NOMAD spectrometer on the ExoMars trace gas orbiter mission: part 2-design, manufacturing, and testing of the ultraviolet and visible channel.

NOMAD is a spectrometer suite on board the ESA/Roscosmos ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, which launched in March 2016. NOMAD consists of two infrared channels and one ultraviolet and visible channel, allowing the instrument to perform observations quasi-constantly, by taking nadir measurements at the day- and night-side, and during solar occultations. Here, in part 2 of a linked study, we describe the design, manufacturing, and testing of the ultraviolet and visible spectrometer channel called UVIS. We focus upon the optical design and working principle where two telescopes are coupled to a single grating spectrometer using a selector mechanism.

Safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and efficacy of AMG 403, a human anti-nerve growth factor monoclonal antibody, in two phase I studies with healthy volunteers and knee osteoarthritis subjects.

INTRODUCTION: Nerve growth factor plays a key role in the pathology of osteoarthritis (OA) related chronic pain. The aim of these studies was to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and clinical response of AMG 403, a human anti-nerve growth factor monoclonal antibody, in healthy volunteers and subjects with knee OA. METHODS: Two phase I, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind studies were conducted. The single-ascending dose study randomized healthy volunteers (n = 48) 3:1 to receive AMG 403 (1, 3, 10, or 30 mg intravenously; or 10 or 30 mg subcutaneously; n = 8 per group) or placebo. The multiple-ascending dose study randomized knee OA subjects (n = 18) 3:1 to receive AMG 403 (3, 10, or 20 mg subcutaneously once monthly for four doses) or placebo. Safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics (PK) were assessed for both studies. Patient's and physician's disease assessments and total WOMAC score were determined in knee OA subjects. RESULTS: AMG 403 appeared to be well-tolerated after single and multiple doses, except for subject-reported hyperesthesia, pain, and paresthesia (mild to moderate severity). These treatment-emergent neurosensory events showed evidence of reversibility and a possible dose-dependence. Three serious adverse events were reported in AMG 403 treated subjects, but were not considered treatment related. AMG 403 PK was linear with an estimated half-life of 19.6 to 25.8 days. After multiple doses, AMG 403 PK showed modest accumulation (≤2.4-fold increase) in systemic exposure. Knee OA diagnosis, body weight, and anti-drug antibody development did not appear to affect AMG 403 PK. Patient's and physician's disease assessments and total WOMAC score showed improvement in AMG 403 treated knee OA subjects compared with placebo. CONCLUSIONS: AMG 403 was generally safe and well-tolerated in both healthy volunteers and knee OA patients, and exhibited linear pharmacokinetics. Preliminary clinical efficacy was observed in knee OA subjects. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02348879 . Registered 23 December 2014. Clintrials.gov NCT02318407 . Registered 2 December 2014.

Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate: toxicity, toxicokinetics, and toxicogenomics analysis after 13 weeks of oral administration in mice.

Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) is a prodrug of tenofovir that exhibits activity against HIV and hepatitis B. The goals of this study were to evaluate the molecular mechanism of TDF-induced toxicity in mice after 13 weeks of daily oral administration (50-1000 mg/kg) by correlating transcriptional changes with plasma drug levels and traditional toxicology end points. Plasma levels and systemic exposure of tenofovir increased less than dose proportionally and were similar on days 1 and 91. No overt toxicity was observed following the completion of TDF administration. The kidneys of TDF-treated mice were histopathologically normal. This result is consistent with the genomic microarray results, which showed no significant differences in kidney transcriptional levels between TDF-treated animals and controls. In liver, after 4 and 13 weeks, cytomegaly was observed in mice treated with 1000 mg/kg of TDF, but mice recovered from this effect following cessation of administration. Analysis of liver transcripts on day 91 reported elevated levels of Cdkn1a in TDF-treated animals compared with controls, which may have contributed to the inhibition of liver cell cycle progression.

Clinical pharmacology of AMG 181, a gut-specific human anti-α4ß7 monoclonal antibody, for treating inflammatory bowel diseases.

AIMS: AMG 181 pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics (PK/PD), safety, tolerability and effects after single subcutaneous (s.c.) or intravenous (i.v.) administration were evaluated in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. METHODS: Healthy male subjects (n= 68) received a single dose of AMG 181 or placebo at 0.7, 2.1, 7, 21, 70 mg s.c. (or i.v.), 210 mg s.c. (or i.v.), 420 mg i.v. or placebo. Four ulcerative colitis (UC) subjects (n= 4, male : female 2:2) received 210 mg AMG 181 or placebo s.c. (3:1). AMG 181 concentration, anti-AMG 181-antibody (ADA), α4 ß7 receptor occupancy (RO), target cell counts, serum C-reactive protein, fecal biomarkers and Mayo score were measured. Subjects were followed 3-9 months after dose. RESULTS: Following s.c. dosing, AMG 181 was absorbed with a median tmax ranging between 2-10 days and a bioavailability between 82% and 99%. Cmax and AUC increased dose-proportionally and approximately dose-proportionally, respectively, within the 70-210 mg s.c. and 70-420 mg i.v. ranges. The linear ß-phase t1/2 was 31 (range 20-48) days. Target-mediated disposition occurred at serum AMG 181 concentrations of less than 1 µg ml(-1) . The PD effect on α4 ß7 RO showed an EC50 of 0.01 µg ml(-1) . Lymphocytes, eosinophils, CD4+ T cells and subset counts were unchanged. AMG 181-treated UC subjects were in remission with mucosal healing at weeks 6, 12 and/or 28. The placebo-treated UC subject experienced colitis flare at week 6. No ADA or AMG 181 treatment-related serious adverse events were observed. CONCLUSIONS: AMG 181 has PK/PD, safety, and effect profiles suitable for further testing in subjects with inflammatory bowel diseases.

Lead optimization of antimalarial propafenone analogues.

Previously reported studies identified analogues of propafenone that had potent antimalarial activity, reduced cardiac ion channel activity, and properties that suggested the potential for clinical development for malaria. Careful examination of the bioavailability, pharmacokinetics, toxicology, and efficacy of this series of compounds using rodent models revealed orally bioavailable compounds that are nontoxic and suppress parasitemia in vivo. Although these compounds possess potential for further preclinical development, they also carry some significant challenges.

Lead optimization of 3-carboxyl-4(1H)-quinolones to deliver orally bioavailable antimalarials.

Malaria is a protozoal parasitic disease that is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Asia, and the Americas and causes more than 800,000 deaths per year. The continuing emergence of multidrug-resistant Plasmodium falciparum drives the ongoing need for the development of new and effective antimalarial drugs. Our previous work has explored the preliminary structural optimization of 4(1H)-quinolone ester derivatives, a new series of antimalarials related to the endochins. Herein, we report the lead optimization of 4(1H)-quinolones with a focus on improving both antimalarial potency and bioavailability. These studies led to the development of orally efficacious antimalarials including quinolone analogue 20g, a promising candidate for further optimization.

Functional hot spots in human ATP-binding cassette transporter nucleotide binding domains.

The human ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter superfamily consists of 48 integral membrane proteins that couple the action of ATP binding and hydrolysis to the transport of diverse substrates across cellular membranes. Defects in 18 transporters have been implicated in human disease. In hundreds of cases, disease phenotypes and defects in function can be traced to nonsynonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (nsSNPs). The functional impact of the majority of ABC transporter nsSNPs has yet to be experimentally characterized. Here, we combine experimental mutational studies with sequence and structural analysis to describe the impact of nsSNPs in human ABC transporters. First, the disease associations of 39 nsSNPs in 10 transporters were rationalized by identifying two conserved loops and a small α-helical region that may be involved in interdomain communication necessary for transport of substrates. Second, an approach to discriminate between disease-associated and neutral nsSNPs was developed and tailored to this superfamily. Finally, the functional impact of 40 unannotated nsSNPs in seven ABC transporters identified in 247 ethnically diverse individuals studied by the Pharmacogenetics of Membrane Transporters consortium was predicted. Three predictions were experimentally tested using human embryonic kidney epithelial (HEK) 293 cells stably transfected with the reference multidrug resistance transporter 4 and its variants to examine functional differences in transport of the antiviral drug, tenofovir. The experimental results confirmed two predictions. Our analysis provides a structural and evolutionary framework for rationalizing and predicting the functional effects of nsSNPs in this clinically important membrane transporter superfamily.

Genetic variation in the proximal promoter of ABC and SLC superfamilies: liver and kidney specific expression and promoter activity predict variation.

Membrane transporters play crucial roles in the cellular uptake and efflux of an array of small molecules including nutrients, environmental toxins, and many clinically used drugs. We hypothesized that common genetic variation in the proximal promoter regions of transporter genes contribute to observed variation in drug response. A total of 579 polymorphisms were identified in the proximal promoters (-250 to +50 bp) and flanking 5' sequence of 107 transporters in the ATP Binding Cassette (ABC) and Solute Carrier (SLC) superfamilies in 272 DNA samples from ethnically diverse populations. Many transporter promoters contained multiple common polymorphisms. Using a sliding window analysis, we observed that, on average, nucleotide diversity (pi) was lowest at approximately 300 bp upstream of the transcription start site, suggesting that this region may harbor important functional elements. The proximal promoters of transporters that were highly expressed in the liver had greater nucleotide diversity than those that were highly expressed in the kidney consistent with greater negative selective pressure on the promoters of kidney transporters. Twenty-one promoters were evaluated for activity using reporter assays. Greater nucleotide diversity was observed in promoters with strong activity compared to promoters with weak activity, suggesting that weak promoters are under more negative selective pressure than promoters with high activity. Collectively, these results suggest that the proximal promoter region of membrane transporters is rich in variation and that variants in these regions may play a role in interindividual variation in drug disposition and response.

Substrate-dependent effects of human ABCB1 coding polymorphisms.

One of the many obstacles to effective drug treatment is the efflux transporter P-glycoprotein (P-gp), which can restrict the plasma and intracellular concentrations of numerous xenobiotics. Variable drug response to P-gp substrates suggests that genetic differences in ABCB1 may affect P-gp transport. The current study examined how ABCB1 variants alter the P-gp-mediated transport of probe substrates in vitro. Nonsynonymous ABCB1 variants and haplotypes with an allele frequency >/=2% were transiently expressed in HEK293T cells, and the transport of calcein acetoxymethyl ester and 4,4-difluoro-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene (BODIPY-FL)-paclitaxel was measured in the absence or presence of the P-gp inhibitor cyclosporin A. The A893S, A893T, and V1251I variants and the N21D/1236C>T/A893S/3435C>T haplotype altered intracellular accumulation compared with reference P-gp in a substrate-dependent manner. It is interesting that certain variants showed altered sensitivity to cyclosporin A inhibition that was also substrate-specific. These functional data demonstrate that nonsynonymous polymorphisms in ABCB1 may selectively alter P-gp transport and drug-drug interactions in a substrate- and inhibitor-dependent manner.

The effects of ABCB1 3'-untranslated region variants on mRNA stability.

Genetic variation in ABCB1, encoding P-glycoprotein (P-gp), is a potential cause of interindividual variation in drug response. Numerous studies have focused on the effects of coding region variants on P-gp expression and function, whereas few noncoding region variants have been investigated. The 3'-untranslated region (UTR) regulates mRNA levels or stability via RNA-protein interactions with mRNA degradation machinery. mRNA stability is a key regulatory step controlling ABCB1 mRNA expression that ultimately affects P-gp levels and function. We hypothesized that ABCB1 3'-UTR polymorphisms alter mRNA stability by disrupting RNA-protein interactions. An ethnically diverse panel of DNA samples was sequenced to identify 3'-UTR polymorphisms and determine allele frequencies. The three most common variants, along with reference ABCB1, were stably expressed in cells in order to measure mRNA half-life. The calculated half-life for ABCB1 reference in HEK293 cells was 9.4 +/- 1.3 h and was similar to that estimated for the 3'-UTR variants. Endogenous ABCB1 mRNA decay was similar in lymphoblastoid cell lines carrying 3'-UTR variant and reference alleles. Although the examined ABCB1 3'-UTR variants have no effect on ABCB1 mRNA stability, these data represent one of the first attempts to determine the influence of genetic variation in UTRs on ABCB1 mRNA levels.

Interindividual variability in the effect of atazanavir and saquinavir on the expression of lymphocyte P-glycoprotein.

OBJECTIVES: ABCB1 encodes the efflux transporter P-glycoprotein (P-gp), which regulates the intracellular concentration of many xenobiotics, including several HIV protease inhibitors (PIs). Exposure to some xenobiotics, such as the antibiotic rifampicin, increases P-gp expression. In the present study, we investigated the effect of the HIV PIs saquinavir and atazanavir on the expression and function of ABCB1 and P-gp in primary and cultured lymphocytes, as well as the molecular interactions between these drugs and P-gp. ABCB1 and P-gp expression and function were examined in lymphocyte samples from healthy subjects before and after atazanavir-boosted saquinavir treatment. Expression and function were also studied in CEM cells following exposure to atazanavir and saquinavir. The inhibitory effects of these drugs were investigated in ABCB1-transfected HEK293T cells. METHODS: P-gp expression and function were measured by flow cytometry. ABCB1 mRNA expression was evaluated using quantitative RT-PCR. RESULTS: There were no overall changes in ABCB1 or P-gp expression or function after saquinavir-atazanavir treatment in primary lymphocyte samples. However, there was considerable interindividual variability in baseline lymphocyte ABCB1 expression, as well as in the degree of change in ABCB1 expression after saquinavir-atazanavir administration. In cell culture, 5 microM saquinavir increased ABCB1 levels, although it did not affect P-gp expression. Atazanavir inhibited P-gp function at concentrations above therapeutic levels. CONCLUSIONS: Differences in lymphocyte ABCB1 expression, which may be caused by genetic polymorphisms in ABCB1 or its regulatory partners, are a likely cause of interindividual variation in the disposition and efficacy of clinically relevant P-gp substrates, including HIV PIs.