ci-1044 and Peripheral-Vascular-Diseases

Phosphodiesterase (PDE) 4 inhibitors are a class of drugs that can provide novel therapies for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Their development is frequently hampered by the induction of vascular toxicity in rat mesenteric tissue during preclinical studies. Whereas these vascular lesions in rats have been well characterized histologically, little is known about their pathogenesis and in turn, sensitive and specific biomarkers for preclinical and clinical monitoring do not exist. In order to investigate the early molecular mechanisms underlying vascular injury, time-course studies were performed by treating rats for 2-24 h with high doses of the PDE4 inhibitor CI-1044. Transcriptomics analyses in mesenteric tissue were performed using oligonucleotide microarray and real-time RT-PCR technologies and compared to histopathological observations. In addition, protein measurements were performed in serum samples to identify soluble biomarkers of vascular injury. Our results indicate that molecular alterations preceded the histological observations of inflammatory and necrotic lesions in mesenteric arteries. Some gene expression changes suggest that the development of the lesions could follow a primary modulation of the vascular tone in response to the pharmacological effect of the compound. Activation of genes coding for pro- and antioxidant enzymes, cytokines, adhesion molecules, and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 (TIMP-1) indicates that biomechanical stimuli may contribute to vascular oxidant stress, inflammation, and tissue remodeling. TIMP-1 appeared to be an early and sensitive predictive biomarker of the inflammatory and the tissue remodeling components of PDE4 inhibitor-induced vascular injury.

Topics: Animals; Azepines; Biomarkers, Pharmacological; Cell Adhesion Molecules; Cluster Analysis; Cytokines; Enzymes; Gene Expression Profiling; Male; Mesenteric Arteries; Niacinamide; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; Peripheral Vascular Diseases; Phosphodiesterase 4 Inhibitors; Phosphodiesterase Inhibitors; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Reproducibility of Results; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; RNA, Messenger; Time Factors; Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-1; Up-Regulation

Topics: Animals; Azepines; Biomarkers, Pharmacological; Cell Adhesion Molecules; Cluster Analysis; Cytokines; Enzymes; Gene Expression Profiling; Humans; Mesenteric Arteries; Niacinamide; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; Peripheral Vascular Diseases; Phosphodiesterase 4 Inhibitors; Phosphodiesterase Inhibitors; Rats; Reproducibility of Results; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; Risk Assessment; RNA, Messenger; Time Factors; Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-1; Up-Regulation