Stereoselectivity of the in vitro metabolism of thalidomide

The stereoselective metabolism of the former sedative thalidomide and the metabolism of its analogue EM 12 were studied in vitro with liver homogenates. In our study we focused on hydroxylated nonhydrolyzed metabolites of thalidomide. An analytical HPLC method was developed to determine these metabolites directly. The investigations showed a highly stereoselective biotransformation of thalidomide. 5-Hydroxy thalidomide was preferentially formed by (?)-(S)-thalidomide, whereas (+)-(R)-thalidomide was metabolized to two hitherto unknown compounds (Met A and B). Mass spectrometry of these metabolites Met A and B indicated that oxidation or hydroxylation took place in the glutarimide moiety. Biotransformation studies with the more stable thalidomide analogue EM 12 revealed four new metabolites (Met C? F) whose quantities differed in the selected liver homogenate. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Metabolic chiral inversion of ibuprofen in isolated rat hepatocytes

Ibuprofen was used to demonstrate that isolated rat hepatocytes offer a suitable in vitro model to investigate the metabolic chiral inversion of anti-inflammatory 2-arylpropionic acids (profens). The inversion of the pharmacologically inactive (-)-(R)-ibuprofen to the active (+)-(S)-ibuprofen was shown to obey apparent first-order kinetics during 5 h and to increase linearly with increasing hepatocyte concentration up to 4 x 10(5) cells/ml. No elimination of (R)-ibuprofen by routes other than inversion was seen, whereas the elimination of (S)-ibuprofen appeared to be saturable.     

Metabolism of arachidonic acid by isolated rat hepatocytes,renal cells and by some rabbit tissues: Detection of vicinal diols by mass fragmentography

Purified cytochromes P-450 (LM₂ and PB-B₂) in a reconstituted system and epoxide hydrolase were recently found to metabolize arachidonic (eicosatetraenoic) acid to four vicinal dihydroxyeicosatrienoic acids. These metabolites were chemically synthetized from octadeuterated arachidonic acid and employed as internal standards for mass fragmentography. Isolated rat hepatocytes and renal cells were incubated with arachidonic acid (0.1 mM; 37°C, 15 min) and, following extractive isolation and reversed-phase HPLC, formation of 11,12-dihydroxy-5,8,14-eicosatrienoic acid and 14,15-dihydroxy-5,8,11-eicosatrienoic acid was demonstrated by mass fragmentography using a capillary GC column. Furthermore, these diols were also detected in rabbit liver and renal cortex and they therefore appear to be formed endogenously. Formation of vicinal diols was also studied in cell free systems. Rabbit liver and renal cortical microsomes were incubated with NADPH (1 mM) and arachidonic acid (0.15 mM) for 15 min at 37°C and, besides 11,12-dihydroxy- and 14,15-dihydroxyeicosatrienoic acid, small amounts of 8,9-dihydroxy- and 5,6-dihydroxyeicosatrienoic acid could be detected by mass fragmentography. Renal as well as hepatic monooxygenases can thus epoxidize each of the four double bonds of arachidonic acid. In contrast, rabbit lung microsomes and NADPH metabolize arachidonic acid mainly to prostaglandins and 19-hydroxy- and 20-hydroxyarachidonic acid, while only small amounts of 11,12-dihydroxyeicosatrienoic acid could be found. Monooxygenase metabolism of arachidonic acid by epoxidation might therefore be a significant pathway for the metabolism of this essential fatty acid in isolated rat renal cells and hepatocytes but presumably not in the lung.     

Stereoselective metabolism of the herbicide fluroxypyr methylheptyl ester in rabbits

We investigated the stereoselective degradation kinetics of fluroxypyr methylheptyl ester (FPMH) in rabbits using a chiral high-performance liquid chromatographic method. In 20% rabbit plasma, the half lives of (+)-FPMH and (-)-FPMH were 2.5 and 10.9 min, respectively. Thus, the enantioselective degradation was faster for (+)-FPMH than for (-)-FPMH in rabbit plasma in vitro, and there was no chiral conversion or transformation during incubation of the plasma. The degradation of (+)-FPMH was also much faster than that of the (-)-FPMH in the kidney, lung, and muscle after the intravenous administration of 50 mg/kg racemic FPMH (rac-FPMH), whereas the concentrations of FPMH were below the limit of quantification in other tissues. Furthermore, 98% rac-FPMH was quickly (within 10 min) hydrolyzed to fluroxypyr (FP) in rabbit liver microsomes. Therefore, we examined FP in rabbit plasma and tissues in vivo. We detected FP in all tissues; its concentration was higher in the urine than in the other tissues. FP was rapidly excreted unchanged, principally in the urine. The data presented here are important for a more thorough understanding of this pesticide and should be useful for its full environmental assessment.     

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of tert.-butyldimethylsilyl derivatives of 2-acetylaminofluorene and metabolites in isolated rat hepatocytes

A new technique for the conversion of 2-acetylaminofuorene and several ring-hydroxylated metabolites to mono- and di-tert.-butyldimethylsilyl derivatives was developed to permit their analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in order to quantify the metabolism of 2-acetylaminofluorene incubated in freshly isolated rat hepatocytes. This new gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method allowed the separation, identification and quantitation of seven known metabolites comprising five arylhydroxylated compounds, 2-aminofuorene and N-hydroxy-2-acetylaminofuorene.Abbreviations 2-AAF 2-acetylaminofluorene - 2-AF 2-aminofluorene - DMF dimethylformamide - El electron impact ionization - FBS fetal bovine serum - GC-MS gas chromatography-mass spectrometry - MtBSTFA N-methyl-N-(tert.-butyldimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide - MU methylene unit - N-OH-2-AAF N-hydroxy-2-acetylaminofluorene - 4,4-OH-BP 4,4-hydroxybiphenyl - tBDMS tert.-butyldimethylsilyl     

Stereoselective metabolism and toxicity of the herbicide fluroxypyr methylheptyl ester in rat hepatocytes

We investigated the stereoselective degradation kinetics and toxicity of fluroxypyr methylheptyl ester (FPMH) in rat hepatocytes using a chiral high‐performance liquid chromatographic method. The T_1/2 of (−)‐FPMH was about two times longer than that of (+)‐FPMH after the rat hepatocytes were incubated with 10, 20, and 50 μM of rac‐FPMH. There was no chiral conversion or transformation during their incubation with the hepatocytes. Toxicity differences were observed among the two enantiomers of FPMH and fluroxypyr (FP) in their EC₅₀ values in rat hepatocytes. Of all the tested compounds, FP was most toxic to the rat hepatocytes. The (−)‐FPMH enantiomer showed higher toxicity than the (+)‐FPMH, whereas the racemic mixture displayed intermediate toxicity. The data presented here are important for a more thorough understanding of this pesticide and should be useful for its full environmental assessment. Chirality, 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Effect of serum lipoproteins on stereoselective halofantrine metabolism by rat hepatocytes

Experimental hyperlipidemia has shown to decrease cytochrome P450 3A4 and 2C11 expression and to increase liver concentrations and the plasma protein binding of halofantrine (HF) enantiomers. The present study examined the effect of hyperlipidemic (HL) serum on the metabolism of HF enantiomers by primary rat hepatocytes. Hepatocytes from normolipidemic (NL) and HL (poloxamer 407 treated) rats were incubated with rac-HF in cell media with or without additional rat serum (5%). In those incubations with rat serum, the hepatocytes were preincubated or coincubated with serum from NL or HL rats. Rat serum-free hepatocyte incubations served as controls. Stereospecific assays were used to measure HF and desbutylhalofantrine (its major metabolite) enantiomer concentrations in whole well contents (cells + media). Concentrations of desbutylhalofantrine were not measurable. The disappearance (apparent metabolism) of (-)-HF exceeded that of antipode, but HF metabolism did not differ between hepatocytes from NL and HL rats. Coincubation of HL rat serum with NL hepatocytes caused a significant decrease in the disappearance of (-)-HF, whereas in HL hepatocytes, a substantially decreased apparent metabolism was noted for both enantiomers. Compared with NL serum, (-)-HF disappearance was significantly lowered upon preincubation of NL hepatocytes with HL serum. A combination of factors including diminished drug metabolizing or lipoprotein receptor expression, and increased plasma protein binding in the wells, may have contributed to a decrease in apparent metabolism of the HF enantiomers in the presence of lipoproteins from HL rat serum.     

Stereoselective sulfation of terbutaline by the rat liver cytosol: evaluation of experimental approaches

Little is known about the stereochemistry of sulfation of chiral phenolic drugs. In this study we examined several in vitro approaches to this question, using (+)-, (-)-, or (+/-)-terbutaline as the substrate and the rat liver cytosol as the phenolsulfotransferase enzyme source. The cosubstrate PAPS was either generated by the cytosol from inorganic sulfate and ATP or added to the cytosol. The intact sulfate conjugates formed were determined by HPLC. Using the PAPS generating system, which is best suited for the production of relatively large quantities of sulfate conjugates, with the individual enantiomers as substrates, (T)-terbutaline was conjugated to a much greater extent than (-)-terbutaline; the (+)/(-)-enantiomer ratio was 7.3 +/- 0.3 (mean +/- SE). When (+/-)-terbutaline was the substrate and chiral derivatization was employed to separate the sulfate enantiomers formed, a similar (+)/(-)-enantiomer ratio of 7.9 +/- 0.2 was obtained. With PAP35S added to the cytosol, an approach best suited for kinetic studies, the substrate concentration dependence of sulfation could be determined. The Km app for this reaction was identical for (+)- and (-)-terbutaline. However, the Vmax app was 8.1 +/- 0.4 times greater for (+)-terbutaline. This study for the first time shows enantioselectivity in sulfation of a chiral phenolic drug. The experimental approaches used should be valuable for human studies of stereoselective sulfation of terbutaline and other chiral drugs.     

Acute effects of interleukin 1 alpha and 6 on intermediary metabolism in freshly isolated rat hepatocytes

Using hepatocytes in suspension, freshly isolated from adult male fed rats, we studied the acute influence of recombinant human interleukins 1 alpha, 2 and 6 on glycogen and fatty acid metabolism. By far the largest effects were observed with interleukin-1 alpha: short incubations (up to 60 min) sufficed to depress glycogen synthesis in a dose-dependent manner, while the rates of glycogenolysis and glycolysis were increased as indicated by the release of glucose and lactate. Interleukin-6 acted similarly, though being much less effective on a molar basis, whereas interleukin-2 only caused a small increase in lactate production. In hepatocytes from 24h-starved rats interleukin-1 alpha caused a minor stimulation of gluconeogenesis. Although neither fatty acid synthesis nor oxidation of fatty acids in quiescent hepatocytes from fed rats was significantly affected by interleukins, interleukin-1 alpha was able to cause appreciable inhibition of fatty acid synthesis in hepatocytes from regenerating liver (isolated 22h after partial hepatectomy). It is concluded (i) that interleukins, in particular interleukin-1 alpha, acutely promote hepatic glucose release, and (ii) that transition of adult hepatocytes from a quiescent into a proliferatory state allows the occurrence of rapid effects of interleukin-1 alpha on fatty acid metabolism.     

Effects of harman and norharman on the metabolism and genotoxicity of 2-acetylaminofluorene in cultured rat hepatocytes

Monolayers of rat hepatocytes metabolize 0.25 m M 2-acetylaminofluorene (AAF) to various ether-extractable, water-soluble as well as covalently bound products. The major ether-extractable metabolite formed is 2-aminofuorene (AF), followed by 7-OH-AAF and 9-OH-AAF. Pretreatment of rats with the inducer Aroclor 1254 (PCB) increased the metabolism of AAF and caused an increased DNA repair synthesis in hepatocytes exposed to AAF or AF. With N-OH-AAF, a decreased genotoxic response in PCB-treated cells compared to control cells was seen. The addition of harman and norharman decreased the metabolism of AAF to ether-extractable metabolites, water-soluble metabolites and metabolites covalently bound to macromolecules. In contrast, the DNA-repair synthesis caused by the same concentrations of AAF was increased by harman. One explanation for this apparent discrepancy could be that the aromatic amines changed the metabolism of harman and norharman in such a way that these compounds were converted into genotoxic metabolites.Abbreviations AAF 2-acetylaminofluorene - AF 2-aminofluorene - DMSO dimethylsulfoxide - HPLC high performance liquid chromatography - N-OH-AAF N-ydroxy-2-acetylaminofluorene - PCB polychlorinated biphenyls, Aroclor 1254 - TCDD 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin - TdR thymidine - Trp-P-1 3-amino-1,4dimethyl-5H-pyrido(4,3b)indole - Trp-P-2 3-amino-l-methyl-5H-pyrido(4,3b)indole - UDS unscheduled DNA synthesis     

Uptake and metabolism of S-adenosyl-L-methionine by isolated rat hepatocytes

In the present study, direct evidence is given to SAMe capability of crossing the membrane of isolated rat hepatocytes. The kinetics of SAMe uptake is biphasic: a fast phase being completed in less than 15 sec and a slower one with an apparent K_m of 8.33 μM and a V_max of 10.6 pmol/min/mg protein. Both processes are pH and temperature dependent. Analysis of the fast phase by a Scatchard plot discloses two sets of binding sites of high and low affinity, respectively. Experiments carried out incubating isolated hepatocytes with double-labelled SAMe (methyl-³H, carboxyl-¹⁴C) have shown that about 70% of SAMe uptake by the cell is rapidly decarboxylated.     

Myocardial uptake of thiopental enantiomers by the isolated perfused rat heart

Myocardial uptake of thiopental enantiomers by an isolated perfused rat heart preparation was examined after perfusion with protein-free perfusate. Outflow perfusate samples were collected at frequent intervals for 20 min during single-pass perfusion with 10 μg/ml racemic thiopental (washin phase) and for another 45 min during perfusion with drug-free perfusate (washout phase). (+)- and (−)-thiopental concentrations were assayed by chiral high-performance liquid chromatography. Heart rate, perfusion pressure, and electrocardiogram were also monitored. During the washin phase, there was no significant difference between the mean values of the equilibration rate constants of (+)- and (−)-thiopental enantiomers (0.44 ± 0.07 min⁻¹ and 0.43 ± 0.09 min⁻¹, respectively, P > 0.05). Mean volumes of distribution of (+)- and (−)-thiopental enantiomers were similar (6.34 ± 1.20 and 6.45 ± 1.29 ml/g for the washin phase and 7.22 ± 0.71 and 7.47 ± 0.81 ml/g for the washout phase, respectively, P > 0.05). This indicates that tissue accumulation of thiopental enantiomers in the isolated perfused rat heart was not stereoselective. Uptake of thiopental by the heart was perfusion flow rate-limited and independent of capillary permeability. These findings suggest that myocardial tissue concentration of racemic thiopental should be an accurate predictor of myocardial drug effect. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Inhibition of hormonal induction of tyrosine aminotransferase by polyamines in freshly isolated rat hepatocytes.

We have analysed the effects of natural aliphatic polyamines on hormonal induction of tyrosine aminotransferase (TAT) in suspensions of hepatocytes isolated from adult fed rats. Glucagon or cyclic AMP derivatives (dibutyryl and 8-bromo) used alone caused a 4-5 fold increase in enzyme activity within 4h. This effect was independent of glucocorticoids, which also increased TAT activity (2.5-fold); when combined, the effects of the two inducers were additive. Spermine and putrescine totally inhibited the hormonally-mediated increase in enzyme activity when added at the onset of incubation with the inducers. Furthermore, polyamines could block the hormonal effect at any time during the course of TAT induction, with, however, a 30 min lag period, suggesting that they must enter the cells. Hepatocytes were indeed shown to take up spermine. At low external concentrations (less than 50 microM), an Na+-dependent, saturable and concentrative mechanism was predominant; at high concentrations (greater than 0.5 mM) transport occurred mainly through a non-saturable, Na+-independent mechanism, building up intracellular concentrations slightly lower than those in the medium. Dose-dependence analysis of the polyamine effect on enzyme induction indicated that half-maximal and maximal inhibition occurred with 0.75 mM- and 2.5 mM-spermine respectively, whereas 2.5mM- and 7.5 mM-putrescine were required respectively to obtain similar effects. Spermidine was much less effective and cadaverine had virtually no effect. None of the polyamines affected the rate of decay of TAT, nor did they directly or indirectly cause enzyme inactivation, indicating that a post-translational modification was unlikely to account for the polyamine effects. Similarly, these effects could not be ascribed to a non-specific inhibition of overall protein synthesis. We conclude that, in hepatocytes, polyamines (or their metabolites) directly interfere with one or several steps controlled by hormones in the synthesis of tyrosine aminotransferase.     

Studies of isoniazid metabolism in isolated rat hepatocytes by mass fragmentography

Isoniazid metabolism in isolated rat hepatocytes was studied by mass fragmentography using single ion monitoring. Isoniazid and its metabolites were determined as the trimethylsilylated derivatives of acetylisoniazid and diacetylhydrazine and of the benzaldehyde hydrazones of isoniazid and acetylhydrazine. Deuterated analogues served as internal standards. Hydrazine was quantitated as benzalazine using ¹⁵N-labeled hydrazine as an internal standard. The method is well suited for the microanalysis of isoniazid metabolites in specificity and reliability to demonstrate the overall pathway of isoniazid metabolism, from which it was clarified that the greater part of hydrazine, a hazardous metabolite of isoniazid, was formed through the direct hydrolysis of isoniazid itself as expected.     

Study of bradykinin metabolism by rat lung tissue membranes and rat kidney brush border membranes by HPLC with inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry and orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

The coupling of the techniques, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight mass spectrometry (OATOF-MS) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) provides a very powerful method for identifying and quantifying the products of bradykinin metabolism. In this study, we were able to identify the major metabolites of bradykinin degradation reported in the literature. In addition, a new bradykinin metabolite corresponding to bradykinin 5,9 fragment (BK-(5,9)-fragment) was identified as a product of neutral endopeptidase (NEP) activity. This finding establishes that NEP cleaves bradykinin simultaneously at the positions 4-5 and 7-8. We also demonstrate the equivalent participation of NEP and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) within the rat lung tissue membranes (RLTM) in bradykinin degradation, suggesting its suitability as a model for the assay of dual ACE/NEP inhibitors. On the contrary, in rat kidney brush border membranes (KBBM), ACE is not significantly involved in bradykinin metabolism, with NEP being the major enzyme.     

Steric analysis of 8-hydroxy- and 10-hydroxyoctadecadienoic acids and dihydroxyoctadecadienoic acids formed from 8R-hydroperoxyoctadecadienoic acid by hydroperoxide isomerases

8-Hydroxyoctadeca-9Z,12Z-dienoic acid (8-HODE) and 10-hydroxyoctadeca-8E,12Z-octadecadienoic acid (10-HODE) are produced by fungi, e.g., 8R-HODE by Gaeumannomyces graminis (take-all of wheat) and Aspergillus nidulans, 10S-HODE by Lentinula edodes, and 10R-HODE by Epichloe typhina. Racemic [8-(2)H]8-HODE and [10-(2)H]10-HODE were prepared by oxidation of 8- and 10-HODE to keto fatty acids by Dess-Martin periodinane followed by reduction to hydroxy fatty acids with NaB(2)H(4). The hydroxy fatty acids were analyzed by chiral phase high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) with 8R-HODE and 10S-HODE as standards. 8R-HODE eluted after 8S-HODE on silica with cellulose tribenzoate (Chiralcel OB-H), and 10S-HODE eluted before 10R-HODE on silica with an aromatic chiral selector (Reprosil Chiral-NR). 5S,8R-Dihydroxyoctadeca-9Z,12Z-dienoic acid (5S,8R-DiHODE) is formed from 18:2n-6 by A. nidulans and 8R,11S-dihydroxyoctadeca-9Z,12Z-dienoic acid (8R,11S-DiHODE) by Agaricus bisporus. 8R-Hydroperoxylinoleic acid (8R-HPODE) can be transformed to 5S,8R-DiHODE and 8R,11-DiHODE by Aspergillus spp., and 8R,13-dihydroxy-9Z,11E-dienoic acid (8R,13-DiHODE) can also be detected. We prepared racemic [5,8-(2)H(2)]5,8- and [8,11-(2)H(2)]8,11-DiHODE by oxidation and reduction as above and 8R,13S- and 8R,13R-DiHODE by oxidation of 8R-HODE by S and R lipoxygenases. The diastereoisomers were separated and identified by normal phase HPLC-MS/MS analysis. We used the methods for steric analysis of fungal oxylipins. Aspergillus spp. produced 8R-HODE (>95% R), 10R-HODE (>70% R), and 5S,8R- and 8R,11S-DiHODE with high stereoselectivity (>95%), whereas 8R,13-DiHODE was likely formed by nonenzymatic hydrolysis of 8R,11S-DiHODE.     

Dihydrozeatin metabolism in radish seedlings

(±)-[8-¹⁴C]Dihydrozeatin was fed to derooted radish seedlings. After three days the plants were harvested and the cytokinin metabolites purified     

An in vitro study of the stereoselective dissolution of (rac)-verapamil from two sustained release formulations

The stereoselectivity of the in vitro dissolution of two commercially available sustained release formulations of rac-verapamil (rac-VER) has been investigated. The studies were carried out using a single-tablet continuous-flow apparatus and the concentrations of R- and S-VER released from the formulations were measured using enantioselective chromatography on a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) chiral stationary phase containing immobilized α₁-acid glycoprotein (Chiral AGP-column). The data from this study demonstrates that the two formulations have different dissolution profiles and that the amount of drug dissolved was highly dependent on pH. In addition, between pH 3 and 8, the total cumulative amount of R-VER released was greater than the amount of S-VER and a statistically significant difference (P < 0.01) was detected at pH 6. The results of this study indicate that bioavailability and bioequivalency studies should consider the possibility of enantioselective dissolution when racemic compounds are present in the formulations. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Uptake, metabolism, and releasability of ethyl analogues of homocholine by rat brain

Abstract: Ethyl analogues of homocholine were synthesized and used to describe further the specificities of the processes involved in choline uptake and acetylation and acetylcholine storage and release. Monoethylhomocholine, diethylhomocholine, and triethylhomocholine decreased the transport of choline into rat brain synaptosomes. The mono- and diethyl compounds were taken up into synaptosomes with similar affinity for the transport system as choline (5.8, 8.5, and 5.5 μ M , respectively) but at a somewhat slower rate (11.3, 8.5, and 37.3 nmol/g original tissue/h, respectively); the triethyl analogue was not transported at the concentrations tested, which further defines the structural specificity of the transport system. l -Carnitine did not affect the transport of the analogues. The in situ acetylation of mono- and diethyl-homocholine by slices of rat cerebral cortex was measurable, but the in vitro acetylation by choline acetyl-transferase solubilized from rat forebrain was not. Acetylation of the diethyl analogue by slices of cerebellar cortex was <20% of that by slices of cerebral cortex. Subcellular fractionation of cerebral slices showed that acetyldiethylhomocholine localized preferentially to the cytosolic rather than vesicular stores, indicating specificity of the mechanism responsible for the incorporation of acetylated product into the vesicles. The release of acetyldiethylhomocholine and of acetylcholine was tested from sliced brain that had been incubated with the precursors. Both esters were released spontaneously but stimulation with increased K⁺ concentration enhanced the release of acetylcholine without changing the release of acetyldiethylhomocholine, suggesting that evoked transmitter release occurred from a vesicular store.