For the past decade, cardiac safety screening to evaluate the propensity of drugs to produce QT interval prolongation and Torsades de Pointes (TdP) arrhythmia has been conducted according to ICH S7B and ICH E14 guidelines. Central to the existing approach are hERG channel assays and in vivo QT measurements. Although effective, the present paradigm carries a risk of unnecessary compound attrition and high cost, especially when considering costly thorough QT (TQT) studies conducted later in drug development. The Comprehensive In Vitro Proarrhythmia Assay (CiPA) initiative is a publicprivate collaboration with the aim of updating the existing cardiac safety testing paradigm to better evaluate arrhythmia risk and remove the need for TQT studies. It is hoped that CiPA will produce a standardized ion channel assay approach, incorporating defined tests against major cardiac ion channels, the results of which then inform evaluation of proarrhythmic actions in silico, using human ventricular action potential reconstructions. Results are then to be confirmed using human (stem cell-derived) cardiomyocytes. This perspective article reviews the rationale, progress of, and challenges for the CiPA initiative, if this new paradigm is to replace existing practice and, in time, lead to improved and widely accepted cardiac safety testing guidelines.

Although it is well recognized that human platelet responses to ␣-thrombin are mediated by the protease-activated receptors PAR-1 and PAR-4, their role and relative importance in plateletdependent human disease has not yet been elucidated. Because the expression profile of PARs in platelets from nonprimates differs from humans, we used cynomolgus monkeys to evaluate the role of PAR-1 in thrombosis. Based on reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, PAR expression in platelets from cynomolgus monkeys consisted primarily of PAR-1 and PAR-4, thereby mirroring the profile of human platelets. We probed the role of PAR-1 in a primate model of vascular injury-induced thrombosis with the selective PAR-1 antagonist (␣S)

Early afterdepolarizations (EADs) are depolarizing potentials that occur during phase 2 or phase 3 of repolarization. They can induce triggered activity and have been proposed as a cause for arrhythmias in the heart in situ. To determine the response of EADs and triggered activity to interventions analogous to those used in the clinic for identifying arrhythmogenic mechanisms, we used a pacing protocol to study the response of EADs to sustained drive and extrastimuli. Cesium chloride (5 to 20 mM), which induces triggered arrhythmias in the intact dog, was used to induce EADs in isolated canine Purkinje fibers, and these were studied by microelectrode techniques. Cesium prolonged action potential duration and induced two types of EADs. At a potassium concentration of 4 mM, EADs occurred at membrane potentials of -3 to -30 mV. They were initiated 240 to 680 msec after the action potential upstroke and were 2 to 30 mV in amplitude. Their amplitude increased as drive cycle length increased, but their coupling interval to the action potential did not change with drive cycle length. These EADs did not induce triggered action potentials. At a potassium concentration of 2 mM, EADs usually occurred at higher membrane potentials (-50 to -70 mV) and longer coupling intervals (470 to 1360 msec) and were manifested as a delay.of phase 3 repolarization. These EADs induced triggered action potentials. When the triggered rhythms became sustained, premature stimuli either reset or terminated them, depending on the maximum diastolic potential. Termination occurred more frequently as the maximum diastolic potential increased. The extent of overdrive suppression induced by pacing for 15 sec to 3 min also increased as the maximum diastolic potential increased. In summary, cesium induced EADs at low or high membrane potentials. The former did not induce triggered activity, but the latter did. The triggered rhythms that occurred were similar to abnormal automatic mechanisms in their response to overdrive pacing and extrastimuli.

SummaryThe thrombin receptor (ThrR) is a membrane-bound, G-protein-coupled receptor for the serine protease thrombin. This receptor is expressed in a wide variety of cells and tissues, and elicits a range of physiological responses associated with tissue injury, inflammation, and wound repair. To achieve a better understanding of the physiological role of the ThrR, we have employed homologous recombination to create mice with a disrupted ThrR gene. Following heterozygous (+/-) intercrosses, a total of 351 surviving offspring were genotyped. Only 7% of these offspring were identified as homozygous (-/-) for the disrupted allele, indicating a profound effect on embryonic development. Paradoxically, adult ThrR-/- mice appeared to be normal by anatomical and histological analysis, including their platelet number and function. Similarly, ThrR deficiency had no detectable effect in adult ThrR-/- mice on basal heart rate, arterial blood pressure, vasomotor responses to angiotensin II and acetylcholine, and coagulation parameters, even though the ThrR is expressed in many cardiovascular tissue types. In addition, the loss of ThrR function in the peripheral vasculature of adult ThrR-/- mice was confirmed by the absence of various standard hemodynamic effects of the ThrR-activating peptides SFLLRN-NH2 and TFLLRNPNDK-NH2 Our results indicate that ThrR deficiency has a strong impact on fetal development; however, ThrR-/- mice that proceed to full development display surprisingly little change in phenotype compared to the wild-type

Certain leukocytes release serine proteases that sustain inflammatory processes and cause disease conditions, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. We identified ␤-ketophosphonate 1 (JNJ-10311795; RWJ-355871) as a novel, potent dual inhibitor of neutrophil cathepsin G (K i ‫؍‬ 38 nM) and mast cell chymase (K i ‫؍‬ 2.3 nM). The x-ray crystal structures of 1 complexed with human cathepsin G (1.85 Å) and human chymase (1.90 Å) reveal the molecular basis of the dual inhibition. Ligand 1 occupies the S 1 and S 2 subsites of cathepsin G and chymase similarly, with the 2-naphthyl in S 1 , the 1-naphthyl in S 2 , and the phosphonate group in a complex network of hydrogen bonds. Surprisingly, however, the carboxamido-N-(naphthalene-2-carboxyl)piperidine group is found to bind in two distinct conformations. In cathepsin G, this group occupies the hydrophobic S 3 /S 4 subsites, whereas in chymase, it does not; rather, it folds onto the 1-naphthyl group of the inhibitor itself. Compound 1 exhibited noteworthy antiinflammatory activity in rats for glycogen-induced peritonitis and lipopolysaccharide-induced airway inflammation. In addition to a marked reduction in neutrophil influx, 1 reversed increases in inflammatory mediators interleukin-1␣, interleukin-1␤, tissue necrosis factor-␣, and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 in the glycogen model and reversed increases in airway nitric oxide levels in the lipopolysaccharide model. These findings demonstrate that it is possible to inhibit both cathepsin G and chymase with a single molecule and suggest an exciting opportunity in the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.