Increase in incorporation into lymphocytes in vitro of esterified anti-inflammatory corticosteroids

Novel fluorinated antiinflammatory steroid with reduced side effects: methyl 9 alpha-fluoroprednisolone-16-carboxylate

In an effort to test the hypothesis that 9 alpha-fluorination of a steroidal antedrug would enhance receptor binding affinity and local antiinflammatory activity, without concomitantly increasing adverse systemic effects, a fluorinated analog, 10, of methyl 11 beta, 21-dihydroxy- 3,20-dioxo-1,4-pregnadiene-16 alpha-carboxylate (DP16CM, 1) was synthesized and evaluated. In the acute rat croton oil-induced ear edema bioassay, 10 was found to be twice as potent as 1. This increase in topical potency was consistent with enhanced binding affinity of 10, relative to 1. The IC50 values for displacement of [3H]dexamethasone from glucocorticoid receptors of rat hepatoma tissue culture cells were 0.16, 1.2, and 0.03 microM for 10, 1, and prednisolone, respectively. Following multiple topical ID50 applications of predniosolone, 1, and its new fluorinated analog, 10, in the rat subacute croton oil-induced ear edema bioassay, only prednisolone exhibited significant untoward effects, such as reduction in relative thymus and adrenal weights, plasma corticosterone levels, and normal body weight gain. Thus, while fluroination of 1 enhanced its topical potency, there was not a concomitant increase in untoward systemic effects. This lack of adverse systemic effects is ostensibly due to the presence of the metabolically labile 16-carboxylate ester moiety.

New potent topical anti-inflammatory steroids with reduced side effects: derivatives of steroid-16-carboxy esters

Therapeutic use of anti-inflammatory steroids is limited due to their potential suppressive effects on pituitary-adrenal function and the immune system. Based on the antedrug concept, a new class of potent locally active compounds with reduced risk of side effects has been synthesized from prednisolone by introducing a metabolically labile methoxycarbonyl substituent at C-16. Results of topical application of the lead compound, methyl 11 beta,17 alpha,21-trihydroxy-3,20-dioxo-pregna-1,4-diene-16 alpha-carboxylate (P16CM;1), showed that it was 14 times more potent than prednisolone and that it had a greatly reduced tendency to cause systemic side effects. In the present investigations, we have demonstrated that chemical modifications such as 17- and/or 21-esterifications and 17,21-acetonidation of 1 further enhance topical activity in the croton oil ear edema model in rats. Following multiple topical ID50 applications of 1 or its derivatives, no thymolysis was noted. In the carrageenan-soaked sponge model of acute inflammation, all derivatives were potent inhibitors of leukocyte migration, generation of PGE2, and release of elastase. Taken together, these results indicate that esterification or acetonidation of hydroxyl groups at the 17 and/or 21 position, in combination with a labile C-16 methoxycarbonyl group, increases topical activity without concomitantly increasing the risk of side effects.

Synthesis and pharmacological evaluation of conjugates of prednisolone and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents

Esters of prednisolone with ibuprofen and indomethacin were prepared by coupling the 21-hydroxy moiety of the glucocorticoid to the carboxylic group of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents. The local and systemic anti-inflammatory activities of the conjugates were evaluated using the cotton pellet granuloma bioassay and their topical activity evaluated by the croton oil-induced ear edema assay, in male Sprague-Dawley rats. The results indicate that these conjugates possess greater local and topical anti-inflammatory activity than prednisolone. In the subacute ear edema bioassay, the conjugates displayed no discernible untoward systemic effects, unlike prednisolone and prednisolone acetate, which elicited significant adverse systemic effects, at equipotent doses. These findings suggest that the chemical coupling of prednisolone and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents produced compounds with enhanced anti-inflammatory potencies and reduced systemic toxicities, particularly when administered topically.