Disposition of the radioprotector ethiofos in the rhesus monkey. Influence of route of administration.

Plasma concentrations of ethiofos [S-2-(3-aminopropylamino)ethyl phosphorothioic acid, WR-2721] were compared following iv, ip, intraduodenal, and portal administration to the rhesus monkey. Plasma samples were analyzed for ethiofos, free WR-1065, [2-(3-aminopropylamino)ethanethiol], and total material convertible to WR-1065 (total WR-1065). In separate experiments, total radioactivity in plasma was compared following iv, ip, and intraduodenal administration of [14C]ethiofos; excretion of the radiolabel was measured in urine and in feces. Intraduodenal administration of unlabeled ethiofos rarely gave measurable levels of unchanged drug in plasma. In contrast, intraduodenal administration of [14C]ethiofos produced an average AUC for total radioactivity that was 62% of that for a 10-min iv infusion of [14C]ethiofos. Urinary excretion of radioactivity following iv and intraduodenal administration of [14C]ethiofos was 78.9 +/- 14.0% and 43.8 +/- 12.4%, respectively, whereas 1.9 +/- 0.5% and 9.7 +/- 6.3% was excreted in feces. After an ip dose of either labeled or unlabeled ethiofos, absorption of the dose was prolonged, but AUC values for total radioactivity or ethiofos and total WR-1065 were similar to those observed after the corresponding 10-min iv experiments. For either iv or portal routes, increases in ethiofos AUC values were observed for the same total dose when the infusion rate was increased from 1.25 to 15 mg/kg/min.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Transplacental uptake of WR 2721 by the rat embryo.

On day 14 post-conception, near the end of the period of major organogenesis, pregnant rats were injected intravenously or intraperitoneally with WR 2721 spiked with 14C-WR 2721. The radioprotectant was shown to cross the placenta rapidly when administered by either route, and the concentration of WR 2721 in the embryos, placentae, and maternal blood plasma was determined during the period 5 to 90 minutes following administration. The concentration of WR 2721 increased continuously in the embryos during this period and did so against a decreasing concentration in the maternal blood. Injection of WR 2721 at 100 mg/kg of maternal body weight resulted in the presence of 8-9-mg/kg embryo weight; this embryo level is about 1/2 the injected dose of WR 2721 currently being used in human radiotherapy trials, that is, 20 mg/kg (740 mg/m2) body weight. Previous toxicity studies of 9, 11, and 14 day rat embryos have shown that this 100 mg/kg dose is much below the level which produces embryotoxic effects.

A method for the combined measurement of ethiofos and WR-1065 in plasma: application to pharmacokinetic experiments with ethiofos and its metabolites.

An analytical method for the combined measurement of ethiofos (WR-2721) and a major metabolite (WR-1065) in plasma is described. Plasma samples were subjected to conditions which quantitatively converted both ethiofos and bound WR-1065 to free WR-1065 which was subsequently separated by HPLC and detected electrochemically using established procedures. Although bound WR-1065 in plasma is thought to exist mainly in the form of mixed disulfides, the symmetrical disulfide, WR-33278, also was quantitatively converted to the free thiol form. Standard curves were linear over the range 0.10 to 25 micrograms/mL (0.75 to 186 mumol/L). Mean precision over the range was 5.4% (coefficient of variation, CV) and recoveries of various mixtures of ethiofos, WR-1065 and WR-33278 averaged 102% (CV = 6.6%). This analytical procedure and others specific for ethiofos, free WR-1065 and WR-33278 were applied to dosing experiments in which the parent drug and its major metabolites were variously administered to beagle dogs and rhesus monkeys. Following i.v. administration of ethiofos (120-150 mg per kg body weight) to monkeys, plasma concentrations of unchanged drug ranged from 477 micrograms/mL (2.23 mM) down to the minimum detectable limit of the analytical procedure (0.05 micrograms/mL, 0.23 microM) 2-3 hours postinfusion. Clearances averaged 43.5 +/- 13.4 (SD) mL min-1 kg-1 and half-lives observed in the 20-60 minute postinfusion period were 8-15 min.

Treatment of hypercalcemia in parathyroid cancer with WR-2721, S-2-(3-aminopropylamino)ethyl-phosphorothioic acid.

The chemoprotective and hypocalcemic agent WR-2721, S-2-(3-aminopropylamino) ethyl-phosphorothioic acid, inhibits parathyroid hormone secretion in vivo and in vitro. We report the first clinical use of WR-2721 in refractory hypercalcemia secondary to parathyroid cancer. After several days of saline diuresis the patient received WR-2721, 740 mg/m2 over 15 minutes, resulting in a fall in serum calcium from 11.76 to 9.06 mg/dL within 24 hours. Serum parathyroid hormone levels decreased from 675 to 140 microLeq/mL 2 hours after the infusion was complete. When hypercalcemia recurred the patient was retreated with differing doses and infusion rates to determine the optimal method of drug administration to provide a satisfactory hypocalcemic response without adverse effects. In this patient, WR-2721 in intravenous boluses of 150 mg/m2 was effective without adverse effects. Using high-pressure liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection, plasma pharmacokinetic studies showed that WR-2721's distribution half-life is 0.55 minutes.

Measurement of WR-2721, WR-1065, and WR-33278 in plasma.

Alkaline phosphatase was used in developing two new assays for WR-2721; one involved simple spectrophotometric titration with Ellman's reagent and the other was based upon HPLC analysis of a monobromobimane derivative. Both methods gave acceptable results when applied to whole plasma. Assays for WR-1065 and disulfide forms of the drug were also developed but were found to give unreliable results with whole plasma owing to apparent rapid reaction of these drug forms with plasma constituents. The methods were applied to the analysis of blood samples in rat 0-70 min after i.v. injection of WR-2721.

Analysis of S-35 labeled WR-2721 and its metabolites in biological fluids.

Studies with WR-2721 and related compounds have been hindered by the lack of a suitable assay for the drug and its major metabolites. We have developed a chromatographic method which requires no derivatization for the separation and detection of WR-2721, the free thiol, its symmetrical disulfide and other mixed disulfides. Our procedure involves ion-pairing for separation of ionizable compounds by causing polar molecules to become more lipophilic and hence separable using reverse phase HPLC. Detection is based upon liquid scintillation counting of S-35 incorporated during the synthesis of the parent compound. This method requires no pre-column preparation of samples and, by detecting the S-35 label, eliminates the chance that a coeluting species could interfere with detection, as might occur with post-column derivatization. Chromatography was done using a 10 micron C8RP column and 35% MeOH/65% 0.0113M NaH2PO4, 0.005 M hexanesulfonate, pH 5.9, flowing at 1 ml/min. Half-minute fractions were collected into scintillation vials for counting. Retention volumes for the various compounds were: column breakthrough (3.5 ml), WR-2721 (4.5 ml), WR-1065 (9 ml), and WR-33278 (24 ml). This analytical technique employing radiotracers can be used to study radioprotective mechanisms by time dependent measurements of the tissue distribution and chemical form of labeled drug. Such chemical information can then be correlated with biological measures of radiation protection.

An improved HPLC assay for S-2-(3-aminopropylamino)ethyl phosphorothioate (WR-2721) in plasma.

An HPLC assay is presented for the detection and quantitation of the radioprotective drug S-2-(3-aminopropylamino)ethyl phosphorothioate (WR-2721, ethiofos) present in plasma. Improved selectivity and a 40-fold increase in sensitivity have been demonstrated over the method previously reported by this laboratory. Using precolumn derivatization with fluorescamine and S-3-(4-aminobutylamino)propyl phosphorothioate (WR-80855, a homolog of WR-2721) as the internal standard, drug levels of 0.05 to 1000 micrograms/mL were determined with excellent precision (CV less than or equal to 5% over the concentration range). An isocratic mobile phase of acetonitrile/ethanol/water (16:7:77) modified with 0.01 M tetrabutylammonium phosphate eluted the drug and the internal standard from the C-18 reverse-phase column in 23 minutes and 26 minutes, respectively. Detector response was linear over the entire range. The assay uses 150 microL of plasma and requires a total chromatography time of about 50 minutes. The method was found suitable for pharmacokinetic studies in a preliminary experiment with a beagle dog in which no interferences due to plasma constituents or drug metabolites were observed.

Dephosphorylation of WR-2721 with mouse tissue homogenates.

Mouse liver homogenate had an optimum pH of 8.6 to 8.8 for dephosphorylation of WR-2721 in the analyzed pH range from 5.2 to 10.0. At this optimum pH condition, the dephosphorylation activities of six mouse tissue homogenates were analyzed. Kidney, liver and small intestine homogenates showed higher dephosphorylation activities (935, 336 and 314 nmoles/mg protein/hr, respectively) than spleen and lung homogenates (86, 49 nmoles/mg protein/hr, respectively). Furthermore, serum did not show any dephosphorylation activity. The high activity found in liver homogenate agrees well with our previous data with mouse L cells. However, optimum pH from 8.6 to 8.8 in liver homogenate is quite different from the data reported by using Ehrlich ascites tumor cells (optimum pH was 5.6). Therefore, it is suggested that WR-2721 administered into mouse is efficiently dephosphorylated in certain tissues such as liver to its active form with the enzyme(s) different from that found in Ehrlich ascites tumor cells.

The modification of melphalan toxicity in tumor bearing mice by s-2-(3-aminopropylamino)- ethylphosphorothioic acid (WR 2721).

The toxicity of melphalan in mice was reduced by the injection of S-2-(3-aminopropylamino)-ethylphosphorothioic acid (WR2721). This was seen in terms of reduced toxicity to the stem cells of the bone marrow and intestinal epithelium as well as improved animal survival. Using human melanoma xenografts and growth delay as an end-point, it was demonstrated that WR2721 did not protect this tumor from melphalan. With radio-labelled WR2721, it was shown that WR2721 was rapidly cleared from the blood and actively accumulated by all normal tissues except the CNS. Intact human tumor xenografts and Lewis lung tumors were less able to accumulate WR2721 than normal tissues, but in vitro studies showed that tissue fragments or single cell suspensions of tumors were as efficient as liver fragments or bone marrow cells in accumulating the drug. The rapid clearance of WR2721 and poor vascularity of the intact tumors were thought to be responsible for the differential uptake and protection of normal tissues by WR2721.