[¹¹C]befloxatone brain kinetics is not influenced by Bcrp function at the blood-brain barrier: a PET study using Bcrp TGEM knockout rats

ABC Transporters at the Blood-Brain Interfaces, Their Study Models, and Drug Delivery Implications in Gliomas

Drug delivery into the brain is regulated by the blood-brain interfaces. The blood-brain barrier (BBB), the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier (BCSFB), and the blood-arachnoid barrier (BAB) regulate the exchange of substances between the blood and brain parenchyma. These selective barriers present a high impermeability to most substances, with the selective transport of nutrients and transporters preventing the entry and accumulation of possibly toxic molecules, comprising many therapeutic drugs. Transporters of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) superfamily have an important role in drug delivery, because they extrude a broad molecular diversity of xenobiotics, including several anticancer drugs, preventing their entry into the brain. Gliomas are the most common primary tumors diagnosed in adults, which are often characterized by a poor prognosis, notably in the case of high-grade gliomas. Therapeutic treatments frequently fail due to the difficulty of delivering drugs through the brain barriers, adding to diverse mechanisms developed by the cancer, including the overexpression or expression de novo of ABC transporters in tumoral cells and/or in the endothelial cells forming the blood-brain tumor barrier (BBTB). Many models have been developed to study the phenotype, molecular characteristics, and function of the blood-brain interfaces as well as to evaluate drug permeability into the brain. These include in vitro, in vivo, and in silico models, which together can help us to better understand their implication in drug resistance and to develop new therapeutics or delivery strategies to improve the treatment of pathologies of the central nervous system (CNS). In this review, we present the principal characteristics of the blood-brain interfaces; then, we focus on the ABC transporters present on them and their implication in drug delivery; next, we present some of the most important models used for the study of drug transport; finally, we summarize the implication of ABC transporters in glioma and the BBTB in drug resistance and the strategies to improve the delivery of CNS anticancer drugs.

Imaging techniques to study drug transporter function in vivo

Transporter systems involved in the permeation of drugs and solutes across biological membranes are recognized as key determinants of pharmacokinetics. Typically, the action of membrane transporters on drug exposure to tissues in living organisms is inferred from invasive procedures, which cannot be applied in humans. In recent years, imaging methods have greatly progressed in terms of instruments, synthesis of novel imaging probes as well as tools for data analysis. Imaging allows pharmacokinetic parameters in different tissues and organs to be obtained in a non-invasive or minimally invasive way. The aim of this overview is to summarize the current status in the field of molecular imaging of drug transporters. The overview is focused on human studies, both for the characterization of transport systems for imaging agents as well as for the determination of drug pharmacokinetics, and makes reference to animal studies where necessary. We conclude that despite certain methodological limitations, imaging has a great potential to study transporters at work in humans and that imaging will become an important tool, not only in drug development but also in medicine. Imaging allows the mechanistic aspects of transport proteins to be studied, as well as elucidating the influence of genetic background, pathophysiological states and drug-drug interactions on the function of transporters involved in the disposition of drugs.

Influence of breast cancer resistance protein and P-glycoprotein on tissue distribution and excretion of Ko143 assessed with PET imaging in mice

Ko143 is a reference inhibitor of the adenosine triphosphate-binding cassette (ABC) transporter breast cancer resistance protein (humans: ABCG2, rodents: Abcg2) for in vitro and in vivo use. Previous in vitro data indicate that Ko143 binds specifically to ABCG2/Abcg2, suggesting a potential utility of Ko143 as a positron emission tomography (PET) tracer to assess the density (abundance) of ABCG2 in different tissues. In this work we radiolabeled Ko143 with carbon-11 (11C) and performed small-animal PET experiments with [11C]Ko143 in wild-type, Abcg2(-/-), Abcb1a/b(-/-) and Abcb1a/b(-/-)Abcg2(-/-) mice to assess the influence of Abcg2 and Abcb1a/b on tissue distribution and excretion of [11C]Ko143. [11C]Ko143 was extensively metabolized in vivo and unidentified radiolabeled metabolites were found in all investigated tissues. We detected no significant differences between wild-type and Abcg2(-/-) mice in the distribution of [11C]Ko143-derived radioactivity to Abcg2-expressing organs (brain, liver and kidney). [11C]Ko143 and possibly its radiolabeled metabolites were transported by Abcb1a and not by Abcg2 at the mouse blood-brain barrier. [11C]Ko143-derived radioactivity underwent both hepatobiliary and urinary excretion, with Abcg2 playing a possible role in mediating the transport of radiolabeled metabolites of [11C]Ko143 from the kidney into urine. Experiments in which a pharmacologic dose of unlabeled Ko143 (10 mg/kg) was co-administered with [11C]Ko143 revealed pronounced effects of the vehicle used for Ko143 formulation (containing polyethylene glycol 300 and polysorbate 80) on radioactivity distribution to the brain and the liver, as well as on hepatobiliary and urinary excretion of radioactivity. Our results highlight the challenges associated with the development of PET tracers for ABC transporters and emphasize that inhibitory effects of pharmaceutical excipients on membrane transporters need to be considered when performing in vivo drug-drug interaction studies. Finally, our study illustrates the power of small-animal PET to assess the interaction of drug molecules with membrane transporters on a whole body level.

Considerations in the Development of Reversibly Binding PET Radioligands for Brain Imaging

The development of reversibly binding radioligands for imaging brain proteins in vivo, such as enzymes, neurotransmitter transporters, receptors and ion channels, with positron emission tomography (PET) is keenly sought for biomedical studies of neuropsychiatric disorders and for drug discovery and development, but is recognized as being highly challenging at the medicinal chemistry level. This article aims to compile and discuss the main considerations to be taken into account by chemists embarking on programs of radioligand development for PET imaging of brain protein targets.

A Direct, Concise, and Enantioselective Synthesis of 2-Substituted 4,4,4-Trifluorobutane-1,3-diols Based on the Organocatalytic In Situ Generation of Unstable Trifluoroacetaldehyde

A direct, concise, and enantioselective synthesis of 2-substituted 4,4,4-trifluorobutane-1,3-diols based on the organocatalytic asymmetric direct aldol reaction of an ethyl hemiacetal of trifluoroacetaldehyde with various aldehydes was examined. A catalytic amount (30 mol %) of commercially available and inexpensive l-prolinamide is quite effective as an organocatalyst for the catalytic in situ generation of gaseous and unstable trifluoroacetaldehyde from its hemiacetal, and a successive asymmetric direct aldol reaction with various aldehydes in dichloromethane at 0 °C, followed by reduction with sodium borohydride, gives 2-substituted 4,4,4-trifluorobutane-1,3-diols in moderate to good yields (31-84%) with low diastereoselectivities and good to excellent enantioselectivities (64-97% ee).

Influence of P-Glycoprotein Inhibition or Deficiency at the Blood-Brain Barrier on (18)F-2-Fluoro-2-Deoxy-D-glucose ( (18)F-FDG) Brain Kinetics

The fluorinated D-glucose analog (18)F-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose ((18)F-FDG) is the most prevalent radiopharmaceutical for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. P-Glycoprotein's (P-gp, MDR1, and ABCB1) function in various cancer cell lines and tumors was shown to impact (18)F-FDG incorporation, suggesting that P-gp function at the blood-brain barrier may also modulate (18)F-FDG brain kinetics. We tested the influence of P-gp inhibition using the cyclosporine analog valspodar (PSC833; 5 μM) on the uptake of (18)F-FDG in standardized human P-gp-overexpressing cells (MDCKII-MDR1). Consequences for (18)F-FDG brain kinetics were then assessed using (i) (18)F-FDG PET imaging and suitable kinetic modelling in baboons without or with P-gp inhibition by intravenous cyclosporine infusion (15 mg kg(-1) h(-1)) and (ii) in situ brain perfusion in wild-type and P-gp/Bcrp (breast cancer resistance protein) knockout mice and controlled D-glucose exposure to the brain. In vitro, the time course of (18)F-FDG uptake in MDR1 cells was influenced by the presence of valspodar in the absence of D-glucose but not in the presence of high D-glucose concentration. PET analysis revealed that P-gp inhibition had no significant impact on estimated brain kinetics parameters K 1, k 2, k 3, V T , and CMRGlc. The lack of P-gp effect on in vivo (18)F-FDG brain distribution was confirmed in P-gp/Bcrp-deficient mice. P-gp inhibition indirectly modulates (18)F-FDG uptake into P-gp-overexpressing cells, possibly through differences in the energetic cell level state. (18)F-FDG is not a P-gp substrate at the BBB and (18)F-FDG brain kinetics as well as estimated brain glucose metabolism are influenced by neither P-gp inhibition nor P-gp/Bcrp deficiencies in baboon and mice, respectively.

Monoamine oxidase A and B substrates: probing the pathway for drug development

Drug-discovery and -development efforts focused on the MAOs have increased at an accelerated rate over the past decade. Since the first crystal structure of human MAO-B was solved in 2002, over 40 additional structures have been reported and have helped define new, or confirm speculative, binding modes of inhibitors. The detailed mechanism of the MAO-catalyzed oxidation of amine substrates has not been fully elucidated, but its significance is central in the development of new mechanism-based inactivators. Novel fungal MAO-N variants derived from directed evolution strategies are enabling the production of new chiral amine products. Robust assays have been established for measuring MAO status in tissue and cells, while improved MAO radioligands are being deployed for PET imaging studies. This review will attempt to highlight the more recent and salient aspects of MAO research in drug discovery and development, with emphasis on substrates 'probing the pathway'.