Radioimmunoassay for a new phenothiazine derivative and its application.

Fluphenazine-4-chlorophenoxy-isobutyrate ester, a new phenothiazine derivative was synthesized in the Institute for Drug Research Budapest. Radioimmunoassay was developed for the therapeutic monitoring of the drug level after intramuscular depot injection. The fluphenazine hapten was coupled to BSA by mixed-anhydride method. Antisera were produced to this conjugation in New-Zealand white rabbits and were tested for the antibody-titer. The specificity was tested by the cross-reaction with phenothiazine-analogues and other psychotropics. Strong cross-reaction was found with compounds possessing piperazine in side chain (trifluoperazine, perphenazine), but other psychotropic drugs did not react. Tritium-labelled trifluoperazine (spec. activity: 3.5 TBq/mmol) was used as a tracer in the radioimmunoassay. The detection limit was 75 pg with a CV of < 5% in 50 microliters plasma sample (equivalent to 1.5 ng/ml concentration) and a standard curve in the 3 ng/ml-50 ng/ml GYKI-22441 concentration range showed a CV of < 10%. Preliminary pharmacokinetic study was performed in Beagle dogs after intramuscular depot injection with GYKI-22441 in sesame oil in a dose of 0.1 mg/kg. The GYKI-22441 concentration of the plasma samples were measured by the RIA method during a 28-day interval after the treatment and was evaluated by the MultiCalc Immunoassay Data Management program (Pharmacia).     

Design and synthesis of peptide inhibitors of blood coagulations

Inhibition of blood coagulation by peptide aldehydes has been studied. Amino acid sequences were assembled from the P1-P2 portion of the cleavage sites(s) of clotting factors and residues selected experimentally. The thrombin-fibrinogen reaction could effectively be inhibited by D-Phe-Pro-Arg-H (GYKI-14,166) and Boc-D-Phe-Pro-Arg-H (GYKI-14,451). Plasmin digestion of fibrin could be retarded by Boc-Gln-Phe-Lys-H (GYKI-14,605) derived from a susceptible fragment, i.e. Asn-Phe-Lys decreases to Ser. However, such peptides could not retard the zymogen activations proceeding in Ca++ complexes (which seemed to be uneffected by heparin-antithrombin III, too). Inhibition of enzymes by peptide aldehydes showed marked substrate dependence.     

Description of the data from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA) and single-nucleotide polymorphism genotyping for Genetic Analysis Workshop 14

The data provided to the Genetic Analysis Workshop 14 (GAW 14) was the result of a collaboration among several different groups, catalyzed by Elizabeth Pugh from The Center for Inherited Disease Research (CIDR) and the organizers of GAW 14, Jean MacCluer and Laura Almasy. The DNA, phenotypic characterization, and microsatellite genomic survey were provided by the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA), a nine-site national collaboration funded by the National Institute of Alcohol and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) with the overarching goal of identifying and characterizing genes that affect the susceptibility to develop alcohol dependence and related phenotypes. CIDR, Affymetrix, and Illumina provided single-nucleotide polymorphism genotyping of a large subset of the COGA subjects. This article briefly describes the dataset that was provided.     

6 Hz角膜点燃癫痫动物模型的研究进展

耐药性癫痫是临床上癫痫防治的重大难题。癫痫动物模型是研究癫痫发病机制及筛选抗癫痫药物和探究药物作用机制的有力工具,6Hz角膜点燃癫痫模型是一种优良的耐药性癫痫动物模型,被美国NIH推荐用于评价新药对抗耐药性癫痫的筛选工具。然而,迄今国内外未见6Hz点燃癫痫动物模型的系统报道,现从该模型的发展历史、制作方法、症状表现、致病机制和应用现状等方面进行综述,以期提供一种探究耐药性癫痫发病机制和筛选耐药性癫痫治疗药物的有力工具和标准模型。     

去泛素化酶与伴侣分子互作的病理生理及研究进展

去泛素化酶(DUBs)通过逆转泛素激活酶(E1)-泛素结合酶(E2)-泛素连接酶(E3)介导的泛素化过程,参与包括DNA复制、DNA损伤修复、炎症、贫血、凋亡、内吞等机体的生理病理过程。USP52,USP25,USP19属DUBs中的泛素特异性水解酶家族(USPs),与不同的伴侣分子相关联,USP52可去泛素化伴侣分子ASF1A,促进组蛋白H3-H4二聚体入核和DNA复制、修复顺利进行,两者高表达可使肿瘤的增殖能力和DNA损伤耐受性增强。USP52(别名PAN2)又可与PAN3形成复合物参与mRNA的代谢。牛痘相关激酶(VRK2)调节USP25的活性,影响后者对伴侣分子TRiC的稳定性,进而影响蛋白错误折叠。USP19(b亚型)和Hsp90,CHIP(E3连接酶)形成复合物调节错误折叠蛋白的命运。本文系统综述了去泛素化酶(DUBs)家族相关成员及其通过与伴侣分子相互作用在肿瘤等疾病的发生发展中所起的作用及其相关研究进展。     

Biochemical genetics of Chinese hamster cell mutants with deviant purine metabolism. VI. Enzymatic studies of two mutants unable to convert inosinic acid to adenylic acid

Ade^–H and ade^–I are two auxotrophic mutants of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO-K1) cells which specifically require adenine as the purine source to grow. The enzymatic defects of these mutants were examined in cell-free extracts. It was found that ade^–H did not have any detectable adenylosuccinate synthetase activity and ade^–I was defective in the adenylosuccinate lyase enzyme. The relevance of adenine-requiring mutants to the study of the regulation of purine metabolism in mammalian cells is discussed.This work was supported by research grants from the National Institute of Aging (AG00029) and the National Foundation, March of Dimes (1-423), and by a contract from the Center for Toxicological Research, Food and Drug Administration (72-213). David Patterson is a recipient of a Research Career Development Award from the National Institute of Arthritis, Metabolic and Digestive Diseases (AM00044).Contribution (No. 218) from the Eleanor Roosevelt Institute for Cancer Research.     

Modified peptides in anti-cancer vaccines: are we eventually improving anti-tumour immunity?

The discovery of tumour antigens recognized by T cells and the features of immune responses directed against them has paved the way to a multitude of clinical studies aimed at boosting anti-tumour T cell immunity as a therapeutic tool for cancer patients. One of the different strategies explored to ameliorate the immunogenicity of tumour antigens in vaccine protocols is represented by the use of optimized peptides or altered peptide ligands, whose amino acid sequence has been modified for improving HLA binding or TCR interaction with respect to native epitopes. However, despite the promising results achieved with preclinical studies, the clinical efficacy of this approach has not yet met the expectations. Although multiple reasons could explain the relative failure of altered peptide ligands as more effective cancer vaccines, the possibility that T cells primed by modified tumour peptides might may be unable to effectively cross-recognize tumour cells has not been sufficiently addressed. Indeed, the introduction of conservative amino acid substitutions may still produce diverse and unpredictable changes in the HLA/peptide interface, with consequent modifications of the TCR repertoire that can interact with the complex. This could lead to the expansion of a broad array of T cells whose TCRs may not necessarily react with equivalent affinity with the original antigenic epitope. Considering the results presently achieved with this vaccine approach, and the emerging availability of alternative strategies for boosting anti-tumour immunity, the use of modified tumour peptides could be reconsidered. This article is a symposium paper from the conference “Immunotherapy—From Basic Research to Clinical Applications”, Symposium of the Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 685, held in Tübingen, Germany, 6–7 March 2008.     

The path to producing pharmaceuticals from natural products uncovered by academia—from the perspective of a science coordinator†

To actualize the invention of all-Japanese medicines, the Department of Innovative Drug Discovery and Development (iD3) in the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) serves as the headquarters for the Drug Discovery Support Network. iD3 assists with creating research strategies for the seeds of medicines discovered by academia and provides technological support, intellectual property management, and aid for applying the seeds through industry-led efforts. In this review, from the perspective of a science coordinator, I will describe the current activities of the drug discovery support network and iD3 as well as the challenges and future developments of pharmaceutical research and development using the natural product drug discovery method.     

Passive transdermal systems whitepaper incorporating current chemistry, manufacturing and controls (CMC) development principles

In this whitepaper, the Manufacturing Technical Committee (MTC) of the Product Quality Research Institute has updated the 1997 Transdermal Drug Delivery Systems Scale-Up and Post Approval Change workshop report findings to add important new product development and control principles. Important topics reviewed include ICH harmonization, quality by design, process analytical technologies, product and process validation, improvements to control of critical excipients, and discussion of Food and Drug Administration's Guidance on Residual Drug in Transdermal and Related Drug Delivery Systems as well as current thinking and trends on in vitro-in vivo correlation considerations for transdermal systems.     

Solid-phase synthesis of cyclic analogues related to the hypoglycaemic peptide hGH(6-13): comparison of two i-->i + 4 lactam cyclization procedures.

The use of 1,3-diisopropylcarbodiimide (DIC) for the synthesis of cyclic analogues of the hypoglycaemic peptide fragment derived from the N-terminus of human growth hormone (hGH), namely hGH[6-13], is described. Different strategies were examined to achieve improved yields for the on resin side-chain to side-chain cyclization of the corresponding linear peptides containing reverse beta-turn motifs. When compared with the more reactive Castro's reagent, the results confirm that DIC in the presence of HOBt can be successfully employed to minimize the formation of intermolecular oligomeric byproducts associated with the preparation of cyclic hGH[6-14] peptide analogues based on an i-->(i + 4)Lys-->Glu or Glu-->Lys cyclization strategy.     

Conformational analysis of a potent SSTR3-selective somatostatin analogue by NMR in water solution.

The three-dimensional structure of a potent SSTR3-selective analogue of somatostatin, cyclo(3-14)H-Cys(3)-Phe(6)-Tyr(7)-D-Agl(8)(N(beta) Me, 2-naphthoyl)-Lys(9)-Thr(10)-Phe(11)-Cys(14)-OH (des-AA(1, 2, 4, 5, 12, 13)[Tyr(7), D-Agl(8)(N(beta) Me, 2-naphthoyl)]-SRIF) (peptide 1) has been determined by (1)H NMR in water and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The peptide exists in two conformational isomers differing mainly by the cis/trans isomerization of the side chain in residue 8. The structure of 1 is compared with the consensus structural motifs of other somatostatin analogues that bind predominantly to SSTR1, SSTR2/SSTR5 and SSTR4 receptors, and to the 3D structure of a non-selective SRIF analogue, cyclo(3-14)H-Cys(3)-Phe(6)-Tyr(7)-D-2Nal(8)-Lys(9)-Thr(10)-Phe(11)-Cys(14)-OH (des-AA(1, 2, 4, 5, 12, 13)[Tyr(7), D-2Nal(8)]-SRIF) (peptide 2). The structural determinant factors that could explain selectivity of peptide 1 for SSTR3 receptors are discussed.     

Molecular Docking Analysis of 120 Potential HPV Therapeutic Epitopes Using a New Analytical Method

International Journal of Peptide Research and Therapeutics - The accurate modelling and scoring of protein–peptide (Pr–Pe) complexes are determining factors in the drug discovery...     

Overview of the Consortium of Hospitals Advancing Research on Tobacco (CHART)

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The Consortium of Hospitals Advancing Research on Tobacco (CHART) is a network of six projects and a research coordinating unit funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Behavioral and Social Science Research. The CHART projects will assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of smoking cessation interventions initiated during hospitalization and continued post-discharge. Methods/design Along with a seventh project funded previously under the NIH Challenge grants, the CHART projects will assess smoking cessation strategies delivered to approximately 10,000 hospitalized smokers across a geographically diverse group of nearly 20 private, public, academic, and community hospitals. The CHART research coordinating unit at Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research provides organizational and data coordination support, facilitating the development of common measures for combining data from multiple CHART projects. DISCUSSION: The targeted enrollment in CHART, if achieved, will represent the largest, most diverse pooled dataset of hospitalized smokers receiving smoking cessation assistance, and is designed to contribute to the dissemination and implementation of smoking cessation interventions provided by hospital systems.     

A Review on the Metabolism of 25 Peptide Drugs

International Journal of Peptide Research and Therapeutics - Although peptide drugs make up only about 2% of all drugs approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), they play...     

A question of rhythm: recent advances in growth hormone research.

Research by Dr. Gloria Shaffer Tannenbaum at the McGill University-Montreal Children''s Hospital Research Institute has led to the development of a new test to differentiate children who are deficient in growth hormone from those who are short but growing normally. This clinical application is the fruit of Tannenbaum''s discovery that growth hormone secretion occurs in a rhythmic pattern regulated by intricate interactions between two neurohormones: growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) and somatotropin release-inhibiting factor (SRIF). In the test an analogue of SRIF is used to allow stores of growth hormone to build up. A subsequent challenge with GHRH is then used to identify children with a genuine deficiency. Tannenbaum''s research also indicates that there are sexual differences in the pattern of growth hormone release and that growth hormone regulates its own secretion by means of a negative feedback system.     

Molecular cloning and characterization of CD14 gene in goat

The present study was carried out in the Animal Genetics Division, Indian Veterinary Research Institute. The cDNA for CD14 gene of goat was amplified for the first time using PCR with ATGGTCTGCGTGCCCTACCTG as forward primer and GGAGCCCGAGGCTTCGCGTAA as reverse primer. The PCR product of 1122 bp was eluted, purified, cloned and sequenced by automated sequencer (ABI prism) using dideoxy chain termination method. CD14 cDNA (Gene bank Accession no. DQ457090) revealed 1122 bp nucleotide with ATG as start codon followed by an open reading frame of 1116 nucleotides and TAA as stop codon. GC content of caprine CD14 gene was found to be as high as 62.21%. The predicted peptide sequence revealed 373 amino acids precursor corresponding to coding sequence of CD14 gene and a 20 amino acid signal peptide. Caprine CD14 peptide is of higher Mol wt. than buffalo, but lesser than cattle. Caprine CD14 cDNA gene is 92.0, 92.5, 75.7, 76.1, 69.2 and 61.7% identical to buffalo, cattle, human, dog, mouse and rat cDNA.     

光学相干层析术高分辨率活体成像泼尼松龙诱导的骨质疏松斑马鱼模型

本研究利用光学相干层析术OCT对泼尼松龙诱导的斑马鱼骨质疏松模型进行活体成像,并结合电镜能谱技术定量分析斑马鱼模型骨质的钙磷元素含量及分布情况,共同探讨OCT方法在基于斑马鱼模型开展的骨质疏松研究中的使用价值。选取40条3月龄野生型斑马鱼暴露于50μmol/L泼尼松龙溶液和含0. 5%DMSO的溶液中(对照组),28. 5℃下培养,分别于第5、10、20天取出浸药组和对照组进行OCT活体成像,比较两者光散射特征。在每个时间点的成像之后,将浸药组的5条斑马鱼处死,然后取颅骨进行元素含量电镜扫描能谱分析。本研究利用50μmol/L泼尼松龙溶液培养斑马鱼至第20天,成功构建了斑马鱼骨质疏松模型。与对照组相比,模型组活体OCT成像显示骨组织光散射减弱,光子量明显减少,呈不均匀分布。能谱元素检查结果说明颅骨内所含钙、磷比例明显下降,证实骨质疏松发生,骨量减少。OCT成像方法在对斑马鱼骨质疏松模型进行活体、实时、无创等研究方面具有重要价值,本试验也为骨质疏松疾病的研究和药物筛选等方面提供了新的有效的方法。     

Evolutionary combinatorial chemistry, a novel tool for SAR studies on peptide transport across the blood-brain barrier. Part 2. Design, synthesis and evaluation of a first generation of peptides.

The use of high-throughput methods in drug discovery allows the generation and testing of a large number of compounds, but at the price of providing redundant information. Evolutionary combinatorial chemistry combines the selection and synthesis of biologically active compounds with artificial intelligence optimization methods, such as genetic algorithms (GA). Drug candidates for the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) disorders must overcome the blood-brain barrier (BBB). This paper reports a new genetic algorithm that searches for the optimal physicochemical properties for peptide transport across the blood-brain barrier. A first generation of peptides has been generated and synthesized. Due to the high content of N-methyl amino acids present in most of these peptides, their syntheses were especially challenging due to over-incorporations, deletions and DKP formations. Distinct fragmentation patterns during peptide cleavage have been identified. The first generation of peptides has been studied by evaluation techniques such as immobilized artificial membrane chromatography (IAMC), a cell-based assay, log Poctanol/water calculations, etc. Finally, a second generation has been proposed.     

Scripps Florida

A new division of The Scripps Research Institute that is dedicated to biomedical research and drug discovery is taking shape on the shores of southern Florida.     

Biophysical studies and anti-growth activities of a peptide, a certain analog and a fragment peptide derived from alpha-fetoprotein.

A chemically synthesized 34-amino acid peptide, an analog, and a fragment of the peptide have been purified and studied. Biophysical studies were carried out to determine some of the metal ion binding properties of the original peptide and an analog of this parent peptide, in which the two histidine residues were replaced by alanines. As shown by visible absorption spectroscopy, Co (II) forms a complex with the parent peptide, but not with the analog peptide, and one or two histidines in the parent peptide are ligands for Co (II) ion binding. The effects on disulfide bond formation in the peptide by Zn (II) and Co (II) ions were also examined for this analog. Anti-growth assays were performed using the original cysteine-containing peptide with Zn (II) ion complexed to the peptide through the two cysteine residues. These rat uterine growth assays showed that the complexing of Zn (II) ion to the peptide maintained the anti-growth activity of the peptide, while gel-filtration experiments showed the zinc ions maintained the peptide in its anti-growth form indefinitely in solution. A saliently important part of this research was the discovery that a fragment of the peptide consisting of a middle sequence of 14 amino acids was found to have significant anti-growth activity in the rat uterine assay. Its activity suggested that this fragment might be considered a viable candidate for testing in anti-cancer protocols.