Karim Michail

Determination of methotrexate and indomethacin in urine using SPE-LC-DAD after derivatization.

A validated HPLC-DAD assay is presented for the simultaneous quantification of methotrexate and indomethacin in a drug combination which is used synergistically to intervene with tumoral or inflammatory tissue microenvironments. The analytes were isolated from urine via solid phase extraction. The method is based on derivatizing both analytes with a soluble carbodiimide coupler and 2-nitrophenylhydrazine directed to their commonly occurring carboxylate functions. The chromatographic separation was accomplished on an octylsilica column in less than 15 min using acetate buffer (pH 4; 10 mM)-methanol (60:40, v/v) as eluent at 1.5 ml/min and monitored at 400 nm. The selectivity of the method was demonstrated in a pre-dosed rheumatoid arthritis patient. Quality control samples were prepared and analyzed to reveal the validity of the method. Life samples collected from a healthy volunteer were monitored for both drugs and their urinary levels were determined.

Scavenging of free-radical metabolites of aniline xenobiotics and drugs by amino acid derivatives: toxicological implications of radical-transfer reactions.

We investigated a novel scavenging mechanism of arylamine free radicals by poly- and monoaminocarboxylates. Free radicals of arylamine xenobiotics and drugs did not react with oxygen in peroxidase-catalyzed reactions; however, they showed marked oxygen uptake in the presence of an aminocarboxylate. These free-radical intermediates were identified using the spin trap 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline-N-oxide (DMPO) and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrometry. Diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA), a polyaminocarboxylate, caused a concentration-dependent attenuation of N-centered radicals produced by the peroxidative metabolism of arylamines with the subsequent formation of secondary aliphatic carbon-centered radicals stemming from the cosubstrate molecule. Analogously, N,N-dimethylglycine (DMG) and N-methyliminodiacetate (MIDA), but not iminodiacetic acid (IDA), demonstrated a similar scavenging effect of arylamine-derived free radicals in a horseradish peroxidase/H2O2 system. Using human promyelocytic leukemia (HL-60) cell lysate as a model of human neutrophils, DTPA, MIDA, and DMG readily reduced anilinium cation radicals derived from the arylamines and gave rise to the corresponding carbon radicals. The rate of peroxidase-triggered polymerization of aniline was studied as a measure of nitrogen-radical scavenging. Although, IDA had no effect on the rate of aniline polymerization, this was almost nullified in the presence of DTPA and MIDA at half of the molar concentration of the aniline substrate, whereas a 20 molar excess of DMPO caused only a partial inhibition. Furthermore, the yield of formaldehyde, a specific reaction endproduct of the oxidation of aminocarboxylates by aniline free-radical metabolites, was quantitatively determined. Azobenzene, a specific reaction product of peroxidase-catalyzed free-radical dimerization of aniline, was fully abrogated in the presence of DTPA, as confirmed by GC/MS. Under aerobic conditions, a radical-transfer reaction is proposed between aminocarboxylates and arylamine free radicals via the carboxylic group-linked tertiary nitrogen of the deprotonated amino acid derivatives. These findings may have significant implications for the biological fate of arylamine xenobiotic and drug free-radical metabolites.

Post-Trapping Derivatization of Radical-Derived EPR-Silent Adducts: Application to Free Radical Detection by HPLC/UV in Chemical, Biochemical, and Biological Systems and Comparison with EPR Spectroscopy

Free radicals are conventionally detected by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy after being trapped as spin adducts. Albeit this technique has demonstrated utmost efficacy in studying free radicals, its application to biological settings is intrinsically hampered by the inevitable bioreduction of radical-derived paramagnetic adducts. Herein, we describe a reliable technique to detect and quantify free radical metabolites, wherein reduced alkyl- and phenyl-5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline N-oxide (DMPO) adducts are converted into ultrastable N-naphthoate esters. To mimic the ubiquitous in vivo microenvironment, bioreductants, exogenous thiols, and sodium borohydride were studied. Nitroxyl reduction was confirmed using EPR and triphenyltetrazolium chloride. The formation of the N-naphthoyloxy derivatives was established by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS). The derivatives were chromatographed using a binary eluent. HPLC and internal standards were synthesized using Grignard addition. The labeled DMPO adduct is (1) fluorescent, (2) stable as opposed to nitroxyl radical adducts, (3) biologically relevant, and (4) excellently chromatographed. Applications encompassed chemical, biochemical, and biological model systems generating C-centered radicals. Different levels of phenyl radicals produced in situ from whole blood were successfully determined. The method is readily applicable to the detection of hydroxyl radical. Analogously, DMPO, the spin trap, could be detected with extreme sensitivity suitable for in vivo applications. The developed method proved to be a viable alternative to EPR, where for the first time the reductive loss of paramagnetic signals of DMPO-trapped free radicals is transformed into fluorescence emission. We believe the proposed methodology could represent a valuable tool to probe free radical metabolites in vivo using DMPO, the least toxic spin trap.

Drug-Induced Protein Free Radical Formation Is Attenuated by Unsaturated Fatty Acids by Scavenging Drug-Derived Phenyl Radical Metabolites

Aromatic amine drugs like aminoglutethimide (AG) and related congeners have been shown to produce phenyl radicals through metabolism by myeloperoxidase (MPO)/H(2)O(2), which has been proposed to play a role in drug-induced agranulocytosis. AG has also been shown to induce MPO protein radical formation, but the ultimate fate of these metabolically generated phenyl radicals is still unknown. We tested the reactivity of linoleic acid (LA) and GSH with aniline-based compounds in the presence of horseradish peroxidase (HRP)/H(2)O(2) by measuring oxygen consumption. We found a qualitative correlation between drugs or xenobiotics that formed phenyl radical metabolites with the cooxidation of LA. Most compounds that reacted with LA did not react with GSH. Furthermore, an AG-derived phenyl radical was detected by EPR spin-trapping with MNP (2-methyl-2-nitrosopropane), in a reaction containing AG and HRP/H(2)O(2); these spectra were attenuated in the presence of LA and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) indicating that phenyl radical scavenging occurred. Since it has been proposed that the phenyl radical metabolite leads to protein radical formation on MPO, we investigated the effect of LA and DHA in immuno-spin trapping experiments with MPO-containing HL-60 cell lysate. Using anti-DMPO, a protein radical was detected on a putative MPO fragment from the reaction of DMPO, AG, and glucose/glucose oxidase. When LA or DHA was included in this reaction, protein radical formation was significantly inhibited. Our results show that certain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) act as scavengers of aromatic amine drug-derived phenyl radicals which in turn prevent protein radical formation. However, the interaction of phenyl radical drug metabolites with PUFAs will be dictated by their relative concentrations compared to those of other targets. Most importantly, it is possible to differentiate peroxidase substrates that generate phenyl radical metabolites from N-centered radicals on the basis of their reactivity toward GSH vs PUFAs, and PUFAs are targets for metabolically generated phenyl radicals.

Induction of quinone oxidoreductase 1 enzyme by Rhazya stricta through Nrf2-dependent mechanism.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Rhazya stricta Decne. (Apocynaceae) is a common medicinal plant in the Arabian Peninsula, Pakistan and India. Rhazya stricta has been used traditionally to treat several diseases including tumors; however, the underlying mechanism is still not fully elucidated. AIM OF THE STUDY The aim of this study is to examine the ability of Rhazya stricta to induce a key enzyme involved in cancer chemoprevention, NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (Nqo1) in murine and human hepatoma cells. Nqo1 is regulated by the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) transcription factors. MATERIALS AND METHODS Rhazya stricta leaves were extracted using ethanol, the strong basic alkaloid fraction (AF) was isolated according to a bioassay-guided fractionation and its mass spectrum was used as a fingerprint for its identity. The effect of increasing concentrations of AF on Nqo1 was tested in murine hepatoma Hepa 1c1c7 and human HepG2 cells. The role of Nrf2-dependent mechanism was tested by using Nrf2-dependent luciferase assay and by determining the Nrf2 nuclear accumulation in Hepa 1c1c7 cells. The role of AhR-dependent mechanism was assessed by using an AhR-deficient version of murine hepatoma c12 cells. RESULTS AF significantly induced the Nqo1 at mRNA, protein and catalytic activity levels in murine hepatoma Hepa 1c1c7 cells. Moreover, the induction of Nqo1 by AF was completely abolished by using the transcriptional inhibitor, actinomycin D, implying a role of transcriptional regulation. In addition, the role of Nrf2 signaling pathway was confirmed by the induction of Nrf2-dependent luciferase activity and the induced Nrf2 nuclear accumulation in Hepa 1c1c7 cells. Interestingly, AF induced Nqo1 at mRNA and catalytic activity in c12 and HepG2 cells. Finally, the AF induced the Nrf2-dependent luciferase activity in HepG2 cells, confirming the role of Nrf2 in its regulation. CONCLUSIONS The present study presents the first evidence that Rhazya stricta and its active strongly basic alkaloid fraction induce the chemopreventative enzyme, Nqo1 through Nrf2-dependent mechanism.

Proteomic profile of aminoglutethimide-induced apoptosis in HL-60 cells: Role of myeloperoxidase and arylamine free radicals.

In this study, the cellular effects resulting from the metabolism of aminoglutethimide by myeloperoxidase were investigated. Human promyelocytic leukemia (HL-60) cells were treated with aminoglutethimide (AG), an arylamine drug that has a risk of adverse drug reactions, including drug-induced agranulocytosis. HL-60 cells contain abundant amounts of myeloperoxidase (MPO), a hemoprotein, which catalyzes one-electron oxidation of arylamines using H2O2 as a cofactor. Previous studies have shown that arylamine metabolism by MPO results in protein radical formation. The purpose of this study was to determine if pathways associated with a toxic response could be determined from conditions that produced protein radicals. Conditions for AG-induced protein radical formation (with minimal cytotoxicity) were optimized, and these conditions were used to carry out proteomic studies. We identified 43 proteins that were changed significantly upon AG treatment among which 18 were up-regulated and 25 were down-regulated. The quantitative proteomic data showed that AG peroxidative metabolism led to the down-regulation of critical anti-apoptotic proteins responsible for inhibiting the release of pro-apoptotic factors from the mitochondria as well as cytoskeletal proteins such as nuclear lamina. This overall pro-apoptotic response was confirmed with flow cytometry which demonstrated apoptosis to be the main mode of cell death, and this was attenuated by MPO inhibition. This response correlated with the intensity of AG-induced protein radical formation in HL-60 cells, which may play a role in cell death signaling mechanisms.

The interaction of diamines and polyamines with the peroxidase-catalyzed metabolism of aromatic amines: a potential mechanism for the modulation of aniline toxicity.

Synthetic and biological amines such as ethylenediamine (EDA), spermine, and spermidine have not been previously investigated in free-radical biochemical systems involving aniline-based drugs or xenobiotics. We aimed to study the influence of polyamines in the modulation of aromatic amine radical metabolites in peroxidase-mediated free radical reactions. The aniline compounds tested caused a relatively low oxidation rate of glutathione in the presence of horseradish peroxidase (HRP), and H2O2; however, they demonstrated marked oxygen consumption when a polyamine molecule was present. Next, we characterized the free-radical products generated by these reactions using spin-trapping and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrometry. Primary and secondary but not tertiary polyamines dose-dependently enhanced the N-centered radicals of different aniline compounds catalyzed by either HRP or myeloperoxidase, which we believe occurred via charge transfer intermediates and subsequent stabilization of aniline-derived radical species as suggested by isotopically labeled aniline. Aniline/peroxidase reaction product(s) were monitored at 435 nm by kinetic spectrophotometry in the presence and absence of a polyamine additive. Using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, the dimerziation product of aniline, azobenzene, was significantly amplified when EDA was present. In conclusion, di- and poly-amines are capable of enhancing the formation of aromatic-amine-derived free radicals, a fact that is expected to have toxicological consequences.

The effect of bicarbonate on menadione-induced redox cycling and cytotoxicity: potential involvement of the carbonate radical.

We have investigated the effect of NaHCO3 on menadione redox cycling and cytotoxicity. A cell-free system utilized menadione and ascorbic acid to catalyze a redox cycle, and we utilized murine hepatoma (Hepa 1c1c7) cells for in vitro experiments. Experiments were performed using low (2 mmol/L) and physiological (25 mmol/L) levels of NaHCO3 in buffer equilibrated to physiological pH. Using oximetry, ascorbic acid oxidation, and ascorbyl radical detection, we found that menadione redox cycling was enhanced by NaHCO3. Furthermore, Hepa 1c1c7 cells treated with menadione demonstrated cytotoxicity that was significantly increased with physiological concentrations of NaHCO3 in the media, compared with low levels of NaHCO3. Interestingly, the inhibition of superoxide dismutase (SOD) with 2 different metal chelators was associated with a protective effect against menadione cytotoxicity. Using isolated protein, we found a significant increase in protein carbonyls with menadione-ascorbate-SOD with physiological NaHCO3 levels; low NaHCO3 or SOD-free reactions produced lower levels of protein carbonyls. In conclusion, these findings suggest that the hydrogen peroxide generated by menadione redox cycling together with NaHCO3-CO2 are potential substrates for SOD peroxidase activity that can lead to carbonate-radical-enhanced cytotoxicity. These findings demonstrate the importance of NaHCO3 in menadione redox cycling and cytotoxicity.

Simultaneous Determination of Sumatriptan and Naproxen in Dosage Forms and Human Plasma Using LC/MS

This work describes a simple and sensitive method for the concurrent determination of sumatriptan (SUM) and naproxen (NAP) in dosage forms and human plasma using LC/MS and internal standardization. The drugs were separated isocratically on a C 18 column using a binary mobile phase composed of water and acetonitrile at 0.05 % acetic acid. The method was validated over a linearity range of 10-900 ng/mL and 0.1-10 g/mL for SUM and NAP, respectively. The LOQ for SUM and NAP were 10 and 100 ng/mL, respectively. The proposed method was successfully used for the determination of SUM and NAP in plasma after a double liquid liquid extraction (LLE). The assay was successfully applied to the determination of both drugs in pharmaceutical dosage forms without interference from tablet excipients. Results obtained by the proposed method were statistically compared to those of a reported method, and no significant difference was observed

Stress Degradation Assessment of Lamotrigine Using a Validated Stability-Indicating HPTLC Method

In this work, a sensitive and stability-indicating HPTLC method for the determination of lamotrigine is presented. According to the International Conference on Harmonization guidelines Q1A, lamotrigine was exposed to a variety of stress conditions; these include heating in acidic, basic and neutral media. Its stability towards oxidative stress, humidity, high temperature and direct sunlight was also examined. Separation of the drug from its forced degradation impurities was achieved using TLC silica gel plates and a mobile phase composed of ethyl acetate: methanol: ammonia. The linear regression analysis of the data obtained for the correlation plots showed good linearity over the concentration range of 10–300 ng/spot. The forced degradation studies showed that lamotrigine is susceptible to degradation under acidic, basic, neutral and oxidative conditions, among which alkaline-induced hydrolysis had the highest degradative potential. Alternatively, the drug was stable under heat, humidity, and daylight stress factors. In order to assess the purity and stability of the drug in tablet formulations, the developed method was applied to the analysis of commercial tablets in brand and generic products. The obtained results showed that the degradation of the drug has not occurred in the marketed formulations that were analyzed by the described methodology.