Chromatographic resolution of closely related species: drug metabolites and analogs.

In this study, we investigate the separation of a variety of mixtures of drugs, metabolites, and related analogs including representatives of the carbamazepine, methylated xanthine, steroid hormone, nicotine, and morphine families using several automated chromatographic method development screening systems including ultra high performance liquid chromatography, core-shell HPLC, achiral supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC), and chiral SFC. Of the 138 column and mobile phase combinations examined for each mixture, a few chromatographic conditions afford the best overall performance, with a single achiral SFC method (4.6 × 250 mm, 3.0 µm GreenSep Ethyl Pyridine, 25 mM isobutylamine in methanol/CO2) affording good separation for all samples. Four of these mixtures were also resolved by achiral SFC on the Luna HILIC and chiral SFC Chiralpak IB columns using methanol or ethanol with 25 mM isobutylamine as polar modifiers. Modifications of standard chromatography screening conditions afforded fast separation methods (from 1 to 5 min) for baseline resolution of all components of each of these challenging sets of closely related compounds.

Chromatographic separation and assignment of absolute configuration of hydroxywarfarin isomers.

The absolute configuration of several hydroxywarfarin isomers was assigned using a comparison of elution order on chiral stationary phases, optical rotation, and circular dichroism (CD) spectra, with confirmation of assignments made by comparison between experimental and calculated CD spectra and selective synthesis of hydroxywarfarin isomers from enantiopure warfarin using human liver microsomes.

In vitro assessment of drug-drug interaction potential of boceprevir associated with drug metabolizing enzymes and transporters.

The inhibitory effect of boceprevir (BOC), an inhibitor of hepatitis C virus nonstructural protein 3 protease was evaluated in vitro against a panel of drug-metabolizing enzymes and transporters. BOC, a known substrate for cytochrome P450 (P450) CYP3A and aldo-ketoreductases, was a reversible time-dependent inhibitor (k(inact) = 0.12 minute(-1), K(I) = 6.1 µM) of CYP3A4/5 but not an inhibitor of other major P450s, nor of UDP-glucuronosyltransferases 1A1 and 2B7. BOC showed weak to no inhibition of breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP), P-glycoprotein (Pgp), or multidrug resistance protein 2. It was a moderate inhibitor of organic anion transporting polypeptide (OATP) 1B1 and 1B3, with an IC(50) of 18 and 4.9 µM, respectively. In human hepatocytes, BOC inhibited CYP3A-mediated metabolism of midazolam, OATP1B-mediated hepatic uptake of pitavastatin, and both the uptake and metabolism of atorvastatin. The inhibitory potency of BOC was lower than known inhibitors of CYP3A (ketoconazole), OATP1B (rifampin), or both (telaprevir). BOC was a substrate for Pgp and BCRP but not for OATP1B1, OATP1B3, OATP2B1, organic cation transporter, or sodium/taurocholate cotransporting peptide. Overall, our data suggest that BOC has the potential to cause pharmacokinetic interactions via inhibition of CYP3A and CYP3A/OATP1B interplay, with the interaction magnitude lower than those observed with known potent inhibitors. Conversely, pharmacokinetic interactions of BOC, either as a perpetrator or victim, via other major P450s and transporters tested are less likely to be of clinical significance. The results from clinical drug-drug interaction studies conducted thus far are generally supportive of these conclusions.

Heterocycle-substituted proline dipeptides as potent VLA-4 antagonists.

A variety of N-linked tertiary amines and heteroarylamines were examined at the 4-position of sulfonylated proline dipeptides in order to improve VLA-4 receptor off-rates and overcome the issue of CYP3A4 time-dependent inhibition of ester prodrugs. A tight-binding inhibitor 5j with a long off-rate provided sustained receptor occupancy despite poor oral pharmacokinetics.

An automated electrophysiology serum shift assay for K(V) channels.

The presence of serum in biological samples often negatively impacts the quality of in vitro assays. However, assays tolerant of serum are useful for assessing the in vivo availability of a small molecule for its target. Electrophysiology assays of ion channels are notoriously sensitive to serum because of their reliance on the interaction of the plasma membrane with a recording electrode. Here we investigate the tolerance of an automated electrophysiology assay for a voltage-gated potassium (K(V)) channel to serum and purified plasma proteins. The delayed rectifier channel, K(V)2.1, stably expressed in Chinese hamster ovary cells produces large, stable currents on the IonWorks Quattro platform (MDS Analytical Technologies, Sunnyvale, CA), making it an ideal test case. K(V)2.1 currents recorded on this platform are highly resistant to serum, allowing recordings in as high as 33% serum. Using a set of compounds related to the K(V) channel blocker, 4-phenyl-4-[3-(2-methoxyphenyl)-3-oxo-2-azaprop-1-yl]cyclohexanone, we show that shifts in compound potency with whole serum or isolated serum proteins can be reliably measured with this assay. Importantly, this assay is also relatively insensitive to plasma, allowing the creation of a bioassay for inhibitors of K(V)2.1 channel activity. Here we show that such a bioassay can quantify the levels of the gating modifier, guangxitoxin-1E, in plasma samples from mice dosed with the peptide. This study demonstrates the utility of using an automated electrophysiology platform for measuring serum shifts and for bioassays of ion channel modulators.

In vitro metabolic studies on the selective metabotropic glutamate receptor sub-type 5 (mGluR5) antagonist 3-[(2-methyl-1,3-thiazol-4-yl) ethynyl]-pyridine (MTEP).

Metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluR) are G-protein-coupled receptors that play a major role in modulatory pathways in the CNS and have been suggested to have pharmacological implications in pain, psychiatric disorders and other neurological states. 3-[(2-Methyl-1,3-thiazol-4-yl) ethynyl]-pyridine (MTEP) is a specific and selective antagonist for the mGluR sub-type 5. Previous studies using rat liver microsomes showed that the major oxidative metabolites of MTEP are a hydroxymethyl metabolite (M1), two oxides (M2 and M4), a thiazole-ring opened metabolite (M3) and CO(2) (M5). In the present study, we examined the metabolism of MTEP in liver microsomes and expressed rat and human CYP isoforms. In rat liver microsomes, metabolic stability studies accurately predicted the in vivo clearance for MTEP. Incubation of MTEP with expressed rat and human CYP isoforms showed that CYP1A and CYP2C isoforms are primarily responsible for the metabolism of this compound. The results suggest that species differences in MTEP metabolism is possible and could contribute to specie-differences in biological effects of the compound.

Cyclohexenyl- and dehydropiperidinyl-alkynyl pyridines as potent metabotropic glutamate subtype 5 (mGlu5) receptor antagonists.

Structure-activity relationship studies leading to the discovery of novel mGlu5 receptor antagonists are described. These compounds show high in vitro potency, have good in vivo receptor occupancy, and a reasonable intravenous pharmacokinetic profile.

Synthesis, characterization, and first successful monkey imaging studies of metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 5 (mGluR5) PET radiotracers.

Three metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 5 (mGluR5) PET tracers have been labeled with either carbon-11 or fluorine-18 and their in vitro and in vivo behavior in rhesus monkey has been characterized. Each of these tracers share the common features of high affinity for mGluR5 (0.08-0.23 nM vs. rat mGluR5) and moderate lipophilicity (log P 2.8-3.4). Compound 1b was synthesized using a Suzuki or Stille coupling reaction with [11C]MeI. Compounds 2b and 3b were synthesized by a SNAr reaction using a 3-chlorobenzonitrile precursor. Autoradiographic studies in rhesus monkey brain slices using 2b and 3b showed specific binding in cortex, caudate, putamen, amygdala, hippocampus, most thalamic nuclei, and lower binding in the cerebellum. PET imaging studies in monkey showed that all three tracers readily enter the brain and provide an mGluR5-specific signal in all gray matter regions, including the cerebellum. The specific signal observed in the cerebellum was confirmed by the autoradiographic studies and saturation binding experiments that showed tracer binding in the cerebellum of rhesus monkeys. In vitro metabolism studies using the unlabeled compounds showed that 1a, 2a, and 3a are metabolized slower by human liver microsomes than by monkey liver microsomes. In vivo metabolism studies showed 3b to be long-lived in rhesus plasma with only one other more polar metabolite observed.

Inhibition of human hepatic CYP isoforms by mGluR5 antagonists.

Characterization of new chemical entities for their potential to produce drug-drug interactions is an important aspect of early drug discovery screening. In the present study, the potential for three metabotropic glutamate receptor antagonists to interact with recombinant human CYPs was investigated. 2-Methyl-6-(phenylethenyl) pyridine (SIB-1893), 2-methyl-6-(phenylethynyl) pyridine (MPEP) and 3-[2-methyl-1,3-thiazol-4-yl) ethynyl]-pyridine (MTEP) were moderate competitive inhibitors of recombinant human CYP1A2 (Ki, 0.5-1 microM). SIB-1893, but not MPEP or MTEP, was also a moderate competitive inhibitor of CYP1B1. MPEP and MTEP were weak inhibitors of CYP2C19. None of the three compounds tested were significant inhibitors (IC(50) values >50 microM) of CYP3A4, 2C9, 2D6, 2A6, 2B6 or 2E1. The results suggest that MTEP is a selective inhibitor of CYP1A2 and may prove to be a useful tool in studying drug-drug interactions involving this enzyme.

Expression of UGT2B7, a UDP-glucuronosyltransferase implicated in the metabolism of 4-hydroxyestrone and all-trans retinoic acid, in normal human breast parenchyma and in invasive and in situ breast cancers.

Glucuronidation, mediated by UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs), affects the actions and disposition of diverse endo- and xenobiotics. In the case of catecholestrogens (CEs), glucuronidation is likely to block their oxidation to quinone estrogens that are the putative mediators of CEs' actions as initiators of cancers. The goal of this study was to determine whether UGT2B7, the isoenzyme with a high affinity for 4-hydroxyestrone, is expressed in human breast parenchyma. Glucuronidation of 4-hydroxyestrone has relevance to breast carcinogenesis because quinone metabolites of 4-hydroxylated CEs can form potentially mutagenic depurinating DNA adducts, and because in breast tissue estrone is likely to be the predominant estrogen available for 4-hydroxylation. Using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, immunocytochemistry, immunoblot analyses, and assays of glucuronidation of 4-hydroxyestrone, we show that UGT2B7 is expressed in human mammary epithelium, and that its expression is dramatically reduced in invasive breast cancers. In many in situ carcinomas, however, 4-hydroxyestrone immunostaining was not only preserved but even more intense than in normal mammary epithelium. The finding of reduced UGT2B7 protein and glucuronidation of 4-hydroxyestrone in invasive cancers suggests a tumor-suppressor function for the enzyme. Recent identification of all-trans retinoic acid as a substrate of UGT2B7 suggests that this function includes the generation of retinoyl-beta-glucuronide, a potent mediator of actions of retinoids important for maintaining epithelia in a differentiated state. Current knowledge does not provide any ready explanation for the apparent increase in UGT2B7 expression in carcinomas in situ. However, this finding, together with reduced immunostaining at loci showing breach of the basement membrane (microinvasion), suggests involvement of UGT2B7-catalyzed reaction(s) in protection against invasion of surrounding tissue by cancer cells.