Chronopharmacology and its application to the development of theophylline treatment schedules for asthma

Infergen Stimulated Macrophages Restrict Mycobacterium tuberculosis Growth by Autophagy and Release of Nitric Oxide

IFN alfacon-1 (Infergen) is a synthetic form of Interferon (IFN)-α2b. Infergen has immunomodulatory activity and is effective against hepatitis C virus. However, the effect of Infergen (IFG) on Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) has not yet been reported. Therefore, for the first time, we have studied the influence of IFG in constraining the survival of Mtb in human macrophages. We observed that IFG significantly enhanced the maturation and activation of macrophages. Further, it substantially augmented the secretion of IL-6, nitric oxide (NO) and antigen uptake. Moreover, macrophages exhibited remarkably higher bactericidal activity, as evidenced by reduction in the Mtb growth. Infergen-mediated mechanism was different from the type-1 interferons; since it worked through the activation of NF-κB, phosphorylation of STAT-3 and Akt-PI3K that improved the bactericidal activity through autophagy and NO release. In future, IFG immunotherapy can be a novel strategy for treating patients and controlling TB.

Chronopharmacokinetics of amitriptyline in rats

The circadian changes in absorption, tissue distribution and elimination of amitriptyline after single intravenous (i.v.) and intragastric (i.g.) administration, as well as the differences in pharmacokinetic profile after multiple i.g. administration (at 10:00 and 22:00 h) during a 12 h dosing interval, were investigated. The circadian changes of pharmacokinetic parameters of amitriptyline such as AUC (serum and tissues), clearance (i.v. and i.g.), volume of distribution, biological half-life and bioavailability were estimated. Acrophases for clearance appeared between 19:00 and 21:00 h; the bioavailability was highest during the dark phase at around 04:00 h. Higher values of AUC in serum were observed at the beginning of the light phase. A circadian rhythm of tissue distribution (AUC, K(D)) of amitriptyline with acrophase in the dark phase was observed for brain (12 h period), lung and liver (24 h), but not for heart or kidney. After single (i.v. and i.g.) amitriptyline administration, concentrations of its major metabolite, nortriptyline, were negligible; however, after ten doses, nortriptyline serum and tissue levels were similar to the concentrations of the parent drug with higher values during the day (light phase).