The selective phosphodiesterase 9 (PDE9) inhibitor PF-04447943 (6-[(3S,4S)-4-methyl-1-(pyrimidin-2-ylmethyl)pyrrolidin-3-yl]-1-(tetrahydro-2H-pyran-4-yl)-1,5-dihydro-4H-pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidin-4-one) enhances synaptic plasticity and cognitive function in rodents.

Inhibition of phosphodiesterase 9 (PDE9) has been reported to enhance rodent cognitive function and may represent a potential novel approach to improving cognitive dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease. PF-04447943, (6-[(3S,4S)-4-methyl-1-(pyrimidin-2-ylmethyl)pyrrolidin-3-yl]-1-(tetrahydro-2H-pyran-4-yl)-1,5-dihydro-4H-pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidin-4-one), a recently described PDE9 inhibitor, was found to have high affinity (Ki of 2.8, 4.5 and 18 nM) for human, rhesus and rat recombinant PDE9 respectively and high selectivity for PDE9 versus PDEs1-8 and 10-11. PF-04447943 significantly increased neurite outgrowth and synapse formation (as indicated by increased synapsin 1 expression) in cultured hippocampal neurons at low (30-100 nM) but not high (300-1000 nM) concentrations. PF-04447943 significantly facilitated hippocampal slice LTP evoked by a weak tetanic stimulus at a concentration of 100 nM but failed to affect response to the weak tetanus at either 30 or 300 nM, or the LTP produced by a theta burst stimulus. Systemic administration of PF-04447943 (1-30 mg/kg p.o.) dose-dependently increased cGMP in the cerebrospinal fluid 30 min after administration indicating target engagement in the CNS of rats. PF-04447943 (1-3 mg/kg p.o.) significantly improved cognitive performance in three rodent cognition assays (mouse Y maze spatial recognition memory model of natural forgetting, mouse social recognition memory model of natural forgetting and rat novel object recognition with a scopolamine deficit). When administered at a dose of 3 mg/kg p.o., which improved performance in novel object recognition, PF-04447943 significantly increased phosphorylated but not total GluR1 expression in rat hippocampal membranes. Collectively these data indicate that PF-04447943 is a potent, selective brain penetrant PDE9 inhibitor that increased indicators of hippocampal synaptic plasticity and improved cognitive function in a variety of cognition models in both rats and mice. Results with PF-04447943 are consistent with previously published findings using a structurally diverse PDE9 inhibitor, BAY73-6199, and further support the suggestion that PDE9 inhibition may represent a novel approach to the palliative remediation of cognitive dysfunction.

Formation of a substituted 1,N(6)-etheno-2'-deoxyadenosine adduct by lipid hydroperoxide-mediated generation of 4-oxo-2-nonenal.

Analysis of the reaction between 2'-deoxyadenosine and 13-hydroperoxylinoleic acid by liquid chromatography/constant neutral loss mass spectrometry revealed the presence of two major products (adducts A and B). Adduct A was shown to be a mixture of two isomers (A(1) and A(2)) that each decomposed with the loss of water to form adduct B. The mass spectral characteristics of adduct B were consistent with the substituted 1, N(6)-etheno-2'-deoxyadensoine adduct 1' '-[3-(2'-deoxy-beta-D-erythro-pentafuranosyl)-3H-imidazo[2, 1-i]purin-7-yl]heptan-2' '-one. Adducts A(1), A(2), and B were formed when 2'-deoxyadenosine was treated with synthetic 4-oxo-2-nonenal, which suggested that it was formed by the breakdown of 13-hydroperoxylinoleic acid. A substantial increase in the rate of formation of adducts A(1), A(2), and B was observed when 13-hydroperoxylinoleic acid and 2'-deoxyadenosine were incubated in the presence of Fe(II). Thus, 4-oxo-2-nonenal was most likely formed by a homolytic process. Although adducts A(1), A(2), and B were formed in the reaction between 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal and 2'-deoxyadenosine, a number of additional products were observed. This suggested that 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal was not a precursor in the formation of 4-oxo-2-nonenal from 13-hydroperoxylinoleic acid. This study has provided additional evidence which shows that 4-oxo-2-nonenal is a major product of lipid peroxidation and that it reacts efficiently with DNA to form substituted etheno adducts.

Characterization of 2'-deoxyadenosine adducts derived from 4-oxo-2-nonenal, a novel product of lipid peroxidation.

Analysis of the reaction between 2'-deoxyadenosine and 4-oxo-2-nonenal by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry revealed the presence of three major products (adducts A(1), A(2), and B). Adducts A(1) and A(2) were isomeric; they interconverted at room temperature, and they each readily dehydrated to form adduct B. The mass spectral characteristics of adduct B obtained by collision-induced dissociation coupled with multiple tandem mass spectrometry were consistent with those expected for a substituted etheno adduct. The structure of adduct B was shown by NMR spectroscopy to be consistent with the substituted etheno-2'-deoxyadenosine adduct 1' '-[3-(2'-deoxy-beta-D-erythropentafuranosyl)-3H-imidazo[2, 1-i]purin-7-yl]heptane-2' '-one. Unequivocal proof of structure came from the reaction of adducts A(1) and A(2) (precursors of adduct B) with sodium borohydride. Adducts A(1) and A(2) each formed the same reduction product, which contained eight additional hydrogen atoms. The mass spectral characteristics of this reduction product established that the exocyclic amino group (N(6)) of 2'-deoxyadenosine was attached to C-1 of the 4-oxo-2-nonenal. The reaction of 4-oxo-2-nonenal with calf thymus DNA was also shown to result in the formation of substituted ethano adducts A(1) and A(2) and substituted etheno adduct B. Adduct B was formed in amounts almost 2 orders of magnitude greater than those of adducts A(1) and A(2). This was in keeping with the observed stability of the adducts. The study presented here has provided additional evidence which shows that 4-oxo-2-nonenal reacts efficiently with DNA to form substituted etheno adducts.

Covalent modifications to 2'-deoxyguanosine by 4-oxo-2-nonenal, a novel product of lipid peroxidation.

Two major products (adducts A and B) from the reaction of 2-deoxyguanosine (dGuo) with 13-hydroperoxylinoleic acid were detected by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS). Adducts A and B were also the major products formed enzymatically when dGuo was incubated in the presence of linoleic acid and lipoxygenase. The mass spectral fragmentation patterns of adducts A and B suggested that unique modifications to the nucleoside had been introduced. This resulted in the characterization of a novel bifunctional electrophile, 4-oxo-2-nonenal, as the principal breakdown product of linoleic acid hydroperoxide. In subsequent studies, adduct A was found to be a substituted ethano dGuo adduct that was a mixture of three isomers (A(1)-A(3)) that all decomposed to form adduct B. Adduct A(1) was the hemiacetal form of 3-(2-deoxy-beta-D-erythropentafuranosyl)-3,5,6, 7-tetrahydro-6-hydroxy-7-(heptane-2-one)-9H-imidazo[1, 2-alpha]purine-9-one. Adducts A(2) and A(3) were the diastereomers of the open chain ketone form. Adduct B was the substituted etheno dGuo adduct, 3-(2-deoxy-beta-D-erythropentafuranosyl)imidazo-7-(heptane-2 -one)-9-hydroxy[1,2-alpha]purine, the dehydration product of adducts A(1)-A(3). Identical covalent modifications to dGuo were observed when calf-thymus DNA was treated with 4-oxo-2-nonenal. These data illustrate the diversity of reactive electrophiles produced from the peroxidative decomposition of lipids and have implications in fully assessing the role of lipid peroxidation in mutagenesis and carcinogenesis.

Synthesis and characterization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon o-quinone depurinating N7-guanine adducts.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are environmental pollutants which may cause cancer and require metabolic activation to exert their carcinogenic effects. One pathway of activation involves the dihydrodiol dehydrogenase-catalyzed oxidation of non-K region trans-dihydrodiols to yield catechols, which autoxidize to form reactive o-quinones. As a step toward identifying the spectrum of PAH o-quinone-DNA adducts that may form in biological systems, depurinating PAH o-quinone-guanine adducts were synthesized. Naphthalene-1,2-dione, phenanthrene-1,2-dione, and benzo[a]pyrene-7, 8-dione were reacted with 5 equiv of 2'-deoxyguanosine (dGuo) under acidic conditions (1:1 acetic acid/water). The products were purified by reversed-phase HPLC, characterized by a combination of UV spectroscopy, electrospray ionization/tandem mass spectrometry, and high-field proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and identified as 7-(naphthalene-1,2-dion-4-yl)guanine (MH+, m/z 308), 7-(phenanthrene-1,2-dion-4-yl)guanine (MH+, m/z 358), and 7-(benzo[a]pyrene-7,8-dion-10-yl)guanine (MH+, m/z 432), respectively. Reaction at N7 of dGuo leads to cleavage of the glycosidic bond, producing depurinating adducts. Reaction of phenanthrene-1,2-dione with calf thymus DNA led to the formation of the corresponding depurinating adduct. The loss of modified bases in DNA generates apurinic sites which, if unrepaired, can lead to mutations and thus cellular transformation. These synthesized PAH o-quinone-N7-guanine adducts can be used as standards to identify such adducts in vitro and in vivo.

Determination of in vitro formed DNA adducts of 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine using capillary liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization/tandem mass spectrometry.

On-line reversed-phase capillary liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization was used for the detection of 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP) adducts of DNA and compared to analysis by 32P-postlabeling. Structural information was obtained on low nanogram levels of a synthetic N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-PhIP (dG-C8-PhIP) standard using collision-induced dissociation, and low picogram level detection was achieved for the targeted dG-C8-PhIP adduct using the selective multiple reaction monitoring scanning mode. The method was applied to the analysis of an in vitro reaction mixture identifying the dG-C8-PhIP adduct and providing evidence for the presence of two additional PhIP-modified deoxyguanosine adducts. The results were in qualitative agreement with those obtained by the 32P-postlabeling method. In addition, the mass spectrometric results revealed the occurrence of an unexpected product in the in vitro reaction mixture presumably resulting from cleavage through the guanine base.

Mass spectrometric assay for determination of pancuronium and vecuronium in biological fluids utilizing the moving belt introduction system.

An assay for the determination of the neuromuscular blocking agents pancuronium bromide and vecuronium bromide in plasma or urine has been developed. This method is based on syringe application of sample extracts to the moving belt surface and single metastable transition monitoring of the elimination of acetic acid from the ion of m/z 543 during chemical ionization. The analysis shows good linearity over three orders of magnitude and is capable of analyzing for the compounds below the 5 ng ml-1 level. The assay has been used in preliminary pharmacokinetic studies of the biological fluids of surgical patients. The utility of the method for simultaneous determination of the deacetylated metabolites of these two drugs has also been investigated.