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Bassetto M, Zaluski J, Li B, Zhang J, Badiee M, Kiser PD, Tochtrop GP. Tuning the Metabolic Stability of Visual Cycle Modulators through Modification of an RPE65 Recognition Motif. J Med Chem 2023; 66:8140-8158. [PMID: 37279401 PMCID: PMC10824489 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.3c00461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
In the eye, the isomerization of all-trans-retinal to 11-cis-retinal is accomplished by a metabolic pathway termed the visual cycle that is critical for vision. RPE65 is the essential trans-cis isomerase of this pathway. Emixustat, a retinoid-mimetic RPE65 inhibitor, was developed as a therapeutic visual cycle modulator and used for the treatment of retinopathies. However, pharmacokinetic liabilities limit its further development including: (1) metabolic deamination of the γ-amino-α-aryl alcohol, which mediates targeted RPE65 inhibition, and (2) unwanted long-lasting RPE65 inhibition. We sought to address these issues by more broadly defining the structure-activity relationships of the RPE65 recognition motif via the synthesis of a family of novel derivatives, which were tested in vitro and in vivo for RPE65 inhibition. We identified a potent secondary amine derivative with resistance to deamination and preserved RPE65 inhibitory activity. Our data provide insights into activity-preserving modifications of the emixustat molecule that can be employed to tune its pharmacological properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Bassetto
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, School of Medicine, University of California - Irvine, Irvine, California 92697, United States
- Department of Ophthalmology, Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, Center for Translational Vision Research, School of Medicine, University of California - Irvine, Irvine, California 92697, United States
- Research Service, VA Long Beach Healthcare System, Long Beach, California 90822, United States
| | - Jordan Zaluski
- Department of Chemistry, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, United States
| | - Bowen Li
- Department of Chemistry, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, United States
| | - Jianye Zhang
- Department of Ophthalmology, Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, Center for Translational Vision Research, School of Medicine, University of California - Irvine, Irvine, California 92697, United States
| | - Mohsen Badiee
- Department of Chemistry, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, United States
| | - Philip D Kiser
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, School of Medicine, University of California - Irvine, Irvine, California 92697, United States
- Department of Ophthalmology, Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, Center for Translational Vision Research, School of Medicine, University of California - Irvine, Irvine, California 92697, United States
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy Practice, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California - Irvine, Irvine, California 92697, United States
- Research Service, VA Long Beach Healthcare System, Long Beach, California 90822, United States
| | - Gregory P Tochtrop
- Department of Chemistry, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, United States
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Blum E, Zhang J, Zaluski J, Einstein DE, Korshin EE, Kubas A, Gruzman A, Tochtrop GP, Kiser PD, Palczewski K. Rational Alteration of Pharmacokinetics of Chiral Fluorinated and Deuterated Derivatives of Emixustat for Retinal Therapy. J Med Chem 2021; 64:8287-8302. [PMID: 34081480 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.1c00279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Recycling of all-trans-retinal to 11-cis-retinal through the visual cycle is a fundamental metabolic pathway in the eye. A potent retinoid isomerase (RPE65) inhibitor, (R)-emixustat, has been developed and tested in several clinical trials; however, it has not received regulatory approval for use in any specific retinopathy. Rapid clearance of this drug presents challenges to maintaining concentrations in eyes within a therapeutic window. To address this pharmacokinetic inadequacy, we rationally designed and synthesized a series of emixustat derivatives with strategically placed fluorine and deuterium atoms to slow down the key metabolic transformations known for emixustat. Crystal structures and quantum chemical analysis of RPE65 in complex with the most potent emixustat derivatives revealed the structural and electronic bases for how fluoro substituents can be favorably accommodated within the active site pocket of RPE65. We found a close (∼3.0 Å) F-π interaction that is predicted to contribute ∼2.4 kcal/mol to the overall binding energy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eliav Blum
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Exact Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel
| | - Jianye Zhang
- Department of Ophthalmology, Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, University of California, Irvine, California 92697, United States
| | - Jordan Zaluski
- Department of Chemistry, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, United States
| | - David E Einstein
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of California, Irvine, California 92697, United States.,Research Service, VA Long Beach Healthcare System, Long Beach, California 90822, United States
| | - Edward E Korshin
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Exact Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel
| | - Adam Kubas
- Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kasprzaka 44/52, Warsaw 01-224, Poland
| | - Arie Gruzman
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Exact Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel
| | - Gregory P Tochtrop
- Department of Chemistry, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, United States
| | - Philip D Kiser
- Department of Ophthalmology, Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, University of California, Irvine, California 92697, United States.,Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of California, Irvine, California 92697, United States.,Research Service, VA Long Beach Healthcare System, Long Beach, California 90822, United States
| | - Krzysztof Palczewski
- Department of Ophthalmology, Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, University of California, Irvine, California 92697, United States.,Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of California, Irvine, California 92697, United States.,Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, California 92697, United States
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Gopi S, Balakrishnan P. Evaluation and clinical comparison studies on liposomal and non-liposomal ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and their enhanced bioavailability. J Liposome Res 2020; 31:356-364. [PMID: 32901526 DOI: 10.1080/08982104.2020.1820521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the oral bioavailability of liposomal vitamin C and non-liposomal vitamin C in healthy, adult, human subjects under fasting conditions through an open label, randomized, single-dose, two-treatment, two-sequence, two-period, two-way crossover, study. The vitamin C loaded liposome was well characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and zeta potential measurements for evaluating morphology, particle size and stabilities, respectively. Microscopic image shows the core-type structure that confirms the characteristic pattern of liposome. The encapsulation efficiency (EE%) and the particle size were 65.85 ± 1.84% and below 100 nm, respectively. The results of the clinical studies of liposomal vitamin C by oral delivery to be 1.77 times more bioavailable than non-liposomal vitamin C. The liposomal vitamin C demonstrated higher values of Cmax, AUC0-t and AUC0-∞ related to non-liposomal vitamin C due to liposomal encapsulation. No adverse events were reported. It could be concluded that liposomal encapsulated ascorbic acid (vitamin C) shows well-organized morphological pattern, uniform particle size and highly efficient, which leads to have enhanced bioavailability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sreerag Gopi
- Centre for Innovations and Technologies (CIT), ADSO Naturals Private Limited, Bangalore, India.,Research and Development, Curesupport B.V, Deventer, The Netherlands
| | - Preetha Balakrishnan
- Centre for Innovations and Technologies (CIT), ADSO Naturals Private Limited, Bangalore, India
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Sun D, Schur RM, Sears AE, Gao SQ, Sun W, Naderi A, Kern T, Palczewski K, Lu ZR. Stable Retinoid Analogue Targeted Dual pH-Sensitive Smart Lipid ECO/pDNA Nanoparticles for Specific Gene Delivery in the Retinal Pigment Epithelium. ACS APPLIED BIO MATERIALS 2020; 3:3078-3086. [PMID: 34327311 DOI: 10.1021/acsabm.0c00130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Da Sun
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106
| | - Rebecca M Schur
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106
| | - Avery E Sears
- Department of Pharmacology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106
| | - Song-Qi Gao
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106
| | - Wenyu Sun
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106
| | - Amirreza Naderi
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106
| | - Timothy Kern
- Department of Ophthalmology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-7600
| | - Krzysztof Palczewski
- Department of Ophthalmology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-7600
| | - Zheng-Rong Lu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106
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Saurina J, Sentellas S. Liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry for metabolite profiling in the field of drug discovery. Expert Opin Drug Discov 2019; 14:469-483. [DOI: 10.1080/17460441.2019.1582638] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Javier Saurina
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Chemistry, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Sonia Sentellas
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Chemistry, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
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Reid MJ, Eyre R, Podoll T. Oxidative Deamination of Emixustat by Human Vascular Adhesion Protein-1/Semicarbazide-Sensitive Amine Oxidase. Drug Metab Dispos 2019; 47:504-515. [PMID: 30787099 DOI: 10.1124/dmd.118.085811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2018] [Accepted: 01/28/2019] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Emixustat potently inhibits the visual cycle isomerase retinal pigment epithelium protein 65 (RPE65) to reduce the accumulation of toxic bisretinoid by-products that lead to various retinopathies. Orally administered emixustat is cleared rapidly from the plasma, with little excreted unchanged. The hydroxypropylamine moiety that is critical in emixustat's inhibition of RPE65 is oxidatively deaminated to three major carboxylic acid metabolites that appear rapidly in plasma. These metabolites greatly exceed the plasma concentrations of emixustat and demonstrate formation-rate-limited metabolite kinetics. This study investigated in vitro deamination of emixustat in human vascular membrane fractions, plasma, and recombinant human vascular adhesion protein-1 (VAP-1), demonstrating single-enzyme kinetics for the formation of a stable aldehyde intermediate (ACU-5201) in all in vitro systems. The in vitro systems used herein established sequential formation of the major metabolites with addition of assay components for aldehyde dehydrogenase and cytochrome P450. Reaction phenotyping experiments using selective chemical inhibitors and recombinant enzymes of monoamine oxidase, VAP-1, and lysyl oxidase showed that only VAP-1 deaminated emixustat. In individually derived human vascular membranes from umbilical cord and aorta, rates of emixustat deamination were highly correlated to VAP-1 marker substrate activity (benzylamine) and VAP-1 levels measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. In donor-matched plasma samples, soluble VAP-1 activity and levels were lower than in aorta membranes. A variety of potential comedications did not strongly inhibit emixustat deamination in vitro.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Reid
- Acucela Inc., Seattle, Washington (M.J.R.); MavuPharma, Kirkland, Washington (R.E.); and IV-PO, LLC, Seattle, Washington (T.P.)
| | - Russell Eyre
- Acucela Inc., Seattle, Washington (M.J.R.); MavuPharma, Kirkland, Washington (R.E.); and IV-PO, LLC, Seattle, Washington (T.P.)
| | - Terry Podoll
- Acucela Inc., Seattle, Washington (M.J.R.); MavuPharma, Kirkland, Washington (R.E.); and IV-PO, LLC, Seattle, Washington (T.P.)
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Validation and reproducibility of an LC-MS/MS method for emixustat and its three deaminated metabolites in human plasma. Bioanalysis 2018; 10:1803-1817. [PMID: 30325202 DOI: 10.4155/bio-2018-0159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Aim: A sensitive method to quantify emixustat and its rapidly formed three major deaminated metabolites in human plasma was necessary to determine exposure in clinical trials. Methods: An LC-MS/MS method was validated for accuracy and precision, linearity, carry over, selectivity, recovery, matrix effects, hematocrit effects and stability. Results: A quantitative procedure for the determination of emixustat, ACU-5116, ACU-5124 and ACU-5149 in human plasma over the concentration range of 0.0500/1.00/1.00/1.00-10.0/1000/1000/1000 ng/ml, was successfully validated and has been used to successfully analyze samples in three clinical trials. Incurred sample reanalysis was performed for all four analytes in each study with >92% of the repeat results and original results within 20% of the mean of the two values.
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