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Jie Z, Qin S, Liu F, Xu D, Sun J, Qin G, Hou X, Xu P, Zhang W, Gao C, Lu J. Analysis on dynamic changes of etizolam and its metabolites and exploration of its development prospect using UPLC-Q-exactive-MS. J Pharm Biomed Anal 2024; 240:115936. [PMID: 38183733 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpba.2023.115936] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2023] [Revised: 12/17/2023] [Accepted: 12/21/2023] [Indexed: 01/08/2024]
Abstract
As one of the most widely abused designer benzodiazepines in the world, etizolam has been found in many cases in many countries. In this study, UPLC-Q-Exactive-MS was used for the first time to establish a dynamic change model of etizolam and its metabolites in rats. Compared with previous studies, the detection sensitivity and reproducibility of the instrument were higher. In the experiment, we optimized the traditional pharmacokinetic model based on Gauss function. According to the significant difference of etizolam in the plasma elimination phase of rats, a new pharmacokinetic model based on Lorentz function was established to describe the dynamic changes of etizolam more rigorously, which made the error effects lower and the accuracy of the pharmacokinetic parameters was improved. At the same time, the pharmacokinetic parameters of etizolam were compared with four other designer benzodiazepines reported in previous studies in rats, and we found the direct reason for the popularity of etizolam in the NPS market and explored the future development of etizolam for the first time. In addition, 21 metabolites were found through rat experiments to effectively detect etizolam abuse for a long time, of which 4 metabolites had the longest detection window and could be used as long-acting metabolites for experiments, which greatly prolongs the detection window and extends the time range in which etizolam was detected in real cases. This study is the first to conduct a systematic and comprehensive study on the metabolism and pharmacokinetics of etizolam and find out the direct reason for the prevalence of etizolam abuse, and we also discuss the development trend of etizolam in the future market of new psychoactive substances, which is beneficial for forensic experts to assess the trend of drug abuse and can provide reference for relevant drug control and drug treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhaowei Jie
- School of Investigation, People's Public Security University of China, Beijing 100038, China
| | - Shiyang Qin
- Forensic Science Service of Beijing Public Security Bureau, Key Laboratory of Forensic Toxicology, Ministry of Public Security, Beijing 100192, China
| | - Fubang Liu
- School of Investigation, People's Public Security University of China, Beijing 100038, China
| | - Duoqi Xu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise, Shanghai 200063, China
| | - Jing Sun
- Forensic Science Service of Beijing Public Security Bureau, Key Laboratory of Forensic Toxicology, Ministry of Public Security, Beijing 100192, China
| | - Ge Qin
- School of Investigation, People's Public Security University of China, Beijing 100038, China
| | - Xiaolong Hou
- School of Investigation, People's Public Security University of China, Beijing 100038, China
| | - Peng Xu
- Key Laboratory of Drug Monitoring, Control and Anti drug Key Technologies of the Ministry of Public Security, Anti drug Information Technology Center of the Ministry of Public Security, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Wenfang Zhang
- Forensic Science Service of Beijing Public Security Bureau, Key Laboratory of Forensic Toxicology, Ministry of Public Security, Beijing 100192, China.
| | - Chunfang Gao
- School of Investigation, People's Public Security University of China, Beijing 100038, China.
| | - Jianghai Lu
- Drug and Food Anti-doping Laboratory, China Anti-Doping Agency, 1st Anding Road, Chaoyang, Beijing 100029, China.
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Canfield JR, Kisor DF, Sprague JE. Designer benzodiazepine rat pharmacokinetics: A comparison of alprazolam, flualprazolam and flubromazolam. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 2023; 465:116459. [PMID: 36907383 DOI: 10.1016/j.taap.2023.116459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2023] [Revised: 02/28/2023] [Accepted: 03/08/2023] [Indexed: 03/12/2023]
Abstract
Designer benzodiazepines, including flualprazolam and flubromazolam, are clandestinely produced to circumvent federal regulations. Although flualprazolam and flubromazolam are structurally similar to alprazolam, they do not have an approved medical indication. Flualprazolam differs from alprazolam by the addition of a single fluorine atom. Whereas, flubromazolam differs by the addition of a single fluorine atom and substitution of a bromine for a chlorine atom. The pharmacokinetics of these designer compounds have not been extensively evaluated. In the present study, we evaluated flualprazolam and flubromazolam in a rat model and compared the pharmacokinetics of both compounds to alprazolam. Twelve male, Sprague-Dawley rats were given a 2 mg/kg subcutaneous dose of alprazolam, flualprazolam and flubromazolam and plasma pharmacokinetic parameters were evaluated. Both compounds displayed significant two-fold increases in volume of distribution and clearance. Additionally, flualprazolam displayed a significant increase in half-life leading to a nearly double half-life when compared to alprazolam. The findings of this study demonstrate that fluorination of the alprazolam pharmacophore increases pharmacokinetic parameters including half-life and volume of distribution. The increase in these parameters for flualprazolam and flubromazolam leads to an overall increased exposure in the body and a potential for greater toxicity than alprazolam.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeremy R Canfield
- The Ohio Attorney General's Center for the Future of Forensic Science, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH 43403, USA
| | - David F Kisor
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacogenomics, College of Pharmacy, Natural and Health Sciences, Manchester University, Fort Wayne, IN 45845, USA
| | - Jon E Sprague
- The Ohio Attorney General's Center for the Future of Forensic Science, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH 43403, USA.
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Mapping a barbiturate withdrawal locus to a 0.44 Mb interval and analysis of a novel null mutant identify a role for Kcnj9 (GIRK3) in withdrawal from pentobarbital, zolpidem, and ethanol. J Neurosci 2009; 29:11662-73. [PMID: 19759313 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1413-09.2009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Here, we map a quantitative trait locus (QTL) with a large effect on predisposition to barbiturate (pentobarbital) withdrawal to a 0.44 Mb interval of mouse chromosome 1 syntenic with human 1q23.2. We report a detailed analysis of the genes within this interval and show that it contains 15 known and predicted genes, 12 of which demonstrate validated genotype-dependent transcript expression and/or nonsynonymous coding sequence variation that may underlie the influence of the QTL on withdrawal. These candidates are involved in diverse cellular functions including intracellular trafficking, potassium conductance and spatial buffering, and multimolecular complex dynamics, and indicate both established and novel aspects of neurobiological response to sedative-hypnotics. This work represents a substantial advancement toward identification of the gene(s) that underlie the phenotypic effects of the QTL. We identify Kcnj9 as a particularly promising candidate and report the development of a Kcnj9-null mutant model that exhibits significantly less severe withdrawal from pentobarbital as well as other sedative-hypnotics (zolpidem and ethanol) versus wild-type littermates. Reduced expression of Kcnj9, which encodes GIRK3 (Kir3.3), is associated with less severe sedative-hypnotic withdrawal. A multitude of QTLs for a variety of complex traits, including diverse responses to sedative-hypnotics, have been detected on distal chromosome 1 in mice, and as many as four QTLs on human chromosome 1q have been implicated in human studies of alcohol dependence. Thus, our results will be primary to additional efforts to identify genes involved in a wide variety of behavioral responses to sedative-hypnotics and may directly facilitate progress in human genetics.
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Skelton KH, Nemeroff CB, Owens MJ. Spontaneous withdrawal from the triazolobenzodiazepine alprazolam increases cortical corticotropin-releasing factor mRNA expression. J Neurosci 2005; 24:9303-12. [PMID: 15496666 PMCID: PMC6730084 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1737-04.2004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) is the major physiologic regulator of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and plays a key role in coordinating the mammalian stress response. Substantial data implicates hyperactivity of CRF neuronal systems in the pathophysiology of depression and anxiety disorders. Enhanced CRF expression, release, and function have also been demonstrated during acute withdrawal from several drugs of abuse. Previous studies revealed that chronic administration of the anxiolytic alprazolam reduced indices of CRF and CRF1 receptor function. Conversely, measures of urocortin I and CRF2 receptor function were increased. To further scrutinize these findings, we sought to determine whether CRF neuronal systems are activated during spontaneous withdrawal from the triazolobenzodiazepine alprazolam in dependent rats and to characterize the time course, extent, and regional specificity of the patterns of activation. After 14 d of alprazolam administration (90 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1)), spontaneous withdrawal produced activation of the HPA axis, as well as suppression of food intake and weight loss that peaked 24-48 hr after withdrawal. Remarkably, CRF mRNA expression in the cerebral cortex was markedly (>300%) increased over the same time period. Other indices of CRF-CRF1 and urocortin I-CRF2A function, altered by chronic alprazolam treatment as previously described, returned to pretreatment levels over 96 hr. The physiologic significance of this dramatic induction of cortical CRF mRNA expression, as well as whether this occurs during withdrawal from other drugs of abuse is yet to be determined. The marked increase in CRFergic neurotransmission is hypothesized to play a major role in benzodiazepine withdrawal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelly H Skelton
- Laboratory of Neuropsychopharmacology, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA
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