The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, creates an urgent need for identifying molecular mechanisms that mediate viral entry, propagation, and tissue pathology. Cell membrane bound angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and associated proteases, transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2) and Cathepsin L (CTSL), were previously identified as mediators of SARS-CoV2 cellular entry. Here, we assess the cell type-specific RNA expression of ACE2, TMPRSS2, and CTSL through an integrated analysis of 107 single-cell and single-nucleus RNA-Seq studies, including 22 lung and airways datasets (16 unpublished), and 85 datasets from other diverse organs. Joint expression of ACE2 and the accessory proteases identifies specific subsets of respiratory epithelial cells as putative targets of viral infection in the nasal passages, airways, and alveoli. Cells that co-express ACE2 and proteases are also identified in cells from other organs, some of which have been associated with COVID-19 transmission or pathology, including gut enterocytes, corneal epithelial cells, cardiomyocytes, heart pericytes, olfactory sustentacular cells, and renal epithelial cells. Performing the first meta-analyses of scRNA-seq studies, we analyzed 1,176,683 cells from 282 nasal, airway, and lung parenchyma samples from 164 donors spanning fetal, childhood, adult, and elderly age groups, associate increased levels of ACE2, TMPRSS2, and CTSL in specific cell types with increasing age, male gender, and smoking, all of which are epidemiologically linked to COVID-19 susceptibility and outcomes. Notably, there was a particularly low expression of ACE2 in the few young pediatric samples in the analysis. Further analysis reveals a gene expression program shared by ACE2 + TMPRSS2 + cells in nasal, lung and gut tissues, including genes that may mediate viral entry, subtend key immune functions, and mediate epithelial-macrophage cross-talk. Amongst these are IL6, its receptor and co-receptor, IL1R, TNF response pathways, and complement genes. Cell type specificity in the lung and airways and smoking effects were conserved in mice. Our analyses suggest that differences in the cell type-specific expression of mediators of SARS-CoV-2 viral entry may be responsible for aspects of COVID-19 epidemiology and clinical course, and point to putative molecular pathways involved in disease susceptibility and pathogenesis.

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Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and accessory proteases (TMPRSS2 and CTSL) are needed for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) cellular entry, and their expression may shed light on viral tropism and impact across the body. We assessed the cell-type-specific expression of ACE2, TMPRSS2 and CTSL across 107 single-cell RNA-sequencing studies from different tissues. ACE2, TMPRSS2 and CTSL are coexpressed in specific subsets of respiratory epithelial cells in the nasal passages, airways and alveoli, and in cells from other organs associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) transmission or pathology. We performed a meta-analysis of 31 lung single-cell RNA-sequencing studies with 1,320,896 cells from 377 nasal, airway and lung parenchyma samples from 228 individuals. This revealed cell-type-specific associations of age, sex and smoking with expression levels of ACE2, TMPRSS2 and CTSL. Expression of entry factors increased with age and in males, including in airway secretory cells and alveolar type 2 cells. Expression programs shared by ACE2 + TMPRSS2 + cells in nasal, lung and gut tissues included genes that may mediate viral entry, key immune functions and epithelial-macrophage cross-talk, such as genes involved in the interleukin-6, interleukin-1, tumor necrosis factor and complement pathways. Cell-type-specific expression patterns may contribute to the pathogenesis of COVID-19, and our work highlights putative molecular pathways for therapeutic intervention.

Natural mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations enable the inference of clonal relationships among cells. mtDNA can be profiled along with measures of cell state, but has not yet been combined with the massively parallel approaches needed to tackle the complexity of human tissue. Here, we introduce a high-throughput, droplet-based mitochondrial single-cell Assay for Transposase Accessible Chromatin with sequencing (mtscATAC-seq), a method that combines high-confidence mtDNA mutation calling in thousands of single cells with their concomitant high-quality accessible chromatin profile. This enables the inference of mtDNA heteroplasmy, clonal relationships, cell state, and accessible chromatin variation in individual cells. We reveal single-cell variation in heteroplasmy of a pathologic mtDNA variant, which we associate with intra-individual chromatin variability and clonal evolution. We clonally trace thousands of cells from cancers, linking epigenomic variability to subclonal evolution and infer cellular dynamics of differentiating hematopoietic cells in vitro and in vivo . Taken together, our approach enables the study of cellular population dynamics and clonal properties in vivo .

Gabapentin absorption occurs in only a limited region of the small intestine and saturates at doses used clinically, resulting in dose-dependent pharmacokinetics, high interpatient variability, and potentially ineffective drug exposure. XP13512/GSK1838262 is a novel transported prodrug of gabapentin that is absorbed throughout the entire length of the intestine by high-capacity nutrient transporters. In 4 studies of healthy volunteers (136 subjects total), the pharmacokinetics of XP13512 immediate- and extended-release formulations were compared with those of oral gabapentin. XP13512 immediate-release (up to 2800 mg single dose and 2100 mg twice daily) was well absorbed (>68%, based on urinary recovery of gabapentin), converted rapidly to gabapentin, and provided dose-proportional exposure, whereas absorption of oral gabapentin declined with increasing doses to <27% at 1200 mg. Compared with 600 mg gabapentin, an equimolar XP13512 extended-release dose provided extended gabapentin exposure (time to maximum concentration, 8.4 vs 2.7 hours) and superior bioavailability (74.5% vs 36.6%). XP13512 may therefore provide more predictable gabapentin exposure and decreased dosing frequency.

The absorption of gabapentin (Neurontin) is dose-dependent and variable between patients. Rapid clearance of the drug necessitates dosing three or more times per day to maintain therapeutic levels. These deficiencies appear to result from the low capacity, limited intestinal distribution, and variable expression of the solute transporter responsible for gabapentin absorption. Saturation of this transporter at doses used clinically leads to unpredictable drug exposure and potentially ineffective therapy in some patients. XP13512 [(Ϯ)-1-([(␣-isobutanoyloxyethoxy)carbonyl]aminomethyl)-1-cyclohexane acetic acid] is a novel prodrug of gabapentin designed to be absorbed by highcapacity nutrient transporters located throughout the intestine. XP13512 was efficiently absorbed and rapidly converted to gabapentin after oral dosing in rats and monkeys. Exposure to gabapentin was proportional to prodrug dose, whereas exposure to intact XP13512 was low. In rats, Ͼ95% of an oral dose of 14 C-XP13512 was excreted in urine in 24 h as gabapentin. In monkeys, oral bioavailability of gabapentin from XP13512 capsules was 84.2% compared with 25.4% after a similar oral Neurontin dose. Compared with intracolonic gabapentin, intracolonic XP13512 gave a 17-fold higher gabapentin exposure in rats and 34-fold higher in monkeys. XP13512 may therefore be incorporated into a sustained release formulation to provide extended gabapentin exposure. XP13512 demonstrated improved gabapentin bioavailability, increased dose proportionality, and enhanced colonic absorption. In clinical use, XP13512 may improve the treatment of neuropathic pain, epilepsy, and numerous other conditions by increasing efficacy, reducing interpatient variability, and decreasing frequency of dosing.Gabapentin (Fig. 1) (Kelly, 1998). Its efficacy in neuropathic pain and epilepsy may involve binding of the drug to the ␣ 2 ␦ subunit of a voltage-dependent calcium channel (Gee et al., 1996;Marais et al., 2001).The clinical pharmacokinetics of gabapentin have been studied in healthy volunteers and patients with epilepsy (McLean, 1995;Gidal et al., 1998Gidal et al., , 2000Boyd et al., 1999). Gabapentin bioavailability is dose-dependent, decreasing from an average of about 60% at a 300-mg dose to about 35% or less at doses used to treat neuropathic pain. The underlyArticle, publication date, and citation information can be found at http://jpet.aspetjournals.org. doi:10.1124/jpet.104.067959. ABBREVIATIONS: XP13512, (Ϯ)-1-([(␣-isobutanoyloxyethoxy)carbonyl]aminomethyl)-1-cyclohexane acetic acid; SMVT, sodium-dependent multivitamin transporter; MCT-1, monocarboxylate transporter type 1; HPLC, high-pressure liquid chromatography; GP, gabapentin; LC/MS/MS, liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry; CSF, cerebrospinal fluid; t 1/2 , elimination half-life; T max , time to maximum concentration; AUC (0-inf) , area under the concentration versus time curve extrapolated to infinity; AUC, area under the curve.

Baclofen is a racemic GABA B receptor agonist that has a number of significant pharmacokinetic limitations, including a narrow window of absorption in the upper small intestine and rapid clearance from the blood. Arbaclofen placarbil is a novel transported prodrug of the pharmacologically active R-isomer of baclofen designed to be absorbed throughout the intestine by both passive and active mechanisms via the monocarboxylate type 1 transporter. Arbaclofen placarbil is rapidly converted to R-baclofen in human and animal tissues in vitro. This conversion seems to be primarily catalyzed in human tissues by human carboxylesterase-2, a major carboxylesterase expressed at high levels in various tissues including human intestinal cells. Arbaclofen placarbil was efficiently absorbed and rapidly converted to R-baclofen after oral dosing in rats, dogs, and monkeys. Exposure to R-baclofen was proportional to arbaclofen placarbil dose, whereas exposure to intact prodrug was low. Arbaclofen placarbil demonstrated enhanced colonic absorption, i.e., 5-fold higher R-baclofen exposure in rats and 12-fold higher in monkeys compared with intracolonic administration of R-baclofen. Sustained release formulations of arbaclofen placarbil demonstrated sustained R-baclofen exposure in dogs with bioavailability up to 68%. In clinical use, arbaclofen placarbil may improve the treatment of patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease, spasticity, and numerous other conditions by prolonging exposure and decreasing the fluctuations in plasma levels of R-baclofen.

WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ABOUT THIS SUBJECT • Gabapentin enacarbil is a transported prodrug of gabapentin that provides sustained, dose‐proportional exposure to gabapentin by taking advantage of high‐capacity transport pathways expressed throughout the intestinal tract. This prodrug has shown efficacy in multiple clinical trials for the treatment of moderate‐to‐severe primary restless legs syndrome and could potentially represent the first non‐dopaminergic treatment for this important disease. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS • Unlike gabapentin, gabapentin enacarbil is actively absorbed from the intestine by multiple pathways, including the monocarboxylate transporter type‐1 transporter (MCT‐1). Although drug interactions of gabapentin have been reported in the literature, the distinctly different absorption pathway of gabapentin enacarbil requires a separate evaluation of the potential for interaction with other substrates of MCT‐1. To achieve this, the pharmacokinetics of gabapentin enacarbil were examined in healthy adults when administered alone or in combination with naproxen, a known MCT‐1 substrate. • After absorption, gabapentin enacarbil is completely hydrolyzed to gabapentin, and the released gabapentin is excreted by renal elimination. Gabapentin is a substrate for the organic cation transporter type‐2 (OCT2) present in the kidney. To examine the potential for an elimination‐site drug interaction resulting from administration of the prodrug, the pharmacokinetics of gabapentin enacarbil were examined in healthy adults when administered alone or in combination with cimetidine, a known substrate of OCT2. AIM Gabapentin enacarbil, a transported prodrug of gabapentin, provides sustained, dose‐proportional exposure to gabapentin. Unlike gabapentin, the prodrug is absorbed throughout the intestinal tract by high‐capacity nutrient transporters, including mono‐carboxylate transporter‐1 (MCT‐1). Once absorbed, gabapentin enacarbil is rapidly hydrolyzed to gabapentin, which is subsequently excreted by renal elimination via organic cation transporters (OCT2). To examine the potential for drug–drug interactions at these two transporters, the pharmacokinetics of gabapentin enacarbil were evaluated in healthy adults after administration alone or in combination with either naproxen (an MCT‐1 substrate) or cimetidine (an OCT2 substrate). METHODS Subjects (n= 12 in each study) received doses of study drug until steady state was achieved; 1200 mg gabapentin enacarbil each day, followed by either naproxen (500 mg twice daily) or cimetidine (400 mg four times daily) followed by the combination. RESULTS When gabapentin enacarbil was co‐administered with naproxen, gabapentin Css,max increased by, on average, 8% and AUC by, on average, 13%. When gabapentin enacarbil was co‐administered with cimetidine, gabapentin AUCss increased by 24% and renal clearance of gabapentin decreased. Co‐administration with gabapentin enacarbil did not affect naproxen or cimetidine exposure. Gabapentin enacarbil was generally well tolerated. CONCLUSIONS No ...