Antiatherogenic effects of cilostazol and probucol alone, and in combination in low density lipoprotein receptor-deficient mice fed with a high fat diet.

Cilostazol, an antiplatelet drug, and probucol, a cholesterol-lowering drug, are reported to ameliorate atherosclerosis in animal models. However, their combined effect on atherosclerosis is unclear. We therefore evaluated their combined effect on atherosclerotic lesions in LDL receptor-deficient mice. Male LDL receptor-deficient mice were fed a high fat diet with or without cilostazol alone, probucol alone, or with cilostazol and probucol in combination, for 8 weeks. Body weight and plasma lipid levels were measured before and during treatment. At the end of treatment, the size distribution of plasma lipoproteins was analyzed by HPLC and then plasma HDL cholesterol levels and en face aortic atherosclerotic lesion areas were measured. Probucol alone significantly decreased both total cholesterol and HDL cholesterol, while cilostazol alone did not decrease total cholesterol, but significantly increased HDL cholesterol. Both cilostazol alone and probucol alone significantly decreased atherosclerotic lesion areas, and their combined administration showed more significant decreases than when each drug was administered singly. The combination of cilostazol and probucol was more effective in preventing atherosclerotic lesion formation than the administration of each drug alone; this may provide us with a new strategy for treating atherosclerosis.

Rat granulocyte colony-forming unit (CFU-G) assay for the assessment of drug-induced hematotoxicity.

To assess the drug-induced hematotoxicity to granulocyte progenitors, we established a modified colony-forming assay using rat bone marrow cells (BMCs). In the presence of various colony-stimulating factors (CSFs), rat BMCs were disseminated on methylcellulose at a concentration of 1.3 x 10(4) cells/cm(2) (5 x 10(4) cells/0.5 ml/well in a 12-well plate). Mouse granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (mGM-CSF) stimulated the formation of almost all macrophage colonies. Human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (hG-CSF) alone or in combination with mouse interleukin-3 (mIL-3) did not significantly effect on the number of rat colony-forming units in culture (CFU-C). When BMCs were seeded at 5.2 x 10(4) cells/cm(2) (5 x 10(5) cells/1 ml/dish in a 35-mm dish), hG-CSF increased the number of the colonies in a dose-dependent manner, and resulted in about 50 colonies at 50 ng/ml. The constituent cells of the colonies were identified as neutrophils. Under these conditions, the effects of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) on granulocyte colony-forming units (CFU-G) were examined in rats and mice. The inhibitory effect of 5-FU on rat CFU-G was similar to the effect on mouse CFU-G. These results indicate that the rat CFU-G induced by hG-CSF is capable of being used for the evaluation of drug-induced hematotoxicity.

OPC-41061, a highly potent human vasopressin V2-receptor antagonist: pharmacological profile and aquaretic effect by single and multiple oral dosing in rats.

The pharmacological profile and the acute and chronic aquaretic effects of OPC-41061, a novel nonpeptide human arginine vasopressin (AVP) V2-receptor antagonist, were respectively characterized in HeLa cells expressing cloned human AVP receptors and in conscious male rats. OPC-41061 antagonized [3H]-AVP binding to human V2-receptors (Ki = 0.43 +/- 0.06 nM) more potently than AVP (Ki = 0. 78 +/- 0.08 nM) or OPC-31260 (Ki = 9.42 +/- 0.90 nM). OPC-41061 also inhibited [3H]-AVP binding to human V1a-receptors (Ki = 12.3 +/- 0.8 nM) but not to human V1b-receptors, indicating that OPC-41061 was 29 times more selective for V2-receptors than for V1a-receptors. OPC-41061 inhibited cAMP production induced by AVP with no intrinsic agonist activity. In rats, OPC-41061 inhibited [3H]-AVP binding to V1a-receptors (Ki = 325 +/- 41 nM) and V2-receptors (Ki = 1.33 +/- 0. 30 nM), showing higher receptor selectivity (V1a/V2 = 244) than with human receptors. A single oral administration of OPC-41061 in rats clearly produced dose-dependent aquaresis. In treatment by multiple OPC-41061 dosing for 28 days at 1 and 10 mg/kg p.o. in rats, significant aquaretic effects were seen throughout the study period. As the result of aquaresis, hemoconcentration was seen at 4 hr postdosing although, no differences were seen in serum osmolality, sodium, creatinine and urea nitrogen concentrations at 24 hr postdosing. Furthermore, there was no difference in serum AVP concentration, pituitary AVP content or the number and affinity of AVP receptors in the kidney and liver at trough throughout the study period. These results demonstrate that OPC-41061 is a highly potent human AVP V2-receptor antagonist and produces clear aquaresis after single and multiple dosing, suggesting the usefulness in the treatment of various water retaining states.

Cloning, functional expression and tissue distribution of human cDNA for the vascular-type vasopressin receptor.

We have cloned a human vasopressin receptor from human mesenteric artery using RACE (Rapid Amplification of cDNA Ends) methods. The deduced amino acid sequence of the clone (HV-RACE) encodes a protein of 418 amino acids that showed a strong sequence homology to the previously cloned rat V1A vasopressin receptor. The [3H] arginine vasopressin (AVP) binding to HV-RACE expressed in COS-7 cells was potently inhibited by AVP (Ki = 2.9 nM). Interestingly, a new non-peptide "V1-selective" antagonist OPC-21268 exhibited markedly higher affinity for rat V1A receptor (Ki = 57 nM) rather than for HV-RACE (Ki = 56 microM). With the reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction assay, we observed a large amount of HV-RACE transcripts in the mesenteric artery, while a small amount in a variety of other tissues. The data show that the clone HV-RACE encodes a human vascular-type vasopressin receptor cDNA.