PTX Concentration Research Articles

In vitro effects of oxpentifylline on inflammatory cytokine release in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Inflammatory cytokines, including tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin (IL)-1 beta, have been implicated as primary mediators of intestinal inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease. To investigate the in vitro effects of oxpentifylline (pentoxifylline; PTX; a phosphodiesterase inhibitor) on inflammatory cytokine production (1) by peripheral mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and (2) by inflamed intestinal mucosa cultures from patients with Crohn's disease and patients with ulcerative colitis. PBMCs and mucosal biopsy specimens were cultured for 24 hours in the absence or presence of PTX (up to 100 micrograms/ml), and the secretion of TNF-alpha, IL-1 beta, IL-6, and IL-8 determined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs). PTX inhibited the release of TNF-alpha by PBMCs from patients with inflammatory bowel disease and the secretion of TNF-alpha and IL-1 beta by organ cultures of inflamed mucosa from the same patients. Secretion of TNF-alpha by PBMCs was inhibited by about 50% at a PTX concentration of 25 micrograms/ml (IC50). PTX was equally potent in cultures from controls, patients with Crohn's disease, and those with ulcerative colitis. The concentrations of IL-6 and IL-8 were not significantly modified in PBMCs, but IL-6 increased slightly in organ culture supernatants. PTX or more potent related compounds may represent a new family of cytokine inhibitors, potentially interesting for treatment of inflammatory bowel disease.

Effects of palytoxin on porcine coronary artery rings.

Palytoxin, in concentrations as low as 100 fM, caused contractions of porcine coronary artery rings. Palytoxin concentrations of less than 1 nM caused slowly developing contractions which were not maximal even after 2 h. Rings contracted by 100 nM palytoxin achieved maximal tension by 10 min and relaxed to 53% of that maximum after 2 h. Verapamil (1 microM) reduced the rate of contractions induced by 10 nM palytoxin. Exposure of rings to greater than 10 nM palytoxin for 1-2 h reduced contractions to potassium 18 h later to 61% of the expected contraction and abolished those to palytoxin administered later. Both 10 and 100 nM palytoxin depleted potassium from coronary artery rings. Verapamil (10 microM) prevented potassium depletion by 10 nM palytoxin, but neither 10 microM verapamil nor 1 microM nifedipine prevented potassium depletion in rings exposed to 100 nM palytoxin. Thus, the contractile action and the potassium depleting action of palytoxin on the porcine coronary artery involve mobilization of nifedipine- and verapamil-sensitive calcium. Verapamil- and nifedipine-sensitive calcium was not required for depletion of potassium by the highest PTX concentration (100 nM), however.

A phase I clinical and pharmacological study of weekly intravenous infusions of piritrexim (BW301U)

Thirty-eight patients with advanced resistant cancers were enrolled on this study of piritrexim (PTX; BW 301U) administered intravenously weekly for 4 weeks. Of 50 courses of treatment begun, 39 evaluable 4-week courses of the drug were completed by this group of patients. Dosages ranged from 44 to 530 mg/m2/week. One patient at each dosage level received an initial weekly dose of PTX in oral form accompanied by pharmacokinetic blood sampling after the oral dose and also after a subsequent intravenous dose.Toxicities included mild nausea and vomiting, and moderate to severe peripheral vein phlebitis. Anemia and thrombocytopenia were the dominant hematological toxicities. One patient with pulmonary metastases from malignant fibrous histiocytoma experienced a 12-week partial response to PTX treatment at a dosage of 400 mg/m2/week.Pharmacokinetic analysis of plasma for PTX concentrations was accomplished utilizing a competitive protein binding assay. The estimated total body clearance ranged from 136 to 173 ml/min/1.73 m2. Mean terminal half-life after intravenous administration was 5.61 ± 2.38 h (S.D.), and after oral administration was 5.72 ± 2.04 h. Mean systemic bioavailability after oral administration was 75 ± 56%.

Rapid deformation of "passive" polymorphonuclear leukocytes: the effects of pentoxifylline.

Entry times for spherical (no pseudopods) polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) into a 4 microns micropipet have been measured as a function of pipet suction pressure (2,500-20,000 dyn/cm2) and concentration of the drug pentoxifylline (PTX, 0.1-10.0 mM). For control cells (0 mM PTX), entry rates (reciprocal entry times) increased almost linearly with increasing suction pressure, indicating a Newtonian-like behavior. With incubation in PTX solutions, entry rate vs. suction pressure became increasingly non-linear, suggesting a shear-thinning effect for the dissipative structure. At a given suction pressure the rate of entry showed a dose-dependent increase with increasing PTX concentration, the effect being most pronounced at high suction pressures (20,000 dyn/cm2). Also, with increasing PTX concentration two other effects were observed: i) there was a decreased incidence of cells that displayed pseudopodia, and ii) there was an increased incidence of cells forming hernias and an increased streaming of cell cytoplasm during aspiration. The first observation points to a down-regulation of the cell's functional ability to "activate" in response to surface/chemical stimuli, and the second indicates that both the cortical and cytoskeletal networks are weakened either by disruption and/or reduction in density of the protein polymers. These observations are in line with other recently published experiments which suggest that the rheological effects of pentoxifylline on PMNs may be associated with the state of actin.