Characteristic subcellular distribution, in brain, heart and lung, of biperiden, trihexyphenidyl, and (-)-quinuclidinyl benzylate in rats

(R,S)-trihexyphenidyl, acting via a muscarinic receptor-independent mechanism, inhibits hippocampal glutamatergic and GABAergic synaptic transmissions: Potential relevance for treatment of organophosphorus intoxication

Preclinical studies have reported that, compared to the muscarinic receptor (mAChR) antagonist atropine, (R,S)-trihexyphenidyl (THP) more effectively counters the cholinergic crisis, seizures, and neuropathology triggered by organophosphorus (OP)-induced acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition. The greater effectiveness of THP was attributed to its ability to block mAChRs and N-methyl-d-aspartate-type glutamatergic receptors (NMDARs) in the brain. However, THP also inhibits α7 nicotinic receptors (nAChRs). The present study examined whether THP-induced inhibition of mAChRs, α7 nAChRs, and NMDARs is required to suppress glutamatergic synaptic transmission, whose overstimulation sustains OP-induced seizures. In primary hippocampal cultures, THP (1-30 μM) suppressed the frequency of excitatory and inhibitory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs and IPSCs, respectively) recorded from neurons in nominally Mg2+-free solution. A single sigmoidal function adequately fit the overlapping concentration-response relationships for THP-induced suppression of IPSC and EPSC frequencies yielding an IC50 of 6.3 ± 1.3 μM. Atropine (1 μM), the NMDAR antagonist d,l-2-amino-5-phosphonopentanoic acid (D,L-AP5, 50 μM), and the α7 nAChR antagonist methyllycaconitine (MLA, 10 nM) did not prevent THP-induced inhibition of synaptic transmission. THP (10 μM) did not affect the probability of transmitter release because it had no effect on the frequency of miniature IPSCs and EPSCs recorded in the presence of tetrodotoxin. Additionally, THP had no effect on the amplitudes and decay-time constants of miniature IPSCs and EPSCs; therefore, it did not affect the activity of postsynaptic GABAA and glutamate receptors. This study provides the first demonstration that THP can suppress action potential-dependent synaptic transmission via a mechanism independent of NMDAR, mAChR, and α7 nAChR inhibition.

Gestational exposures to organophosphorus insecticides: From acute poisoning to developmental neurotoxicity

For over three-quarters of a century, organophosphorus (OP) insecticides have been ubiquitously used in agricultural, residential, and commercial settings and in public health programs to mitigate insect-borne diseases. Their broad-spectrum insecticidal effectiveness is accounted for by the irreversible inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), the enzyme that catalyzes acetylcholine (ACh) hydrolysis, in the nervous system of insects. However, because AChE is evolutionarily conserved, OP insecticides are also toxic to mammals, including humans, and acute OP intoxication remains a major public health concern in countries where OP insecticide usage is poorly regulated. Environmental exposures to OP levels that are generally too low to cause marked inhibition of AChE and to trigger acute signs of intoxication, on the other hand, represent an insidious public health issue worldwide. Gestational exposures to OP insecticides are particularly concerning because of the exquisite sensitivity of the developing brain to these insecticides. The present article overviews and discusses: (i) the health effects and therapeutic management of acute OP poisoning during pregnancy, (ii) epidemiological studies examining associations between environmental OP exposures during gestation and health outcomes of offspring, (iii) preclinical evidence that OP insecticides are developmental neurotoxicants, and (iv) potential mechanisms underlying the developmental neurotoxicity of OP insecticides. Understanding how gestational exposures to different levels of OP insecticides affect pregnancy and childhood development is critical to guiding implementation of preventive measures and direct research aimed at identifying effective therapeutic interventions that can limit the negative impact of these exposures on public health.

Computational approaches to analyse and predict small molecule transport and distribution at cellular and subcellular levels

Quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) studies and mechanistic mathematical modeling approaches have been independently employed for analysing and predicting the transport and distribution of small molecule chemical agents in living organisms. Both of these computational approaches have been useful for interpreting experiments measuring the transport properties of small molecule chemical agents, in vitro and in vivo. Nevertheless, mechanistic cell-based pharmacokinetic models have been especially useful to guide the design of experiments probing the molecular pathways underlying small molecule transport phenomena. Unlike QSAR models, mechanistic models can be integrated from microscopic to macroscopic levels, to analyse the spatiotemporal dynamics of small molecule chemical agents from intracellular organelles to whole organs, well beyond the experiments and training data sets upon which the models are based. Based on differential equations, mechanistic models can also be integrated with other differential equations-based systems biology models of biochemical networks or signaling pathways. Although the origin and evolution of mathematical modeling approaches aimed at predicting drug transport and distribution has occurred independently from systems biology, we propose that the incorporation of mechanistic cell-based computational models of drug transport and distribution into a systems biology modeling framework is a logical next step for the advancement of systems pharmacology research.

Relationship between exposure and nonspecific binding of thirty-three central nervous system drugs in mice

Unbound fractions in mouse brain and plasma were determined for 31 structurally diverse central nervous system (CNS) drugs and two active metabolites. Three comparisons were made between in vitro binding and in vivo exposure data, namely: 1) mouse brain-to-plasma exposure versus unbound plasma-to-unbound brain fraction ratio (fu(plasma)/fu(brain)), 2) cerebrospinal fluid-to-brain exposure versus unbound brain fraction (fu(brain)), and 3) cerebrospinal fluid-to-plasma exposure versus unbound plasma fraction (fu(plasma)). Unbound fraction data were within 3-fold of in vivo exposure ratios for the majority of the drugs examined (i.e., 22 of 33), indicating a predominately free equilibrium across the blood-brain and blood-CSF barriers. Some degree of distributional impairment at either the blood-CSF or the blood-brain barrier was indicated for 8 of the 11 remaining drugs (i.e., carbamazepine, midazolam, phenytoin, sulpiride, thiopental, risperidone, 9-hydroxyrisperidone, and zolpidem). In several cases, the indicated distributional impairment is consistent with other independent literature reports for these drugs. Through the use of this approach, it appears that most CNS-active agents freely equilibrate across the blood-brain and blood-CSF barriers such that unbound drug concentrations in brain approximate those in the plasma. However, these results also support the intuitive concept that distributional impairment does not necessarily preclude CNS activity.

Mechanism for the tissue distribution of grepafloxacin, a fluoroquinolone antibiotic, in rats

This study was carried out to investigate the most important factor(s) governing the tissue distribution of grepafloxacin (GPFX), a fluoroquinolone antibiotic, in rats. The tissue-to-blood concentration ratio (K(p)) of GPFX at steady state during constant infusion was highest in the lung, followed by the pancreas, kidney, and spleen. After bolus injection, GPFX was efficiently taken up by most of the organs examined, the uptake clearance other than the lung being almost blood flow-limited. Approximately 10% of the intravenously injected dose was rapidly trapped by the lung, but GPFX distribution rapidly decreased within 30 s due to the washout by the plasma flow. Thus, the higher distribution of GPFX to the lung compared with the other organs cannot be accounted for by a difference in its uptake or efflux. Subcellular fractionation after the infusion indicated that GPFX is primarily distributed to the organelle fractions in most organs, 60% of lung-associated GPFX being recovered in the nucleus and plasma membrane fraction. Such subcellular distribution in the lung was proportional to the phosphatidylserine (PhS) content of each fraction. The steady-state K(p) value in each tissue in vivo also correlated with the tissue content of PhS. GPFX preferentially binds to PhS, compared with other phospholipids, and this binding was inhibited by weakly basic drugs, such as quinidine, imipramine, and propranolol, that have also been reported to bind to PhS. The association of GPFX with PhS synthase transformants of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO-K1) cells depends on the PhS content of each cell line, this association being also inhibited by basic drugs. These results suggest that binding of GPFX to PhS is the major determinant of the high distribution of GPFX to the lung.

[Studies on the mechanism of subcellular distribution of basic drugs based on their lipophilicity]

This paper described the studies on the mechanism of subcellular distribution of lipophilic weak bases. Although the tissue distribution of basic drugs appeared to decrease with time simply in parallel with their plasma concentration, their subcellular distribution in various tissues exhibited a variety of patterns. Basic drugs were distributed widely in various tissues, but were concentrated in lung granule fraction, where their accumulation was dependent on their lipophilicity and lysosomal uptake. As the plasma concentration of drugs decreased after maximum level, the contribution of lysosomes to their subcellular distribution increased. The uptake of the basic drugs into lysosomes depended both on their intralysosomal pH and on the drug lipophilicity. As the lipophilicity of the basic drugs increased, they accumulated more than the values predicted from the pH-partition theory and raised the intralysosomal pH more potently, probably owing to their binding with lysosomal membranes with or without additional intralysosomal aggregation. These phenomena should be considered as a basis of drug interaction in clinical treatments.

Influence of ammonium chloride on the tissue distribution of anticholinergic drugs in rats

Ammonium chloride (NH4Cl) increases lysosomal pH and thereby abolishes intralysosomal accumulation of drugs. Its effect on the tissue distribution of biperiden and trihexyphenidyl in rats has been investigated. The tissue-plasma concentration ratios (Kp) of these drugs in various tissues were determined by infusion studies at steady-state in the presence or absence of NH4Cl. Treatment with NH4Cl reduced the Kp values for both drugs, causing the largest reduction in Kp in the lung (52.1 to 11.8 for biperiden and 59.5 to 18.9 for trihexyphenidyl; ratios of decrease 0.77 and 0.68, respectively), followed by the heart and kidneys, with relatively small reductions in the brain, gut, muscle and fat. Subcellular fractionation studies in the lung indicated that the subcellular fraction-plasma concentration ratio of each drug at the steady state (K(p,sf)) was reduced by treatment with NH4Cl, with the largest decrease in the post-nuclear fraction (ratio of decrease 0.82 for biperiden and 0.74 for trihexyphenidyl), followed by the nucleus, microsomes and supernatant, in that order. A strong correlation was found between the ratio of decrease in K(p,sf) after NH4Cl treatment and the specific activity of acid phosphatases, a marker of lysosomes, in each fraction (biperiden, r = 0.948; trihexyphenidyl, r = 0.945). These results suggest that acidic organelles contribute significantly to the distribution kinetics of anticholinergic drugs.