sea-0400 and Disease-Models--Animal

In the anaesthetized, chronic atrioventricular block (CAVB) dog, ventricular ectopic beats and Torsade de pointes arrhythmias (TdP) are believed to ensue from an abrupt prolongation of ventricular repolarization and increased temporal dispersion of repolarization, quantified as short-term variability (STV). These TdP stop spontaneously or, when supported by substantial spatial dispersion of repolarization (SDR), degenerate into ventricular fibrillation. However, most studies involving ventricular arrhythmias do not quantify SDR by means of an electrophysiological parameter. Therefore, we reviewed the effects of 4 highly effective anti-arrhythmic drugs (flunarizine, verapamil, SEA-0400, and GS-458967) on the repolarization duration and associated STV. All drugs were tested as anti-arrhythmic strategies against TdP in CAVB dogs, their high anti-arrhythmic efficacy was defined as suppressing drug-induced TdP in 100% of the experiments. This comparison demonstrates that even though the anti-arrhythmic outcome was similar for all drugs, distinct responses of repolarization duration and associated STV were observed. Moreover, the aforementioned and commonly adopted electrophysiological parameters were not always sufficient in predicting TdP susceptibility, and additional quantification of the SDR proved to be of added value in these studies. The variability in electrophysiological responses to the different anti-arrhythmic drugs and their inconsistent adequacy in reflecting TdP susceptibility, can be explained by distinct modes of interference with TdP development. As such, this overview establishes the separate involvement of temporal and spatial dispersion in ventricular arrhythmogenesis in the CAVB dog model and proposes SDR as an additional parameter to be included in future fundamental and/or pharmaceutical studies regarding TdP arrhythmogenesis.

Topics: Action Potentials; Aniline Compounds; Animals; Anti-Arrhythmia Agents; Atrioventricular Block; Chronic Disease; Disease Models, Animal; Dogs; Electrophysiologic Techniques, Cardiac; Endpoint Determination; Flunarizine; Heart Rate; Phenyl Ethers; Pyridines; Time Factors; Torsades de Pointes; Triazoles; Verapamil

When Zika virus emerged as a public health emergency there were no drugs or vaccines approved for its prevention or treatment. We used a high-throughput screen for Zika virus protease inhibitors to identify several inhibitors of Zika virus infection. We expressed the NS2B-NS3 Zika virus protease and conducted a biochemical screen for small-molecule inhibitors. A quantitative structure-activity relationship model was employed to virtually screen ∼138,000 compounds, which increased the identification of active compounds, while decreasing screening time and resources. Candidate inhibitors were validated in several viral infection assays. Small molecules with favorable clinical profiles, especially the five-lipoxygenase-activating protein inhibitor, MK-591, inhibited the Zika virus protease and infection in neural stem cells. Members of the tetracycline family of antibiotics were more potent inhibitors of Zika virus infection than the protease, suggesting they may have multiple mechanisms of action. The most potent tetracycline, methacycline, reduced the amount of Zika virus present in the brain and the severity of Zika virus-induced motor deficits in an immunocompetent mouse model. As Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs, the tetracyclines could be quickly translated to the clinic. The compounds identified through our screening paradigm have the potential to be used as prophylactics for patients traveling to endemic regions or for the treatment of the neurological complications of Zika virus infection.

Topics: Animals; Antiviral Agents; Artificial Intelligence; Chlorocebus aethiops; Disease Models, Animal; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; High-Throughput Screening Assays; Immunocompetence; Inhibitory Concentration 50; Methacycline; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Protease Inhibitors; Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship; Small Molecule Libraries; Vero Cells; Zika Virus; Zika Virus Infection

The Na+/Ca2+ exchange inhibitor SEA0400 prevents myocardial injury in models of global ischemia and reperfusion. We therefore evaluated its potential as a cardioplegia additive.. Isolated rat cardiomyocytes were exposed to hypoxia (45 min) followed by reperfusion. During hypoxia, cells were protected using cardioplegia with (n=25) or without (n=24) SEA0400 (1 μM), or were not protected with cardioplegia (hypoxic control, n=8). Intracellular Ca2+ levels were measured using Ca2+ sensitive dye (fura-2 AM). Isolated rat hearts were arrested using cardioplegia with (n=7) or without (n=6) SEA0400 (1 μM) then reperfused after 45 min of ischemia. Left ventricular (LV) function, troponin release, and mitochondrial morphology were evaluated.. Cardiomyocytes exposed to hypoxia without cardioplegia had poor survival (13%). Survival was significantly improved when cells were protected with cardioplegia containing SEA0400 (68%, p=0.009); cardioplegia without SEA0400 was associated with intermediate survival (42%). Cardiomyocytes exposed to hypoxia alone had a rapid increase in intracellular Ca2+ (305 ± 123 nM after 20 minutes of ischemia). Increases in intracellular Ca2+ were reduced in cells arrested with cardioplegia without SEA0400; however cardioplegia containing SEA0400 was associated with the lowest intracellular Ca2+ levels (110 ± 17 vs. 156 ± 42 nM after 45 minutes of ischemia, p=0.004). Hearts arrested with cardioplegia containing SEA0400 had better recovery of LV work compared to cardioplegia without SEA0400 (23140 ± 2264 vs. 7750 ± 929 mmHg.μl, p=0.0001). Troponin release during reperfusion was lower (0.6 ± 0.2 vs. 2.4 ± 0.5 ng/mL, p=0.0026), and there were more intact (41 ± 3 vs. 22 ± 5%, p<0.005), and fewer disrupted mitochondria (24 ± 2 vs. 33 ± 3%, p<0.05) in the SEA0400 group.. SEA0400 added to cardioplegia limits accumulation of intracellular Ca2+ during ischemic arrest in isolated cardiomyocytes and prevents myocardial injury and improves recovery of LV function in isolated hearts.

Topics: Aniline Compounds; Animals; Calcium; Cardioplegic Solutions; Disease Models, Animal; Heart Arrest, Induced; Heart Ventricles; Intracellular Fluid; Male; Myocardial Ischemia; Myocytes, Cardiac; Phenyl Ethers; Rats; Rats, Inbred F344; Recovery of Function; Sodium-Calcium Exchanger; Ventricular Function, Left

L-type calcium channel (LTCC) and Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchanger (NCX) have been implicated in repolarization-dependent arrhythmias, but also modulate calcium and contractility. Although LTCC inhibition is negative inotropic, NCX inhibition has the opposite effect. Combined block may, therefore, offer an advantage for hemodynamics and antiarrhythmic efficiency, particularly in diseased hearts. In a model of proarrhythmia, the dog with chronic atrioventricular block, we investigated whether combined inhibition of NCX and LTCC with SEA-0400 is effective against dofetilide-induced torsade de pointes arrhythmias (TdP), while maintaining calcium homeostasis and hemodynamics.. Left ventricular pressure (LVP) and ECG were monitored during infusion of SEA-0400 and verapamil in anesthetized dogs. Different doses were tested against dofetilide-induced TdP in chronic atrioventricular block dogs. In ventricular myocytes, effects of SEA-0400 were tested on action potentials, calcium transients, and early afterdepolarizations. In cardiomyocytes, SEA-0400 (1 μmol/L) blocked 66±3% of outward NCX, 50±2% of inward NCX, and 33±9% of LTCC current. SEA-0400 had no effect on systolic calcium, but slowed relaxation, despite action potential shortening, and increased diastolic calcium. SEA-0400 stabilized dofetilide-induced lability of repolarization and suppressed early afterdepolarizations. In vivo, SEA-0400 (0.4 and 0.8 mg/kg) had no effect on left ventricular pressure and suppressed dofetilide-induced TdPs dose dependently. Verapamil (0.3 mg/kg) also inhibited TdP, but caused a 15±8% drop of left ventricular pressure. A lower dose of verapamil without effects on left ventricular pressure (0.06 mg/kg) was not antiarrhythmic.. In chronic atrioventricular block dogs, SEA-0400 treatment is effective against TdP. Unlike specific inhibition of LTCC, combined NCX and LTCC inhibition has no negative effects on cardiac hemodynamics.

Topics: Action Potentials; Aniline Compounds; Animals; Anti-Arrhythmia Agents; Arrhythmias, Cardiac; Calcium Channels, L-Type; Disease Models, Animal; Dogs; Electrocardiography; Heart Ventricles; Myocytes, Cardiac; Phenyl Ethers; Sodium-Calcium Exchanger; Ventricular Function; Ventricular Pressure

We developed a conventional imaging method to measure Ca(2+) concentration in cytosol (using FuraRed as an indicator) and mitochondria (using Rhod-2 as an indicator), simultaneously, by alternative excitation with specific wave length. After confirming the availability of the method in Hela cells, we applied it to mouse whole-brain slice -preparation, which was exposed to oxygen- and glucose-deprived artificial cerebrospinal fluid (ischemic ACSF) for 12 min. The fluorescence (>570 nm) at the cerebral cortex and hippocampus due to FuraRed (excited by 480 ± 10 nm) decreased (indicating the increase in cytosolic Ca(2+)-concentration), while the fluorescence due to Rhod-2 (excited by 560 ± 10 nm) increased (indicating the increase in mitochondrial Ca(2+) concentration) during exposure to ischemic conditions. We found the characteristic protective effects of cyclosporine A (10(-6) M), a known blocker for mitochondrial permeability transition, and SEA0400 (10(-6) M), a blocker for Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchanger, on the abnormal Ca(2+) increase in cytosol. We confirmed that the present method will be useful for future pathological and pharmacological studies on ischemia-induced brain damage.

Topics: Aniline Compounds; Animals; Benzofurans; Calcium; Cytosol; Disease Models, Animal; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; HeLa Cells; Heterocyclic Compounds, 3-Ring; Humans; Imidazoles; In Vitro Techniques; Ischemia; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mitochondria; Neurons; Phenyl Ethers; Sodium-Calcium Exchanger; Time Factors

We have recently shown that the Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchanger (NCX) is involved in nitric oxide (NO)-induced cytotoxicity in cultured astrocytes and neurons. However, there is no in vivo evidence suggesting the role of NCX in neurodegenerative disorders associated with NO. NO is implicated in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease. This study examined the effect of SEA0400, the specific NCX inhibitor, on 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced dopaminergic neurotoxicity, a model of Parkinson's disease, in C57BL/6J mice. MPTP treatment (10 mg/kg, four times at 2-h intervals) decreased dopamine levels in the midbrain and impaired motor coordination, and these effects were counteracted by S-methylthiocitrulline, a selective neuronal NO synthase inhibitor. SEA0400 protected against the dopaminergic neurotoxicity (determined by dopamine levels in the midbrain and striatum, tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity in the substantia nigra and striatum, striatal dopamine release, and motor deficits) in MPTP-treated mice. SEA0400 had no radical-scavenging activity. SEA0400 did not affect MPTP metabolism and MPTP-induced NO production and microglial activation, while it attenuated MPTP-induced increases in extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) phosphorylation and lipid peroxidation product, thiobarbituric acid reactive substance. These findings suggest that SEA0400 protects against MPTP-induced neurotoxicity probably by blocking ERK phosphorylation and lipid peroxidation which are downstream of NCX-mediated Ca(2+) influx.

Topics: 1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine; Analysis of Variance; Aniline Compounds; Animals; Brain; Calcium-Binding Proteins; Disease Models, Animal; Dopamine; Dopaminergic Neurons; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drug Administration Schedule; Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases; Free Radical Scavengers; Gene Expression Regulation; Lipid Peroxidation; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Microfilament Proteins; Motor Activity; MPTP Poisoning; Neuroprotective Agents; Phenyl Ethers; Phosphorylation; Rotarod Performance Test; Sodium-Calcium Exchanger; Time Factors; Tyrosine; Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase

Topics: Aniline Compounds; Animals; Anti-Arrhythmia Agents; Calcium; Cells, Cultured; Disease Models, Animal; Heart Failure; Humans; Mice; Myocardial Contraction; Myocytes, Cardiac; Phenyl Ethers; Rats; Sarcoplasmic Reticulum Calcium-Transporting ATPases; Sodium-Calcium Exchanger; Species Specificity; Swine; Thiourea

Long QT syndrome (LQTS) is associated with sudden cardiac death resulting from torsades de pointes (TdP), which are triggered by early afterdepolarizations (EADs). The cardiac Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchanger (NCX) has been suggested to work as a trigger for EADs.. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that inhibition of NCX with a newly developed selective NCX inhibitor (SEA0400) reduces TdP.. In 34 Langendorff-perfused rabbit hearts, the I(Kr)-blocker sotalol (100 microM; n = 18) as well as veratridine (0.5 microM; n = 16), an inhibitor of sodium channel inactivation, led to a significant increase in monophasic action potential (MAP) duration thereby mimicking LQTS2 and LQTS3. In bradycardic hearts, recordings of eight MAPs demonstrated an increased dispersion of repolarization (sotalol: 67%; veratridine: 89%; P <.05). After lowering of potassium concentration, sotalol (56%) and veratridine (63%) induced TdP. Perfusion with SEA0400 (1 microM) suppressed EADs in 15 of 16 sotalol hearts and in seven of 13 veratridine hearts. SEA0400 significantly shortened MAP duration and reduced dispersion of repolarization in both groups (P <.05). This reduced TdP incidence in the sotalol group (100%) and in the veratridine group (77%). To investigate the effects of NCX inhibition on the cellular level, we used a computer model of the rabbit ventricular myocyte. I(Na) and I(Kr) were modified to mimic the effects of veratridine and sotalol, respectively. Consistent with our in vitro experiments, reduction of NCX activity accelerated repolarization of the cellular action potential and prevented EADs.. In an intact rabbit heart model of LQT2 and LQT3 as well as in a computer model of the rabbit cardiac myocyte, inhibition of NCX is effective in preventing TdP due to a suppression of EADs, a reversion of action potential prolongation, and a reduction of dispersion of repolarization. Our observations suggest a therapeutic benefit of selective NCX inhibition in LQTS.

Topics: Aniline Compounds; Animals; Disease Models, Animal; Female; Long QT Syndrome; Muscle Cells; Phenyl Ethers; Rabbits; Sodium-Calcium Exchanger; Torsades de Pointes

Block of Na/Ca exchange (NCX) has potential therapeutic applications, in particular, if a mode-selective block could be achieved, but also carries serious risks for disturbing the normal Ca2+ balance maintained by NCX. We have examined the effects of partial inhibition of NCX by SEA-0400 (1 or 0.3 micromol/L) in left ventricular myocytes from healthy pigs or mice and from mice with heart failure (MLP-/-). During voltage clamp ramps with [Ca2+](i) buffering, block of reverse mode block was slightly larger than of forward mode (by 25+/-5%, P<0.05). In the absence of [Ca2+](i) buffering and with sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) fluxes blocked, rate constants for Ca2+ influx and Ca2+ efflux were reduced to the same extent (to 36+/-6% and 32+/-4%, respectively). With normal SR function the reduction of inward NCX current (I(NCX)) was 57+/-10% (n=10); during large caffeine-induced Ca2+ transients, it was larger (82+/-3%). [Ca2+](i) transients evoked during depolarizing steps increased (from 424+/-27 to 994+/-127 nmol/L at +10 mV, P<0.05), despite a reduction of I(CaL) by 27%. Resting [Ca2+](i) increased; there was a small decrease in the rate of decline of [Ca2+](i). SR Ca2+) content increased more than 2-fold. Contraction amplitude of field-stimulated myocytes increased in healthy myocytes but not in myocytes from MLP-/- mice, in which SR Ca2+ content remained unchanged. These data provide proof-of-principle that even partial inhibition of NCX results in a net gain of Ca2+. Further development of NCX blockers, in particular, for heart failure, must balance potential benefits of I(NCX) reduction against effects on Ca2+ handling by refining mode dependence and/or including additional targets.

Topics: Aniline Compounds; Animals; Calcium; Calcium Channel Blockers; Cardiotonic Agents; Cells, Cultured; Disease Models, Animal; Electric Stimulation; Female; Heart Failure; Male; Mice; Mice, Knockout; Myocardial Contraction; Myocytes, Cardiac; Patch-Clamp Techniques; Phenyl Ethers; Sarcoplasmic Reticulum; Sodium-Calcium Exchanger; Swine

The sodium-calcium exchange (NCX) plays a pivotal role in regulating contractility and electrical activity in the heart. However, the effects of NCX blockers on ventricular arrhythmias are still controversial. We examined the effects of KB-R7943 (KBR) and SEA0400 (SEA), two NCX blockers, on aconitine-induced arrhythmias in guinea pigs using the ECG recordings and the current-clamp method. Using Luo's and Rudy's computer model (1991 Circ Res 68:1501-1526) for ventricular myocytes, we simulated abnormal membrane activity produced by NCX inhibition. In the whole-animal model, KBR in a dose range of 1 to 30 mg/kg (intravenous) suppressed aconitine-induced arrhythmias dose-dependently, but 10 mg/kg of SEA did not suppress these arrhythmias. There was a difference in isolated ventricular myocytes also. KBR (10 microM) suppressed abnormal electrical activity induced by aconitine, but SEA (100 microM) did not show such effects. KBR (10 microM) significantly changed the shape of the action potential configurations (action potential duration at 50% repolarization), but SEA (1-100 microM) did not change these configurations. In the computer simulation study, the aconitine-induced abnormal electrical activity was mimicked by a negative shift of the kinetics of Na+ channels, and this was followed by additional suppression of NCX activity by 90% (mimicking the effect of NCX inhibitors), which enhanced abnormal membrane activity. Our results indicate that the inhibition of aconitine-induced arrhythmias by KBR, not by SEA, might result from a mechanism other than the inhibition of NCX, and thus the involvement of the NCX system plays an insignificant role in the aconitine-induced arrhythmias.

Topics: Aconitine; Action Potentials; Aniline Compounds; Animals; Anti-Arrhythmia Agents; Arrhythmias, Cardiac; Computer Simulation; Disease Models, Animal; Electrophysiology; Guinea Pigs; Heart Ventricles; Kinetics; Muscle Cells; Phenyl Ethers; Sodium Channels; Sodium-Calcium Exchanger; Thiourea