Efficacy of oral lipid-based formulations of apomorphine and its diester in a Parkinson's disease rat model

Objectives

Apomorphine is used to symptomatically treat Parkinson's disease (PD). Oral delivery of apomorphine is generally limited by its short plasma half-life and a hepatic first-pass metabolism. This study was aimed at evaluating the behavioural response of apomorphine and its prodrug administered in oral lipid-based formulations.

Methods

The behavioural response of apomorphine and its prodrug administered in oral lipid-based formulations was evaluated using a 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rat model simulating PD symptomatology. Apomorphine or dipalmitoyl apomorphine (DPA) was incorporated into different lipid-based formulations and orally administered (0.24 mmol/kg) to the PD rat model. The rotations by the rats were counted.

Key findings

The duration of response lasted to about 2.5 h with oral apomorphine- and DPA-loaded o/w emulsion, while it was increased to 6 h when DPA was incorporated in self-emulsifying drug delivery systems compared to s.c. apomorphine (1 h). This suggests that the lipid-based formulations provide a sustained drug release allowing for a steady exposure to the brain.

Conclusions

Oral lipid-based apomorphine delivery has a potential in achieving a steady response, though at a higher dose possibly eliminating the need for frequent s.c. apomorphine administration.

Medicines for Pediatric Patients-Biopharmaceutical, Developmental, and Regulatory Considerations

This commentary reflects current developments in pediatric medicine. The underpinning legislation in both Europe and the United States has led to the initiation of an increased number of clinical trials in the pediatric population, but there are still a number of outstanding issues within this field. These include the differences in the physiology between adults and the very heterogeneous nature of pediatric patients. There is an ongoing scientific debate on the applicability of a Pediatric Biopharmaceutical Classification System to define when waivers for bioequivalence studies can be supported by in vitro dissolution. However, a challenge is that in vitro models should adequately mimic the physiology of different pediatric age-groups and dose definition is another critical aspect. There is a tendency for off-label use of established adult medicines, resulting in increased adverse events and decreased efficacy in the target population. Recent advances in physiologically based pharmacokinetic modelling may be used to provide valuable input into these discussions, but there are currently still many knowledge gaps. It is encouraging that there is a global recognition of these deficiencies and substantial funding in the field of basic research is being provided, for example, within Europe the Innovative Medicines Initiative consortium.

Transferrin receptor expression and role in transendothelial transport of transferrin in cultured brain endothelial monolayers

Receptor-mediated transcytosis of the transferrin receptor has been suggested as a potential transport system to deliver therapeutic molecules into the brain. Recent studies have however shown that therapeutic antibodies, which have been reported to cross the brain endothelium, reach greater brain exposure when the affinity of the antibodies to the transferrin receptor is lowered. The lower affinity of the antibodies to the transferrin receptor facilitates the dissociation from the receptor within the endosomal compartments, which may indicate that the receptor itself does not necessarily move across the endothelial cells by transcytosis. The aim of the present study was to investigate transferrin receptor expression and role in transendothelial transferrin transport in cultured bovine brain endothelial cell monolayers. Transferrin receptor mRNA and protein levels were investigated in endothelial mono-cultures and co-cultures with astrocytes, as well as in freshly isolated brain capillaries using qPCR, immunocytochemistry and Western blotting. Transendothelial transport and luminal association of holo-transferrin was investigated using [¹²⁵I]holo-transferrin or [⁵⁹Fe]-transferrin. Transferrin receptor mRNA expression in all cell culture configurations was lower than in freshly isolated capillaries, but the expression slightly increased during six days of culture. The mRNA expression levels were similar in mono-cultures and co-cultures. Immunostaining demonstrated comparable transferrin receptor localization patterns in mono-cultures and co-cultures. The endothelial cells demonstrated an up-regulation of transferrin receptor mRNA after treatment with the iron chelator deferoxamine. The association of [¹²⁵I]holo-transferrin and [⁵⁹Fe]-transferrin to the endothelial cells was inhibited by an excess of unlabeled holo-transferrin, indicating receptor mediated association. However, over time the cell associated [⁵⁹Fe]-label exceeded that of [¹²⁵I]holo-transferrin, which could indicate release of iron in the endothelial cells and receptor recycling. Luminal-to-abluminal transport of [¹²⁵I]holo-transferrin across endothelial cell monolayers was low and not inhibited by unlabeled holo-transferrin. This indicated that transendothelial transferrin transport was independent of transferrin receptor-mediated transcytosis.

A Transporter of Ibuprofen is Upregulated in MDCK I Cells under Hyperosmotic Culture Conditions

Ibuprofen is a widely used drug. It has been identified as an inhibitor of several transporters, but it is not clear if ibuprofen is a substrate of any transporter itself. In the present work, we have characterized a transporter of ibuprofen, which is upregulated by hyperosmotic culture conditions in Madin-Darby canine kidney I (MDCK I) renal cells. [(3)H]-Ibuprofen uptake rate was measured in MDCK I cell cultured under normal (300 mOsm) and hyperosmotic (500 mOsm) conditions. Hyperosmotic conditions were obtained by supplementing urea, NaCl, mannitol, or raffinose to culture medium. The effect of increased osmolarity was investigated for different incubation times. [(3)H]-Ibuprofen uptake in MDCK I cells was upregulated by hyperosmotic culture condition, and was saturable with a Km value of 0.37 ± 0.08 μM and a Vmax of 233.1 ± 17.2 pmol· cm(-2)· min(-1). Racemic [(3)H]-ibuprofen uptake could be inhibited by (R)-(-)- and (S)-(+)-ibuprofen with IC50 values of 19 μM (Log IC50 1.39 ± 0.34) and 0.47 μM (Log IC50 -0.36 ± 0.41), respectively. Furthermore, the [(3)H]-ibuprofen uptake rate was increased by decreased extracellular pH but not dependent on Na(+) or Cl(-) ions. The mRNA of Mct1, -2, -4, and -6 as well as Oat1 and -3 were not upregulated by hyperosmolarity. Our findings present strong evidence for the presence of a yet unknown ibuprofen transporter in MDCK I cells. The transporter was upregulated under hyperosmotic culture conditions, and the present study is therefore a starting point for identification of the molecular correlate and potential impact on ibuprofen disposition.

Antibiotic Resistance: The Need For a Global Strategy

The development of antibiotic resistance is a major problem for mankind and results in fatal consequences on a daily basis across the globe. There are a number of reasons for this situation including increasing globalization with worldwide travel, health tourism, over use and ineffective use (both in man and animals), and counterfeiting of the antimicrobial drug products we have available currently. Although there are huge economical, demographic, legal and logistic differences among the global communities, there are also differences regarding the best approach to dealing with antibiotic resistance. However, as resistant bacteria do not respect international borders, there is clearly a need for a global strategy to minimize the spread of antibiotic resistance, to optimize the use of antibiotics, and to facilitate the development of new and effective medications. This commentary provides an insight into the issues and some of the ongoing programs to ensure an effective treatment for the future.

Influence of PVP/VA copolymer composition on drug-polymer solubility

In this study, the influence of copolymer composition on drug-polymer solubility was investigated. The solubility of the model drug celecoxib (CCX) in various polyvinylpyrrolidone/vinyl acetate (PVP/VA) copolymer compositions (70/30, 60/40, 50/50 and 30/70 w/w) and the pure homopolymers polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and polyvinyl acetate (PVA) was predicted at 25 °C using a thermal analysis method based on the recrystallization of a supersaturated amorphous dispersion (recrystallization method). These solubilities were compared with a prediction based on the solubility of CCX in the liquid monomeric precursors of PVP/VA, N-vinylpyrrolidone (NVP) and vinyl acetate (VA), using the Flory-Huggins lattice theory (liquid monomer solubility approach). The solubilities predicted from the liquid monomer solubility approach increased linearly with increasing VP/VA ratio from 0.03-0.60 w/w. Even though the solubilities predicted from the recrystallization method also increased with increasing VP/VA ratio from 0.02-0.40 w/w, the predicted solubility seemed to approach a plateau at high VP/VA ratios. Increasing positive deviations from the Gordon-Taylor equation with increasing VP/VA ratio indicated strong interactions between CCX and the VP repeat unit, which was in accordance with the relatively high solubilities predicted using both methods. As the solubility plateau may be a consequence of steric hindrance caused by the size differences between CCX and the VP repeat units, it is likely that a CCX molecule interacting with a VP repeat unit hinders another CCX molecule from binding to the neighboring repeat units in the polymer chain. Therefore, it is possible that replacing these neighboring hygroscopic VP repeat units with hydrophobic VA repeat units, could increase the physical stability of an amorphous solid dispersion without compromising the drug-polymer solubility. This knowledge could be used advantageously in future development of amorphous drug delivery systems as copolymers could be customized to provide optimal drug-polymer solubility and physical stability.