G. Kenneth Lloyd

Discovery and development of the anticancer agent salinosporamide A (NPI-0052)

The discovery of the anticancer agent salinosporamide A (NPI-0052) resulted from the exploration of new marine environments and a commitment to the potential of the ocean to yield new natural products for drug discovery and development. Driving the success of this process was the linkage of academic research together with the ability and commitment of industry to undertake drug development and provide the resources and expertise to advance the entry of salinosporamide A (NPI-0052) into human clinical trials. This paper offers a chronicle of the important events that facilitated the rapid clinical development of this exciting molecule.

Antidepressant-like effects of the subtype-selective nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonist, SIB-1508Y, in the learned helplessness rat model of depression

Abstract.Rationale: Epidemiological studies of smokers suggest that there is a link between nicotine and depression. Nonetheless, few studies have examined the potential use of nicotinic ligands in the treatment of depression. Objectives: The goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of SIB-1508Y, a novel subtype-selective ligand for high affinity nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), in the learned helplessness model of depression in rats. Methods: In this model, exposure to inescapable footshock produces a lasting deficit in escape responses emitted in a subsequent conditioned avoidance procedure (learned helplessness). The effect of SIB-1508Y on learned helplessness was compared to the clinically used antidepressants, imipramine and fluoxetine, and the non-selective nAChR ligand, nicotine. Results: Similarly to imipramine and fluoxetine, subchronic treatment (5 days) with SIB-1508Y reversed the escape deficit in the learned helplessness model in a dose dependent manner. The effect of SIB-1508Y on learned helplessness was still apparent 1 week following drug administration and was also maintained after 4 weeks of daily administration. In contrast, while nicotine was able to attenuate the learned helplessness deficit, this trend only reached statistical significance after chronic administration. The non-competitive ion channel blocker mecamylamine increased escape failures when administered alone and blocked the effects of SIB-1508Y but not imipramine. SIB-1508Y also produced an increase in avoidance responding, which suggests an enhancement of learning. Conclusion: These results not only suggest a role for nAChRs in the development of a depressive-like syndrome, but also that subtype-selective nAChR agonists, such as SIB-1508Y, may offer a novel therapeutic approach to the treatment of depression.

Cognitive enhancing properties and tolerability of cholinergic agents in mice: a comparative study of nicotine, donepezil, and SIB-1553A, a subtype-selective ligand for nicotinic acetylcholine receptors.

Several studies have demonstrated the importance of nicotinic mechanisms in the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative and cognitive disorders, warranting the search and development of novel nicotinic ligands as potential therapeutic agents. The present study was designed to assess whether the subtype-selective nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) ligand SIB-1553A [(±)-4-{[2-(1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinyl)ethyl]thio}phenol hydrochloride], with predominant agonist activity at β4 subunit-containing human nAChRs, and no activity at muscle nAChR subtypes, could enhance cognitive performance in rodents with a more desirable safety/tolerability profile as compared to the nonselective prototypic nAChR ligand nicotine. SIB-1553A was equi-efficacious to nicotine in improving working memory performance in scopolamine-treated mice as measured by increased alternation in a T-maze, and was more efficacious than nicotine in improving the baseline cognitive performance of aged mice. This effect on working memory was confirmed in a delayed nonmatching to place task using the eight-arm radial maze. SIB-1553A produced dose-dependent side effects (ie motor deficits and seizures), although these effects were observed at doses 12 to 640-fold above those required to increase cognitive performance. Overall, SIB-1553A was significantly less potent than nicotine in eliciting these undesirable effects. Thus, the subtype-selective profile of SIB-1553A appears to translate into a more efficacious and better tolerated nAChR ligand as compared to nicotine. In the present studies, cognitive enhancement induced by SIB-1553A was similar in magnitude to that produced by the clinically efficacious acetylcholinesterase inhibitor donepezil. Taken together, the present data confirm the importance of nAChR subtypes in modulating cognitive processes, and suggest that activation of nAChR subtypes by selective nAChR ligands may be a viable approach to enhance cognitive performance.

Phase 1 First-in-Human Trial of the Vascular Disrupting Agent Plinabulin (NPI-2358) in Patients with Solid Tumors or Lymphomas

Purpose: Plinabulin (NPI-2358) is a vascular disrupting agent that elicits tumor vascular endothelial architectural destabilization leading to selective collapse of established tumor vasculature. Preclinical data indicated plinabulin has favorable safety and antitumor activity profiles, leading to initiation of this clinical trial to determine the recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D) and assess the safety, pharmacokinetics, and biologic activity of plinabulin in patients with advanced malignancies. Experimental Design: Patients received a weekly infusion of plinabulin for 3 of every 4 weeks. A dynamic accelerated dose titration method was used to escalate the dose from 2 mg/m2 to the RP2D, followed by enrollment of an RP2D cohort. Safety, pharmacokinetic, and cardiovascular assessments were conducted, and Dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) scans were performed to estimate changes in tumor blood flow. Results: Thirty-eight patients were enrolled. A dose of 30 mg/m2 was selected as the RP2D based on the adverse events of nausea, vomiting, fatigue, fever, tumor pain, and transient blood pressure elevations, with DCE-MRI indicating decreases in tumor blood flow (Ktrans) from 13.5 mg/m2 (defining a biologically effective dose) with a 16% to 82% decrease in patients evaluated at 30 mg/m2. Half-life was 6.06 ± 3.03 hours, clearance was 30.50 ± 22.88 L/h, and distributive volume was 211 ± 67.9 L. Conclusions: At the RP2D of 30 mg/m2, plinabulin showed a favorable safety profile, while eliciting biological effects as evidenced by decreases in tumor blood flow, tumor pain, and other mechanistically relevant adverse events. On the basis of these results additional clinical trials were initiated with plinabulin in combination with standard chemotherapy agents. Clin Cancer Res; 16(23); 5892–99. ©2010 AACR.

Leaving Groups Prolong the Duration of 20S Proteasome Inhibition and Enhance the Potency of Salinosporamides

Salinosporamide A ( 1 (NPI-0052)) is a potent, monochlorinated 20S proteasome inhibitor in clinical trials for the treatment of cancer. To elucidate the role of the chlorine leaving group (LG), we synthesized analogues with a range of LG potentials and determined their IC 50 values for inhibition of chymotrypsin-like (CT-L), trypsin-like (T-L), and caspase-like (C-L) activities of 20S proteasomes. Proteasome activity was also determined before and after attempted removal of the inhibitors by dialysis. Analogues bearing substituents with good LG potential exhibited the greatest potency and prolonged duration of proteasome inhibition, with no recovery after 24 h of dialysis. In contrast, activity was restored after </=12 h in the case of non-LG analogues. Intermediate results were observed for fluorosalinosporamide, with poor LG potential. Kinetic studies indicate that 1 acts as a classical slow, tight inhibitor of the CT-L, T-L, and C-L activities and that inhibition occurs via a two-step mechanism involving reversible recognition followed by rate-limiting formation of a covalent enzyme-inhibitor complex.

6-hydroxydopamine lesion of rat nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons differentially affects nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunit mRNA expression

AbstractNicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) subunit mRNA expression in the rat substantia nigra (SN) was assayed by semiquantitative RT-PCR following 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) lesion of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons. Six months after unilateral injection of 6-OHDA or saline into the SN, total RNA was isolated from ipsilateral and contralateral tissue samples. RT-PCR amplifications were performed with template titration using primers specific for sequences encoding1.nAChR α2–α7 and β2–β4 subunits2.Glutamic acid decarboxylase3.Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase for normalization of template mass. PCR products specific for α3, α4, α5, α6, α7, β2, β3, and glutamic acid decarboxylase were detected in the reactions containing SN RNA. This is the first evidence that α7 may be expressed in the SN. α2 and β4 PCR products were not detected in SN reactions, although they were observed in hippocampus and thalamus control reactions. A comparison of ipsilateral and contralateral SN RT-PCR reaction products showed substantial decreases in α5, α6, and β3 product yields following 6-OHDA, but not sham treatment. Neither the SN of sham-lesioned rats nor the thalamus of 6-OHDA-lesioned rats yielded similar results, indicating that the effects observed in 6-OHDA-treated SN were not caused by local mechanical damage or a nonspecific response, respectively. Effects of 6-OHDA treatment on α3, α4, α7, β2, or glutamic acid decarboxylase product yields from SN samples were small or undetectable. The results suggest that α5, β6, and β3 subunit-encoding mRNAs are expressed at substantially higher levels in dopaminergic than in nondopaminergic cell bodies in the SN.

Pharmacological characterization of nicotine-induced acetylcholine release in the rat hippocampus in vivo: evidence for a permissive dopamine synapse.

In this study, the mechanism of nicotine‐induced hippocampal acetylcholine (ACh) release in awake, freely moving rats was examined using in vivo microdialysis. Systemic administration of nicotine (0.4 mg kg−1, s.c.) increased the levels of ACh in hippocampal dialysates. The nicotine‐induced hippocampal ACh release was sensitive to the pretreatment of neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) antagonists mecamylamine (3.0 mg kg−1, s.c.) and dihydro‐β‐erythrodine (DHβE; 4.0 mg kg−1, s.c.) as well as systemic administration of the dopamine (DA) D1 receptor antagonist SCH‐23390 (R‐(+)‐7‐chloro‐8‐hydroxy‐3‐methyl‐1‐phenyl‐2,3,4,5‐tetrahydro‐1H‐benzazepine; 0.3 mg kg−1, s.c.). Local perfusion of mecamylamine (100 μM), DHβE (100 μM) or SCH‐23390 (10 μM) through microdialysis probe did not increase basal hippocampal ACh release. Hippocampal ACh release elicited by systemic administration of nicotine (0.4 mg kg−1, s.c.) was antagonized by local perfusion of SCH‐23390 (10 μM), but not by MEC (100 μM) or DHβE (100 μM). Direct perfusion of nicotine (1 mM, but not 0.1 mM) increased hippocampal ACh levels; however, this effect was relatively insensitive to blockade by co‐perfusion of either mecamylamine (100 μM) or SCH‐23390 (10 μM). These results suggest that nicotine‐induced hippocampal ACh release occurs by two distinct mechanisms: (1) activation of nAChRs outside the hippocampus leading to DA release and subsequent ACh release involving a permissive DA synapse, and (2) direct action of nicotine within the hippocampus leading to ACh release via non‐DA‐ergic mechanism.

Conformationally restricted analogues of nicotine and anabasine

A series of conformationally restricted analogues of nicotine has been synthesized and evaluated as agonists of neuronal acetylcholine receptors. Compound 2 (SIB-1663), which selectively activated human recombinant alpha 2 beta 4 and alpha 4 beta 4 nAChRs, was shown to be active in animal models of Parkinsons disease and pain.

Proteasome regulator marizomib (NPI-0052) exhibits prolonged inhibition, attenuated efflux, and greater cytotoxicity than its reversible analogs

The present study was undertaken to compare the cellular transport characteristics of [3H]NPI-0052 (1R,4R,5S)-4-(2-chloroethyl)-1-((S)-((S)-cyclohex-2-enyl)(hydroxy)methyl)-5-methyl-6-oxa-2-azabicyclo[3.2.0]heptane-3,7-dione (marizomib; salinosporamide A) and [3H]NPI-0047 (1R,4R, 5S)-1-((S)-((S)-cyclohex-2-enyl)(hydroxy)methyl)-4-ethyl-5-methyl-6-oxa-2-azabicyclo[3.2.0]heptane-3,7-dione in RPMI 8226 multiple myeloma and PC-3 prostate adenocarcinoma cells to determine whether these properties explain differences in the cytotoxic potencies of these chemical analogs. The results indicate that marizomib, which possesses a chemical-leaving group, is more cytotoxic to both cell lines and inhibits proteasome activity more completely at lower concentrations than NPI-0047, a nonleaving-group analog. Moreover, it was found that both compounds accumulate in these cells by simple diffusion and the same carrier-mediated transport system. Although the rate of uptake is similar, the cellular efflux, which does not seem to be mediated by a major ATP-binding cassette (ABC)-efflux transporter, is more rapid for NPI-0047 than for marizomib. Experiments revealed that the irreversible binding of marizomib to the proteasome is responsible for its slower efflux, longer duration of action, and greater cytotoxicity compared with NPI-0047. The discovery that major ABC transporters of the multidrug resistance-associated protein family do not seem to be involved in the accumulation or removal of these agents suggests they may not be affected by multidrug resistance mechanisms during prolonged administration.

Tubulin Photoaffinity Labeling with Biotin-Tagged Derivatives of Potent Diketopiperazine Antimicrotubule Agents

NPI‐2358 (1) is a potent antimicrotubule agent that was developed from a natural diketopiperazine, phenylahistin, which is currently in Phase I clinical trials as an anticancer drug. To understand the precise recognition mechanism of tubulin by this agent, we focused on its potent derivative, KPU‐244 (2), which has been modified with a photoreactive benzophenone structure, and biotin‐tagged KPU‐244 derivatives (3 and 4), which were designed and synthesized for tubulin photoaffinity labeling. Introduction of the biotin structure at the p′‐position of the benzophenone ring in 2 exhibited reduced, but significant biological activities with tubulin binding, tubulin depolymerization and cytotoxicity in comparison to the parent KPU‐244. Therefore, tubulin photoaffinity labeling studies of biotin‐derivatives 3 and 4 were performed by using Western blotting analysis after photoirradiation with 365 nm UV light. The results indicated that tubulin was covalently labeled by these biotin‐tagged photoprobes. The labeling of compound 4 was competitively inhibited by the addition of diketopiperazine 1 or colchicine, and weakly inhibited by the addition of vinblastine. The results suggest that photoaffinity probe 4 specifically recognizes tubulin at the same binding site as anticancer drug candidate 1, and this leads to the disruption of microtubules. Probe 4 serves well as a useful chemical probe for potent antimicrotubule diketopiperazines, much like phenylahistin, and it also competes for the colchicine‐binding site.