Repeated injection of KMRC011, a medical countermeasure for radiation, can cause adverse health effects in cynomolgus monkeys.

High-dose radiation-induced tissue damage is a major limiting factor in the medical application of nuclear technology. Herein, we tested 28-day repeated-dose toxicity of KMRC011, an agonist of toll-like receptor (TLR) 5, which is being developed as a medical countermeasure for radiation, using cynomolgus monkeys. KMRC011 (0.01, 0.02 or 0.04 mg/kg/day) was intramuscularly injected once daily for 4 weeks, and each two monkeys in both control and 0.04 mg/kg/day group were observed for an additional 2-week recovery period. There were no dose-related toxicological changes in mortality, clinical observations, body weight, food consumption, ophthalmological findings, electrocardiographs, coagulation, serum chemistry, organ weights, or urinalysis and urine chemistry. Although treatment-related changes, such as increased white blood cells, increased absolute and relative neutrophils, decreased relative lymphocytes and inflammatory lesions, were noted in the maximum dose group, these findings were not observed after the 2-week recovery period. Further, we considered that the kidneys and heart may be target organs of TLR5 agonists, as well as the spleen, and that autophagic signals can be triggered in tissue damage and the repair process. Importantly, accumulation of p62 protein, an indicator of autophagy, and a decrease of caveolin-1 protein, a regulator of TLR5 protein half-life, were found in both tissues from the highest dose group. Therefore, we conclude that the no-observed-adverse-effect level for KMRC011 may be greater than 0.04 mg/kg/day in male and female monkeys. Additionally, we propose that further studies are needed to identify the molecular signals, which are related to KMRC011-induced adverse effects.

Characterisation of the antibacterial properties of the recombinant phage endolysins AP50-31 and LysB4 as potent bactericidal agents against Bacillus anthracis.

The recombinant phage endolysins AP50-31 and LysB4 were developed using genetic information from bacteriophages AP50 and B4 and were produced by microbial cultivation followed by chromatographic purification. Subsequently, appropriate formulations were developed that provided an acceptable stability of the recombinant endolysins. The bacteriolytic properties of the formulated endolysins AP50-31 and LysB4 against several bacterial strains belonging to the Bacillus genus including Bacillus anthracis (anthrax) strains were examined. AP50-31 and LysB4 displayed rapid bacteriolytic activity and broad bacteriolytic spectra within the Bacillus genus, including bacteriolytic activity against all the B. anthracis strains tested. When administered intranasally, LysB4 completely protected A/J mice from lethality after infection with the spores of B. anthracis Sterne. When examined at 3 days post-infection, bacterial counts in the major organs (lung, liver, kidney, and spleen) were significantly lower compared with those of the control group that was not treated with endolysin. In addition, histopathological examinations revealed a marked improvement of pathological features in the LysB4-treated group. The results of this study support the idea that phage endolysins are promising candidates for developing therapeutics against anthrax infection.

Pharmacokinetics and Tolerance of the Phage Endolysin-Based Candidate Drug SAL200 after a Single Intravenous Administration among Healthy Volunteers.

This study was a phase 1, single-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, single-dosing, and dose-escalating study of intravenous SAL200. It is a new candidate drug for the treatment of antibiotic-resistant staphylococcal infections based on a recombinant form of the phage endolysin SAL-1. The study evaluated the pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and tolerance among healthy male volunteers after the intravenous infusion of single ascending doses of SAL200 (0.1, 0.3, 1, 3, and 10 mg/kg of body weight). SAL200 was well tolerated, and no serious adverse events (AEs) were observed in this clinical study. Most AEs were mild, self-limiting, and transient. The AEs reported in more than three participants were fatigue, rigors, headache, and myalgia. No clinically significant values with respect to the findings of clinical chemistry, hematology, and coagulation analyses, urinalysis, vital signs, and physical examinations were observed, and no notable trends in our electrocardiogram (ECG) results for any tested dose were noticed. A greater-than-dose-proportional increase with regard to systemic exposure and the maximum serum concentration was observed when the SAL200 dose was increased from 0.1 mg/kg to 10 mg/kg. This investigation constitutes the first-in-human phase 1 study of an intravenously administered, phage endolysin-based drug. (This study has been registered at ClinicalTrials.gov under identifier NCT01855048 and at the Clinical Research Information Service [https://cris.nih.go.kr/cris/] under identifier KCT0000968.).

Pharmacokinetics of the phage endolysin-based candidate drug SAL200 in monkeys and its appropriate intravenous dosing period.

SAL200 is a new phage endolysin-based candidate drug for the treatment of staphylococcal infections. An intravenous administration study was conducted in monkeys to obtain pharmacokinetic information on SAL200 and to assess the safety of a short SAL200 dosing period (<1 week). Maximum serum drug concentrations and systemic SAL200 exposure were proportional to the dose and comparable in male and female monkeys. SAL200 was well tolerated, and no adverse events or laboratory abnormalities were detected after injection of a single dose of up to 80 mg/kg per day, or injection of multiple doses of up to 40 mg/kg per day.

Preclinical safety evaluation of intravenously administered SAL200 containing the recombinant phage endolysin SAL-1 as a pharmaceutical ingredient.

Phage endolysins have received increasing attention as potent antibacterial agents. However, although safety evaluation is a prerequisite for the drug development process, a good laboratory practice (GLP)-compliant safety evaluation has not been reported for phage endolysins. A safety evaluation of intravenously administered SAL200 (containing phage endolysin SAL-1) was conducted according to GLP standards. No animals died in any of the safety evaluation studies. In general toxicity studies, intravenously administered SAL200 showed no sign of toxicity in rodent single- and repeated-dose toxicity studies. In the dog repeated-dose toxicity test, there were no abnormal findings, with the exception of transient abnormal clinical signs that were observed in some dogs when daily injection of SAL200 was continued for more than 1 week. In safety pharmacology studies, there were also no signs of toxicity in the central nervous and respiratory system function tests. In the cardiovascular function test, there were no abnormal findings in all tested dogs after the first and second administrations, but transient abnormalities were observed after the third and fourth administrations (2 or 3 weeks after the initial administration). All abnormal findings observed in these safety evaluation studies were slight to mild, were apparent only transiently after injection, and resolved quickly. The safety evaluation results for SAL200 support the implementation of an exploratory phase I clinical trial and underscore the potential of SAL200 as a new drug. We have designed an appropriate phase I clinical trial based on the results of this study.

Antibacterial properties of a pre-formulated recombinant phage endolysin, SAL-1.

To evaluate the phage endolysin SAL-1 as a therapeutic agent for Staphylococcus aureus infections, the in vitro and in vivo antibacterial properties of a pre-formulation containing recombinant SAL-1 as an active pharmaceutical ingredient were investigated. The stable pre-formulation (designated SAL200) uniquely included calcium ions and Poloxamer 188 as enhancing and stabilising ingredients, respectively. SAL-1 was successfully produced with no extraneous amino acids by decreasing the culture temperature and was highly purified using a two-step chromatography procedure consisting of ion exchange and hydrophobic interaction chromatography. SAL200 exhibited rapid and effective bactericidal activity against encapsulated and biofilm-forming S. aureus as well as against planktonic S. aureus cells. In addition, SAL200 demonstrated increased effectiveness in the serum environment, with a significantly reduced minimum bactericidal concentration compared with that determined in culture medium. In in vitro antibacterial tests performed against 425 clinical isolates [including 336 meticillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) isolates and 1 vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus isolate], collected from 421 patients and four animals, SAL200 exhibited obvious antibacterial activity against all S. aureus isolates tested. Intravenous injection of SAL200 in a mouse model of MRSA infection prolonged the viability of mice and significantly reduced bacterial counts in the bloodstream and splenic tissue. The results presented in this article strongly support SAL200 as a highly potent bactericidal agent against MRSA with an adequate pharmaceutical formulation.

Comparison of the antibacterial properties of phage endolysins SAL-1 and LysK.

In spite of the high degree of amino acid sequence similarity between the newly discovered phage endolysin SAL-1 and the phage endolysin LysK, SAL-1 has an approximately 2-fold-lower MIC against several Staphylococcus aureus strains and higher bacterial cell-wall-hydrolyzing activity than LysK. The amino acid residue change contributing the most to this enhanced enzymatic activity is a change from glutamic acid to glutamine at the 114th residue.