Design, synthesis and evaluation of EZH2-based PROTACs targeting PRC2 complex in lymphoma.

EZH2 is a member of PcG and can induce the occurrence of cancer when it is highly expressed. As an EZH2 inhibitor, Tazemetostat (EPZ6438) can inhibit the methylation catalytic activity of EZH2. However, many studies have shown that inhibition of EZH2 alone does not efficiently block tumor development. Therefore, in this study, proteolytic targeting chimera technology was employed to enhance the antiproliferative potency of EPZ6438 by degrading the oncogenic activity of EZH2. Several PROTACs have been synthesized by combining EPZ6438 with four E3 ligase ligands based on VHL, CRBN, MDM2, and cIAP E3 ligase systems. In our study, compound E-3P-MDM2 is the most active PROTAC molecule. It degraded EZH2 of the SU-DHL-6 cells in a concentration and dose-dependent manner and also degraded both EED and SUZ12 protein without affecting their mRNA levels, then significantly inhibited the expression of H3K27me3. The in vitro antiproliferative activity of E-3P-MDM2 was much stronger than that of EPZ6438.

Terpenoids and Phenylpropanoids Isolated from the Twigs and Leaves of Abelia macrotera and Their Anti-Inflammatory Activities.

A new triterpenoid, 3ß-hydroxyurs-12-en-28,20ß-olide (1), as well as thirteen known terpenoids (2-14) and three known phenylpropanoids (15-17), were isolated from the twigs and leaves of Abelia macrotera. Compounds 2, 5-17 were isolated for the first time from the Abelia genus. The structure of compound 1 was determined using the characteristic spectral data (HR-ESI-MS, UV, 1D and 2D-NMR, and X-ray single-crystal diffraction. Furthermore, the inhibitory effects of all compounds on NO production in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells were tested, and compound 15 showed obvious inhibitory effect, with IC50 values of 23.77±1.61 µM. Through target screening and molecular docking technology, it can be speculated that compound 15 may play an anti-inflammatory role by combining with Cathepsin G & Chymase and HPG D.

Diterpenoids from the seeds of Euphorbia lathyris and their anti-inflammatory activity.

Twelve previously undescribed diterpenoids, euplarisans A-L (1-12), including one premyrsinane and eleven lathyranes, along with ten known analogues 13-22 were isolated from the seeds of Euphorbia lathyris. Their chemical structures were delineated by spectroscopic analysis and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Interestingly, both 5 and 6 possessed an unusual trans-gem-dimethylcyclopropane as structural features and compound 8 was elucidated as premyrsinane-type diterpenoid. Meanwhile, a plausible biogenetic pathway for compounds 1-12 was proposed. In the anti-inflammatory bioassay, compounds 1, 2, 4, 13, 16, and 18 markedly inhibited the nitric oxide production in LPS-induced RAW264.7 macrophage cells. Compound 1 showed a more remarkable anti-inflammatory effect than others. It inhibited the generation of inflammatory cytokines (IL-1ß, IL-6, and TNF-α) and also obviously decreased the expression of iNOS, COX-2, and p-IκBα in a dose-dependent manner. The structure-activity relationships (SARs) of these diterpenoids were also discussed.

Burchellin and its stereoisomers: total synthesis, structural elucidation and antiviral activity.

Burchellin and its analogues are a class of neolignan natural products containing a rare core with three contiguous stereogenic centers. In previous reports, racemic burchellin was synthesized without accessing each of the enantiomers. In this paper, a concise and efficient total synthetic route to divergently access the enantiomers of burchellin and those of its 1'-epi-diastereoisomer over six steps for each is disclosed, where each of the enantiomers was obtained by preparative chiral phase HPLC purification. The key steps include the construction of a 2,3-dihydrobenzofuran moiety by two Claisen rearrangements and a one-step rearrangement/cyclization and subsequent tandem ester hydrolysis/oxy-Cope rearrangement/methylation to furnish the basic skeleton of burchellin. The structures and absolute configurations of the four stereoisomers were determined using spectroscopic data analyses and comparison of experimental and calculated electronic circular dichroism data. These stereoisomers were found to have potent antiviral effects against coxsackie virus B3, and is the first time that bioactivity has been reported for these compounds.

Simultaneous determination of tandospirone and its active metabolite, 1-[2-pyrimidyl]-piperazine in rat plasma by LC-MS/MS and its application to a pharmacokinetic study.

A rapid, sensitive and selective liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for the detection of tandospirone (TDS) and its active metabolite 1-[2-pyrimidyl]-piperazine (1-PP) in Sprague-Dawley rat plasma is described. It was employed in a pharmacokinetic study. These analytes and the internal standards were extracted from plasma using protein precipitation with acetonitrile, then separated on a CAPCELL PAK ADME C18 column using a mobile phase of acetonitrile and 5 mm ammonium formate acidified with formic acid (0.1%, v/v) at a total flow rate of 0.4 mL/min. The detection was performed with a tandem mass spectrometer equipped with an electrospray ionization source. The method was validated to quantify the concentration ranges of 1.000-500.0 ng/mL for TDS and 10.00-500.0 ng/mL for 1-PP. Total time for each chromatograph was 3.0 min. The intra-day precision was between 1.42 and 6.69% and the accuracy ranged from 95.74 to 110.18% for all analytes. Inter-day precision and accuracy ranged from 2.47 to 6.02% and from 98.37 to 105.62%, respectively. The lower limits of quantification were 1.000 ng/mL for TDS and 10.00 ng/mL for 1-PP. This method provided a fast, sensitive and selective analytical tool for quantification of tandospirone and its metabolite 1-PP in plasma necessary for the pharmacokinetic investigation.

[Determination of Desloratadine and Its Metabolite 3-OH Desloratadine in Human Plasma by LC-MS/MS].

OBJECTIVE: To develop a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for the simultaneous determination of desloratadine and its metabolite 3-OH desloratadine in human plasma. METHODS: 24 healthy male volunteers received a single oral dose of 5 mg desloratadine tablets in a randomized crossover bioequivalence study with two preparations of tablets. Serial plasma samples were taken and analyzed by the LC-MS/MS method. The pharmacokinetic parameters of the two preparations were calculated and compared statistically to evaluate their bioequivalence using Winnonlin 6. 3. RESULTS: The calibration curves of desloratadine and 3-OH desloratadine were both linear over the concentration range of 0. 050-6. 0 ng/mL, with intra-batch and inter-batch relative standard deviations less than 15%. The 90% confidence intervals (CIs) of peak concentration (Cmax) area under the curve (AUC)0t and AUC0-∞ of desloratadine and 3-OH desloratadine all resided within the bioequivalence limit 80%-125%. No significant difference in peak time (Tmax) was demonstrated between the two preparations. CONCLUSION: The LC-MS/MS method can be used for simultaneous determination of desloratadine and 3-OH desloratadine in human plasma, which has been successfully applied-to a bioequivalence study.

[Simultaneous determination of adrenaline, noradrenaline, cortisone and cortisol in plasma with HPLC/MS/MS].

OBJECTIVE: To develop a method for simultaneous determination of adrenaline, noradrenaline, cortisone and cortisol in plasma using HPLC/MS/MS. METHODS: Sample proteins were precipitated with acetonitrile and the sample solution was injected into HPLC/MS/MS after centrifugation at 15,000 r/min for 5 min. Electrospray ionization (ESI) and the positive ion detection were applied with a multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode for quantitative analyses. RESULTS: Under the optimal conditions, good linearity (r > 0.999) was observed in the range of 0.02-200.00 ng/mL of target compounds. The detection limit reached 4.13 pg/mL, 4.64 pg/mL, 4.29 pg/mL and 4.52 pg/mL for adrenaline, noradrenaline, cortisone and cortisol respectively. The inter-day and intra-day precisions ranged from 1.19%-5.42% and 2.16%-6.04% respectively. Satisfied results were achieved using human plasma samples, with a spiked recovery in the range of 80.0%-109.0% and a relative standard deviation of 3.93%-7.57%. CONCLUSION: The proposed method is quick, sensitive and suitable for batch analyses of plasma samples.

Changes in target ability of nanoparticles due to protein corona composition and disease state.

Many studies have shown the influence of protein corona (PC) on the active targeting capability of ligand-modified nanoparticles; however, the influence of clinical status on PC composition and targeting capacity is rarely discussed. In this study, when transferrin-modified PEGylated polystyrene nanoparticles (Tf-PNs) is intravenously injected into mice with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) comorbid with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), more Tf-PNs accumulated in the tumor tissue than in those of NSCLC model mice. This indicated that PC derived from different states of disease changed the active targeting ability of Tf-PNs. To explain the occurrence of this phenomenon, our analysis of PC from different disease states revealed that Tf (transferrin) modification had no significant effect on the formation of PC, and that the PC from the NSCLC comorbid with T2DM model contained more proteins like fibrin and clusterin. This work demonstrates the impacts of comorbidity, such as with T2DM, on the active targeting capability of ligand-modified nanoparticles, and the results promote the application of nanoparticles for precision medicine.

Quantification of Paclitaxel and Polyaspartate Paclitaxel Conjugate in Beagle Plasma: Application to a Pharmacokinetic Study.

An LC-MS/MS method for the determination of polyaspartate paclitaxel conjugate (PASP-PTX) and paclitaxel (PTX) in dog plasma with cephalomannine (Internal Standard for PASP-PTX, IS-I) and clopidogrel bisulfate (Internal Standard for PTX, IS-II) as the internal standards was developed and validated. Plasma samples of PASP-PTX were extracted by ethyl acetate following the hydrolysis reaction, while protein precipitation was used for the extraction of PTX using acetonitrile. Analytes were separated by a CAPCELL PAK C18 MG II column using a gradient elution with the mobile phase (A) 5 mM ammonium containing 0.1% formic acid, and (B) acetonitrile. Quantification was performed by monitoring the m/z transitions of 286.2/105.0 for PASP-PTX, 264.2/83.0 for IS-I, 854.4/286.0 for PTX, and 322.1/184.1 for IS-II in the ESI positive mode. This method was validated in terms of specificity, linearity, precision, accuracy, and stability. The lower limit of quantification was 0.15 µg/mL for PASP-PTX and 0.01 µg/mL for PTX, and the calibration curves were linear over 0.15-300 µg/mL for PASP-PTX and over 0.01-10 µg/mL for PTX. The samples were stable under all the tested conditions. The method was successfully applied to study the pharmacokinetic profiles of PASP-PTX and PTX in beagles following intravenous administration of PASP-PTX.

Simultaneous bioanalysis of rasagiline and its major metabolites in human plasma by LC-MS/MS: Application to a clinical pharmacokinetic study.

Rasagiline is a selective, irreversible inhibitor of monoamine oxidase type-B (MAO-B) and has been used both as a monotherapy and in addition to levodopa in the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD). Rasagiline is metabolized by the cytochrome P450 (CYP) system, and the following three major metabolites with potential neuroprotective activity have been identified: 1-aminoindan (AI), 3-hydroxy-N-propargyl-1-aminoindan (3-OH-PAI) and 3-hydroxy-1-aminoindan (3-OH-AI). In this study, a novel liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was developed for the simultaneous determination of rasagiline and its major metabolites in human plasma. This method was validated in terms of specificity, linearity, precision, accuracy, recovery, matrix effect and stability. The validated method was then applied to a clinical pharmacokinetic study after the oral administration of 1mg rasagiline mesylate tablets to six healthy Chinese volunteers.

Simultaneous determination of leucine, isoleucine and valine in Beagle dog plasma by HPLC-MS/MS and its application to a pharmacokinetic study.

Leucine (Leu), isoleucine (Ile) and valine (Val) are three branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), which have been widely used as dietary supplements for professional athletes and patients with liver failure or catabolic diseases. To date, no pharmacokinetic studies of BCAAs in vivo useful for the assessment of clinical effect following daily intake has been reported. Thus in this study, an HPLC-MS/MS method for simultaneous determination of Leu, Ile and Val in Beagle dog plasma using homoarginine as the internal standard was developed and validated in terms of specificity, linearity, precision, accuracy, and stability. This assay method was then applied to a pharmacokinetic study of BCAAs in dogs following oral administration of 0.25 g/kg and 0.50 g/kg BCAAs. The HPLC-MS/MS method was found to be sensitive and reproducible for quantification of BCAAs in dog plasma and successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study. All these BCAAs were well absorbed with a substantial increase in the plasma concentration after a baseline modification. No statistical significance was identified in different gender group and no drug accumulation was observed following multiple doses.

Prevalence of Desloratadine Slow-metabolizer Phenotype and Food-dependent Pharmacokinetics of Desloratadine in Healthy Chinese Volunteers.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Desloratadine, the major active metabolite of loratadine, is a non-sedating long-acting antihistamine that is widely used in the treatment of allergic rhinitis and chronic idiopathic urticaria. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of desloratadine slow-metabolizer (DSM) phenotype and the effects of food on the pharmacokinetics of desloratadine and its active metabolite 3-OH-desloratadine in healthy Chinese volunteers. METHODS: A total of 46 healthy Chinese male volunteers were included in this investigation. All subjects received a single dose of a 5-mg desloratadine tablet under fasting or fed conditions and the plasma concentrations of desloratadine and 3-OH-desloratadine were measured by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The pharmacokinetic profiles were analyzed using a non-compartmental method in the Phoenix WinNonlin program. The individuals with a 3-OH-desloratadine-to-desloratadine exposure ratio lower than 10 % or a desloratadine half-life (t 1/2) of ≥50 h were supposed to be DSM. RESULTS: There was only one DSM among the 46 volunteers, with a prevalence of 2.2 %. Moreover, administration in a fed state resulted in 34.07 and 32.06 % decreases in maximum plasma concentration and area under the concentration-time curve from time zero to infinity for desloratadine and 47.26 and 48.46 % for 3-OH-desloratadine compared with those values under fasting conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, these results indicated that the incidence of the DSM phenotype in the Chinese population was low and that food intake could significantly decrease the absorption rate and extent of desloratadine.

An HPLC-MS/MS method for simultaneous determination of the active metabolites of febuxostat (67M-1, 67M-2 and 67M-4) in human plasma.

An HPLC-MS/MS method for simultaneously determination of the active metabolites (67M-1, 67M-2 and 67M-4) in human plasma using clopidogrel as the internal standard was developed and validated. The compounds were extracted by protein precipitation using acetonitrile and separated using a C8 column by a gradient elution with the mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile (containing 0.1% formic acid) and 0.1% formic acid. Quantification was performed using multiple reaction monitoring in positive mode with m/z transitions of 333.1-261.0, 333.1-261.0, 347.0-261.0 and 322.2-184.1 for 67M-1, 67M-2, 67M-4 and clopidogrel (Internal Standard), respectively. This method was validated in terms of specificity, linearity, precision, accuracy, and stability. The lower limit of quantification of this method was 0.5 ng/mL and the calibration curve was linear over the concentration range of 0.5-150 ng/mL. The intra- and inter-run precision was less than 11.67% and 8.64%, respectively, with the accuracy between 98.33% and 108.38%. The samples were stable under all the tested conditions. This method has been successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study of febuxostat in healthy Chinese volunteers following oral administration of 40 mg and 80 mg febuxostat.