Does the gradual hydroosmotic response to antidiuretic hormone depend on intracellular cAMP accumulation or on the formation of intramembrane particle aggregates?

In experiments on frog urinary bladder the mechanisms behind the gradual development of a hydroosmotic reaction to antidiuretic hormone (ADH) were investigated. It was suggested that the velocity of hydroosmotic reaction may be limited by (a) formation and insertion of particle aggregates into the apical membrane or (b) by velocity of cAMP formation. The urinary bladders were exposed to 23 nM ADH for different times (from 1 to 20 min) and water flow was measured over a period of 40 min. It was found that the value of the full hydroosmotic response increased progressively with the time of exposure to the hormone; however, the enhancement of water flow was equal during each time interval before reaching the reaction maximum. A direct correlation between the value of ADH-stimulated water flow, cAMP content in bladder tissue and frequency of particle aggregates in the granular cell apical membrane was observed. The content of cAMP in ADH-treated bladders was higher by 80% in the absence than in the presence of an osmotic gradient. Pretreatment of urinary bladders with 50 M cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase inhibitor, 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine, significantly accelerated the development of the hydroosmotic reaction and increased the magnitude of water flow in comparison with the effect of ADH only. No changes in cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase activity were found in the urinary bladder homogenates under the action of ADH, so it seems likely that accumulation of cAMP depends only on the increase of adenylate cyclase activity. The data obtained allow one to conclude that the gradual hydroosmotic response to ADH depends on the accumulation of cAMP, which may be considered as the main limiting factor of the velocity of the hydroosmotic reaction.     

Drug release from reservoir pellets compacted with some excipients of different physical properties

The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of the size and the porosity of excipient microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) particles on the densification and the deformation during compaction and the consequent effect on the drug release from reservoir pellets. Drug pellets consisting of salicylic acid and microcrystalline cellulose were prepared by extrusion-spheronisation and spray-coated with ethyl cellulose (ethanol solution). Excipient pellets of different size and porosity were prepared by extrusion-spheronisation or direct spheronisation. Five binary mixtures of reservoir pellets and excipient particles were prepared in the proportion 1:7 and lubricated. After compaction the reservoir pellets were retrieved and analysed to determine the intragranular porosity, surface area, shape and drug release. The reservoir pellets were shown to undergo extensive deformation and densification during compaction, resulting in a preserved or even prolonged drug release time. The mode of deformation of the reservoir pellets seems to be critical for the compression-induced change in drug release. Formation of large indents has a negative effect on the release time, while the use of small particles or small deformable agglomerates has a protective effect. We also hypothesize that the coating structure changes during compaction and the final structure of the coating is the net effect of two parallel processes, one reducing and one prolonging the drug transport time across the coating.     

Particle release in extracorporeal low-density lipoprotein lowering therapies

Release of microparticles into the blood during extracorporeal circulation must be kept low because of possibly serious acute and chronic adverse effects. Concentration and size distribution of microparticles were measured during simulated treatments (n = 7) on original equipment for 2 standard low-density lipoprotein (LDL) elimination procedures (DALI 750, Fresenius AG, St. Wendel, Germany and Liposorber, Kaneka Corporation, Osaka, Japan) and compared to hemofiltration solutions. For both systems as well as in hemofiltration solutions, the mean particle concentrations in 500 ml portions gathered from the efferent blood line stayed below 10% of pharmacopoeia standards for infusion solutions (United States Pharmacopoeia, European Pharmacopoeia) in all measured size classes. Although particle concentrations were comparable in all systems, the mean total number of particles > or =2 microm released per session was lowest in the DALI (167,000) compared to the Liposorber (465,000) and hemofiltration solutions (2,240,000). This was mainly due to different total processed blood volumes necessary to achieve the required LDL reduction.     

Amphiphilic amino acid copolymers as stabilizers for the preparation of nanocrystal dispersion

The recent advance of particle size engineering in nanometer ranges has widened the formulation opportunities of relatively water-insoluble drugs. However, the ‘nanoformulation’ suffers from a lack of systematic understanding about the requirements of polymeric stabilizers. Furthermore, the polymers that can be used for the preparation of nanocrystals are so limited that finding a proper stabilizer for a given formulation is often difficult. In this study, amino acid copolymers whose properties can systematically be tailored are developed, and their morphological and compositional effects are investigated. Copolymers containing lysine (K) as their hydrophilic segments, and phenylalanine (F) or leucine (L) as their hydrophobic segments successfully produce stable nanocrystals (200–300 nm) in water, while copolymers of K and alanine (A) could not generate nanosized particles. Not the morphology but the hydrophobicity of copolymers seems to be a critical parameter in the preparation of drug nanocrystals by wet comminution. The effective stabilization performance of copolymers requires the hydrophobic moiety content to be higher than 15 mol%. Comminution for only 5 min is long enough for nanocrystal preparation, and the crystallinity of drug is found intact after the processing.     

An overview on in situ micronization technique – An emerging novel concept in advanced drug delivery

The use of drug powders containing micronized drug particles has been increasing in several pharmaceutical dosage forms to overcome the dissolution and bioavailability problems. Most of the newly developed drugs are poorly water soluble which limits dissolution rate and bioavailability. The dissolution rate can be enhanced by micronization of the drug particles. The properties of the micronized drug substance such as particle size, size distribution, shape, surface properties, and agglomeration behaviour and powder flow are affected by the type of micronization technique used. Mechanical communition, spray drying and supercritical fluid (SCF) technology are the most commonly employed techniques for production of micronized drug particles but the characteristics of the resulting drug product cannot be controlled using these techniques. Hence, a newer technique called in situ micronization is developed in order to overcome the limitations associated with the other techniques. This review summarizes the existing knowledge on in situ micronization techniques. The properties of the resulting drug substance obtained by in situ micronization were also compared.     

Broad neutralization against SARS-CoV-2 variants induced by ancestral and B.1.351 AS03-Adjuvanted recombinant Plant-Derived Virus-Like particle vaccines

Since 2019, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection resulting in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has afflicted hundreds of millions of people in a worldwide pandemic. Several safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines are now available. However, the rapid emergence of variants and risk of viral escape from vaccine-induced immunity emphasize the need to develop broadly protective vaccines. A recombinant plant-derived virus-like particle vaccine for the ancestral COVID-19 (CoVLP) recently authorized by Canadian Health Authorities and a modified CoVLP.B1351 targeting the B.1.351 variant (both formulated with the adjuvant AS03) were assessed in homologous and heterologous prime-boost regimen in mice. Both strategies induced strong and broadly cross-reactive neutralizing antibody (NAb) responses against several Variants of Concern (VOCs), including B.1.351/Beta, B.1.1.7/Alpha, P.1/Gamma, B.1.617.2/Delta and B.1.1.529/Omicron strains. The neutralizing antibody (NAb) response was robust with both primary vaccination strategies and tended to be higher for almost all VOCs following the heterologous prime-boost regimen.     

Effect of Diesel Exhaust Particle Extracts on Collagen-induced Arthritis in Mice

We investigated the effect of diesel exhaust particles (DEP) extracts on collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in mice. For this study, a single DEP sample was consecutively extracted with hexane (HEX-DEP), benzene (BEN-DEP), dichloromethane (DIC-DEP), methanol (MET-DEP), and 1 &#117 M ammonia (AMM-DEP) in that order. Residues unextracted with the last extraction solvent 1 &#117 M ammonia (UNE-DEP) were also used for experiments. To induce CIA, mice were immunized with type II collagen (CII) and 21 days later given a booster injection. DEP, each DEP extract, and UNE-DEP were intranasally administered every two days over a period of 20 days, commencing on the day of immunization. The results showed that treatment of mice with DEP, DIC-DEP, and UNE-DEP augmented both the incidence and the severity of CIA. DEP and DIC-DEP increased production of anti-CII IgG, IgG2a, and IgG1 antibodies as well as secretion of IFN- &#110 and IL-4. Treatment with UNE-DEP resulted in an increase in antigen-specific IgG, IgG2a, and IFN- &#110 but neither IgG1 nor IL-4. AMM-DEP failed to affect CIA as well as production of IgG2a and IFN- &#110, although significant increases in anti-CII IgG1 and IL-4 were observed in the treatment group. HEX-DEP, BEN-DEP, and MET-DEP had no effects on CIA and production of antibodies and cytokines examined. Thus, DEP and DIC-DEP appear to contain compounds, which enhance both Th1 and Th2 responses, while UNE-DEP and AMM-DEP to contain chemicals, which augment Th1 and Th2 alone, respectively. Th1- but not Th2-modulating compounds from DEP, DIC-DEP, and UNE-DEP seem to influence CIA.     

Ventricular activity cancellation in electrograms during atrial fibrillation with constraints on residuals’ power

During atrial fibrillation (AF), cancellation of ventricular activity from atrial electrograms (AEG) is commonly performed by template matching and subtraction (TMS): a running template, built in correspondence of QRSs, is subtracted from the AEG to uncover atrial activity (AA). However, TMS can produce poor cancellation, leaving high-power residues. In this study, we propose to modulate the templates before subtraction, in order to make the residuals as similar as possible to the nearby atrial activity, avoiding high-power ones. The coefficients used to modulate the template are estimated by maximizing, via Multi-swarm Particle Swarm Optimization, a fitness function. The modulated TMS method (mTMS) was tested on synthetic and real AEGs. Cancellation performances were assessed using: normalized mean squared error (NMSE, computed on simulated data only), reduction of ventricular activity (VDR), and percentage of segments (PP) whose power was outside the standard range of the atrial power. All testings suggested that mTMS is an improvement over TMS alone, being, on simulated data, NMSE and PP significantly decreased while VDR significantly increased. Similar results were obtained on real electrograms (median values of CS1 recordings PP: 2.44 vs. 0.38 p < 0.001; VDR: 6.71 vs. 8.15 p < 0.001).     

脊伤颗粒对大鼠急性脊髓损伤后运动功能及Caspase-3表达的影响

目的 研究脊伤颗粒对大鼠脊髓损伤(spinal cord injury,SCI)后运动功能及半胱氨酸蛋白酶-3(Caspase-3)表达的影响.方法 随机抽取大鼠32只作为假手术组,其余118只大鼠采用改良Allen'S打击器制作大鼠SCI模型,将造模成功的96只大鼠随机分为模型组、甲基强的松龙组(下称甲强龙组)、脊伤颗粒组.分别给予假手术组、模型组生理盐水灌胃,甲强龙组尾静脉注射药物,脊伤颗粒组予以相应药物灌胃.在给药后1、3、7、14 d的4个不同时间点采用BBB行为学功能评分;再分批处死大鼠,取出SCI组织用HE染色观察其病理变化,用免疫组化染色检测Caspase-3表达阳性细胞,原位末端标记法(TUNEL法)标记凋亡细胞.结果 (1)BBB运动功能评分方面,与假手术组比较,模型组评分低(P＜0.01);与模型组比较,脊伤颗粒组、甲强龙组评分高(P＜0.05);与甲强龙组比较,SCI后1、3d,脊伤颗粒组评分偏低,(P＜0.05),SCI后7、14 d脊伤颗粒组评分偏高(P＜0.05).(2)在平均积分光密度值和细胞凋亡率方面,与假手术组比较,模型组数值偏高(P＜0.01);与模型组比较,甲强龙组、脊伤颗粒组平均数值低(P＜0.05);与甲强龙组比较,SCI后1、3d,脊伤颗粒组平均数值偏高(P＜0.05),SCI后7、14 d,脊伤颗粒组平均数值偏低(P＜0.05).结论 脊伤颗粒能部分恢复SCI后模型大鼠的运动功能并可明显抑制细胞Caspase-3表达和细胞凋亡.