Design and synthesis of new imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine and imidazo[1,2-a]pyrazine derivatives with antiproliferative activity against melanoma cells.

Melanoma is an aggressive form of skin cancer and it is generally associated with poor prognosis in patients with late-stage disease. Due to the increasing occurrence of melanoma, there is a need for the development of novel therapies. A new series of diarylamide and diarylurea derivatives containing imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine or imidazo[1,2-a]pyrazine scaffold was designed and synthesized to investigate their in vitro efficacy against the A375P human melanoma cell line. We found several compounds expressing submicromolar IC50 values against the A375P cells, from which 15d, 17e, 18c, 18h, 18i demonstrated the highest potencies with IC50 below 0.06 muM

Discovery of N-[4-(Quinolin-4-yloxy)phenyl]benzenesulfonamides as Novel AXL Kinase Inhibitors

The overexpression of AXL kinase has been described in many types of cancer. Due to its role in proliferation, survival, migration, and resistance, AXL represents a promising target in the treatment of the disease. In this study we present a novel compound family that successfully targets the AXL kinase. Through optimization and detailed SAR studies we developed low nanomolar inhibitors, and after further biological characterization we identified a potent AXL kinase inhibitor with favorable pharmacokinetic profile. The antitumor activity was determined in xenograft models, and the lead compounds reduced the tumor size by 40% with no observed toxicity as well as lung metastasis formation by 66% when compared to vehicle control

Acute physiological changes caused by complement activators and amphotericin B-containing liposomes in mice

Erik Őrfi,1,2 Tamás Mészáros,1,2 Mark Hennies,3 Tamás Fülöp,1,2 László Dézsi,1,2 Alexander Nardocci,1 László Rosivall,1,2 Péter Hamar,4,5 Barry W Neun,6 Marina A Dobrovolskaia,6 János Szebeni,1,2,7,* Gábor Szénási1,8,* 1Nanomedicine Research and Education Center, Institute of Pathophysiology, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary; 2SeroScience LCC., Cambridge, MA, USA; 3TECOdevelopment GmbH, Rheinbach, Germany; 4Institute of Clinical Experimental Research, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary; 5Institute for Translational Medicine, Medical School, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary; 6Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD, USA; 7Department of Nanobiotechnology and Regenerative Medicine, Faculty of Health, Miskolc University, Miskolc, Hungary; 8Institute of Pathophysiology, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary *These authors contributed equally to this work Purpose: Undesirable complement (C) activation by nanomedicines can entail an adverse immune reaction known as C activation-related pseudoallergy (CARPA) in sensitive patients. The syndrome includes cardiopulmonary, hemodynamic, and a variety of other physiological changes that have been well described in man, pigs, dogs, and rats. However, the information on CARPA is scarce and ambiguous in mice, a species widely used in preclinical studies. The present study aimed to fill this gap by exploring signs of CARPA in mice following i.v. administration of AmBisome and Abelcet, which are nano-formulations of Amphotericin B with high risk to cause CARPA. Materials and methods: Anesthetized NMRI mice were intravenously injected with liposomal amphotericin B (Abelcet and AmBisome; 30–300 mg phospholipid/kg), drug-free high cholesterol multilamellar vesicles (HC-MLV), and positive controls, cobra venom factor (CVF) and zymosan, followed by the measurement of blood pressure (BP), heart rate, white blood cell, and platelet counts and plasma thromboxane B2 (TXB2) levels. C activation was assessed by C3a ELISA, a C3 consumption assay (PAN-C3) and a modified sheep red blood cell hemolytic assay. Results: All test agents, except HC-MLV, caused transient hypertension, thrombocytopenia, and elevation of plasma TXB2, which were paralleled by significant rises of plasma C3a in CVF and zymosan-treated animals, wherein the initial hypertension turned into hypotension and shock. Abelcet and AmBisome caused minor, delayed rise of C3a that was not associated with hypertension. The C3a receptor inhibitor SB-290157 attenuated the hypertension caused by Abelcet and decreased the BP thereafter. Conclusion: The parallelism between C3a anaphylatoxin production and severity of physiological changes caused by the different agents is consistent with CARPA underlying these changes. Although the reactive dose of liposomal phospholipids was substantially higher than that in other species (pigs, dogs), the mouse seems suitable for studying the mechanism of hypersensitivity reactions to liposomal formulations of amphotericin B, a frequent side effect of these drugs. Keywords: hypersensitivity, infusion reactions, zymosan, cobra venom factor, TXB2, cholesterol, anaphylatoxins, platelet

Non-immunogenic dextran-coated superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles: a biocompatible, size-tunable contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging

Harald Unterweger,1,* Christina Janko,1,* Marc Schwarz,2 László Dézsi,3 Rudolf Urbanics,4 Jasmin Matuszak,1 Erik Őrfi,3 Tamás Fülöp,3 Tobias Bäuerle,2 János Szebeni,3,4 Clément Journé,5 Aldo R Boccaccini,6 Christoph Alexiou,1 Stefan Lyer,1 Iwona Cicha1 1Cardiovascular Nanomedicine Unit, Section of Experimental Oncology und Nanomedicine (SEON), Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung-Professorship, ENT Department, University Hospital Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-Universitaet Erlangen-Nuernberg, 2Preclinical Imaging Platform Erlangen (PIPE), Institute of Radiology, University Hospital Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany; 3Nanomedicine Research and Education Center, Semmelweis University, 4SeroScience Ltd., Budapest, Hungary; 5Inserm U1148, Fédération de Recherche en Imagerie Multimodalités (FRIM), X Bichat Hospital, Paris Diderot University, Paris, France; 6Institute of Biomaterials, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany *These authors contributed equally to this work Abstract: Iron oxide-based contrast agents have been in clinical use for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of lymph nodes, liver, intestines, and the cardiovascular system. Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) have high potential as a contrast agent for MRI, but no intravenous iron oxide-containing agents are currently approved for clinical imaging. The aim of our work was to analyze the hemocompatibility and immuno-safety of a new type of dextran-coated SPIONs (SPIONdex) and to characterize these nanoparticles with ultra-high-field MRI. Key parameters related to nanoparticle hemocompatibility and immuno-safety were investigated in vitro and ex vivo. To address concerns associated with hypersensitivity reactions to injectable nanoparticulate agents, we analyzed complement activation-related pseudoallergy (CARPA) upon intravenous administration of SPIONdex in a pig model. Furthermore, the size-tunability of SPIONdex and the effects of size reduction on their biocompatibility were investigated. In vitro, SPIONdex did not induce hemolysis, complement or platelet activation, plasma coagulation, or leukocyte procoagulant activity, and had no relevant effect on endothelial cell viability or endothelial–monocytic cell interactions. Furthermore, SPIONdex did not induce CARPA even upon intravenous administration of 5 mg Fe/kg in pigs. Upon SPIONdex administration in mice, decreased liver signal intensity was observed after 15 minutes and was still detectable 24 h later. In addition, by changing synthesis parameters, a reduction in particle size <30 nm was achieved, without affecting their hemo- and biocompatibility. Our findings suggest that due to their excellent biocompatibility, safety upon intravenous administration and size-tunability, SPIONdex particles may represent a suitable candidate for a new-generation MRI contrast agent. Keywords: superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles, MRI, hypersensitivity reaction, SPION uptake, hemocompatibilit