Amine-modified hyaluronic acid-functionalized porous silicon nanoparticles for targeting breast cancer tumors.

Active targeting of nanoparticles to receptor-overexpressing cancer cells has great potential for enhancing the cellular uptake of nanoparticles and for reducing fast clearance of the nanoparticles from the body. Herein, we present a preparation method of a porous silicon (PSi)-based nanodelivery system for breast cancer targeting, by covalently conjugating a synthesized amide-modified hyaluronic acid (HA(+)) derived polymer on the surface of undecylenic acid-modified thermally hydrocarbonized PSi (UnTHCPSi) nanoparticles. The resulting UnTHCPSi-HA(+) nanoparticles showed relatively small size, reduced polydispersibility, high biocompatibility, improved colloidal and human plasma stability, as well as enhanced cellular interactions and internalization. Moreover, we demonstrated that the enhanced cellular association of UnTHCPSi-HA(+) relies on the capability of the conjugated HA(+) to bind and consequently target CD44 receptors expressed on the surface of breast cancer cells, thus making the HA(+)-functionalized UnTHCPSi nanoparticles a suitable and promising nanoplatform for the targeting of CD44-overexpressing breast tumors and for drug delivery.

Modulation of biogenic amines content by poly(propylene imine) dendrimers in rats

Biogenic amines and polyamines participate in all vital organism functions, their levels being important function determinants. Studies were performed to check whether repeated administration of poly(propylene imine) (PPI) dendrimers, synthetic macromolecules with diaminobutane core, and peripheral primary amine groups, may influence the endogenous level of amines, as represented by the two of them: spermidine, a natural derivative of diaminobutane, and histamine. The experiment was carried out on Wistar rats. Fourth generation PPI dendrimer, as well as maltotriose-modified fourth generation PPI dendrimers with (a) cationic open sugar shell and (b) neutral dense sugar shell that possess a higher biocompatibility, was used. Applying the combination of column chromatography on Cellex P and spectrofluorimetric assays of o-phthaldialdehyde, the final amine condensation products were employed to analyze tissue spermidine and histamine outside the central nervous system. Furthermore, radioenzymatic assay was used to measure histamine levels in the brain. The obtained results indicate that in some tissues, the endogenous concentrations of histamine and spermidine may be affected by dendrimers depending on their dose and type of dendrimers (AU)

Methamphetamine dependence: medication development efforts based on the dual deficit model of stimulant addiction.

Converging lines of evidence indicate that withdrawal from prolonged exposure to stimulants and alcohol results in synaptic deficits of both dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-HT). According to the dual deficit model proposed by the authors, DA dysfunction during cocaine or alcohol withdrawal underlies anhedonia and psychomotor retardation, whereas 5-HT dysfunction gives rise to depressed mood, obsessional thoughts, and lack of impulse control. This model predicts that pharmacotherapies which correct only one of the two neurochemical deficits will not be effective. On the other hand, pharmacotherapies which "correct" both of the proposed DA and 5-HT abnormalities should be effective in treating stimulant and alcohol dependence. This paper reviews two approaches, based on the dual deficit model, taken by our laboratory to develop medications to treat stimulant abuse.

Histamine content does not influence the tolerance of wine in normal subjects.

Histamine has been incriminated as having a responsibility for intolerance reaction to wines. We have made a study by double blind oral provocation test to find the effect of ingestion of a histamine-rich (22.8 mg.l-1) and a histamine free wine in eight healthy subjects. Blood samples were taken at 0, 10, 30 and 45 minutes after ingestion of the wine for measurement of plasma histamine and methylhistamine. Urines were collected 5 hours before and 5 hours after ingestion for measurement of urinary methylhistamine. No subject presented a reaction of intolerance after ingestion of wine rich or poor in histamine. No change in plasma histamine and plasma and urinary methylhistamine was seen. This study shows that the amount of histamine in wine has no clinical or biological effect in healthy subjects, and this emphasized the efficiency in man of the systems for degradation of histamine that is absorbed by the alimentary tract.

Lamotrigine inhibits monoamine uptake in vitro and modulates 5-hydroxytryptamine uptake in rats.

Lamotrigine is a novel anticonvulsant drug which also stabilises mood in bipolar illness via an unknown mechanism. We report the concentration-dependent inhibition of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) uptake in both human platelets and rat brain synaptosomes (IC50s were 240 and 474 microM, respectively) by lamotrigine. Synaptosomal uptake of noradrenaline (IC50 239 microM) and dopamine (IC50 322 microM) was also inhibited. Tetrodotoxin failed to modulate 5-HT uptake suggesting that sodium channel blockade does not mediate the lamotrigine effect. Lithium, sodium valproate, zonisamide, and carbamazepine all possess anti-manic activity but only the latter inhibited 5-HT uptake. The inhibition of the p-chloroamphetamine-induced 5-HT syndrome in rats suggests that lamotrigine also inhibits 5-HT uptake in vivo. These effects probably reflect an affinity for biogenic amine transporters. However, at present, it remains uncertain whether, at clinically effective doses, these effects contribute significantly to the efficacy of lamotrigine in bipolar illness.

Potential of immobilized artificial membranes for predicting drug penetration across the blood-brain barrier.

PURPOSE: The present study evaluates immobilized artificial membrane (IAM) chromatography for predicting drug permeability across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and outlines the potential and limitations of IAMs as a predictive tool by comparison with conventional methods based on octanol/water partitioning and octadecylsilane (ODS)-HPLC. METHODS: IAM-and ODS-HPLC capacity factors were determined in order to derive the hydrophobic indices log kIAM nad log kW for two sets of compounds ranging from very lipid soluble (steroids) to more hydrophilic agents (biogenic amines). The uptake of the compounds across the in vivo BBB expressed as brain uptake index (BUI) has been correlated with these HPLC capacity factors as well as octanol/ water partition (ClogP) and distribution coefficients (log D7.4). RESULTS: For both test groups log kIAM correlates significantly with the respective log BUI of the drug (r2 = 0.729 and 0.747, p < 0.05), whereas with log kW, log D7.4 and ClogP there is only a correlation for the group of steroids (r2 = 0.789, 0.659 and 0.809, p < 0.05) but not for the group of biogenic amines. There is a good correlation between log kIAM and log kW. ClogP or log D7.4 for the group of steroids (r2 = 0.945.0867 and 0.974, p < 0.01) but not for the biogenic amines. CONCLUSIONS: All physico-chemical descriptors examined in this study equally well describe brain uptake of lipophilic compounds, while log kIAM is superior over log D7.4, ClogP and log kW when polar and ionizable compounds are included. The predictive value of IAMs, combined with the power of HPLC holds thus great promise for the selection process of drug candidates with high brain penetration.

Ten years of experience with MIBG applications and the potential of new radiolabeled peptides: a personal overview and concluding remarks.

The international workshop on metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) and radiolabeled somatostatin analogs held in Rome in June, 1994 addressed a wide range of topics which might be classified into five broad general themes: Theme 1. The role of MIBG for the location of neuroendocrine tumors. A) The range of tumors in which MIBG scintigraphy is effective (pheochromocytomas, neuroblastoma, chemodectoma and other APUDomas). B) The increasing popularity of 123I as a radiolabel for MIBG (potential advantages in planar and SPECT imaging). C) MIBG as the prototype of a family of radiopharmaceuticals exploiting the biogenic amine uptake and storage mechanisms. (Other radiohalides 124I, 125I, 87Br, 211At, 18F; other PET radiopharmaceuticals such as 11C-epinephrine, 11C-hydroxyephedrine). Theme 2. The role of MIBG as an in vivo scintigraphic probe of the sympathetic nervous system. A) Cardiac sympathetic innervation (in cardiomyopathy, myocardial infarction, and as a prognostic index for cardiac transplantation). B) Pulmonary MIBG uptake as index of pulmonary endothelial/sympathetic function (MIBG by both the intravenous and inhaled routes of administration). Theme 3. MIBG for the radiopharmaceutical therapy of neuroendocrine tumors. A) Treatment of neuroblastoma early in the natural history of the disease (MIBG therapy as initial management, MIBG therapy combined with other modalities--e.g., chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation). Theme 4. The role of radiolabeled somatostatin analogs for the location of neuroendocrine and other tumors. A) The range of tumors in which somatostatin receptor radiopharmaceutical scintigraphy is effective (pituitary tumors, central nervous system tumors, carcinoids, islet cell tumors, medullary thyroid carcinoma, small cell lung cancer, APUDomas). B) The superiority of 111In over 123I as a radiolabel (the future of potential 99mTc and other labels). C) Somatostatin receptor scintigraphy in autoimmune and other disorders. D) Pentetreotide as the prototype of a wide range of radiolabeled peptides as radiopharmaceuticals for the in vivo depiction of the receptors for peptide hormones, lymphokines, paracrine and other information transmitting molecules (the general concepts include the use of long-acting, slowly degraded analogs and the development of generally applicable labeling techniques. Examples include 123I-ANF, labeled interleukins and other lymphokines). Theme 5. Comparisons of MIBG and pentetreotide scintigraphy for the location of neuroendocrine tumors. A) The range of neuroendocrine and other tumors (e.g., pheochromocytomas, neuroblastomas, carcinoids, islet cell tumors and other APUDomas).

Kinetics of intraventricularly injected trace amines and their deuterated isotopomers.

Intraventricular injection into the rat brain of four trace amines and a catecholamine resulted in rapid exponential loss of the amines in the first 30 minutes after injection. The half-lives were: phenylethylamine 3.8 min, para-tyramine 5.1 min, meta-tyramine 7.4 min and dopamine 8.0 min. Tryptamine showed a biphasic loss with half-lives of 4.7 min (over the 5 to 10 min period) and 14.1 min (10 to 30 min). The half-lives were substantially increased by deuterium labeling at the alpha carbon position: phenylethylamine 4.8 min, para-tyramine 8.8 min, meta-tyramine 14.1 min, dopamine 13.0 min and tryptamine 6.0 min (5 to 10 min period) and 28.7 min (10 to 20 min). The loss of the amines was reduced by monoamine oxidase inhibition by pargyline hydrochloride and the deuterium isotope effect was abolished. It is noteworthy that the half-life of dopamine was similar to those of the trace amines in this time period and that the trace amine half-lives after i.v. injection was longer than those obtained from measurements of increases of concentrations of endogenous amines after MAOI in vivo and that of dopamine shorter than values calculated from turnover measurements.

131I-metaiodobenzylguanidine uptake in the isolated rat lung: a potential marker of endothelial cell function.

The pulmonary vascular endothelial cell plays an important role in the uptake of circulating biogenic amines. In cultured adrenomedullary cells, metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) and norepinephrine (NE) are taken up by the same sodium-dependent active transport system. To examine whether a similar process occurs in the lung, the mechanism of single pass 131I-MIBG accumulation was studied in rat lungs perfused with a Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate buffer containing 4.5% bovine albumin. MIBG lung accumulation was measured as the percent extraction per g of lung tissue. In control experiments the extraction was 19.7 +/- 2.3%/g (n = 38) using a perfusate containing 0.01 microM MIBG. MIBG accumulation was significantly depressed (% decrease from control) by: cold media at 4 degrees C (84%), 0.5 mM ouabain (67%), 10 microM imipramine (70%), 0.7 microM serotonin (22%) and 40 mM K+ (48%). Pulmonary uptake of MIBG was characterized by Michaelis-Menten kinetics (Km = 0.92 x 10(-6) M and Vmax = 2.09 x 10(-9) moles/g per min). The addition of NE (0.5 microM) also altered MIBG uptake such that the Km and Vmax became 0.52 x 10(-6) M and 0.93 x 10(-9) moles/g per min, respectively. The results indicate that MIBG accumulation in the lung involves sodium-dependent, energy-requiring, active transport mechanisms similar to those known to exist for norepinephrine, and suggest that MIBG may be useful as a marker of pulmonary endothelial cell function.