Utility of a single adjusting compartment: a novel methodology for whole body physiologically-based pharmacokinetic modelling

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There are various methods for predicting human pharmacokinetics. Among these, a whole body physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (WBPBPK) model is useful because it gives a mechanistic description. However, WBPBPK models cannot predict human pharmacokinetics with enough precision. This study was conducted to elucidate the primary reason for poor predictions by WBPBPK models, and to enable better predictions to be made without reliance on complex concepts.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The primary reasons for poor predictions of human pharmacokinetics were investigated using a generic WBPBPK model that incorporated a single adjusting compartment (SAC), a virtual organ compartment with physiological parameters that can be adjusted arbitrarily. The blood flow rate, organ volume, and the steady state tissue-plasma partition coefficient of a SAC were calculated to fit simulated to observed pharmacokinetics in the rat. The adjusted SAC parameters were fixed and scaled up to the human using a newly developed equation. Using the scaled-up SAC parameters, human pharmacokinetics were simulated and each pharmacokinetic parameter was calculated. These simulated parameters were compared to the observed data. Simulations were performed to confirm the relationship between the precision of prediction and the number of tissue compartments, including a SAC.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Increasing the number of tissue compartments led to an improvement of the average-fold error (AFE) of total body clearances (CL_tot) and half-lives (T_1/2) calculated from the simulated human blood concentrations of 14 drugs. The presence of a SAC also improved the AFE values of a ten-organ model from 6.74 to 1.56 in CL_tot, and from 4.74 to 1.48 in T_1/2. Moreover, the within-2-fold errors were improved in all models; incorporating a SAC gave results from 0 to 79% in CL_tot, and from 14 to 93% in T_1/2of the ten-organ model.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>By using a SAC in this study, we were able to show that poor prediction resulted mainly from such physiological factors as organ blood flow rate and organ volume, which were not satisfactorily accounted for in previous WBPBPK models. The SAC also improved precision in the prediction of human pharmacokinetics. This finding showed that the methodology of our study may be useful for functionally reinforcing a WBPBPK model.</p

Superconductivity in Sr2_2RuO4_4 Mediated by Coulomb Scattering

We investigate the superconductivity in Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ on the basis of the three-dimensional three-band Hubbard model. We propose a model with Coulomb interactions among the electrons on the nearest-neighbor Ru sites. In our model the intersite Coulomb repulsion and exchange coupling can work as the effective interaction for the spin-triplet paring. This effective interaction is enhanced by the band hybridization, which is mediated by the interlayer transfers. We investigate the possibility of this mechanism in the ground state and find that the orbital dependent spin-triplet superconductivity is more stable than the spin-singlet one for realistic parameters. This spin-triplet superconducting state has horizontal line nodes on the Fermi surface.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figure

フルオロキノロン薬の尿中排泄によるラット膀胱組織内濃度におよぼす影響

博士(医学)岐阜大学(Gifu University

Diet and Abdominal Autofluorescence Detected by in Vivo Fluorescence Imaging of Living Mice

We investigated the effect of diet on abdominal autofluorescence detected by in vivo fluorescence imaging (FLI) of living mice. Groups of mice were fed a regular, alfalfa-free, or purified diet, and whole-body FLI was performed without the administration of fluorescent probes. In addition, quantum dots were injected intravenously into mice fed one of the three diets, and FLI was performed 3 and 24 hours later. Intense autofluorescence originating from the animals' intestinal contents was observed in mice fed the regular diet. Intestinal autofluorescence decreased substantially after feeding with the alfalfa-free diet and further after feeding with the purified diet. The decline was rapid and took only 1 to 2 days; however, it may have been affected by an intake of feces. The reticuloendothelial system was clearly delineated using a low dose of quantum dots in mice fed the purified diet. On the other hand, intestinal autofluorescence was visible 24 hours postinjection in mice given the alfalfa-free diet and definitely impaired the image quality in mice fed the regular diet. The use of a low-fluorescence diet, especially a purified diet, rapidly reduces intestinal autofluorescence and is expected to enhance the potential of in vivo FLI

Synthesis and Structure of Sterically Crowded Triarylphosphine Bearing 4-Bromo-2,6-Bis(4-<i>tert</i>-Butylphenyl)Phenyl Group

<div><p></p><p>A novel sterically crowded triarylphosphine bearing a 2,6-diaryl-4-bromophenyl group, [4-bromo-2,6-bis(4-<i>tert</i>-butylphenyl)phenyl]bis(2,4,6-triisopropylphenyl)phosphine (<b>1</b>), was synthesized. The X-ray crystallography revealed that the bond angles and lengths around the phosphorus atom (110.9°, 1.846 Å) are comparable to those of tris(2,4,6-triisopropylphenyl)phosphine and its derivatives. Triarylphosphine <b>1</b> is reversibly oxidized to the radical cation at the potential close to that of the typical sterically crowded (bromoaryl)phosphine, (4-bromo-2,6-diisopropylphenyl)bis(2,4,6-triisopropylphenyl)phosphine, and exhibits the UV absorption at long wavelength (<i>λ</i>_max 332 nm) characteristic of the sterically crowded triarylphosphines. Thus, triarylphosphine <b>1</b> can be regarded to be a promising candidate for the key synthetic intermediate or building block to the functional molecules bearing sterically crowded triarylphosphine moieties.</p></div

Gaussia Luciferase for Bioluminescence Tumor Monitoring in Comparison with Firefly Luciferase

Gaussia luciferase (Gluc) is a secreted reporter, and its expression in living animals can be assessed by in vivo bioluminescence imaging (BLI) or blood assays. We characterized Gluc as an in vivo reporter in comparison with firefly luciferase (Fluc). Mice were inoculated subcutaneously with tumor cells expressing both Fluc and Gluc and underwent Flue BLI, Gluc BLI, blood assays of Glue activity, and caliper measurement. In Gluc BLI, the signal from the tumor peaked immediately and then decreased rapidly. In the longitudinal monitoring, all measures indicated an increase in tumor burden early after cell inoculation. However, the increase reached plateaus in Gluc BLI and Fluc BLI despite a continuous increase in the caliper measurement and Gluc blood assay. Significant correlations were found between the measures, and the correlation between the blood signal and caliper volume was especially high. Gluc allows tumor monitoring in mice and should be applicable to dual-reporter assessment in combination with Fluc. The Gluc blood assay appears to provide a reliable indicator of viable tumor burden, and the combination of a blood assay and in vivo BLI using Glue should be promising for quantifying and localizing the tumors