Interaction of oligomeric breast cancer resistant protein (BCRP) with adjudin: a male contraceptive with anti-cancer activity.

Breast cancer resistant protein (BCRP, ABCG2) is an ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter, which together with two other ABC efflux drug pumps, namely P-glycoprotein (P-gp, ABCB1) and multidrug resistance-related protein 1 (MRP1, ABCC1) is the most important multidrug resistance protein foun d in eukaryotic cells including cells in the testis. However, unlike P-gp and MRP1, which are components of the Sertoli cell blood-testis barrier (BTB), BCRP is not expressed at the BTB in rodents and human testes. Instead, BCRP is expressed by peritubular myoid cells and endothelial cells of the lymphatic vessel in the tunica propria, residing outside the BTB. As such, the testis is equipped with two levels of defense against xenobiotics or drugs, preventing these harmful substances from entering the adluminal compartment to perturb meiosis and post-meiotic spermatid development: one at the level of the BTB conferred by P-gp and MRP1 and one at the tunica propria conferred by BCRP. The presence of drug transporters at the tunica propria as well as at the Sertoli cell BTB thus poses significant obstacles in developing non-hormonal contraceptives if these drugs (e.g., adjudin) exert their effects in germ cells behind the BTB, such as in the adluminal (apical) compartment of the seminiferous epithelium. Herein, we summarize recent findings pertinent to adjudin, a non-hormonal male contraceptive, and molecular interactions of adjudin with BCRP so that this information can be helpful to devise delivery strategies to evade BCRP in the tunica propria to improve its bioavailability in the testis.

Mode of action: reduction of testosterone availability--molinate-induced inhibition of spermatogenesis.

Molinate is a preemergent herbicide that has been demonstrated to affect reproduction in the rat via alterations in sperm production. A wealth of standard toxicological studies and targeted research efforts relating to this adverse effect is available, and these were used to evaluate the utility of the Human Relevance Framework (HRF) for noncancer health effects. The hypothesized mode of action involved inhibition of the hydrolysis of cholesterol from high-density lipoprotein in the rat testes, followed by an androgen withdrawal syndrome on spermatogenesis. Some evidence is available that a similar mode of action would not be operable in humans. Despite the wealth of studies conducted in the rat, the weight of evidence is insufficient to define the mode of action for reproductive toxicity in the male rat. A principal deficiency in the database was discordance between the exposure levels observed to cause biochemical disturbances in the testes related to the hypothesized mode of action and the dose levels observed to induce the adverse outcome on spermatogenesis. For this reason, a complete MOA/human relevance analysis is not possible and, based on traditional risk assessment principles, any toxic effects are assumed to be relevant for human risk assessment.