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Chang Z, Qin W, Zheng H, Schegg K, Han L, Liu X, Wang Y, Wang Z, McSwiggin H, Peng H, Yuan S, Wu J, Wang Y, Zhu S, Jiang Y, Nie H, Tang Y, Zhou Y, Hitchcock MJM, Tang Y, Yan W. Triptonide is a reversible non-hormonal male contraceptive agent in mice and non-human primates. Nat Commun 2021; 12:1253. [PMID: 33623031 PMCID: PMC7902613 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21517-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2020] [Accepted: 01/29/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
There are no non-hormonal male contraceptives currently on the market despite decades of efforts toward the development of "male pills". Here, we report that triptonide, a natural compound purified from the Chinese herb Tripterygium Wilfordii Hook F displays reversible male contraceptive effects in both mice and monkeys. Single daily oral doses of triptonide induces deformed sperm with minimal or no forward motility (close to 100% penetrance) and consequently male infertility in 3-4 and 5-6 weeks in mice and cynomolgus monkeys, respectively. Male fertility is regained in ~4-6 weeks after cessation of triptonide intake in both species. Either short- or long-term triptonide treatment causes no discernable systematic toxic side effects based on histological examination of vital organs in mice and hematological and serum biochemical analyses in monkeys. Triptonide appears to target junction plakoglobin and disrupts its interactions with SPEM1 during spermiogenesis. Our data further prove that targeting late spermiogenesis represents an effective strategy for developing non-hormonal male contraceptives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zongliang Chang
- Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine, Reno, NV, USA
| | - Weibing Qin
- NHC Key Laboratory of Male Reproduction and Genetics, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
- Family Planning Research Institute of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Huili Zheng
- Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine, Reno, NV, USA
| | - Kathleen Schegg
- Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine, Reno, NV, USA
| | - Lu Han
- NHC Key Laboratory of Male Reproduction and Genetics, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
- Family Planning Research Institute of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiaohua Liu
- NHC Key Laboratory of Male Reproduction and Genetics, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
- Family Planning Research Institute of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Yue Wang
- Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine, Reno, NV, USA
| | - Zhuqing Wang
- Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine, Reno, NV, USA
| | - Hayden McSwiggin
- Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine, Reno, NV, USA
| | - Hongying Peng
- Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine, Reno, NV, USA
| | - Shuiqiao Yuan
- Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine, Reno, NV, USA
| | - Jiabao Wu
- NHC Key Laboratory of Male Reproduction and Genetics, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
- Family Planning Research Institute of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Yongxia Wang
- NHC Key Laboratory of Male Reproduction and Genetics, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
- Family Planning Research Institute of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Shenghui Zhu
- NHC Key Laboratory of Male Reproduction and Genetics, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
- Family Planning Research Institute of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Yanjia Jiang
- NHC Key Laboratory of Male Reproduction and Genetics, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
- Family Planning Research Institute of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Hua Nie
- NHC Key Laboratory of Male Reproduction and Genetics, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
- Family Planning Research Institute of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Yuan Tang
- NHC Key Laboratory of Male Reproduction and Genetics, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
- Family Planning Research Institute of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Yu Zhou
- NHC Key Laboratory of Male Reproduction and Genetics, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
- Family Planning Research Institute of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Michael J M Hitchcock
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine, Reno, NV, USA
| | - Yunge Tang
- NHC Key Laboratory of Male Reproduction and Genetics, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
- Family Planning Research Institute of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
| | - Wei Yan
- Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine, Reno, NV, USA.
- The Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, CA, USA.
- Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
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Martin JC, Hitchcock MJM, De Clercq E, Prusoff WH. Early nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors for the treatment of HIV: a brief history of stavudine (D4T) and its comparison with other dideoxynucleosides. Antiviral Res 2009; 85:34-8. [PMID: 19854224 DOI: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2009.10.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2009] [Accepted: 10/14/2009] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The occasion of this 25th anniversary issue encouraged us to reminisce about the important history of the discovery of the dideoxynucleoside analogues for the treatment of HIV/AIDS and to chronicle our thoughts about a particular exciting and rewarding period of our scientific careers. Following the identification of the anti-HIV activity of zidovudine (AZT), we participated in the urgent quest to discover optimal treatments of HIV infection and AIDS. A number of previously synthesized nucleoside analogues were comparatively evaluated, and stavudine (D4T) emerged as a promising candidate for development. Following clinical evaluation, D4T became a mainstay of the initial antiretroviral combination therapy, prolonging and saving numerous lives. It has only recently been supplanted by better-tolerated treatments. This article forms part of a special issue of Antiviral Research marking the 25th anniversary of antiretroviral drug discovery and development, vol. 85, issue 1, 2010.
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Affiliation(s)
- John C Martin
- Gilead Sciences, Inc., 333 Lakeside Drive, Foster City, CA 94404, United States.
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Keith KA, Hitchcock MJM, Lee WA, Holý A, Kern ER. Evaluation of nucleoside phosphonates and their analogs and prodrugs for inhibition of orthopoxvirus replication. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2003; 47:2193-8. [PMID: 12821467 PMCID: PMC161877 DOI: 10.1128/aac.47.7.2193-2198.2003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
In the event of a bioterrorism attack using smallpox virus, there currently is no approved drug for the treatment of infections with this virus. We have reported previously that (S)-1-[3-hydroxy-2-(phosphonomethoxy)propyl]cytosine (HPMPC) (also known as cidofovir [CDV]) has good activity against poxvirus infections; however, a major limitation is the requirement for intravenous administration. Two related acyclic nucleoside phosphonates (ANPs), adefovir (PMEA) and tenofovir (PMPA), are active against human immunodeficiency virus or hepatitis B virus but do not have activity against the orthopoxviruses. Therefore, we have evaluated a number of analogs and potential oral prodrugs of these three compounds for their ability to inhibit the replication of vaccinia virus or cowpox virus in tissue culture cells. The most-active compounds within the CDV series were (S)-HPMPA and (butyl L-alaninyl) cyclic HPMPC, with 50% effective concentrations (EC(50)s) from 4 to 8 microM, compared with 33 to 43 microM for CDV. Although PMEA itself was not active, adefovir dipivoxil [bis[(pivaloyl)oxymethyl] PMEA] and bis(butyl L-alaninyl) PMEA were active against both viruses, and bis(butyl L-alaninyl) PME-N6-(cyclopropyl)DAP and (isopropyl L-alaninyl)phenyl PME-N6-(cyclopropyl)DAP were the most active compounds tested, with EC(50)s of 0.1 to 2.6 microM. In the PMPA series, none of the analogs tested had significantly better activity than PMPA itself. These data indicate that a number of these ANP derivatives have activity against vaccinia virus and cowpox virus in vitro and should be evaluated for their efficacies in animal models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathy A Keith
- University of Alabama School of Medicine, Birmingham, Alabama 35233, USA.
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Cihlar T, Birkus G, Greenwalt DE, Hitchcock MJM. Tenofovir exhibits low cytotoxicity in various human cell types: comparison with other nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors. Antiviral Res 2002; 54:37-45. [PMID: 11888656 DOI: 10.1016/s0166-3542(01)00210-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 97] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Clinical studies with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, an oral prodrug of the nucleotide analog tenofovir, recently approved for the treatment of HIV, have demonstrated antiviral activity and good tolerability in HIV-infected patients. In order to better understand the cytotoxicity profile of tenofovir relative to the other nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs), the in vitro effects of these agents were evaluated in various human cell types. Tenofovir inhibited the proliferation of liver-derived HepG2 cells and normal skeletal muscle cells with CC(50) values of 398 and 870 microM, respectively. In comparison, ZDV, ddC, ddI, d4T, and abacavir all showed lower CC(50) values in these two cell types. Evaluation of hematopoietic toxicity revealed that tenofovir was less cytotoxic towards erythroid progenitor cells (CC(50)>200 microM) than ZDV, d4T, and ddC (CC(50)=0.06-5 microM). Despite some degree of donor-to-donor variability, the inhibitory activity of the tested NRTIs against myeloid cell lineage, in the order of decreasing severity, was consistently ddC>ZDV>d4T>tenofovir>3TC. Finally, tenofovir showed substantially weaker effects on proliferation and viability of renal proximal tubule epithelial cells than cidofovir, a related nucleotide analog with the potential to induce renal tubular dysfunction. In conclusion, tenofovir exhibited weak cytotoxic effects in all cell types tested with less in vitro cytotoxicity than the majority of NRTIs currently used for the treatment of HIV disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomas Cihlar
- Gilead Sciences, 333 Lakeside Drive, Foster City, CA 94404, USA.
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Birkus G, Hitchcock MJM, Cihlar T. Assessment of mitochondrial toxicity in human cells treated with tenofovir: comparison with other nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2002; 46:716-23. [PMID: 11850253 PMCID: PMC127499 DOI: 10.1128/aac.46.3.716-723.2002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 357] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Drug-associated dysfunction of mitochondria is believed to play a role in the etiology of the various adverse symptoms that occur in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients treated with the nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs). Tenofovir, a nucleotide analog recently approved for use in the treatment of HIV infection, was evaluated in vitro for its potential to cause mitochondrial toxicity and was compared to currently used NRTIs. Treatment with tenofovir (3 to 300 microM) for up to 3 weeks produced no significant changes in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) levels in human hepatoblastoma (HepG2) cells, skeletal muscle cells (SkMCs), or renal proximal tubule epithelial cells. The potencies of inhibition of mtDNA synthesis by the NRTIs tested were zalcitabine (ddC) > didanosine (ddI) > stavudine > zidovudine (ZDV) > lamivudine = abacavir = tenofovir, with comparable relative effects in the three cell types. Unlike ddC and ddI, tenofovir did not affect cellular expression of COX II and COX IV, two components of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase complex. Lactate production was elevated by less than 20% in HepG2 cells or SkMCs following treatment with 300 microM tenofovir. In contrast, lactate synthesis increased by >200% in the presence of 300 microM ZDV. Thus, treatment of various human cell types with tenofovir at concentrations that greatly exceed those required for it both to have in vitro anti-HIV type 1 activity in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (50% effective concentration, 0.2 microM) and to achieve therapeutically relevant levels in plasma (maximum concentrations in plasma, 0.8 to 1.3 microM) is not associated with mitochondrial toxicity.
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Bronson JJ, Kim CU, Ghazzouli I, Hitchcock MJM, Kern ER, Martin JC. Synthesis and Antiviral Activity of Phosphonylmethoxyethyl Derivatives of Purine and Pyrimidine Bases. ACS Symposium Series 1989. [DOI: 10.1021/bk-1989-0401.ch005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Joanne J. Bronson
- Bristol-Myers Company, Pharmaceutical Research and Development Division, 5 Research Parkway, Wallingford, CT 06492—7660
| | - Choung Un Kim
- Bristol-Myers Company, Pharmaceutical Research and Development Division, 5 Research Parkway, Wallingford, CT 06492—7660
| | - Ismail Ghazzouli
- Bristol-Myers Company, Pharmaceutical Research and Development Division, 5 Research Parkway, Wallingford, CT 06492—7660
| | - Michael J. M. Hitchcock
- Bristol-Myers Company, Pharmaceutical Research and Development Division, 5 Research Parkway, Wallingford, CT 06492—7660
| | | | - John C. Martin
- Bristol-Myers Company, Pharmaceutical Research and Development Division, 5 Research Parkway, Wallingford, CT 06492—7660
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