Identification and Optimization of a Ligand-Efficient Benzoazepinone Bromodomain and Extra Terminal (BET) Family Acetyl-Lysine Mimetic into the Oral Candidate Quality Molecule I-BET432.

The bromodomain and extra terminal (BET) family of proteins are an integral part of human epigenome regulation, the dysregulation of which is implicated in multiple oncology and inflammatory diseases. Disrupting the BET family bromodomain acetyl-lysine (KAc) histone protein-protein interaction with small-molecule KAc mimetics has proven to be a disease-relevant mechanism of action, and multiple molecules are currently undergoing oncology clinical trials. This work describes an efficiency analysis of published GSK pan-BET bromodomain inhibitors, which drove a strategic choice to focus on the identification of a ligand-efficient KAc mimetic with the hypothesis that lipophilic efficiency could be drastically improved during optimization. This focus drove the discovery of the highly ligand-efficient and structurally distinct benzoazepinone KAc mimetic. Following crystallography to identify suitable growth vectors, the benzoazepinone core was optimized through an explore-exploit structure-activity relationship (SAR) approach while carefully monitoring lipophilic efficiency to deliver I-BET432 (41) as an oral candidate quality molecule.

Estimated time of arrival and debiasing the time saving bias.

The time saving bias predicts that the time saved when increasing speed from a high speed is overestimated, and underestimated when increasing speed from a slow speed. In a questionnaire, time saving judgements were investigated when information of estimated time to arrival was provided. In an active driving task, an alternative meter indicating the inverted speed was used to debias judgements. The simulated task was to first drive a distance at a given speed, and then drive the same distance again at the speed the driver judged was required to gain exactly 3 min in travel time compared with the first drive. A control group performed the same task with a speedometer and saved less than the targeted 3 min when increasing speed from a high speed, and more than 3 min when increasing from a low speed. Participants in the alternative meter condition were closer to the target. The two studies corroborate a time saving bias and show that biased intuitive judgements can be debiased by displaying the inverted speed. Practitioner Summary: Previous studies have shown a cognitive bias in judgements of the time saved by increasing speed. This simulator study aims to improve driver judgements by introducing a speedometer indicating the inverted speed in active driving. The results show that the bias can be reduced by presenting the inverted speed and this finding can be used when designing in-car information systems.

Isoniazid mediates the CYP2B6*6 genotype-dependent interaction between efavirenz and antituberculosis drug therapy through mechanism-based inactivation of CYP2A6.

Efavirenz is commonly used to treat patients coinfected with human immunodeficiency virus and tuberculosis. Previous clinical studies have observed paradoxically elevated efavirenz plasma concentrations in patients with the CYP2B6*6/*6 genotype (but not the CYP2B6*1/*1 genotype) during coadministration with the commonly used four-drug antituberculosis therapy. This study sought to elucidate the mechanism underlying this genotype-dependent drug-drug interaction. In vitro studies were conducted to determine whether one or more of the antituberculosis drugs (rifampin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, or ethambutol) potently inhibit efavirenz 8-hydroxylation by CYP2B6 or efavirenz 7-hydroxylation by CYP2A6, the main mechanisms of efavirenz clearance. Time- and concentration-dependent kinetics of inhibition by the antituberculosis drugs were determined using genotyped human liver microsomes (HLMs) and recombinant CYP2A6, CYP2B6.1, and CYP2B6.6 enzymes. Although none of the antituberculosis drugs evaluated at up to 10 times clinical plasma concentrations were found to inhibit efavirenz 8-hydroxylation by HLMs, both rifampin (apparent inhibition constant [Ki] = 368 µM) and pyrazinamide (Ki = 637 µM) showed relatively weak inhibition of efavirenz 7-hydroxylation. Importantly, isoniazid demonstrated potent time-dependent inhibition of efavirenz 7-hydroxylation in both HLMs (inhibitor concentration required for half-maximal inactivation [KI] = 30 µM; maximal rate constant of inactivation [kinact] = 0.023 min(-1)) and recombinant CYP2A6 (KI = 15 µM; kinact = 0.024 min(-1)) and also formed a metabolite intermediate complex consistent with mechanism-based inhibition. Selective inhibition of the CYP2B6.6 allozyme could not be demonstrated for any of the antituberculosis drugs using either recombinant enzymes or CYP2B6*6 genotype HLMs. In conclusion, the results of this study identify isoniazid as the most likely perpetrator of this clinically important drug-drug interaction through mechanism-based inactivation of CYP2A6.

Effects of electronic billboards on driver distraction.

OBJECTIVE: There is an increase in electronic advertising billboards along major roads, which may cause driver distraction due to the highly conspicuous design of the electronic billboards. Yet limited research on the impact of electronic billboards on driving performance and driver behavior is available. The Swedish Transport Administration recently approved the installation of 12 electronic billboards for a trial period along a 3-lane motorway with heavy traffic running through central Stockholm, Sweden. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of these electronic billboards on visual behavior and driving performance. METHOD: A total of 41 drivers were recruited to drive an instrumented vehicle passing 4 of the electronic billboards during day and night conditions. A driver was considered visually distracted when looking at a billboard continuously for more than 2 s or if the driver looked away from the road for a high percentage of time. Dependent variables were eye-tracking measures and driving performance measures. RESULTS: The visual behavior data showed that drivers had a significantly longer dwell time, a greater number of fixations, and longer maximum fixation duration when driving past an electronic billboard compared to other signs on the same road stretches. No differences were found for the factors day/night, and no effect was found for the driving behavior data. CONCLUSION: Electronic billboards have an effect on gaze behavior by attracting more and longer glances than regular traffic signs. Whether the electronic billboards attract too much attention and constitute a traffic safety hazard cannot be answered conclusively based on the present data.

Driver distraction in an unusual environment: Effects of text-messaging in tunnels.

Text messaging while driving can be distracting and significantly increases the risk of being involved in a collision. Compared to freeway driving, driving in a tunnel environment introduces factors that may interact with driver attentional resources to exacerbate the effects of distraction on driving safety. With planning and design of the 18km Stockholm Bypass tunnel ongoing, and because of the potentially devastating consequences of crashes in long tunnels, it is critical to assess the effects of driver distraction in a tunnel environment. Twenty-four participants (25-50 years) drove in simulated highway and tunnel road environments while reading and writing text messages using their own mobile phones. As expected, compared to driving alone, text messaging was associated with decrements in driving performance and visual scanning behavior, and increases in subjective workload. Speeds were slower compared to baseline (no text-messaging) driving when participants performed the text-messaging tasks in the tunnel environment compared to the freeway, suggesting that drivers may have attempted to compensate more for the increased text-messaging-related workload when they were in the tunnel. On the other hand, increases in lane deviation associated with the most complex text-messaging task were more pronounced in the tunnel compared to on the freeway. Collectively, results imply that driver distraction in tunnels is associated with generally similar driving decrements as freeway driving; however, the potential consequences of these decrements in tunnels remain significantly more serious. Future research should attempt to elucidate the nature of any differential compensatory behavior in tunnel, compared to freeway, driving. In the meantime, drivers should be advised to refrain from text messaging, especially when driving in tunnels.

Measuring driver impairments: sleepiness, distraction, and workload.

Snow was falling heavily when Sarah was driving on a slippery road to her cousin's country cottage. It was dark outside, and the visibility was poor. She had planned to arrive before sunset, but the rental service had made a mistake, and it took hours before she got her rental car at the airport. It was past midnight now, and after a long day of traveling, Sarah was starting to get sleepy. Fortunately, there were only 15 km to go, but her eyelids were starting to feel heavy. To stay awake, she put her favorite CD on, turned up the volume, and started to sing along. This seemed to help a little-good-only 10 km to go. This was when Sarah's phone started ringing, and she awkwardly tried to find the mute button for the car stereo while answering the phone. As she looked up again, she barely caught a glimpse of the red brake lights of the car in front of her as she smashed into it.

Characterization of recombinant human carboxylesterases: fluorescein diacetate as a probe substrate for human carboxylesterase 2.

Human carboxylesterase (CES) 1 and CES2 are members of the serine hydrolase superfamily, and both exhibit broad substrate specificity and are involved in xenobiotic and endobiotic metabolism. Although expression of CES1 and CES2 occurs in several organs, their expression in liver and small intestine is predominantly attributed to CES1 and CES2, respectively. We successfully expressed CES1 form b (CES1-b) and form c (CES1-c) as well as CES2 in baculovirus-infected High Five insect cells. With 4-nitrophenyl acetate (4-NPA) as the probe substrate, the K(m) values of recombinant CES1-b and CES2 matched those of human liver microsomes (HLM) and human intestinal microsomes (HIM) with approximately 200 and 180 µM, respectively. Bis(4-nitrophenyl) phosphate potently inhibited 4-NPA hydrolysis by HLM, CES1-b, CES1-c, HIM, and CES2 with IC(50) values less than 1 µM. With fluorescein diacetate (FD) as the substrate, the K(m) values were similar for all enzyme systems, with the exception of CES1-b, which was slightly lower; however, the V(max) values for HIM and CES2 were 39.5 and 14.6 µmol · mg(-1) · min(-1), respectively, which were at least 50-fold higher than those of CES1-b or CES1-c. Loperamide potently inhibited HLM, HIM, and CES2 with similar IC(50) values of approximately 1 µM. Substrate specificity was compared between human tissues and recombinant enzymes. The data suggest the following: 1) FD is a probe substrate for CES2; 2) CES1-b is the predominant form in human liver; and 3) recombinant CES1-b and CES2 expressed in insect cells are functionally consistent with native carboxylesterases expressed in human liver and intestine, respectively.

CYP4F enzymes are responsible for the elimination of fingolimod (FTY720), a novel treatment of relapsing multiple sclerosis.

Fingolimod (FTY720, Gilenya, 2-amino-2-[2-(4-octylphenyl)ethyl]-1,3-propanediol) is a novel drug recently approved in the United States for the oral treatment of relapsing multiple sclerosis. The compound is eliminated predominantly by ω-hydroxylation, followed by further oxidation. The ω-hydroxylation was the major metabolic pathway in human liver microsomes (HLM). The enzyme kinetics in HLM were characterized by a Michaelis-Menten affinity constant (K(m)) of 183 µM and a maximum velocity (V(max)) of 1847 pmol/(min · mg). Rates of fingolimod metabolism by a panel of HLM from individual donors showed no correlation with marker activities of any of the major drug-metabolizing cytochrome P450 (P450) enzymes or of flavin-containing monooxygenase (FMO). Among 21 recombinant human P450 enzymes and FMO3, only CYP4F2 (and to some extent CYP4F3B) produced metabolite profiles similar to those in HLM. Ketoconazole, known to inhibit not only CYP3A but also CYP4F2, was an inhibitor of fingolimod metabolism in HLM with an inhibition constant (K(i)) of 0.74 µM (and by recombinant CYP4F2 with an IC(50) of 1.6 µM), whereas there was only a slight inhibition found with azamulin and none with troleandomycin. An antibody against CYP4F2 was able to inhibit the metabolism of fingolimod almost completely in HLM, whereas antibodies specific to CYP2D6, CYP2E1, and CYP3A4 did not show significant inhibition. Combining the results of these four enzyme phenotyping approaches, we demonstrated that CYP4F2 and possibly other enzymes of the CYP4F subfamily (e.g., CYP4F3B) are the major enzymes responsible for the ω-hydroxylation of fingolimod, the main elimination pathway of the drug in vivo.

Structure guided design of 5-arylindazole glucocorticoid receptor agonists and antagonists.

Glucocorticoid receptor (GR) agonists have been used for more than half a century as the most effective treatment of acute and chronic inflammatory conditions despite serious side effects that accompany their extended use that include glucose intolerance, muscle wasting, skin thinning, and osteoporosis. As a starting point for the identification of GR ligands with an improved therapeutic index, we wished to discover selective nonsteroidal GR agonists and antagonists with simplified structure compared to known GR ligands to serve as starting points for the optimization of dissociated GR modulators. To do so, we selected multiple chemical series by structure guided docking studies and evaluated GR agonist activity. From these efforts we identified 5-arylindazole compounds that showed moderate binding to the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) with clear opportunities for further development. Structure guided optimization was used to design arrays that led to potent GR agonists and antagonists. Several in vitro and in vivo experiments were utilized to demonstrate that GR agonist 23a (GSK9027) had a profile similar to that of a classical steroidal GR agonist.

Comparison of lanosterol-14 alpha-demethylase (CYP51) of human and Candida albicans for inhibition by different antifungal azoles.

Inhibition of fungal lanosterol-14 alpha-demethylase (CYP51) is the working principle of the antifungal activity of azoles used in agriculture and medicine. Inhibition of human CYP51 may result in endocrine disruption since follicular fluid-meiosis activating steroid (FF-MAS), the direct product of lanosterol demethylation, is involved in the control of meiosis. To investigate the specificity of antifungal agents for the fungal enzyme, assays to determine inhibitory potencies of 13 agricultural fungicides and 6 antimycotic drugs were established. FF-MAS product formation was measured by LC-MS/MS analysis in the incubations using lanosterol as substrate. Recombinant human enzyme (hCYP51) was available from BD Gentest. CYP51 of Candida albicans (cCYP51) was co-expressed with Candida tropicalis oxidoreductase in the baculovirus system. IC(50) values of 13 fungicides for cCYP51 ranged about six-fold (0.059-0.35 microM); for hCYP51 the range was about 30-fold (1.3-37.2 microM). The most favourable IC(50) ratio human to Candida was observed for imazalil (440-fold), while the specificity of epoxiconazole and tebuconazole for cCYP51 was only by a factor of 10. For the antimycotic drugs, the range of IC(50) values for cCYP51 was similar to those of fungicides (0.039-0.30 microM). For the inhibition of hCYP51, IC(50) values split into two classes: the newer drugs fluconazole and itraconazole showed little inhibition (> or = 30 microM) while the older drugs were even more potent than the agricultural fungicides, with miconazole being the most potent (0.057 microM). No correlation was seen between the IC(50) values determined for the two enzymes, indicating that a housekeeping gene can show significant diversity if inhibition is concerned. Our data indicate that fungicide residues in food are unlikely to exert a relevant inhibition of CYP51 in humans whereas systemic use of some antimycotic drugs, e.g. ketoconazole or miconazole, should be carefully considered regarding disturbance of human steroid biosynthesis.

Driver experience and cognitive workload in different traffic environments.

How do levels of cognitive workload differ between experienced and inexperienced drivers? In this study we explored cognitive workload and driver experience, using a secondary task method, the peripheral detection task (PDT) in a field study. The main results showed a large and statistically significant difference in cognitive workload levels between experienced and inexperienced drivers. Inexperienced, low mileage drivers had on average approximately 250 milliseconds (ms) longer reaction times to a peripheral stimulus, than the experienced drivers. It would, therefore, appear that drivers with better training and experience were able to automate the driving task more effectively than their less experienced counterparts in accordance with theoretical psychological models. It has been suggested that increased training and experience may provide attention resource savings that can benefit the driver in handling new or unexpected traffic situations.

New technologies for assessing UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) metabolism in drug discovery and development.

UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (UGT) are important hepatic xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes. As with the cytochrome P450 class of enzymes, a multiplicity of UGT forms exists in human liver and extra-hepatic tissues. The lack of a comprehensive set of UGT-selective antibodies, substrates and inhibitors has limited the scope of studies that can be conducted with human liver preparations. The current status of the emerging in vitro tools for identifying important UGT isoforms in a given metabolic pathway will be the focus of this review.:

In vitro inhibition of UDP glucuronosyltransferases by atazanavir and other HIV protease inhibitors and the relationship of this property to in vivo bilirubin glucuronidation.

Several human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) protease inhibitors, including atazanavir, indinavir, lopinavir, nelfinavir, ritonavir, and saquinavir, were tested for their potential to inhibit uridine 5'-diphospho-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) activity. Experiments were performed with human cDNA-expressed enzymes (UGT1A1, 1A3, 1A4, 1A6, 1A9, and 2B7) as well as human liver microsomes. All of the protease inhibitors tested were inhibitors of UGT1A1, UGT1A3, and UGT1A4 with IC(50) values that ranged from 2 to 87 microM. The IC50 values found for all compounds for UGT1A6, 1A9, and 2B7 were >100 microM. The inhibition (IC50) of UGT1A1 was similar when tested against the human cDNA-expressed enzyme or human liver microsomes for atazanavir, indinavir, and saquinavir (2.4, 87, and 7.3 microM versus 2.5, 68, and 5.0 microM, respectively). By analysis of the double-reciprocal plots of bilirubin glucuronidation activities at different bilirubin concentrations in the presence of fixed concentrations of inhibitors, the UGT1A1 inhibition by atazanavir and indinavir was demonstrated to follow a linear mixed-type inhibition mechanism (Ki = 1.9 and 47.9 microM, respectively). These results suggest that a direct inhibition of UGT1A1-mediated bilirubin glucuronidation may provide a mechanism for the reversible hyperbilirubinemia associated with administration of atazanavir as well as indinavir. In vitro-in vivo scaling with [I]/Ki predicts that atazanavir and indinavir are more likely to induce hyperbilirubinemia than other HIV protease inhibitors studied when a free Cmax drug concentration was used. Our current study provides a unique example of in vitro-in vivo correlation for an endogenous UGT-mediated metabolic pathway.

Characterization of pristane-induced arthritis, a murine model of chronic disease: response to antirheumatic agents, expression of joint cytokines, and immunopathology.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize chronic murine pristane-induced arthritis (PIA) with regard to the response to antirheumatic agents, expression levels of proinflammatory cytokines, and immunopathologic features. METHODS: Male DBA/1 mice were injected intraperitoneally with pristane oil to induce a chronic polyarthritis, which was monitored by visual scoring. Serum antibody and splenocyte responses to a panel of putative joint-derived autoantigens were measured. Whole paws were evaluated postmortem for changes in the levels of proinflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha), interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), and IL-6 by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and standard histopathology techniques were used to determine joint structural changes. Therapeutic studies were performed for up to 8 weeks of dosing with prednisolone, methotrexate, 3 nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (celecoxib, diclofenac, and indomethacin), a p38 MAPK inhibitor, SB242235, and human soluble TNF receptor (sTNFR; etanercept) and murine sTNFR fusion proteins. RESULTS: Antibody and cellular responses to the putative joint autoantigens revealed a broad extent of autoimmunity in PIA. TNFalpha, IL-1beta, and IL-6 were all persistently up-regulated in PIA joints. Prednisolone, methotrexate, celecoxib, indomethacin, and SB242235 all significantly reduced the arthritis scores. Etanercept was ineffective in reducing the arthritis scores, whereas murine sTNFR produced a significant, but nonsustained, benefit. Only prednisolone significantly reduced the expression of TNFalpha, IL-1beta, and IL-6 in the joints. Prednisolone and methotrexate demonstrated the most effective joint protection. CONCLUSION: We have markedly extended the characterization of PIA as a murine model of chronic inflammatory arthritis by demonstrating cellular and humoral autoantigenicity, elevation of clinically precedented joint cytokines, and variation in the response to several antirheumatic therapies. PIA offers significant potential for the long-term study of immunopathologic mechanisms and novel therapies in rheumatoid arthritis.

Quantitation of lanosterol and its major metabolite FF-MAS in an inhibition assay of CYP51 by azoles with atmospheric pressure photoionization based LC-MS/MS.

Azoles affect the steroid balance in all biological systems and may therefore be called endocrine disrupters. Lanosterol 14alpha-demethylase (CYP51) is an enzyme inhibited by azoles. Only few data have been reported showing their inhibitory potency since an assay in an in vitro system is not available so far. In the present work an inhibition assay using human recombinant CYP51, coexpressed with human P450 oxido-reductase by the baculovirus/insect cell expression system, and LC-MS/MS as analytical method is described. Atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPI) and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) sources were used with a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer to compare quantitation of lanosterol (substrate) and 4,4-dimethyl-5alpha-cholesta-8,14,24-triene-3beta-ol (FF-MAS) (product of CYP51) with d(6)-2,2,3,4,4,6-cholesterol (d(6)-cholesterol) as internal standard. Optimization of analytical parameters resulted in a LC-APPI-MS/MS method with a LOQ of 10 pg on column for FF-MAS. The sensitivity of the method (LOD 0.5 ng/ml) makes it possible to analyze supernatants of inhibition experiments after precipitation of proteins by isopropanol without any sample enrichment. The coefficient of variation of the analytical method was <20% (n = 5) for FF-MAS, lanosterol and d(6)-cholesterol. The external calibration curve was linear from 1 to 10,000 ng/ml with R(2) >/= 0.999 and an accuracy of 94-115%. Compared with APCI, APPI provides a ten- to 500-fold increase in sensitivity for the analytes in this study. IC(50) values of epoxiconazole and miconazole-two widely used azole fungicides used in agriculture and in human medicine, respectively-were 1.95 microM and 0.057 microM.

Using mobile telephones: cognitive workload and attention resource allocation.

Driver distraction is recognized as being one of the central causes of road traffic incidents and mobile telephones are tangible devices (among many other electronic devices) that can distract the driver through changes in workload. Forty participants completed a motorway route characterized by a low level of road complexity in the form of vehicle handling and information processing. A peripheral detection task (PDT) was employed to gauge mental workload. We compared effects of conversation type (simple versus complex) and telephone mode (hands-free versus handheld) to baseline conditions. The participants' reaction times increased significantly when conversing but no benefit of hands-free units over handheld units on rural roads/motorways were found. Thus, in regard to mobile telephones, the content of the conversation was far more important for driving and driver distraction than the type of telephone when driving on a motorway or similar type of road. The more difficult and complex the conversation, the greater the possible negative effect on driver distraction.

Highly selective inhibition of human CYP3Aa in vitro by azamulin and evidence that inhibition is irreversible.

Azamulin [14-O-(5-(2-amino-1,3,4-triazolyl)thioacetyl)-dihydromutilin] is an azole derivative of the pleuromutilin class of antiinfectives. We tested the inhibition potency of azamulin toward 18 cytochromes P450 using human liver microsomes or microsomes from insect cells expressing single isoforms. In a competitive inhibition model, IC(50) values for CYP3A (0.03-0.24 microM) were at least 100-fold lower than all other non-CYP3A enzymes except CYP2J2 ( approximately 50-fold lower). The IC(50) value with heterologously expressed CYP3A4 was 15-fold and 13-fold less than those of CYP3A5 and CYP3A7, respectively. The reference inhibitor ketoconazole was less selective and exhibited potent inhibition (IC(50) values <10 microM) for CYP1A1, CYP1B1, CYP2B6, CYP2C8, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP4F2, and CYP4F12. Inhibition of CYP3A by azamulin appeared sigmoidal and well behaved with the substrates 7-benzyloxy-4-trifluoromethylcoumarin, testosterone, and midazolam. Preincubation of 4.8 microM azamulin in the presence of NADPH for 10 min inhibited approximately 95% of testosterone 6beta-hydroxylase activity compared with preincubation in the absence of NADPH. Catalytic activities of CYP1A2, CYP2C8, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2D6, and CYP2E1 were unaffected by similar experiments. Incubation of azamulin with heterologously expressed CYP3A4 yielded a type I binding spectrum with a spectral dissociation constant of 3.5 microM, whereas no interaction was found with CYP2D6. Azamulin exhibited good chemical stability when stored in acetonitrile for up to 12 days. Aqueous solubility was found to be >300 microM. Azamulin represents an important new chemical tool for use in characterizing the contribution of CYP3A to the metabolism of xenobiotics.

Evaluation of 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine, morphine, and codeine as probe substrates for UDP-glucuronosyltransferase 2B7 (UGT2B7) in human liver microsomes: specificity and influence of the UGT2B7*2 polymorphism.

UDP-glucuronosyltransferase 2B7 (UGT2B7) is involved in the glucuronidation of a wide array of clinically important drugs and endogenous compounds in humans. The aim of this study was to identify an isoform-selective probe substrate that could be used to investigate genetic and environmental influences on glucuronidation mediated by UGT2B7. Three potential probe substrates [3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine (AZT), morphine, and codeine], were evaluated using recombinant UGTs and human liver microsomes (HLMs; n = 54). Of 11 different UGTs screened, UGT2B7 was the principal isoform mediating AZT glucuronidation, morphine-3-glucuronidation, and morphine-6-glucuronidation. Codeine was glucuronidated equally well by UGT2B4 and UGT2B7. Enzyme kinetic analysis of these activities typically showed higher apparent Km values for HLMs (pooled and individual) compared with UGT2B7. This difference was least (less than 2-fold higher Km) for AZT glucuronidation and greatest (3- to 6-fold higher Km) for codeine glucuronidation. Microsomal UGT2B7 protein content correlated well with AZT glucuronidation (rs = 0.77), to a lesser extent with morphine-3-glucuronidation (rs = 0.50) and morphine-6-glucuronidation (rs = 0.51), but very weakly with codeine glucuronidation (rs = 0.33). Livers were also genotyped for the UGT2B7*2 (H268Y) polymorphism. No effect of genotype on microsomal glucuronidation or UGT2B7 protein content was observed. In conclusion, although both AZT and morphine can serve as in vitro probe substrates for UGT2B7, AZT appears to be more selective than morphine. Codeine is not a useful UGT2B7 probe substrate because of significant glucuronidation by UGT2B4. The UGT2B7*2 polymorphism is not a determinant of glucuronidation of AZT, morphine, or codeine in HLMs.

Glucuronides of tea catechins: enzymology of biosynthesis and biological activities.

(-)-Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and (-)-epigallocatechin (EGC) are major green tea catechins with antioxidant and anticancer activities. In this study, we characterized the glucuronidation of EGCG and EGC in human, mouse, and rat microsomes and by nine different human UGT 1A and 2B isozymes expressed in insect cells. Six EGCG and EGC glucuronides were biosynthesized, and their structures were identified for the first time. (-)-EGCG-4"-O-glucuronide was the major EGCG glucuronide formed in all incubations. The catalytic efficiency (V(max)/K(m)) for (-)-EGCG-4"-O-glucuronide formation followed the order: mouse intestine > mouse liver > human liver > rat liver >> rat small intestine. The UGT-catalyzed glucuronidation of EGC was much lower than that of EGCG. The V(max)/K(m) for (-)-EGC-3'-O-glucuronide followed the following order: mouse liver > human liver > rat liver > rat and mouse small intestine. Human UGT1A1, 1A8, and 1A9 had high activities with EGCG. UGT1A8, an intestine-specific UGT, had the highest V(max)/K(m) for EGCG but low activity with EGC. Mice appeared to be more similar to humans than rats to humans in the glucuronidation of EGCG and EGC. Some of these catechin glucuronides retained the activities of their parent compounds in radical scavenging and in inhibiting the release of arachidonic acid from HT-29 human colon cancer cells. These results provide foundations for understanding the biotransformation and biological activities of tea catechins.

Assessing pregnancy risks of azole antifungals using a high throughput aromatase inhibition assay.

UNLABELLED: Human aromatase (CYP19) converts C19 androgens to aromatic C18 estrogenic steroids. Its activity is critical for early and mid pregnancy maintenance and in regulating parturition in late pregnancy. Past studies have utilized placental microsome tritiated water release assay to assess drug-hormone interactions with estrogen synthesis. We compared data from human placental assays with BD Gentest's high throughput recombinant CYP19 enzyme assay using the fluorometric substrate dibenzylfluorescein. We tested a panel of azole antifungal agents that are commonly administered to women of childbearing potential, for their potential to inhibit aromatase. Potency varied by several orders of magnitude. Plasma and tissue levels of some azole drugs following oral or topical administration are at or above these IC50 values. These include the oral agents fluconazole and ketoconazole, and the topical agents econazole, bifonazole, clotrimazole, miconazole, and sulconazole. CONCLUSIONS: 1. Recombinant enzyme assay data are comparable to the human placental assay data in both SAR rank order and potency. 2. Plasma and tissue levels of some azole drugs following oral or topical administration are at or above these IC50 values. Therefore, some azole drugs may disrupt estrogen production in pregnancy, affecting pregnancy outcome. 3. Recombinant CYP19 assay using the fluorometric substrate dibenzylfluorescein, demonstrates rapid screening potential for chemicals that may affect pregnancy outcome as a result of CYP19 inhibition.