Identification of sperm mRNA biomarkers associated with testis injury during preclinical testing of pharmaceutical compounds.

The human testis is sensitive to toxicant-induced injury but current methods for detecting adverse effects are limited, insensitive and unreliable. Animal studies use sensitive histopathological endpoints to assess toxicity, but require testicular tissue that is not available during human clinical trials. More sensitive and reliable molecular biomarkers of testicular injury are needed to better monitor testicular toxicity in both clinical and preclinical. Adult male Wistar Han rats were exposed for 4weeks to compounds previously associated with testicular injury, including cisplatin (0, 0.2, 0.3, or 0.4mg/kg/day), BI665915 (0, 20, 70, 100mg/kg/d), BI665636 (0, 20, 100mg/kg/d) or BI163538 (0, 70, 150, 300mg/kg/d) to evaluate reproductive toxicity and assess changes in sperm mRNA levels. None of the compounds resulted in any significant changes in body, testis or epididymis weights, nor were there decreases in testicular homogenization resistant spermatid head counts. Histopathological evaluation found that only BI665915 treatment caused any testicular effects, including minor germ cell loss and disorganization of the seminiferous tubule epithelium, and an increase in the number of retained spermatid heads. A custom PCR-array panel was used to assess induced changes in sperm mRNA. BI665915 treatment resulted in a significant increase in clusterin (Clu) levels and decreases in GTPase, IMAP family member 4 (Gimap4), prostaglandin D2 synthase (Ptgds) and transmembrane protein with EGF like and two follistatin like domains 1 (Tmeff1) levels. Correlation analysis between transcript levels and quantitative histopathological endpoints found a modest association between Clu with retained spermatid heads. These results demonstrate that sperm mRNA levels are sensitive molecular indicators of testicular injury that can potentially be translated into a clinical setting.

Comprehensive genotoxicity and carcinogenicity assessment of molnupiravir.

Molnupiravir is registered or authorized in several countries as a 5-day oral COVID-19 treatment for adults. Molnupiravir is a prodrug of the antiviral ribonucleoside ß-D-N4-hydroxycytidine (NHC) that distributes into cells, where it is phosphorylated to its pharmacologically active ribonucleoside triphosphate (NHC-TP) form. NHC-TP incorporates into SARS-CoV-2 RNA by the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, resulting in an accumulation of errors in the viral genome, leading to inhibition of viral replication and loss of infectivity. The potential of molnupiravir to induce genomic mutations and DNA damage was comprehensively assessed in several in vitro and in vivo genotoxicity assays and a carcinogenicity study, in accordance with international guideline recommendations and expert opinion. Molnupiravir and NHC induced mutations in vitro in bacteria and mammalian cells but did not induce chromosome damage in in vitro or in vivo assays. The in vivo mutagenic and carcinogenic potential of molnupiravir was tested in a series of in vivo mutagenicity studies in somatic and germ cells (Pig-a Assay and Big Blue® TGR Mutation Assay) and in a carcinogenicity study (transgenic rasH2-Tg mouse), using durations of exposure and doses exceeding those used in clinical therapy. In vitro genotoxicity results are superseded by robustly conducted in vivo studies. Molnupiravir did not increase mutations in somatic or germ cells in the in vivo animal studies and was negative in the carcinogenicity study. The interpretation criteria for each study followed established regulatory guidelines. Taken together, these data indicate that molnupiravir use does not present a genotoxicity or carcinogenicity risk for patients.

Gene expression profiling reveals multiple toxicity endpoints induced by hepatotoxicants.

Microarray technology continues to gain increased acceptance in the drug development process, particularly at the stage of toxicology and safety assessment. In the current study, microarrays were used to investigate gene expression changes associated with hepatotoxicity, the most commonly reported clinical liability with pharmaceutical agents. Acetaminophen, methotrexate, methapyrilene, furan and phenytoin were used as benchmark compounds capable of inducing specific but different types of hepatotoxicity. The goal of the work was to define gene expression profiles capable of distinguishing the different subtypes of hepatotoxicity. Sprague-Dawley rats were orally dosed with acetaminophen (single dose, 4500 mg/kg for 6, 24 and 72 h), methotrexate (1mg/kg per day for 1, 7 and 14 days), methapyrilene (100mg/kg per day for 3 and 7 days), furan (40 mg/kg per day for 1, 3, 7 and 14 days) or phenytoin (300 mg/kg per day for 14 days). Hepatic gene expression was assessed using toxicology-specific gene arrays containing 684 target genes or expressed sequence tags (ESTs). Principal component analysis (PCA) of gene expression data was able to provide a clear distinction of each compound, suggesting that gene expression data can be used to discern different hepatotoxic agents and toxicity endpoints. Gene expression data were applied to the multiplicity-adjusted permutation test and significantly changed genes were categorized and correlated to hepatotoxic endpoints. Repression of enzymes involved in lipid oxidation (acyl-CoA dehydrogenase, medium chain, enoyl CoA hydratase, very long-chain acyl-CoA synthetase) were associated with microvesicular lipidosis. Likewise, subsets of genes associated with hepatotocellular necrosis, inflammation, hepatitis, bile duct hyperplasia and fibrosis have been identified. The current study illustrates that expression profiling can be used to: (1) distinguish different hepatotoxic endpoints; (2) predict the development of toxic endpoints; and (3) develop hypotheses regarding mechanisms of toxicity.

Genomic-derived markers for early detection of calcineurin inhibitor immunosuppressant-mediated nephrotoxicity.

Calcineurin inhibitor (CI) therapy has been associated with chronic nephrotoxicity, which limits its long-term utility for suppression of allograft rejection. In order to understand the mechanisms of the toxicity, we analyzed gene expression changes that underlie the development of CI immunosuppressant-mediated nephrotoxicity in male Sprague-Dawley rats dosed daily with cyclosporine (CsA; 2.5 or 25 mg/kg/day), FK506 (0.6 or 6 mg/kg/day), or rapamycin (1 or 10 mg/kg/day) for 1, 7, 14, or 28 days. A significant increase in blood urea nitrogen was observed in animals treated with CsA (high) or FK506 (high) for 14 and 28 days. Histopathological examination revealed tubular basophilia and mineralization in animals given CsA (high) or FK506 (low and high). We identified a group of genes whose expression in rat kidney is correlated with CI-induced kidney injury. Among these genes are two genes, Slc12a3 and kidney-specific Wnk1 (KS-Wnk1), that are known to be involved in sodium transport in the distal nephrons and could potentially be involved in the mechanism of CI-induced nephrotoxicity. The downregulation of NCC (the Na-Cl cotransporter coded by Slc12a3) in rat kidney following CI treatment was confirmed by immunohistochemical staining, and the downregulation of KS-Wnk1 was confirmed by quantitative real-time-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). We hypothesize that decreased expression of Slc12a3 and KS-Wnk1 could alter the sodium chloride reabsorption in the distal tubules and contribute to the prolonged activation of the renin-angiotensin system, a demonstrated contributor to the development of CI-induced nephrotoxicity in both animal models and clinical settings. Therefore, if validated as biomarkers in humans, SLC12A3 and KS-WNK1 could potentially be useful in the early detection and reduction of CI-related nephrotoxicity in immunosuppressed transplant patients when monitoring the health of kidney xenographs in clinical practice.

Mechanisms and biomarkers of cardiovascular injury induced by phosphodiesterase inhibitor III SK&F 95654 in the spontaneously hypertensive rat.

The cardiovascular injury of the type III selective PDE inhibitor SK&F 95654 was investigated in SHR. Twenty-four hours after a single sc injection of 100 or 200 mg/kg of the drug, rats exhibited cardiomyocyte necrosis and apoptosis, interstitial inflammation, hemorrhage and edema, as well as mesenteric arterial hemorrhage and necrosis, periarteritis, EC and VSMC apoptosis, EC activation, and MC activation and degranulation. Elevated serum levels of cTnT and decreased cTnT immunoperoxidase staining on cardiomyocytes were detected in the drug-treated rats. Serum levels of alpha2-macroglobulin and IL-6 were significantly elevated following drug treatment. NMR spectral patterns of urine samples are significantly different between the drug-treated and control rats. These results indicate that measurement of serum cTnT, acute phase proteins, and cytokines as well as metabonomic urine profiles may serve as potential biomarkers for drug-induced cardiovascular injury in rats. Increased expression of CD63 on MC (tissue biomarker of MC), of nitrotyrosine on MC and EC (an indirect indicator of NO in vivo), and of iNOS on MC and EC (source of NO) suggest that NO produced by activated and degranulated MC as well as activated EC play an important role in SK&F 95654-induced mesenteric vascular injury.