Antithrombotic activity in vivo of SDZ 217-766, a low-molecular weight thrombin inhibitor in comparison to heparin.

Antithrombotic potency of SDZ 217-766, a potent inhibitor of thrombin and other trypsin-like serine proteases, was studied in comparison with heparin in rat models of thrombin induced lung platelet accumulation, of thrombosis in arterio-venous shunt, and of venous thrombosis induced by tissue factor. Thrombin-induced platelet accumulation in the lung was inhibited dose-dependently by SDZ 217-766 following intravenous (i.v.) administration of 0.03 mg/kg to 0.3 mg/kg as well as by intraduodenal (i.d.) administration of 3 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg. Comparable inhibitory effects were observed with heparin at 30 IU/kg and 100 IU/kg. In the rat arterio-venous shunt, following i.v. administration of SDZ 217-766, thrombus formation was inhibited by 40% at 0.1 mg/kg, by 60% at 0.3 mg/kg and was abolished at 1.0 mg/kg whilst APTT was prolonged 1.1 fold over the control value at 0.1 mg/kg and 2.7 fold at 1.0 mg/kg. Similar inhibitory effects were observed following i.d. administration of 10 and 30 mg/kg with only marginal (1.2 to 1.8 fold) APTT elevation. In the same model, heparin administered either i.v., 30-300 IU/kg, or subcutaneously, 100 and 300 IU/kg, inhibited thrombus formation dose dependently but in contrast to SDZ 217-766, the inhibitory effect was paralleled by 5-to > 10 fold APTT elevation over baseline. In the venous thrombosis model, SDZ 217-766 infused at 10 micrograms/kg/min and 20 micrograms/kg/min, reduced thrombus formation by 35% and 70%, respectively. In comparison, thrombus formation was decreased by 22% when heparin was infused at 1 IU/kg/min, and abolished at 3 IU/kg/min.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

High level expression of human apolipoprotein A-I in transgenic rats raises total serum high density lipoprotein cholesterol and lowers rat apolipoprotein A-I.

To examine the consequences of increased apolipoprotein A-I production on cholesterol and lipoprotein metabolism, we have produced two lines of transgenic rats; one expressing moderate and one very high levels of human apolipoprotein A-I. The rats were produced by microinjection of a 13 kbp DNA fragment containing the human apolipoprotein A-I gene plus 10 kbp of its 5' flanking sequence and 1 kbp of its 3' flanking sequence. Both lines of transgenic rats express human apolipoprotein A-I mRNA in liver and human apolipoprotein A-I in plasma. Sera from these rats contain significantly higher levels of total apolipoprotein A-I, high density lipoprotein cholesterol and phospholipid than sera from non-transgenic littermates. Transgenic rats expressing high levels of human apolipoprotein A-I have reduced levels of serum rat apolipoprotein A-I suggesting a mechanism exists to down-regulate apolipoprotein A-I production. These transgenic rats provide a unique animal model to examine the effects of increased apolipoprotein A-I production on lipid and lipoprotein metabolism.