Statistical Applications of Virtual Control Groups to Nonrodent Animal Toxicity Studies: an Initial Evaluation.

Utilization of data from historical control animals to form virtual control groups (VCGs) is an innovative approach to embody the 3Rs (reduce, refine, and replace use of control animals) principle in research. However, there is no available systematic comparison of statistical performance between concurrent control groups (CCGs) and VCGs in nonrodent safety assessment. The optimal selection criteria and combination of VCGs and CCGs also remain unclear. This study retrospectively evaluated VCGs' statistical performance to detect test article effects on body weight and clinical pathology endpoints in dog and nonhuman primate (NHP) systemic toxicity studies. Body weight and six clinical pathology endpoints were analyzed against the reported study findings from a cohort of 22 previously reported nonrodent 1-month oral gavage toxicity using three different methods of generating VCGs. When the fold change from baseline is used, VCGs yield a similar or higher statistical sensitivity to detect test article relatedness than CCGs. Compared to simple random sampling or using fixed criteria, the propensity score matching by BW, age, and year of study initiation yielded higher sensitivities . Our analysis supports the hypothesis that VCGs can be a viable instrument in nonrodent toxicity studies.

Mechanisms by Which Inducers of Drug Metabolizing Enzymes Alter Thyroid Hormones in Rats.

Increased disposition of thyroid hormones is a way that xenobiotics may alter thyroid homeostasis and, in rats, produce thyroid follicular adenoma/carcinoma. This capacity is historically attributed to induction of thyroxine (T4) glucuronidation by UDP-glycosyltransferase (UGT) enzymes, and cytochrome P450 induction is often a surrogate. However, gaps exist in correlating the effectiveness of certain chemical inducers at increasing T4 glucuronidation with decreases in systemic T4 and resulting increases in thyroid-stimulating hormone. With the identification of other key inducible drug processing genes and proteins involved in hepatic disposition of thyroid hormones, including uptake (e.g., organic anion transporter polypeptides) and efflux (e.g., multidrug resistance proteins) transporters, data exist that support transporters as additional target sites of induction. These data are reviewed herein and indicate an increase in hepatic uptake of thyroid hormones, as well as increased biliary excretion of iodothyronine conjugates, represent critical activities that differentiate inducer effectiveness in disrupting thyroid hormones in rats. Increased membrane transport of thyroid hormones, likely in conjunction with induced glucuronidation of thyroid hormone (triiodothyronine more relevant than T4), provide a better indication of thyroid disrupting potential than consideration of UGT induction alone. Because coordinate regulation of these targets is inconsistent among inducers belonging to various classes and among species, and there are disparities between in vitro assays and in vivo responses, further work is required to identify specific and relevant inducible thyroid hormone uptake transporters. Data from Mrp2-null animals have contributed key information, yet the contributions of efflux transport (canalicular and basolateral) to the mechanism of individual, effective inducers also require further study. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Key advances in understanding the target sites for altered disposition of thyroid hormones have occurred in the last 2 decades to better inform potential sites of action of inducing chemicals. Ultimately, the knowledge of inducible thyroid hormone transport into and out of liver, beyond induction of glucuronidation, should be considered and applied to screening and risk assessment paradigms when assessing an inducer's potential to alter thyroid homeostasis in nonclinical species and humans.

An industry perspective on the FDA modernization act 2.0/3.0: Potential next steps for sponsors to reduce animal use in drug development.

Pharmaceutical developers are encouraged to adopt the best practices of being purposefully thoughtful about the use of animals, seeking alternatives wherever possible. They should engage with health authorities to increase their familiarity with the methods, study designs, data outputs and the context of use for new approach methodologies (NAMs). Although current state of technology does not yet provide adequate models to fully replace in vivo studies, many models are sufficiently good for an augmented approach that will enhance our understanding of in vitro to in vivo correlations and advance the long-term goal of reducing animal use through innovative NAMs. The goal of future nonclinical safety packages is to advance the utilization of such enabling technologies towards appropriate human risk characterization. Establishing confidence in NAMs is a critical first step. For example, sponsors may include both "traditional" and NAM-based nonclinical safety data in regulatory submissions to establish confidence with health authorities. In addition, regulators should create a "safe-harbor" for hybrid nonclinical data packages to facilitate iterative learning, refinement, and implementation of NAM-based safety assessment strategies. Sponsors are urged to contribute to NAMs evolution through consortia participation, peer-reviewed publications, and documenting animal reduction in studies/programs, accelerating the eventual elimination of animal use in pharmaceutical development, as envisioned in the FDA Modernization Act 3.0.

Identification of a Potent, Highly Selective, and Brain Penetrant Phosphodiesterase 2A Inhibitor Clinical Candidate.

Computational modeling was used to direct the synthesis of analogs of previously reported phosphodiesterase 2A (PDE2A) inhibitor 1 with an imidazotriazine core to yield compounds of significantly enhanced potency. The analog PF-05180999 (30) was subsequently identified as a preclinical candidate targeting cognitive impairment associated with schizophrenia. Compound 30 demonstrated potent binding to PDE2A in brain tissue, dose responsive mouse brain cGMP increases, and reversal of N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) antagonist-induced (MK-801, ketamine) effects in electrophysiology and working memory models in rats. Preclinical pharmacokinetics revealed unbound brain/unbound plasma levels approaching unity and good oral bioavailability resulting in an average concentration at steady state (Cav,ss) predicted human dose of 30 mg once daily (q.d.). Modeling of a modified release formulation suggested that 25 mg twice daily (b.i.d.) could maintain plasma levels of 30 at or above targeted efficacious plasma levels for 24 h, which became part of the human clinical plan.

Effect of microsomal enzyme inducers on the biliary excretion of triiodothyronine (T(3)) and its metabolites.

It has been postulated that inducers of UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) decrease circulating thyroid hormone concentrations by increasing their biliary excretion. The inducers pregnenolone-16 alpha-carbonitrile (PCN), 3-methylcholanthrene (3MC), and Aroclor 1254 (PCB) are each effective at reducing serum thyroxine concentrations. However, only PCN treatment produces a marked increase in serum levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), whereas 3MC and PCB cause little to no increase in TSH. Excessive TSH elevation is considered the primary stimulus for thyroid tumor development in rats, yet the mechanism by which enzyme induction leads to TSH elevation is not fully understood. Whereas PCN, 3MC, and PCB all increase microsomal UGT activity toward T(4), only PCN causes an increase in T(3)-UGT activity in vitro. The purpose of this study was to determine whether PCN, which increases serum TSH, causes an increase in the glucuronidation and biliary excretion of T(3) in vivo. Male rats were fed control diet or diet containing PCN (1000 ppm), 3MC (250 ppm), or PCB (100 ppm) for 7 days. Animals were then given [(125)I]-T(3), i.v., and bile was collected for 2 h. Radiolabeled metabolites in bile were analyzed by reverse-phase HPLC with gamma-detection. The biliary excretion of total radioactivity was increased up to 75% by PCN, but not by 3MC or PCB. Of the T(3) excreted into bile, approximately 75% was recovered as T(3)-glucuronide, with remaining amounts represented as T(3)-sulfate, T(2)-sulfate, T(3), and T(2). Biliary excretion of T(3)-glucuronide was increased up to 66% by PCN, while neither 3MC nor PCB altered T(3)-glucuronide excretion. These findings indicate that PCN increases the glucuronidation and biliary excretion of T(3) in vivo, and suggest that enhanced elimination of T(3) may be the mechanism responsible for the increases in serum TSH caused by PCN.

Promotion of thyroid tumors in rats by pregnenolone-16alpha-carbonitrile (PCN) and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB).

Pregnenolone-16alpha-carbonitrile (PCN) and Aroclor 1254 (PCB) both reduce serum thyroid hormone levels in rats, but only PCN consistently produces an increase in serum thyrotropin (TSH). PCN-mediated increases in TSH result in increased thyroid follicular cell proliferation and hyperplasia, which may represent early events on a morphological continuum leading to neoplasia. The purpose of this study was to assess whether PCN, a compound that increases serum TSH, and PCB, which does not increase TSH, promote thyroid tumors in a two-stage carcinogenesis model. Male SD rats were administered the thyroid tumor initiator diisopropanolnitrosamine (2.5 g/kg, sc), and after seven days were fed control diet, diet containing 1000 ppm PCN, or diet containing 100 ppm PCB for 19 weeks. Body weights were unaffected by PCN treatment, but were reduced 21% after 19 weeks of PCB treatment compared to control. PCN treatment significantly reduced serum T4 through week 3 before returning to control concentrations, whereas T4 levels following PCB treatment fell below detection limits by week 3 and remained drastically reduced through week 19. TSH concentrations in PCN-treated rats increased three-fold at week 2, then declined to near control values at week 19. After one week of PCB treatment, TSH concentrations reached nearly twice that of controls, and were sustained until week 6. The incidence of thyroid follicular cell proliferative lesions, including cystic and follicular hyperplasia, cystic and follicular adenoma, and follicular carcinoma, was significantly increased following PCN treatment, but not following PCB treatment. PCB treatment caused an increase in thyroid carcinomas (4 of 22 rats) not associated with the proliferative-type lesions produced by PCN, despite an increase in TSH serum concentrations. In conclusion, PCN appears to promote thyroid tumors in a manner consistent with known effects of excessive TSH stimulation. However, thyroid carcinomas stemming from PCB treatment indicate that separate mechanisms exist for the production of thyroid cancer in rodents by chemicals classically considered microsomal enzyme inducers.

Increase in rat liver UDP-glucuronosyltransferase mRNA by microsomal enzyme inducers that enhance thyroid hormone glucuronidation.

Treatment of rats with the microsomal enzyme inducers pregnenolone-16alpha-carbonitrile (PCN), 3-methylcholanthrene (3-MC), and Aroclor 1254 [PCB (polychlorinated biphenyl)] has been shown to decrease circulating levels of thyroid hormones as well as increase microsomal glucuronidation of thyroxine (T(4)). In addition, PCN increases triiodothyronine (T(3)) uridine diphosphate glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) activity. Members of the UGT1A family are believed to glucuronidate T(4), specifically UGT1A1 and UGT1A6, whereas the UGT2 family is believed to glucuronidate T(3), namely UGT2B2. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the aforementioned microsomal enzyme inducers increase the mRNAs that encode these and other UGT enzymes in rat liver. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a control diet or a diet containing PCN (1000 ppm), 3-MC (250 ppm), or PCB (100 ppm) for 7 days, at which time livers were collected. Increases in mRNA were detected by QuantiGene branched DNA signal amplification. A 3-fold increase in UGT1A1 mRNA was produced by PCN in addition to increases in UGT1A2 (4-fold) and UGT1A5 (2-fold) mRNA. PCN affected neither UGT2B2 nor any other UGT2B mRNA level. 3-MC and PCB increased UGT1A6 mRNA 6- and 4-fold, respectively. 3-MC and PCB each increased UGT1A7 mRNA 4-fold but did not significantly increase any other UGT mRNAs. These findings suggest that PCN enhances T(4) UGT activity by increased expression of UGT1A1 and that 3-MC and PCB enhance T(4) UGT activity by increased expression of UGT1A6. These findings also suggest that increased T(3) UGT activity produced by PCN is due to a mechanism other than increased transcription of UGT2B2, possibly increased UGT2B2 protein or induction of another UGT enzyme.

Identification and characterization of 4-[[4-(2-butynyloxy)phenyl]sulfonyl]-N-hydroxy-2,2-dimethyl-(3S)thiomorpholinecarboxamide (TMI-1), a novel dual tumor necrosis factor-alpha-converting enzyme/matrix metalloprotease inhibitor for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha is a well validated therapeutic target for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. TNF-alpha is initially synthesized as a 26-kDa membrane-bound form (pro-TNF) that is cleaved by a Zn-metalloprotease named TNF-alpha-converting enzyme (TACE) to generate the 17-kDa, soluble, mature TNF-alpha. TACE inhibitors that prevent the secretion of soluble TNF-alpha may be effective in treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Using a structure-based design approach, we have identified a novel dual TACE/matrix metalloprotease (MMP) inhibitor 4-[[4-(2-butynyloxy)phenyl]sulfonyl]-N-hydroxy-2,2-dimethyl-(3S)thiomorpholinecarboxamide (TMI-1). This molecule inhibits TACE and several MMPs with nanomolar IC(50) values in vitro. In cell-based assays such as monocyte cell lines, human primary monocytes, and human whole blood, it inhibits lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced TNF-alpha secretion at submicromolar concentrations, whereas there is no effect on the TNF-alpha mRNA level as judged by RNase protection assay. The inhibition of LPS-induced TNF-alpha secretion is selective because TMI-1 has no effect on the secretion of other proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-1beta, IL-6, and IL-8. Importantly, TMI-1 potently inhibits TNF-alpha secretion by human synovium tissue explants of RA patients. In vivo, TMI-1 is highly effective in reducing clinical severity scores in mouse prophylactic collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) at 5, 10, and 20 mg/kg p.o. b.i.d. and therapeutic CIA model at 100 mg/kg p.o. b.i.d. In summary, TMI-1, a dual TACE/MMP inhibitor, represents a unique class of orally bioavailable small molecule TNF inhibitors that may be effective and beneficial for treating RA.