The potency, efficacy, and pharmacokinetic properties of -amino]-propionylamino}-4-oxo-5-(2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-phenoxy)-pentanoic acid), a first-in-class caspase inhibitor in clinical trials for the treatment of liver diseases, were characterized in vivo in rodent models. In the mouse ␣-Fas model of liver injury, i.p. administration of IDN-6556 resulted in marked reduction of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), apoptosis, and caspase activities at a dose of 3 mg/kg. At this dose, IDN-6556 was also effective when given up to 2 h before ␣-Fas and as late as 4 h after ␣- Pharmacokinetic analysis in the rat demonstrated rapid clearance after i.v., i.p., and s.c. administration with terminal t 1/2 ranging from 46 to 51 min. Low absolute bioavailability after p.o. administration was seen (2.7-4%), but portal drug concentrations after oral administration were 3-fold higher than systemic concentrations with a 3.7-fold increase in the terminal t 1/2 , indicating a significant first-pass effect. Liver concentrations remained constant after oral administration for at least a 4-h period, reaching a C max of 2558 ng/g liver at 120 min. Last, 51 Ϯ 20 and 4.9 Ϯ 3.4% of IDN-6556 was excreted intact in bile after i.v. and p.o. administration, respectively. This evaluation indicates that IDN-6556 has marked efficacy in models of liver disease after oral administration and thus, is an excellent candidate for the treatment of liver diseases characterized by excessive apoptosis.

A series of oxamyl dipeptides were optimized for pan caspase inhibition, anti-apoptotic cellular activity and in vivo efficacy. This structure-activity relationship study focused on the P4 oxamides and warhead moieties. Primarily on the basis of in vitro data, inhibitors were selected for study in a murine model of alpha-Fas-induced liver injury. IDN-6556 (1) was further profiled in additional in vivo models and pharmacokinetic studies. This first-in-class caspase inhibitor is now the subject of two Phase II clinical trials, evaluating its safety and efficacy for use in liver disease.

؊ (pH 6.5) against the following three major CF pathogens was assessed: P. aeruginosa (a mucoid, mucA22 mutant and a sequenced nonmucoid strain, PAO1), Staphylococcus aureus USA300 (methicillin resistant), and Burkholderia cepacia, a notoriously antibiotic-resistant organism. Under planktonic, anaerobic conditions, growth of all strains except for P. aeruginosa PAO1 was inhibited by 7.24 mM (512 g ml ؊1 NO 2 ؊ ). B. cepacia was particularly sensitive to low concentrations of A-NO 2؊ (1.81 mM) under planktonic conditions. In antibiotic-resistant communities known as biofilms, which are reminiscent of end-stage CF airway disease, A-NO 2 ؊ killed mucoid P. aeruginosa, S. aureus, and B. cepacia; 1 to 2 logs of cells were killed after a 2-day incubation with a single dose of ϳ15 mM A-NO 2 ؊ . Animal toxicology and phase I human trials indicate that these bactericidal levels of A-NO 2 ؊ can be easily attained by aerosolization. Thus, in summary, we demonstrate that A-NO 2 ؊ is very effective at killing these important CF pathogens and could be effective in other infectious settings, particularly under anaerobic conditions where bacterial defenses against the reduction product of A-NO 2 ؊ , nitric oxide (NO), are dramatically reduced.

The reaction of peroxynitrite with gamma-tocopherol (gamma-TH) in a methanol/potassium phosphate buffer solution results in the formation of four major products, which were identified as 2,7,8-trimethyl-2-(4,8,12-trimethyldecyl)-5-nitro-6-chromanol++ + (NGT), 2,7,8-trimethyl-2-(4,8,12-trimethyldecyl)-5,6-chromaquinone (tocored), and two diastereomers of 8a-(hydroxy)-gamma-tocopherone. NGT was the major product formed in these reactions, and its formation was modestly increased by increasing amounts of Fe(3+)-EDTA. Tocored and NGT also were formed when gamma-TH was exposed to 3-morpholinosydnonimine (SIN-1), a compound that decomposes to form peroxynitrite. When gamma-TH reacted with the nitrating agent NO2+BF4- in acetonitrile or methanol/potassium phosphate buffer, NGT and tocored also were formed, but the major product detected was gamma-tocopherol quinone (gamma-TQ). This product was not detected in reactions involving peroxynitrite. Oxidation of gamma-TH by peroxynitrite involves nitration and electron transfer reactions. Since the product distribution in oxidations with NO2+BF4- differed substantially from that in oxidations with peroxynitrite and SIN-1, NO2+ appeared not to be the principal species involved in NGT formation. Nitration of gamma-TH may involve either peroxynitrite or some peroxynitrite-derived oxidant other than NO2+. Because of its stability and formation as a novel product of the reaction between gamma-TH with peroxynitrite, NGT may be a useful in vivo marker for peroxynitrite interactions with lipid structures that contain gamma-TH.

Monocrotaline (MCT) is a pyrrolizidine alkaloid (PA) plant toxin that produces sinusoidal endothelial cell (SEC) injury, hemorrhage, fibrin deposition, and coagulative hepatic parenchymal cell (HPC) oncosis in centrilobular regions of rat livers. Cells with apoptotic morphology have been observed in the livers of animals exposed to other PAs. Whether apoptosis occurs in the livers of MCT-treated animals and whether it is required for full manifestation of pathological changes is not known. To determine this, rats were treated with 300 mg MCT/kg, and apoptosis was detected by transmission electron microscopy and the TUNEL (TdT-mediated dUTP nick end labeling) assay. MCT produced significant apoptosis in the liver by 4 h after treatment. To determine if MCT kills cultured HPCs by apoptosis, HPCs were isolated from the livers of rats and exposed to MCT. MCT caused a concentration-dependent release of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), a marker of HPC injury. Furthermore, caspase 3 was activated and TUNEL staining increased in MCT-treated HPCs. MCT-induced TUNEL staining and release of ALT into the medium were completely prevented by the pancaspase inhibitors z-VAD.fmk and IDN-7314, suggesting that MCT kills cultured HPCs by apoptosis. To determine if caspase inhibition prevents MCT-induced apoptosis in the liver, rats were cotreated with MCT and IDN-7314. IDN-7314 reduced MCT-induced TUNEL staining in the liver and release of ALT into the plasma. Morphometric analysis confirmed that IDN-7314 reduced HPC oncosis in the liver by approximately 50%. Inasmuch as HPC hypoxia occurred in the livers of MCT-treated animals, upregulation of the hypoxia-regulated cell-death factor, BNIP3 (Bcl2/adenovirus EIB 19kD-interacting protein 3), was examined. BNIP3 was increased in the livers of mice treated 24 h earlier with MCT. Results from these studies show that MCT kills cultured HPCs by apoptosis but causes both oncosis and apoptosis in the liver in vivo. Furthermore, caspase inhibition reduces both apoptosis and HPC oncosis in the liver after MCT exposure.