Peter Chiba

A Pilot Study to Assess the Efficacy of Tariquidar to Inhibit P-glycoprotein at the Human Blood–Brain Barrier with (R)-11C-Verapamil and PET

Tariquidar, a potent, nontoxic, third-generation P-glycoprotein (P-gp) inhibitor, is a possible reversal agent for central nervous system drug resistance. In animal studies, tariquidar has been shown to increase the delivery of P-gp substrates into the brain by severalfold. The aim of this study was to measure P-gp function at the human blood–brain barrier (BBB) after tariquidar administration using PET and the model P-gp substrate (R)-11C-verapamil. Methods: Five healthy volunteers underwent paired (R)-11C-verapamil PET scans and arterial blood sampling before and at 2 h 50 min after intravenous administration of tariquidar (2 mg/kg of body weight). The inhibition of P-gp on CD56-positive peripheral lymphocytes of each volunteer was determined by means of the 123Rh efflux assay. Tariquidar concentrations in venous plasma were quantified using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. Results: Tariquidar administration resulted in significant increases (Wilcoxon test for paired samples) in the distribution volume (DV, +24% ± 15%) and influx rate constant (K1, +49% ± 36%) of (R)-11C-verapamil across the BBB (DV, 0.65 ± 0.13 and 0.80 ± 0.07, P = 0.043; K1, 0.034 ± 0.009 and 0.049 ± 0.009, P = 0.043, before and after tariquidar administration, respectively). A strong correlation was observed between the change in brain DV after administration of tariquidar and tariquidar exposure in plasma (r = 0.90, P = 0.037). The mean plasma concentration of tariquidar achieved during the second PET scan (490 ± 166 ng/mL) corresponded to 100% inhibition of P-gp function in peripheral lymphocytes. Conclusion: Tariquidar significantly increased brain penetration of (R)-11C-verapamil–derived activity due to increased influx. As opposed to peripheral P-gp function, central P-gp inhibition appeared to be far from complete after the administered tariquidar dose.

Structure–activity relationship studies of propafenone analogs based on P-glycoprotein ATPase activity measurements

Propafenone analogs (PAs) were previously identified as potent inhibitors of P-glycoprotein (Pgp)-mediated toxin efflux. For this as well as other classes of Pgp inhibitors, lipophilicity as well as hydrogen bond acceptor strength are important determinants of biological activity. The question as to whether a direct interaction between PA-type modulators and Pgp takes place was addressed by means of Pgp ATPase measurements and transport studies. Propafenone-type modulators stimulated ATPase activity up to 2-fold over basal activity in a concentration-dependent biphasic manner. Within a series of structural homologs, Ka values of ATPase stimulation strongly correlated with lipophilicity. Analogs containing a quaternary nitrogen stimulated Pgp ATPase activity with lesser efficacy, while Ka values were somewhat higher when compared to corresponding tertiary analogs. Transport studies performed in inside-out plasma membrane (I/O) vesicles demonstrated that analogs containing a tertiary nitrogen rapidly associated with the biomembrane. Quaternary analogs, which are restricted by a permanent positive charge in transiting the plasma membrane by diffusion, accumulated in Pgp containing I/O vesicles in an ATP-dependent and cyclosporin A-inhibitable manner, which identified them as Pgp substrates. Identical structure-activity relationships were found in either Pgp ATPase stimulation experiments in I/O vesicles or in toxin efflux inhibition studies using intact cells. Therefore, differences in membrane transit are not responsible for the observed structure-activity relationships.

Phospholipases in biology and medicine

Phospholipases, a group of enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of membrane phospholipids, are classified according to the bond cleaved in a phospholipid into PLA1 (EC 3.1.1.3), PLA2 (EC 3.1.1.4), PLB (EC 3.1.1.5), PLC (EC 3.1.4.3), and PLD (EC 3.1.4.4). This paper reviews source and structure of PLA2 and the involvement of PLA2 and PLC in several biological phenomena, such as, signal transduction, photoreception, biosynthesis of lung surfactant, sperm motility, and fertilization. New assays for PLA2 activity and concentration in biological fluids are discussed. Phospholipases are involved in many inflammatory reactions by making arachidonate available for eicosanoid biosynthesis. The determination of PLA2 activity and mass concentration in plasma is useful in the diagnosis and prognosis of pancreatitis and of septic shock. Naturally occurring phospholipase inhibitors, such as lipocortins act as second messengers in the anti-inflammatory response to steroids. Lipocortins may be valuable therapeutic agents, because they are more specific in their anti-inflammatory action than glucocorticoids; therefore, they are less likely to produce harmful side effects.

Synthesis and in vitro multidrug resistance modulating activity of a series of dihydrobenzopyrans and tetrahydroquinolines.

A series of dihydrobenzopyrans and tetrahydroquinolines was synthesized and pharmacologically tested for their ability to inhibit P-glycoprotein mediated daunomycin efflux in multidrug resistant CCRF-CEM vcr1000 cells. Several compounds exhibit activities in the range of the reference compounds verapamil and propafenone. Preliminary structure-activity relationship studies propose the importance of high molar refractivity values of the compounds and the presence of an additional basic nitrogen atom.

Exhaustive sampling of docking poses reveals binding hypotheses for propafenone type inhibitors of P-glycoprotein.

Overexpression of the xenotoxin transporter P-glycoprotein (P-gp) represents one major reason for the development of multidrug resistance (MDR), leading to the failure of antibiotic and cancer therapies. Inhibitors of P-gp have thus been advocated as promising candidates for overcoming the problem of MDR. However, due to lack of a high-resolution structure the concrete mode of interaction of both substrates and inhibitors is still not known. Therefore, structure-based design studies have to rely on protein homology models. In order to identify binding hypotheses for propafenone-type P-gp inhibitors, five different propafenone derivatives with known structure-activity relationship (SAR) pattern were docked into homology models of the apo and the nucleotide-bound conformation of the transporter. To circumvent the uncertainty of scoring functions, we exhaustively sampled the pose space and analyzed the poses by combining information retrieved from SAR studies with common scaffold clustering. The results suggest propafenone binding at the transmembrane helices 5, 6, 7 and 8 in both models, with the amino acid residue Y307 playing a crucial role. The identified binding site in the non-energized state is overlapping with, but not identical to, known binding areas of cyclic P-gp inhibitors and verapamil. These findings support the idea of several small binding sites forming one large binding cavity. Furthermore, the binding hypotheses for both catalytic states were analyzed and showed only small differences in their protein-ligand interaction fingerprints, which indicates only small movements of the ligand during the catalytic cycle.

Computational models for prediction of interactions with ABC-transporters

The polyspecific ligand recognition pattern of ATB-binding cassette (ABC)-transporters, combined with the limited knowledge on the molecular basis of their multispecificity, makes it difficult to apply traditional molecular modelling and quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR) methods for identification of new ligands. Recent advances relied mainly on pharmacophore modelling and machine learning methods. Structure-based design studies suffer from the lack of available protein structures at atomic resolution. The recently published protein homology models of P-glycoprotein structure, based on the high-resolution structure of the bacterial ABC-transporter of Sav1866, may open a new chapter for structure-based studies. Last, but not least, molecular dynamics simulations have already proved their high potential for structure-function modelling of ABC-transporter. Because of the recognition of several ABC-transporters as antitargets, algorithms for predicting substrate properties are of increasing interest.

Structure-activity relationships, ligand efficiency, and lipophilic efficiency profiles of benzophenone-type inhibitors of the multidrug transporter P-glycoprotein.

The drug efflux pump P-glycoprotein (P-gp) has been shown to promote multidrug resistance (MDR) in tumors as well as to influence ADME properties of drug candidates. Here we synthesized and tested a series of benzophenone derivatives structurally analogous to propafenone-type inhibitors of P-gp. Some of the compounds showed ligand efficiency and lipophilic efficiency (LipE) values in the range of compounds which entered clinical trials as MDR modulators. Interestingly, although lipophilicity plays a dominant role for P-gp inhibitors, all compounds investigated showed LipE values below the threshold for promising drug candidates. Docking studies of selected analogues into a homology model of P-glycoprotein suggest that benzophenones show an interaction pattern similar to that previously identified for propafenone-type inhibitors.

Interactions between ABC‐transport proteins and the secondary Fusarium metabolites enniatin and beauvericin

Enniatins (ENN) and beauvericin (BEA) exert cytotoxic properties. Here, we observed that their impact on Ca(2+)-homeostasis can be reversed by exogenous ATP. Thus, we investigated whether membrane-located ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters influence ENNs- and BEA-induced cytotoxicity. In short-term exposure assays breast cancer resistance protein (ABCG2)-overexpression weakly but significantly reduced the cytotoxic activity of BEA but not ENNs. In contrast, multidrug resistance-associated protein-1 (ABCC1)- and P-glycoprotein (ABCB1)-overexpression was not protective under identical conditions. ABCG2-mediated resistance against BEA was reversible by ABCG2 modulators. In long-term exposure assays, ABCG2 and ABCB1 significantly protected against ENNs- and to a lesser extent BEA-induced cytotoxicity. Moreover, both fusariotoxins potently inhibited the ABCG2- and ABCB1-mediated efflux of specific fluorescent substrates, with BEA being more effective. Additionally, ATPase and photoaffinity-labelling assays proofed interaction of both substances with ABCG2 and ABCB1. Remarkably, 2 years selection of KB-3-1 cells against both fusariotoxins resulted only in two-fold ENNs but negligible BEA resistance. Interestingly, the selected sublines displayed upregulation of multidrug resistance proteins and crossresistance to other chemotherapeutics. Summarizing, ABCG2 and ABCB1 slightly but significantly protect human cells against ENNs- and BEA-induced cytotoxicity. However, both mycotoxins potently interact with ABCB1 and ABCG2 transport functions suggesting influences on bioavailability of xenobiotics and pharmaceuticals.

Molecular Dissection of Dual Pseudosymmetric Solute Translocation Pathways in Human P-Glycoprotein

The human multispecific drug efflux transporter P-glycoprotein (P-gp) causes drug resistance and modulates the pharmacological profile of systemically administered medicines. It has arisen from a homodimeric ancestor by gene duplication. Crystal structures of mouse MDR1A indicate that P-gp shares the overall architecture with two homodimeric bacterial exporters, Sav1866 and MsbA, which have complete rotational symmetry. For ATP-binding cassette transporters, nucleotide binding occurs in two symmetric positions in the motor domains. Based on the homology with entirely symmetric half-transporters, the present study addressed the key question: can biochemical evidence for the existence of dual drug translocation pathways in the transmembrane domains of P-gp be found? P-gp was photolabeled with propafenone analogs, purified, and digested proteolytically, and peptide fragments were identified by high-resolution mass spectrometry. Labeling was assigned to two regions in the protein by projecting data into homology models. Subsequently, symmetric residue pairs in the putative translocation pathways were identified and replaced by site-directed mutagenesis. Transport assays corroborated the existence of two pseudosymmetric translocation pathways. Although rhodamine123 has a preference to take one path, verapamil, propafenones, and vinblastine preferentially use the other. Two major findings ensued from this study: the existence of two solute translocation pathways in P-gp as a reflection of evolutionary origin from a homodimeric ancestor and selective but not exclusive use of one of these pathways by different P-gp solutes. The pseudosymmetric behavior reconciles earlier kinetic and thermodynamic data, suggesting an alternative concept of drug transport by P-gp that will aid in understanding the off-target quantitative structure activity relationships of P-gp interacting drugs.

Synthesis and biological studies of some gold(I) complexes containing functionalised alkynes

The propargyl ethers 7-chloro-(4-propargyloxy)quinoline, 1-propargyloxynaphthalene and 2-propargyloxybenzophenone react with [AuCl(PPh(3))] in the presence of KOH to give the gold(I) alkynyl complexes [Au(C[triple bond]COCH(2)Ar)(PPh(3))] in good yields. The compounds were fully characterised by spectroscopic methods and were subsequently examined for their biological activity against four tumour cell lines as well as their activity against Plasmodium falciparum, the parasite responsible for malaria. The compounds show antiproliferative effects in human cancer cells with IC(50) values ranging from 0.4-12 microM.