Metabolism of 4F-MDMB-BICA in zebrafish by liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry

Alisol A, the Eye-Entering Ingredient of Alisma orientale, Relieves Macular Edema Through TNF-α as Revealed by UPLC-Triple-TOF/MS, Network Pharmacology, and Zebrafish Verification

Purpose

Alisma orientale (AO, Alisma orientale (Sam). Juzep) has been widely employed for the treatment of macular edema (ME) in traditional Chinese medicine due to its renowned water-relief properties. Nonetheless, the comprehensive investigation of AO in alleviating ME remained unexplored. This study aims to identify the active components of AO that target the eye and investigate its pharmacological effects and mechanisms on ME.

Methods

The study commenced with UPLC-Triple-TOF/MS analysis to identify the primary constituents of AO. Zebrafish eye tissues were then analyzed after a five-day administration of AO to detect absorbed components and metabolites. Subsequently, network pharmacology, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics simulations were employed to predict the mechanisms of ME treatment via biological target pathways. In vivo experiments were conducted to corroborate the pharmacological actions and mechanisms.

Results

A total of 7 compounds, consisting of 2 prototype ingredients and 5 metabolites (including isomers), were found to traverse the blood-eye barrier and localized within eye tissues. Network pharmacology results showed that AO played a role in the treatment of ME mainly by regulating the pathway network of PI3K-AKT and MAPK with TNF-α centered. Computational analyses suggested that 11-dehydro-16-oxo-24-deoxy-alisol A, a metabolite of alisol A, mitigates edema through TNF-α inhibition. Furthermore, zebrafish fundus confocal experiments and HE staining of eyes confirmed the attenuating effects of alisol A on fundus angiogenesis and ocular edema, representing the first report of AO's ME-inhibitory effects.

Conclusion

In this study, computational analyses with experimental validation were used to understand the biological activity and mechanism of alisol A in the treatment of ME. The findings shed light on the bioactive constituents and pharmacological actions of AO, offering valuable insights and a theoretical foundation for its clinical application in managing ME.

Metabolism of ADB-FUBIATA in zebrafish and pooled human liver microsomes investigated by liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry

RATIONALE

ADB-FUBIATA is one of the most recently identified new psychoactive substance (NPS) of synthetic cannabinoids. The co-use of in vitro (human liver microsomes) and in vivo (zebrafish) models offers abundant metabolites and may give a deep insight into the metabolism of NPS.

METHODS

In vivo and in vitro metabolic studies of new synthetic cannabinoid ADB-FUBIATA were carried out using zebrafish and pooled human liver microsome models. Metabilites were structurally characterized by liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry.

RESULTS

In total, 18 metabolites were discovered and identified in the pooled human liver microsomes and zebrafish, including seventeen phase I metabolites and one phase II metabolite. The main metabolic pathways of ADB-FUBIATA were hydroxylation, dehydrogenation, N-dealkylation, amide hydrolysis, glucuronidation, and combination thereof.

CONCLUSION

Hydroxylated metabolites can be recommended as metabolic markers for ADB-FUBIATA because of the structural characteristics and high intensity. These metabolism characteristics of ADB-FUBIATA were useful for its further forensic or clinical related investigations.

Comparative pharmacokinetic and intracerebral distribution of MDMB-4F-BICA in mice following inhalation ('vapor') and subcutaneous injection

MDMB-4F-BICA, also known as 4F-MDMB-BICA, is a new psychoactive substance that emerged in 2020. It is often illegally added to electronic cigarette oil for inhalation abuse, leading to serious adverse symptoms and even death. There are significant differences in pharmacokinetics between inhalation administration and conventional drug delivery methods. Inhalation administration can pass through the blood-brain barrier to enter the brain directly. However, the specific distribution of the drug in the brain following inhalation has not been well investigated. In order to scientifically compare the absorption and distribution of MDMB-4F-BICA after two administration methods (inhalation and subcutaneous injection), this study analyzed the drug concentration in mice blood and brain by LC-MS/MS after systemic exposure inhalation in the form of electronic cigarettes. The aim was to conduct the pharmacokinetics study of MDMB-4F-BICA after inhalation('vapor') administration. Pharmacokinetics and distribution of the compound revealed that the maximum concentrations in blood of this compound were reached at 0.5 min and 15 min, respectively, and the concentration in the brain reached the maximum at the same time after two modes of administration. The drug concentration in the brain was higher than that of subcutaneous injection, and the drug remained at a low concentration in the brain for a long period (20 ng/g brain tissue) with a significant distribution in several olfactory primary cortex brain regions. Taken together, the pharmacokinetics of the synthetic cannabinoid MDMB-4F-BICA after single systemic exposure inhalation were investigated for the first time in this study. A basis for subsequent evaluation research of inhalation-related harmfulness is provided by comparing the distribution of drugs in the brain after the two administration modes.

Narrative Review of the Pharmacodynamics, Pharmacokinetics, and Toxicities of Illicit Synthetic Cannabinoid Receptor Agonists

BACKGROUND

Synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) are the most diverse class of new psychoactive substances worldwide, with approximately 300 unique SCRAs identified to date. While the use of this class of drug is not particularly prevalent, SCRAs are associated with several deaths every year due to their severe toxicity.

METHODS

A thorough examination of the literature identified 15 new SCRAs with a significant clinical impact between 2015 and 2021.

RESULTS

These 15 SCRAs have been implicated in 154 hospitalizations and 209 deaths across the US, Europe, Asia, and Australasia during this time period.

CONCLUSION

This narrative review provides pharmacodynamic, pharmacokinetic, and toxicologic data for SCRAs as a drug class, including an in-depth review of known pharmacological properties of 15 recently identified and emerging SCRAs for the benefit of researchers, policy makers, and clinicians who wish to be informed of developments in this field.

Metabolic profiling of clonazolam in human liver microsomes and zebrafish models using liquid chromatography quadrupole Orbitrap mass spectrometry

Clonazolam is a designer benzodiazepine with strong sedative and amnesic effects. As we all know, the detection of metabolites is the key to confirming the use of substances in the field of forensic toxicology. In order to better describe clonazolam metabolism completely, we performed the two different experiments exploiting the unique characteristics of the models used. In this study, in vivo and in vitro samples were analyzed with liquid chromatography-quadrupole/electrostatic field orbitrap mass spectrometry. The results showed that seven Phase I metabolites and one Phase II metabolite were detected in zebrafish model. The remaining Phase I and II metabolites were also found in the incubation solution of pooled human liver microsomes. The main types of metabolic reactions of clonazolam included hydroxylation, dealkylation, nitroreduction, dechlorination, N-Acetylation, and O-glucuronidation. In this paper, the main metabolites and metabolic pathways of clonazolam are clarified in detail in order to further improve the metabolic rule of clonazolam. Based on these results, to better detect and judge the abuse of clonazolam, we suggest that M1, its nitro reduction product, is used as its biomarker. The results of this study provide a theoretical basis for the pharmacokinetics and forensic medicine of clonazolam.

Analysis of indole and indazole amides synthetic cannabinoids by differential Raman spectroscopy based on ANN

A simple, rapid, accurate, and non-destructive method was developed for the determination of cannabinoids, combining principal component analysis and multi-layer perceptron neural network to classify indole and indazole amide synthetic cannabinoids. Under the experimental conditions of this study, 25 experimental samples were successfully classified into two categories as the final classification, which guaranteed 96% correct rate. First, the samples were manually classified and divided into two categories according to the difference in peak position and peak intensity of the differential Raman characteristic peaks at 650-540 cm^-1 , etc. Fisher's discriminant method (FDA) and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to analyze the experimental data. Fisher's discriminant analysis was used to formulate two classification functions to discriminate the results of manual classification, and the overall accuracy rate of classification reached 88%. Principal component analysis was used to reduce the dimensionality of the data, which could reduce the influence of redundant data on the experimental results. The original data, FDA-processed data and PCA-processed data, and artificial neural network algorithm (ANN-MLP/RBF) were combined to build a classification model. In the MLP model, the classification accuracy of the original data, FDA-processed data, and PCA-processed data was 80%, 92%, and 96% respectively, and the overall accuracy of the sample classification was 89.33%. In the RBF model, the accuracy of sample classification was 76%, 84%, and 92% respectively, and the overall accuracy of sample classification was 84%. Differential Raman spectroscopy could be used to distinguish 25 kinds of synthetic cannabinoids, and finally, the samples were divided into two categories. The PCA + MLP model was the best for processing spectral data. Based on the perspective of multivariate data, this study demonstrated that the method could be used for rapid and non-destructive testing of indole and indazole amide synthetic cannabinoids and that an efficient and non-destructive classification model was obtained. This method could be used for rapid detection and inspection of drugs in the field of forensic science.

Metabolic profiles and screening tactics for MDMB-4en-PINACA in human urine and serum samples

MDMB-4en-PINACA (Methyl 3,3-dimethyl-2-[1-(pent-4-en-1-yl)-1H-indazole-3-carboxamido] butanoate) is a potent agonist of the CB1 receptor. In 2021, it was one of the most common synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) seized by the Beijing Drug Control Agency. MDMB-4en-PINACA can be hard to detect in biological specimens because of ester hydrolysis. In this work, a highly sensitive liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) method was developed for the detection of MDMB-4en-PINACA metabolites in urine, serum, and hair samples. Metabolites from authentic samples were compared with those from human liver microsomes (HLMs) in vitro and in zebrafish in vivo. A total of 75 metabolites, including 44 previously unreported metabolites, were identified from urine samples. We found that 11 metabolic pathways were involved in MDMB-4en-PINACA metabolism, including acetylation, a novel metabolic pathway for SCRAs. Our results revealed that ester hydrolysis and hydroxylation were to the major metabolic pathways involved in MDMB-4en-PINACA metabolism. Using serum samples, we detected 9 metabolites along with the parent drug. Only the parent drug was detected using hair samples. The existence of ADB-4en-PINACA makes the currently used biomarkers for MDMB-4enPINACA not very specific for the intake of MDMB-4en-PINACA. Therefore, based on the identified metabolites and their structural features, we propose more sensitive screening tactics for MDMB-4en-PINACA using urine and serum samples.