ABSTRACT
We evaluated the in vivo pharmacological properties of AM803 3-[3-tert-butylsulfanyl-1-[4-(6-ethoxy-pyridin-3-yl)-benzyl]-5-(5-methyl-pyridin-2-ylmethoxy)-1H-indol-2-yl]-2,2-dimethyl-propionic acid, a selective five-lipoxygenase-activating protein (FLAP) inhibitor, using rat and mouse models of acute inflammation. Oral administration of AM803 (1 mg/kg) resulted in sustained inhibition of ex vivo ionophore-challenged whole blood LTB4 biosynthesis with >90% inhibition for up to 12 h and an EC50 of approximately 7 nM. When rat lungs were challenged in vivo with calcium-ionophore, AM803 inhibited LTB4 and cysteinyl leukotriene (CysLT) production with ED50s of 0.12 mg/kg and 0.37 mg/kg, respectively. The inhibition measured 16 h following a single oral dose of 3 mg/kg was 86% and 41% for LTB4 and CysLTs, respectively. In an acute inflammation setting, AM803 dose-dependently reduced LTB4, CysLTs, plasma protein extravasation and neutrophil influx induced by peritoneal zymosan injection. Finally, AM803 increased survival time in mice exposed to a lethal intravenous injection of platelet activating factor (PAF). The magnitude of effect was similar to that of an inhibitor of five-lipoxygenase (5-LO) and LTA4 hydrolase but superior to a leukotriene CysLT1 receptor antagonist. In summary, AM803 is a novel, potent and selective FLAP inhibitor that has excellent pharmacodynamic properties in vivo and is effective in animal models of acute inflammation and in a model of lethal shock.
Subject(s)
Carrier Proteins/antagonists & inhibitors , Indoles/pharmacology , Inflammation/metabolism , Membrane Proteins/antagonists & inhibitors , Pentanoic Acids/pharmacology , Propionates/pharmacology , 5-Lipoxygenase-Activating Proteins , Animals , Chronic Disease , Cysteine/biosynthesis , Disease Models, Animal , Female , Humans , Indoles/pharmacokinetics , Indoles/therapeutic use , Inflammation/drug therapy , Leukotriene B4/biosynthesis , Leukotrienes/biosynthesis , Lung/drug effects , Lung/metabolism , Male , Mice , Pentanoic Acids/pharmacokinetics , Pentanoic Acids/therapeutic use , Platelet Activating Factor/pharmacology , Propionates/pharmacokinetics , Propionates/therapeutic use , Rats , Substrate Specificity , Zymosan/pharmacologyABSTRACT
Leukotrienes (LTs) are proinflammatory lipid mediators synthesized by the conversion of arachidonic acid (AA) to LTA(4) by the enzyme 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) in the presence of 5-LO-activating protein (FLAP). 3-[3-tert-Butylsulfanyl-1-[4-(6-methoxy-pyridin-3-yl)-benzyl]-5-(pyridin-2-ylmethoxy)-1H-indol-2-yl]-2,2-dimethyl-propionic acid (AM103) is a novel selective FLAP inhibitor in development for the treatment of respiratory conditions such as asthma. In a rat ex vivo whole-blood calcium ionophore-induced LTB(4) assay, AM103 (administered orally at 1 mg/kg) displayed >50% inhibition for up to 6 h with a calculated EC(50) of approximately 60 nM. When rat lung was challenged in vivo with calcium ionophore, AM103 inhibited LTB(4) and cysteinyl leukotriene (CysLT) production with ED(50) values of 0.8 and 1 mg/kg, respectively. In this model, the EC(50) derived from plasma AM103 was approximately 330 nM for inhibition of both LTB(4) and CysLT. In an acute inflammation setting, AM103 displayed dose-dependent inhibition of LTB(4), CysLT, and plasma protein extravasation induced by peritoneal zymosan injection. In a model of chronic lung inflammation using ovalbumin-primed and challenged BALB/c mice, AM103 reduced the concentrations of eosinophil peroxidase, CysLTs, and interleukin-5 in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Finally, AM103 increased survival time in mice exposed to a lethal intravenous injection of platelet-activating factor. In summary, AM103 is a novel, potent and selective FLAP inhibitor that has excellent pharmacodynamic properties in vivo and is effective in animal models of acute and chronic inflammation and in a model of lethal shock.