Comparison of Submental Blood Collection with the Retroorbital and Submandibular Methods in Mice (Mus musculus).

Nonterminal blood sample collection of sufficient volume and quality for research is complicated in mice due to their small size and anatomy. Large (>100 µL) nonterminal volumes of unhemolyzed or unclotted blood currently are typically collected from the retroorbital sinus or submandibular plexus. We developed a third method-submental blood collection-which is similar in execution to the submandibular method but with minor changes in animal restraint and collection location. Compared with other techniques, submental collection is easier to perform due to the direct visibility of the target vessels, which are located in a sparsely furred region. Compared with the submandibular method, the submental method did not differ regarding weight change and clotting score but significantly decreased hemolysis and increased the overall number of high-quality samples. The submental method was performed with smaller lancets for the majority of the bleeds, yet resulted in fewer repeat collection attempts, fewer insufficient samples, and less extraneous blood loss and was qualitatively less traumatic. Compared with the retroorbital technique, the submental method was similar regarding weight change but decreased hemolysis, clotting, and the number of overall high-quality samples; however the retroorbital method resulted in significantly fewer incidents of insufficient sample collection. Extraneous blood loss was roughly equivalent between the submental and retroorbital methods. We conclude that the submental method is an acceptable venipuncture technique for obtaining large, nonterminal volumes of blood from mice.

Exploring the site of anorectic action of peripherally administered synthetic melanocortin peptide MT-II in rats.

Melanotan-II (MT-II), a cyclic heptapeptide, is a potent, non-selective melanocortinergic agonist. When administered centrally or systemically, MT-II elicited a profound inhibitory effect on food intake in rodents, presumably via activation of melanocortin-4-receptor (MC4R). In this study, we sought to investigate whether penetration of MT-II and iodo-MT-II into brain parenchyma is required for the anorectic effect following intravenous (IV) administration. Firstly, both MT-II and iodo-MT-II were effective at suppressing appetite in rats following their IV administration. We next surveyed by in vitro autoradiographic studies the distribution of selective (125)I-MT-II binding sites in multiple brain regions including areas important for feeding regulation such as the hypothalamus and caudal brainstem. Upon IV administration of (125)I-MT-II, significant radioactivity could not be detected in various brain regions by autoradiography except for a group of circumventricular organs (CVOs), which are anatomically situated outside the blood-brain barrier (BBB). The most intensely labeled CVOs include the subfornical organ, median eminence, area postrema and choroid plexus, and accumulation of radioactivity at these sites can be blocked by co-injection of excess unlabeled MT-II. Direct measurement of MT-II in the brain and plasma by LC-MS-MS following IV injection confirmed that the degree of MT-II penetration into the brain is negligible. Furthermore, when given peripherally under conditions that suppressed food intake, MT-II did not result in a detectable induction of c-Fos-like immunoreactivity in brain regions where a significantly elevated c-Fos expression was observed following intracerebroventricular injection of this peptide. Our results indicate that MT-II has a very limited brain penetration capability, and its effect on feeding behavior following systemic administration may be mediated by either the brain regions in close proximity to the CVOs or sites outside of the BBB, including CVOs or other peripheral systems.

Simple and sensitive liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry method for the determination of diazepam and its major metabolites in rat cerebrospinal fluid.

Diazepam (DZP) is one of the most commonly prescribed drugs for treating status epilepticus (SE). A simple, sensitive and selective LC/MS/MS method with a wide linear calibration range was developed to quantify DZP and its major metabolites, N-desmethyldiazepam (DMDZP), temazepam (TZP), and oxazepam (OZP), in rat cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The method was used to simultaneously determine the concentrations of all analytes in a small sample volume (as little as 25 microL) of rat CSF. The lower limits of quantification (LLOQ) of the method are 0.04 ng/mL for DZP and 0.1 ng/mL for its metabolites. The calibration range is 0.04-200 ng/mL for DZP and 0.1-200 ng/ml for the metabolites. All intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation (%CV) and mean percent errors of the method are less than 12%. This method successfully addresses the need to determine low therapeutic drug concentrations in small physiological samples, namely rat CSF. Moreover, it can be used to investigate the distribution of the drug and its metabolites among blood plasma, brain tissue, and CSF in pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies in a variety of laboratory animals. With respect to animal experiments involving assays in CSF, this method addresses two of the three criteria of Russell and Bruch (Principles of Humane Experimental Techniques, 1959, Methuen and Co., London) for minimizing animal use, namely refinement and reduction.

The discovery of acylated beta-amino acids as potent and orally bioavailable VLA-4 antagonists.

Acylated beta-amino acids are described as potent, specific and orally bioavailable antagonists of VLA-4. The initial lead was identified from a combinatorial library. Subsequent optimization using a traditional medicinal chemistry approach led to significant improvement in potency (up to 8-fold) while maintaining good pharmacokinetic properties.

Effect of signal interference from dosing excipients on pharmacokinetic screening of drug candidates by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry.

The effect of dosing vehicle excipients such as PEG400, propylene glycol, Tween 80, and hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin on the accuracy of LC/MS measurements used in pharmacokinetic studies is examined. Using PEG400 as a probe compound, the concentration-time profile of the excipient in plasma from rats dosed both orally and intravenously is determined. These excipient plasma concentrations can result in a 2-5-fold increase in calculated plasma clearance values when the excipient interferes with the quantitation of the dosed compound. This can result in false rejection of a compound in a drug discovery screen. Several plasma purification methods and enhanced chromatographic selectivity are examined as ways to minimize or avoid excipient effects, particularly for very polar compounds. The combination of efficient sample purification and selective chromatography provides an effective way to diminish the significant interference effects of PEG400 and Tween 80. When appropriate, using negative ion mode MS or changing a dosing vehicle excipient, such as substituting propylene glycol for PEG400, provides an alternative approach for eliminating signal interference. The mechanism of excipient-related signal interference is discussed in relation to both competition of gas-phase proton-transfer reactions and high viscosity of dosing excipients.