Amelioration of lacrimal gland inflammation by oral administration of K-13182 in Sjögren's syndrome model mice

Regulation of the adhesion of mononuclear cells to endothelial cells is considered to be a critical step for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, including autoimmune diseases. K-13182 was identified as a novel inhibitor for these adhesions. K-13182 inhibited the expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1, CD106) on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and on mouse vascular endothelial cell line (MAECs) induced by tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha. K-13182 also inhibited the adhesion of mononuclear cells to these HUVECs and MAECs, indicating that K-13182 suppressed these adhesions mediated by cellular adhesion molecules including VCAM-1. To evaluate the therapeutic effect in autoimmune disease model mice, K-13182 was orally administered to non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice as Sjögren's syndrome (SS) model mice. Severe destructive inflammatory lesions were observed in the lacrimal glands of vehicle-treated control mice; however, 8-week administration of K-13182 inhibited the mononuclear cell infiltration into the inflammatory lesions of the lacrimal glands. In K-13182-treated mice, the decrease in tear secretion was also prevented compared to the control mice. In addition, the apoptosis and the expression of FasL (CD178), perforin, and granzyme A was suppressed in the lacrimal glands of K-13182-treated mice. Therefore, K-13182 demonstrated the possibility of therapeutic efficacy for the inflammatory region of autoimmune disease model mice. These data reveal that VCAM-1 is a promising target molecule for the treatment of autoimmune diseases as a therapeutic strategy and that K-13182 has the potential as a new anti-inflammatory drug for SS.

Cardiovascular effects of (2RS,3SR)- 2-aminomethyl-2,3,7,8-tetrahydro-2,3,5,8,8-pentamethyl-6H-furo- [2,3-e]indol-7-one hydrochloride (UK-1745), a novel cardiotonic agent with vasodilatory and antiarrhythmic properties

The cardiovascular effects of (2RS,3SR)-2-aminomethyl-2,3,7,8- tetrahydro-2,3,5,8,8-pentamethyl-6H-furo[2,3-e]indol-7-one hydrochloride (CAS 170684-14-7, UK-1745), a novel cardiotonic agent, were investigated using in vitro and in vivo preparations. In paced left atria isolated from guinea pigs, both UK-1745 and vesnarinone (CAS 81840-15-5) showed a concentration-dependent positive inotropic effect. In spontaneously beating guinea pig right atria, both agents caused only a minimal chronotropic effect. In isolated, blood-perfused canine papillary muscle preparations, UK-1745 and vesnarinone injected intra-arterially into the anterior septal artery (ASA) increased the developed tension in a dose-dependent manner. In isolated, blood-perfused canine sinoatrial node preparations, both agents injected into the right coronary artery (RCA) did not cause any appreciable changes in the sinus rate. UK-1745 increased the blood flow through the ASA and the RCA in a dose-dependent manner, whereas vesnarinone did not. In anesthetized open-chest dogs, UK-1745 injected intravenously increased cardiac contractility and cardiac output, and decreased left ventricular end-diastolic pressure, systemic vascular resistance and heart rate. In experimentally induced acute heart failure in anesthetized open-chest dogs, intravenously injected UK-1745 effectively improved hemodynamic functions. In conscious instrumented dogs, orally administered UK-1745 increased LV dP/dtmax with insignificant changes in systemic blood pressure and heart rate. In mice, orally administered UK-1745 protected the development of ventricular fibrillation induced by chloroform inhalation, whereas vesnarinone did not. Thus, in respect of inotropic and chronotropic effects, UK-1745 closely resembled vesnarinone, but differed from vesnarinone in respect of coronary vasodilating and antiarrhythmic effects. The results suggest that UK-1745 is a novel positive inotropic agent with vasodilatory and antiarrhythmic properties, without significant chronotropic action, and may be beneficial for the treatment of congestive heart failure.

Studies on chemical modification of monensin. VI. Preparation of C-7 modified monensins via protected 7-oxomonensin and evaluation of their ion transport activity

7-Carboxymethylmonensin (3), 7-aminomonensin (4), and 7-oxomonensin (5) were synthesized via protected 7-oxomonensin (2), which is expected to be a useful intermediate for the preparation of various monensin derivatives. intermediate for the preparation of various monensin derivatives. Compounds 3-5 exhibited smaller ion transport activity than monensin (1).