Wherly P. Hoffman

Exacerbation of Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy-Associated Microhemorrhage in Amyloid Precursor Protein Transgenic Mice by Immunotherapy Is Dependent on Antibody Recognition of Deposited Forms of Amyloid β

Passive immunization with an antibody directed against the N terminus of amyloid β (Aβ) has recently been reported to exacerbate cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA)-related microhemorrhage in a transgenic animal model. Although the mechanism responsible for the deleterious interaction is unclear, a direct binding event may be required. We characterized the binding properties of several monoclonal anti-Aβ antibodies to deposited Aβ in brain parenchyma and CAA. Biochemical analyses demonstrated that the 3D6 and 10D5, two N-terminally directed antibodies, bound with high affinity to deposited forms of Aβ, whereas 266, a central domain antibody, lacked affinity for deposited Aβ. To determine whether 266 or 3D6 would exacerbate CAA-associated microhemorrhage, we treated aged PDAPP mice with either antibody for 6 weeks. We observed an increase in both the incidence and severity of CAA-associated microhemorrhage when PDAPP transgenic mice were treated with the N-terminally directed 3D6 antibody, whereas mice treated with 266 were unaffected. These results may have important implications for future immune-based therapeutic strategies for Alzheimers disease.

A protocol for the in vitro micronucleus test: II. Contributions to the validation of a protocol suitable for regulatory submissions from an examination of 10 chemicals with different mechanisms of action and different levels of activity

The in vitro micronucleus test is currently used as a screening assay during the early stages of drug development by pharmaceutical companies to identify chemicals likely to produce positive outcomes in the in vitro chromosome aberration assay. For several reasons the assay is being considered as an alternative to the aberration assay-it requires less laboratory time, less material and less training. However, the current screening protocols are not rigorous enough to fully satisfy concerns about genotoxic safety. Using a protocol previously developed by testing 16 chemicals, this manuscript contributes to the validation of the protocol using 10 additional chemicals. Furthermore, conclusions drawn from the developmental effort regarding the need for an extended exposure in the absence of metabolic activation, the number of cells to be counted, and the preferred statistical procedure for the assay are re-examined. The recommended, validated protocol utilizes cytochalasin B and 4h exposures in the presence and in the absence of metabolic activation, specifies the need to test to a relative survival rate of approximately 50%, requires the counting of 2,000 binucleated cells per treatment concentration, and employs a trend test for statistical analysis of the data.

A protocol for the in vitro micronucleus test

The in vitro micronucleus (IVM) test is currently used as a screen during the early stages of pharmaceutical development to identify chemicals likely to produce positive outcomes in the in vitro chromosome aberration assay. For several reasons, the assay is being considered as an alternative to the aberration assay, but the current screening protocols are not rigorous enough to fully satisfy concerns about genotoxic safety. This manuscript describes the investigation of several protocol parameters to assist with the development of a regulatory guideline for the IVM test. The parameters investigated are: the effect of cytochalasin B on the outcome of the assay when conducted with continually growing cell lines; the need for an extended exposure in the absence of metabolic activation; and the number of cells to be counted for a valid assay. In addition, two statistical procedures for the analysis of data from the test are described. The results of the investigation indicate that cytochalasin B does not effect the outcome of the test, that the extended exposure treatment is not necessary, that counting 2000 cells is preferable to counting 1000, and that the data can be appropriately analyzed using a trend test.

Quantitative assessment of cumulative carcinogenic risk for multiple genotoxic impurities in a new drug substance.

In pharmaceutical development, significant effort is made to minimize the carcinogenic potential of new drug substances (NDS). This involves appropriate genotoxicity and carcinogenicity testing of the NDS, and understanding the genotoxic potential of its impurities. Current available guidance recommends the use of the threshold of toxicological concern (TTC) for a single impurity where mutagenicity but no carcinogenicity information exists. Despite best efforts, the presence of more than one genotoxic impurity in an NDS may occur at trace levels. This paper repeats the analysis performed by others for a single genotoxic compound, but also uses statistical simulations to assess the impact on cancer risk for a mixture of genotoxic compounds. In summary, with the addition of multiple impurities all controlled to the TTC, an increase in cancer risk was observed. This increase is relatively small when considering the conservative assumptions of the TTC. If structurally similar compounds had an assumed strong correlation (+/-10-fold from the first randomly selected impurity) in cancer potency, the resulting cancer risk was not negatively impacted. Findings based on probabilistic analysis here can be very useful in making appropriate decisions about risk management of multiple genotoxic impurities measured in the final drug substance.

A Formulation Strategy for Gamma Secretase Inhibitor ELND006, a BCS Class II Compound: Development of a Nanosuspension Formulation with Improved Oral Bioavailability and Reduced Food Effects in Dogs

ELND006 is a novel gamma secretase inhibitor previously under investigation for the oral treatment of Alzheimers disease. ELND006 shows poor solubility and has moderate to high permeability, suggesting it is a Biopharmaceutics Classification System Class II compound. The poor absolute oral bioavailability of the compound in fasted dogs (F ∼11%) is attributed to poor aqueous solubility. In addition, inhibiting amyloid precursor protein but not Notch cleavage is an important goal for gamma secretase inhibitors; therefore, significant variation in bioavailability resulting from food consumption is a potential liability for this class of compounds. The objective of the present study was to determine if an ELND006 nanocrystalline formulation would offer improved and predictable pharmacokinetics. ELND006 was formulated as a nanosuspension with a mean particle size of less than 200 nm, which was stable in particle size and crystallinity for over 1 year. In addition, ELND006 nanosuspension exhibited rapid dissolution in comparison with reference active pharmaceutical ingredient (API). The in vivo performance of the ELND006 nanosuspension was tested in fed and fasted beagle dogs and compared with a gelatin capsule containing reference API. The results show that nanosizing ELND006 profoundly improved the oral bioavailability and virtually eliminated variation resulting from food intake.

A Comparison of Mortality and Cardiac Biomarker Response between Three Outbred Stocks of Sprague Dawley Rats Treated with Isoproterenol

The authors compared the mortality and cardiac biomarker responses in three outbred stocks of Sprague Dawley rats (CD/IGS, Sasco, Harlan) treated with isoproterenol hydrochloride. Cardiac injury was confirmed by histologic evaluation, and increases in cardiac troponin I concentration in serum were measured by two methods. CD/IGS rats had a higher incidence and earlier mortality compared with Sasco or Harlan rats. Harlan rats had lower severity scores for cardiomyocyte degeneration/necrosis compared with the other stocks. Post–isoproterenol treatment cardiac troponin I concentrations were greater in CD/IGS and Sasco rats compared with Harlan rats. Concentrations of cardiac troponin T followed a similar pattern to that of cardiac troponin I in rats treated with isoproterenol. Myosin, light chain 3 concentrations increased in all rats treated with isoproterenol, but there was no difference between the three stocks in the magnitude or pattern of the dose response. Increases in fatty acid binding protein 3 concentrations were detected in only the highest dose group at the earliest timepoint postdose for all three stocks of rats. Results of these studies illustrate the need for investigators to recognize the potential differences in response between stocks of Sprague Dawley rats treated with cardiotoxicants or novel chemical entities.

Effects of chronic treatment with the leukotriene D4 antagonist compound LY171883 on Fischer 344 rats and rhesus monkeys

One-year toxicity studies were done to evaluate potential toxic effects associated with chronic exposure of rats and monkeys to the leukotriene antagonist LY171883. Rats were fed dietary doses of 0.0, 0.01, 0.03, or 0.1%, equivalent to approximately 0, 5, 15, or 50 mg/kg of body weight/day. Monkeys were given daily nasogastric gavage doses of 0, 30, 75, or 175 mg/kg of body weight. No treatment-related effects occurred in physical, behavioral, ocular, food consumption, or urinalysis parameters in either species. Mild dose-related hepatotoxicity occurred in rats given approximately 15 or 50 mg/kg of LY171883. The hepatotoxicity was characterized by liver enlargement associated with induction of hepatic peroxisomal beta-oxidation and microsomal drug metabolism. Male rats also had hepatocellular fatty change, centrilobular hypertrophy of hepatocytes, and increased levels of serum alanine transaminase and total bilirubin. Other effects in rats included minimal decreases in hematocrit values, decreases in serum triglycerides and cholesterol, and increased kidney weight. The monkeys tolerated daily oral doses of LY171883 up to 175 mg/kg with only minor increases in hepatic microsomal enzyme activity and slightly increased liver and kidney weights in males. No effects occurred in monkeys given 30 mg/kg. There was no induction of hepatic peroxisomal enzymes or pathologic abnormalities in monkeys treated with LY171883. The peroxisomal inductive effect was apparently a species-related effect separate from the pharmacologic activity of leukotriene antagonism.

Construction of an optimal destructive sampling design for noncompartmental AUC estimation

Based on toxicokinetic studies of a destructive sampling design, this work was aimed at selecting the number of time points, their locations, and the number of replicates per time point in order to obtain the most accurate and precise noncompartmental estimate of the area under the concentration-time curve (AUC). From a prior population pharmacokinetic model, the design is selected to minimize the scaled mean squared error of AUC. Designs are found for various sample sizes, number of time points, and a distribution of animals across time points from being very unbalanced to balanced. Their efficiencies are compared both theoretically and based on simulations. An algorithm has been implemented for this purpose using the symbolic resolution and numerical minimization capabilities of MathematicaTMand an example of its use is provided. This method provides efficient tools for constructing, validating, and comparing optimal sampling designs for destructive sampled toxicokinetic studies.

Quantifying Amyloid Beta (Aβ)–Mediated Changes in Neuronal Morphology in Primary Cultures: Implications for Phenotypic Screening

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a devastating neurodegenerative disease affecting millions of people. The amyloid hypothesis suggests that the pathogenesis of AD is related to the accumulation of amyloid beta (Aβ) in the brain. Herein, the authors quantify Aβ-mediated changes in neuronal morphology in primary cultures using the Cellomics neuronal profiling version 3.5 (NPv3.5) BioApplication. We observed that Aβ caused a 33% decrease in neurite length in primary human cortical cultures after 24 h of treatment compared with control-treated cultures. We also determined that quantifying changes of neuronal morphology was a more sensitive indicator of nonlethal cell injury than traditional cytotoxicity assays. Aβ-mediated neuronal deficits observed in human cortical cultures were also observed in primary rat hippocampal cultures, where we demonstrated that the integrin-blocking antibody, 17E6, completely abrogated Aβ-mediated cytotoxicity. Finally, we showed that Aβ challenge to 21 days in vitro rat hippocampal cultures reduced synapsin staining to 14% of control-treated cultures. These results are consistent with the finding that loss of presynaptic integrity is one of the initial deficits observed in AD. The implementation of phenotypic screens to identify compounds that block Aβ-mediated cytotoxicity in primary neuronal cultures may lead to the development of novel strategies to prevent AD.

Overall Type I Error Rate and Power of Multiple Dunnett's Tests on Rodent Body Weights in Toxicology Studies

Body weight data are routinely collected in in vivo general toxicology studies, including 2-year carcinogenicity studies, to help assess the overall health of animals. The effect of the compound on body weight is statistically evaluated for each sex separately using a linear trend test or a many-to-one test by Dunnett. These tests are performed either in the framework of a one-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) or a repeated measures ANOVA. The one-factor ANOVA with Dunnetts test at each time point is a common practice in industry. Although each individual test is conducted at the 0.05 significance level, one wonders about the overall type I error rate and power for performing many individual Dunnetts tests. A simulation study is conducted to answer this question for general toxicology studies of durations 1 month, 3 months, and 2 years. These results provide guidance to managing multiplicity of body weight analysis of general toxicology studies.