Detection of QTc interval prolongation using jacket telemetry in conscious non-human primates: comparison with implanted telemetry

Background and Purpose: During repeat-dose toxicity studies, ECGs are collected from chemically or physically-restrained animals over a short timeframe. This is problematic due to cardiovascular changes caused by manual restraint stress and anesthesia, and limited ECG sampling. These factors confound data interpretation, but may be overcome by using a non-invasive jacket-based ECG collection (JET). The current study investigated whether a jacketed external telemetry system could detect changes in cardiac intervals and heart rate in non-human primates (NHPs), previously implanted with a PCT transmitter.Experimental Approach: Twelve male cynomolgus monkeys were treated weekly with vehicle or sotalol (8, 16, 32 mg kg⁻¹) p.o. ECGs were collected continuously for 24 hours, following treatment, over 4 weeks. A satellite group of six NHPs was used for sotalol toxicokinetics.Key Results: Sotalol attained C_max values 1–3 hours after dosing, and exhibited dose-proportional exposure. In jacketed NHPs, sotalol dose-dependently increased QT/QTc intervals, prolonged PR interval, and reduced heart rate. Significant QTc prolongation of 27, 54 and 76 msec was detected by JET after 8, 16, and 32 mg kg⁻¹ sotalol, respectively, compared with time-matched vehicle-treated animals. Overall, JET-derived PR, QT, QTc intervals, QRS duration, and heart rate correlated well with those derived from PCT.Conclusions and Implications: The current findings clearly support the use of JET to quantify cardiac interval and rhythm changes, capable of detecting QTc prolongation caused by sotalol. JET may be a preferred method compared to restraint-based ECG because high-density ECG sampling can be collected in unstressed conscious monkeys, over several weeks.     

In vivo imaging reveals an essential role of vasoconstriction in rupture of the ovarian follicle at ovulation

Rupture of the ovarian follicle releases the oocyte at ovulation, a timed event that is critical for fertilization. It is not understood how the protease activity required for rupture is directed with precise timing and localization to the outer surface, or apex, of the follicle. We hypothesized that vasoconstriction at the apex is essential for rupture. The diameter and blood flow of individual vessels and the thickness of the apical follicle wall were examined over time to expected ovulation using intravital multiphoton microscopy. Vasoconstriction of apical vessels occurred within hours preceding follicle rupture in wild-type mice, but vasoconstriction and rupture were absent in Amhr2^cre/+SmoM2 mice in which follicle vessels lack the normal association with vascular smooth muscle. Vasoconstriction is not simply a response to reduced thickness of the follicle wall; vasoconstriction persisted in wild-type mice when thinning of the follicle wall was prevented by infusion of protease inhibitors into the ovarian bursa. Ovulation was inhibited by preventing the periovulatory rise in the expression of the vasoconstrictor endothelin 2 by follicle cells of wild-type mice. In these mice, infusion of vasoconstrictors (either endothelin 2 or angiotensin 2) into the bursa restored the vasoconstriction of apical vessels and ovulation. Additionally, infusion of endothelin receptor antagonists into the bursa of wild-type mice prevented vasoconstriction and follicle rupture. Processing tissue to allow imaging at increased depth through the follicle and transabdominal ultrasonography in vivo showed that decreased blood flow is restricted to the apex. These results demonstrate that vasoconstriction at the apex of the follicle is essential for ovulation.During ovulation in typically mono-ovulatory species such as humans, as well as in poly-ovulatory species such as rodents, the oocyte is released from the preovulatory follicle by extrusion through a rupture site on the outer surface, or apex, of the follicle, which protrudes from the surface of the ovary (1). Precise timing and accurate spatial localization of rupture at the apex are essential to allow capture of the oocyte by a hormonally primed oviduct where fertilization occurs, but the mechanisms involved are not yet understood. The rupture site breaches multiple layers of cells and their associated extracellular matrix and basement membranes (2). These include the single layer of epithelial cells that covers the surface of the ovary, the basement membrane that supports it, and the multiple cell layers comprising the wall of the preovulatory follicle. The outer wall of the ovarian follicle contains androgen-secreting theca cells and extensive vasculature. This vasculature consists of an inner and an outer plexus of capillaries with associated arterioles and venules that supply nutrients to the entire follicle (3–5). Underlying the theca and separated from it by a basement membrane is the avascular granulosa cell layer that serves as the major source of estrogen. The oocyte resides in the center of the follicle surrounded by multiple layers of specialized granulosa cells known as “cumulus cells.” In a mature preovulatory follicle, formation of a fluid-filled antral cavity separates the oocyte–cumulus complex from the mural granulosa cells that form the wall of the follicle except at a region known as the “stalk,” which connects the oocyte–cumulus complex to the antral granulosa cells of the follicle wall. At ovulation the oocyte is released from the follicle in association with attached cumulus cells.The preovulatory release of surge levels of luteinizing hormone (LH) from the anterior pituitary acts on receptors in the follicle to trigger events critical for the rupture and remodeling of the follicle and differentiation of granulosa and theca cells into progesterone-producing cells of the corpus luteum. The cumulus cells are induced to secrete a mucoelastic extracellular matrix which causes loosening of contacts between granulosa cells and between granulosa cells and the oocyte, a process known as “cumulus expansion,” which is essential for ovulation (1). Expression of proteases belonging to several major families, including the matrix metalloproteinase, plasminogen activator/plasmin, and ADAMTS (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin-like motifs) families, increases. Simultaneously, follicle cells express protease inhibitors such as tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs 1–4) and plasminogen activator inhibitors (PAI 1–3) (6, 7). The increase in protease activity is essential for rupture of the follicle and for the breakdown of the basement membrane separating theca and granulosa cells to allow the ingrowth of blood vessels to establish the corpus luteum. The mechanisms that regulate the balance of protease and protease inhibitor activity in the follicle to allow precise rupture at the apex while protecting most of the follicle structure from protease activity are not understood (1, 6, 7).We postulated that vasoconstriction of vessels within the theca at the apex of the follicle is required to promote follicle rupture. Our first approach was to examine mice with conditional expression of a dominant active allele of smoothened (SMO), the transmembrane protein that relays signaling by the hedgehog (HH) pathway. In these Amhr2^cre/+SmoM2 mice, preovulatory follicles develop normally in many respects, including changes in the expression of critical genes in response to the preovulatory LH surge (8, 9). However, follicles fail to rupture, and oocytes remain trapped as the follicles luteinize. The major ovarian phenotype in these mice is a pronounced deficiency of vascular smooth muscle (VSM) surrounding vessels in the theca cell layer, whereas other vessels that are present throughout the stroma of the ovary have normal maturation with VSM. Because VSM is required for vasoconstriction, the mice provided a model to test whether failure of vasoconstriction contributes to anovulation. In additional experiments with wild-type mice, we blocked the increase in the expression of endothelin 2 (Edn2) by granulosa cells that normally occurs within hours before follicle rupture (10, 11). Because EDN2 is a potent vasoconstrictor, this approach allowed us to test the effect on follicle rupture of inhibiting vasoconstriction versus treatment with exogenous compounds to restore vasoconstriction. In addition, treatment of wild-type mice with EDN2 receptor antagonists was used to test the role of EDN2 in vasoconstriction and rupture. Vasoconstriction and changes in the follicle wall were monitored repeatedly relative to the time of ovulation using intravital multiphoton microscopy.     

In vivo release and turnover of secreted platelet antiheparin proteins in rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta)

Human and rhesus monkey platelets secrete at least two antiheparin proteins: platelet factor 4 (PF4) and low affinity platelet factor 4 (LA-PF4). Neither of these proteins showed species-related antigenic differences. As determined by radioimmunoassay, the levels of PF4 and LA-PF4 antigen per 10(9) monkey platelets amounted to 10.7 and 20.3 microgram, respectively. One milliliter of monkey plasma prepared from blood collected into an anticoagulant composed of EDTA, prostaglandin E1, and theophylline solution contained 22.4 ng LA-PF4 and 8.0 ng PF4. Concentrations of these two platelet-specific proteins in monkeys closely resembled levels found in human platelets and plasma. Infusion of prostacyclin (PGI2) (100 or 300 ng/kg/min) into monkeys for 15 min resulted in a significant decrease of plasma levels of LA-PF4 antigen and of PF4 by 40%--60% (p < 0.0001). This decrease was related to the inhibitory effect of PGI2 on the secretion of platelets stimulated by a catheter or by venipuncture. Longer infusion of PGI2 did not produce further significant change. The supernate obtained after aggregation of human platelets stimulated by thrombin was injected into monkeys receiving PGI2 infusion. The disappearance of LA-PF4 antigen in monkey plasma followed a biphasic exponential curve with half-lives for the fast and slow components of 8.4 and 63 min. PF4 disappeared faster but followed the same pattern (half-lives for the fast and slow component of 2.1 and 70 min). Analysis of the experimental data suggests that the low levels of secreted platelet proteins in monkey plasma are related to their minimal in vivo release and to their rapid clearance.     

The cytoskeleton in Chediak-Higashi syndrome fibroblasts

The Chediak-Higashi syndrome (CHS) trait is expressed in cultured human skin fibroblasts as an abnormal perinuclear concentration of moderately enlarged lysosomes. The cytoskeleton of CHS fibroblasts appears intact. Microtubules are normal in number and morphology, as assessed by colchicine binding studies, antitubulin immunofluorescence, and electron microscopy. Deformability by shear force is unaltered and microfilaments are abundant. However, CHS lysosomes appear to interact abnormally with the cytoskeleton, since the perinculear aggregation partially disperses after depolymerization of cell microtubules with colchicine. These results suggest that CHS is associated with a defect of either the lysosomal membrane itself or of lysosomal membrane- microtubule interaction.     

Autologous retro-pubic urethral sling: a novel,quick, intra-operative technique to improve continence after robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy

After radical prostatectomy, many men may suffer from urinary incontinence, which can have detrimental effects on quality of life. We describe a novel technique using an autologous retro-pubic urethral sling placed at the time of robotic-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP) and evaluate its impact on post-operative urinary continence. During 2011, 153 men who underwent sling placement at the time of RALP at a high-volume academic institution were compared to 78 men who did not undergo sling placement. The primary outcomes were time to one and no pads per day. The association between these outcomes and placement of a sling was assessed using Cox proportional hazards regression. Median follow-up was 26 weeks in those who had slings and 32.5 weeks in those who did not. Clinical and pathological characteristics were similar between the groups, with the exception that sling patients were older (p < 0.01) and underwent less nerve sparing (p < 0.01). Multivariate analysis showed that sling placement did not appear to have an effect on time to one (p = 0.24) or no pads per day (p = 0.20). Although the association between sling placement and early return of urinary continence did not reach statistical significance, there was a selection bias against the sling, since it was placed in men who were expected to have more difficulty regaining their continence. A randomized trial is needed to assess the true benefit of sling placement on urinary continence.