Common interactions between S100A4 and S100A9 defined by a novel chemical probe.

S100A4 and S100A9 proteins have been described as playing roles in the control of tumor growth and metastasis. We show here that a chemical probe, oxyclozanide (OX), selected for inhibiting the interaction between S100A9 and the receptor for advanced glycation end-products (RAGE) interacts with both S100A9 and S100A4. Furthermore, we show that S100A9 and S100A4 interact with RAGE and TLR4; interactions that can be inhibited by OX. Hence, S100A4 and S100A9 display similar functional elements despite their primary sequence diversity. This was further confirmed by showing that S100A4 and S100A9 dimerize both in vitro and in vivo. All of these interactions required levels of Zn++ that are found in the extracellular space but not intracellularly. Interestingly, S100A4 and S100A9 are expressed by distinct CD11b+ subpopulations both in healthy animals and in animals with either inflammatory disease or tumor burden. The functions of S100A9 and S100A4 described in this paper, including heterodimerization, may therefore reflect S100A9 and S100A4 that are released into the extra-cellular milieu.

Simultaneous determination of five fasciolicides in milk by liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection.

A sensitive and specific method is described for determination of 5 fasciolicides in milk. The drugs are used to control liver flukes in cattle. The milk sample was homogenized with acetone and acetonitrile, sonicated, and centrifuged. The supernatant was extracted with dichloromethane. The extract was evaporated to dryness, dissolved in 1% sodium hydrogen carbonate, and purified on a C18 cartridge. The 5 drugs were separated from the matrix by reversed-phase liquid chromatography (LC) and determined by dual-electrode coulometric detection on a Kaseisorb LC ODS-300-5 column. The mobile phase was acetonitrile-0.05M potassium dihydrogen phosphate (55 + 45) at pH 3.0. The flow rate was 1 mL/min at 40 degrees C. The applied potentials of detectors 1 and 2 were set at 0.20 and 0.55 V, respectively. The average recovery of the drugs added to milk at 0.01 and 0.1 micrograms/mL was 89.6%, and the coefficient of variation was 4.7%. The detection limits of the drugs in milk were 4-20 ng/mL. The method is used to monitor commercial milk samples and to determine the residual levels of these drugs in milk from cows treated with a fasciolicide.

The pharmacodynamics of the flukicidal salicylanilides, rafoxanide, closantel and oxyclosanide.

The pharmacokinetics of oxyclosanide, rafoxanide and closantel were investigated in sheep (n = 5). All three drugs were extensively (greater than 99%) bound to plasma proteins and the plasma concentration/time curve was best described by a tri-exponential equation. Closantel and rafoxanide had long terminal half-lives (mean 14.5 and 16.6 days, respectively) compared with oxyclosanide (mean 6.4 days). In a study of the efficacy of rafoxanide against Fasciola hepatica, a dose rate of 7.5 mg kg-1 against 6-week-old flukes appeared to be similarly effective to a dose rate of 2.5 mg kg-1 against 10-week-old flukes (86% and 88% efficacy, respectively), as assessed at autopsies carried out on all sheep when the flukes were 14 weeks old. Part of this putative efficacy against immature flukes may be due to rafoxanide persisting in the plasma and affecting the mature flukes when they reach the bile ducts.

Decrease in hepatic microsomal UDP-glucuronosyl-transferase activity in rats and cattle with fascioliasis: impaired in vitro glucuronidation of oxyclozanide.

The effects of liver fluke infection (Fasciola hepatica) on hepatic microsomal UDP-glucuronosyl-transferase activity have been studied in microsomes from experimentally infected rats and naturally infected cattle to see if they explain the toxic episodes observed in parasite-infected animals subjected to intensive chemotherapy with the flukicidal drug oxyclozanide. Dramatic decreases in the activity of this enzyme system with the typical substrate p-nitrophenol were observed in both animal species, even when little or no degenerative lesions could be seen in the liver parenchyma. In vitro there was a similar loss of glucuronic acid conjugation of oxyclozanide by hepatic microsomes from infected cattle. In vivo this would result in slower elimination of the drug and in drug accumulation.