temocapril-hydrochloride and Disease-Models--Animal

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

In patients with complete bile duct obstruction, the only pathway for the elimination of cholephilic compounds is through the urine. Although changes in various transporters in the liver and kidney in cholestasis have been elucidated, little is known about how effectively the elimination of these compounds is compensated for by urinary excretion.. In the present study, the urinary excretion of pravastatin and temocapril was studied in bile-duct-ligated rats (BDLR) for 3 days and in Eisai hyperbilirubinemic rats (EHBR). After urinary bladder cannulation, radiolabeled pravastatin and temocapril were injected intravenously. Urine samples were collected every 1 h for 4 h, and the radioactivity was counted.. Urinary excretion of pravastatin was markedly increased in BDLR (85.9% of the dose after 4 h) and moderately increased in EHBR (35.9% of the dose after 4 h) compared with that in control rats (5.5% of the dose after 4 h). Similar but less prominent differences were observed with temocapril after it was administered (50.7%, 38.2%, and 22.0% of the dose after 4 h in BDLR, EHBR, and the controls, respectively).. The absence of biliary excretion of anionic drugs was compensated for by urinary excretion in BDLR and EHBR, and the compensation was more efficient with pravastatin than with temocapril. In patients with complete bile duct obstruction, the only pathway for the elimination of cholephilic compounds is through the urine. Although changes in various transporters in the liver and kidney in cholestasis have been elucidated, little is known about how effectively the elimination of these compounds is compensated for by urinary excretion.

Topics: Animals; Bile Ducts; Cholestasis; Disease Models, Animal; Hyperbilirubinemia; Male; Pravastatin; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Thiazepines

Cystic medial degeneration (CMD) is a histologic abnormality that is common in aortic diseases such as aortic dilation, aneurysm, or dissection. Although little is known about the mechanism underlying CMD, we have previously demonstrated that angiotensin II signaling via angiotensin II type 2 receptor (AT2R) plays a central role in apoptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) occurring in CMD associated with Marfan syndrome. The aim of this study is to elucidate the role of angiotensin II signaling in THE pathogenesis of aortic diseases associated with CMD.. We investigated the effects of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI), temocapril (n = 15), angiotensin II receptor type-1 (AT1R) blocker, CS-866 (n = 15), and vehicle control (n = 17) on 0.25% beta-aminopropionitrile monofumarate (BAPN)-induced aortic dissection and histopathologic findings in a rat model.. Temocapril significantly prevented aortic dissection (P <.05), CMD (P <.01), and VSMC apoptosis (P <.01) compared with vehicle control in BAPN-fed rats. However, CS-866 did not show any preventive effect. Reversed transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction demonstrated that expression of both AT1R and AT2R was detected in control rat aortas, and that AT2R expression was significantly upregulated in the aortas of BAPN-fed rats (P <.01). Blood pressure was significantly and equally lowered in both temocapril and CS-866 groups compared with control.. Differential expression of angiotensin II receptors and AT2R signaling are involved in the pathogenesis of CMD and aortic dissection in BAPN-fed rats. ACEIs might be of clinical value for the prevention and treatment of aortic diseases related to CMD.

Topics: Aminopropionitrile; Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists; Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors; Animals; Aortic Aneurysm; Aortic Dissection; Disease Models, Animal; Imidazoles; Olmesartan Medoxomil; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Receptor, Angiotensin, Type 1; Receptors, Angiotensin; Tetrazoles; Thiazepines

Topics: Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors; Animals; Blood Pressure; Creatinine; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; Diabetic Nephropathies; Disease Models, Animal; Kidney Glomerulus; Male; Metabolic Clearance Rate; Proteinuria; Rats; Rats, Inbred OLETF; Thiazepines

Diabetic nephropathy is a leading cause of end-stage renal disease in industrialized countries. Previous studies have documented that angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors consistently reduce albuminuria and retard the progression of diabetic nephropathy. However, the involvement of angiotensin II in diabetic nephropathy is not fully understood.. In this study we compared the effects of CS-866, a new angiotensin II type 1 receptor antagonist, to that of an ACE inhibitor, temocapril hydrochloride, on the development and progression of diabetic nephropathy using Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima fatty rats, a type II diabetes mellitus model animal.. High doses of CS-866 or temocapril treatment were found to significantly improve urinary protein and beta(2)-microglobulin excretions in diabetic rats. In electron microscopic analysis, loss of glomerular anionic sites, one of the causes of glomerular hyperpermeability in diabetic nephropathy, was found to be significantly prevented by CS-866 treatment. Light microscopic examinations revealed that both treatments ameliorated glomerular sclerosis and tubulointerstitial injury in diabetic rats. Furthermore, high doses of CS-866 or temocapril treatment significantly reduced the positive stainings for transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta), vascular endothelial growth factor, and type IV collagen in glomeruli of diabetic rats.. These results indicate that intrarenal angiotensin II type 1 receptor activation plays a dominant role in the development and progression of diabetic nephropathy. Our study suggests that CS-866 represents a valuable new drug for the treatment of diabetic patients with nephropathy.

Topics: Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Blockers; Animals; Anions; Diabetic Nephropathies; Disease Models, Animal; Imidazoles; Immunohistochemistry; Kidney Glomerulus; Male; Olmesartan Medoxomil; Proteinuria; Rats; Rats, Inbred OLETF; Severity of Illness Index; Tetrazoles; Thiazepines; Transforming Growth Factor beta; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A

To assess the chronic antihypertensive and renal protective effects of the specific angiotensin II receptor antagonist, CS-866, in the remnant kidney model of chronic renal failure, we administered it alone or in combination with temocapril, an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor, to 5/6 nephrectomized spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) for 8 weeks. At the age of 10 weeks, 5/6 nephrectomized SHR were allocated to receive two doses of CS-866 (CS-3; 3 mg/kg/day, or CS-10; 10 mg/kg/day), temocapril (TEM; 10 mg/kg/day), a combination of CS-866 (3 mg/kg/day) and temocapril (10 mg/kg/day) or the vehicle alone via oral gavage for 8 weeks. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) and urinary protein excretion (UprotV) were measured every two weeks. At the age of 18 weeks, the rats were decapitated and the blood, remnant kidney, aorta and heart were collected and used for biochemical measurements and histopathological studies. There was no significant difference in body weight among the groups during the study. All drug treatments significantly reduced SBP, UprotV, glomerular sclerosis index (GSI), relative interstitial volume (RIV) and the heart weight to body weight ratio. The hypotensive effects were in the order of combination therapy > CS-10 = TEM > CS-3. For correlational analysis, we used values for SBP and UprotV derived from the average of values in rats over the age of 12 weeks through 18 weeks. UprotV, GSI and RIV were found to be highly correlated with SBP among the individual rats pooled from all groups (r = 0.511, r = 0.754, r = 0.817, respectively) and the correlation was maintained among the group means (r = 0.945, r = 0.989, r = 0.918, respectively). Furthermore, the heart weight to body weight ratio was found to be highly correlated with SBP among the individual rats pooled from all groups (r = 0.923) and the correlation was maintained among the group means (r = 0.996). We conclude that organ protective effects of CS-866, TEM, or combination therapy are closely related to the magnitude of their antihypertensive effects.

Topics: Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists; Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors; Animals; Disease Models, Animal; Disease Progression; Drug Therapy, Combination; Hypertension; Imidazoles; Kidney Failure, Chronic; Male; Nephrectomy; Olmesartan Medoxomil; Rats; Rats, Inbred SHR; Tetrazoles; Thiazepines