led to the discovery of compound 30 (AZD7687), which met the project objectives for potency, selectivity, in particular over ACAT1, solubility, and preclinical PK profiles. This compound showed the anticipated excellent pharmacokinetic properties in human volunteers.

The development of a cocktail CYP2B6, CYP2C8, and CYP3A5 inhibition assay and a preliminary assessment of utility in a drug discovery setting.

Tools for studying the roles of CYP2B6, CYP2C8, and CYP3A5 in drug metabolism have recently become available. The level of interest in these enzymes has been elevated because investigations have revealed substrate promiscuity and/or polymorphic expression. In this study, we aimed to develop a single cocktail inhibition assay for the three enzymes and assess its utility in drug discovery. Bupropion hydroxylation, amodiaquine N-deethylation, and midazolam 1'-hydroxylation were chosen as probe reactions for CYP2B6, CYP2C8, and CYP3A5 and were analyzed using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Kinetic analyses were performed to establish suitable conditions for inhibition assays, which were subsequently automated. CYP2B6, CYP2C8, and CYP3A5 IC(50) values were determined for marketed drugs and almost 200 AstraZeneca discovery compounds from 16 separate discovery projects. For the marketed drugs, results obtained were comparable with literature values. Data were also compared with IC(50) values determined for CYP1A2, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2D6, and CYP3A4. In this dataset, the majority of compounds were more potent inhibitors of CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2D6, and CYP3A4 than of CYP2B6, CYP2C8, or CYP3A5. The potential impact of these findings on a cytochrome P450 inhibition strategy is discussed.

Bioactivation of clozapine by murine cardiac tissue in vivo and in vitro.

Clozapine, an atypical neuroleptic, undergoes bioactivation to a chemically reactive nitrenium ion. This has been implicated in the pathogenesis of clozapine-induced agranulocytosis. Clozapine also causes myocarditis and cardiomyopathy, the mechanisms of which are unknown. To investigate this, we have evaluated whether clozapine undergoes bioactivation by murine cardiac tissue, in comparison to hepatic tissue. Mice were administered clozapine (5 and 50 mg/kg i.p.), and the extent of covalent binding was assessed by Western blotting. There was an increase in irreversible binding of clozapine to several proteins, ranging in mass from 30 to 250 kDa in both hepatic and cardiac tissue. Bioactivation by hepatic and cardiac microsomes was assessed by LC/MS using glutathione to trap the intermediate. Metabolism of radiolabeled clozapine to a glutathionyl conjugate by liver and cardiac microsomes was 30.5 +/- 3.3 and 3.6 +/- 0.3% of the initial incubation concentration, respectively. Ketoconazole (20 muM), a P450 inhibitor, significantly reduced binding in both hepatic and cardiac microsomes to 6.2 +/- 0.2 and 0.5 +/- 0.06%, respectively. These data indicate that clozapine undergoes bioactivation in the heart to a chemically reactive nitrenium metabolite that may be important in the pathogenesis of myocarditis and cardiomyopathy observed in man.