Objective. In rheumatoid arthritis (RA), pain and joint destruction are initiated and propagated by the production of proinflammatory mediators. Synthesis of these mediators is regulated by the transcription factor NF-kappa B, which is controlled by the ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS). The present study explored the effects of the proteasome inhibitor MG132 on inflammation, pain, joint destruction, and expression of sensory neuropeptides as markers of neuronal response in a rat model of arthritis. Methods. Arthritis was induced in rats by injection of heat-killed Mycobacterium butyricum. Arthritis severity was scored, and nociception was evaluated by mechanical pressure applied to the hind paw. Joint destruction was assessed by radiologic and histologic analyses. NF-kappa B DNA-binding activity was analyzed by electromobility shift assay, and changes in the expression of the p50 NF-kappa B subunit and the proinflammatory neuropeptides substance P (SP) and calcitonin generelated peptide (CGRP) were detected by immunohistochemistry. Results. Arthritic rats treated with MG132 demonstrated a marked reduction in inflammation, pain, and joint destruction. The elevated DNA-binding activity of the NF-kappa B/p50 homodimer and p50, as well as the neuronal expression of SP and CGRP, observed in the ankle joints of arthritic rats were normalized after treatment with MG132. Conclusion. In arthritic rats, inhibition of proteasome reduced the severity of arthritis and reversed the pain behavior associated with joint inflammation. These effects may be mediated through the inhibition of NF-kappa B activation and may possibly involve the peripheral nervous system. New generations of nontoxic proteasome inhibitors may represent a novel pharmacotherapy for RA.

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease with pain and loss of joint function as major pathological features. Recent studies show that proteasome inhibitors reduce pain in various pathological conditions. We evaluated the effects of MG132, a reversible proteasome inhibitor on pain and joint destruction in a rat model of osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis was induced by intraarticular injection of monosodium iodoacetate into the rat knee. Knee joint stiffness was scored and nociception was evaluated by mechanical pressure applied to the respective hind paw. Knee joint destruction was assessed by radiological and histological analyses. Expression of matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) was analyzed by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction in the knee articular cartilage. Expression of substance P (SP) and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) was studied in the dorsal root ganglia (L4–L6) by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and in the knee joints by immunohistochemistry. Our results indicate that daily treatment of osteoarthritic rats with MG132 significantly increases their mobility while the swelling, pain thresholds, and pathological features of the affected joints were reduced. Furthermore, the upregulated expression of MMP-3, SP, and CGRP in the arthritic rats was normalized by MG132 administration. We conclude that the proteasome inhibitor MG132 reduces pain and joint destruction, probably by involving the peripheral nervous system, and that changes in SP and CGRP expression correlate with alterations in behavioural responses. Our findings suggest that nontoxic proteasome inhibitors may represent a novel pharmacotherapy for osteoarthritis.

AIMS: In rheumatoid arthritis (RA), pain and inflammation are initial symptoms followed by various degrees of bone and cartilage destruction. Previously, we have shown that reversible proteasome inhibitor MG132 attenuates pain and joint inflammation in a rat model of adjuvant-arthritis. Our present study aims to study the effects of MG132 on molecular changes in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) and in the spinal cord (SC) using the same animal model.

METHODS: Arthritis was induced by heat-killed Mycobacterium butyricum in rats. The expression of substance P (SP) was analyzed by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry in DRG and in the SC. The nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) DNA-binding activity in the SC was analyzed by electromobility shift assay.

RESULTS: Arthritic rats treated daily with MG132 demonstrated a marked reduction of SP gene expression in the DRG and number of SP-positive cells was reduced. In the spinal cord of arthritic rats elevated SP messenger RNA levels were normalized and NF-κB-DNA-binding activity was down-regulated in arthritic rats treated with MG132.

CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that proteasome inhibitor MG132 attenuates pain in adjuvant arthritis by targeting the sensory neuropeptide substance P in the peripheral and central nervous systems. These effects may be mediated through the inhibition of NF-κB activation.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the likelihood-based methods for handling data below the quantification limit (BQL) using new features in NONMEM VI. METHODS: A two-compartment pharmacokinetic model with first-order absorption was chosen for investigation. Methods evaluated were: discarding BQL observations (M1), discarding BQL observations but adjusting the likelihood for the remaining data (M2), maximizing the likelihood for the data above the limit of quantification (LOQ) and treating BQL data as censored (M3), and like M3 but conditioning on the observation being greater than zero (M4). These four methods were compared using data simulated with a proportional error model. M2, M3, and M4 were also compared using data simulated from a positively truncated normal distribution. Successful terminations and bias and precision of parameter estimates were assessed. RESULTS: For the data simulated with a proportional error model, the overall performance was best for M3 followed by M2 and M1. M3 and M4 resulted in similar estimates in analyses without log transformation. For data simulated with the truncated normal distribution, M4 performed better than M3. CONCLUSIONS: Analyses that maximized the likelihood of the data above the LOQ and treated BQL data as censored provided the most accurate and precise parameter estimates.

The purpose of this study was to describe longitudinal daily seizure count data with respect to the effects of time and pregabalin add-on therapy. Models were developed in step-wise manner: base model, time effect model, and time and drug effect (final) model, using a negative binomial distribution with Markovian features. Mean daily seizure count (λ) was estimated to be 0.385 (RSE 3.09%) and was further increased depending on the seizure count on the previous day. An overdispersion parameter (OVDP), representing extra-Poisson variation, was estimated to be 0.330 (RSE 11.7%). Inter-individual variances on λ and OVDP were 84.7% and 210%, respectively. Over time, λ tended to increase exponentially with a rate constant of 0.272 year^-1 (RSE 26.8%). A mixture model was applied to classify responders/non-responders to pregabalin treatment. Within the responders, λ decreased exponentially with respect to dose with a constant of 0.00108 mg^-1 (RSE 11.9%). The estimated responder rate was 66% (RSE 27.6%). Simulation-based diagnostics showed the model reasonably reproduced the characteristics of observed data. Highly variable daily seizure frequency was successfully characterized incorporating baseline characteristics, time effect, and the effect of pregabalin with classification of responders/non-responders, all of which are necessary to adequately assess the efficacy of antiepileptic drugs.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) causes ~ 600,000 deaths annually, making it the second most deadly cancer form. HCC is classified into five stages and for the intermediate HCC treatment, the two most commonly used drug delivery systems (DDSs) are lipiodol-based emulsions and drug-eluting beads. The aims of this thesis were to develop in vitro methods suitable for studying these DDSs. It is important to investigate the release mechanisms and release rates with relevant in vitro methods, as this can improve the understanding of the in vivo performance. Miniaturized in vitro methods with sample reservoirs separated from the release medium by a diffusion barrier were developed and shown to be suitable for studying drug release from particle DDSs (Paper I). In Paper II these methods were further developed and used to study the release of doxorubicin (DOX) from the clinically used drug-eluting beads. DOX release rates were affected by the method set-up and the characteristics of the release medium. The choice of method and volume of release medium could improve the in vivo-likeness of the in vitro release profiles. Applied theoretical models suggested a film-controlled type of DOX release mechanism from the beads when self-aggregation, DOX-bead interaction, and DOX deprotonation were taken into account.

A micropipette-assisted microscopy method was used to further improve the understanding of the release mechanism of amphiphilic molecules from the beads (Paper III). A detailed analysis suggested an internal depletion-layer model dependent on molecular self-aggregation for the release. It was further suggested that a simple ion-exchange mechanism is unrealistic in physiological conditions.

The important pharmaceutical factors for the emulsion-based formulations were investigated in Paper IV. DOX solubility, lipid phase distribution, and emulsion stability increased when the contrast agent iohexol was added. Also, an increase in release half-life (h) was observed from emulsions with iohexol.

The in vitro methods and theoretical models presented in this thesis can be used during development and optimization of future DDSs.

Microgels, such as polymeric hydrogels, are currently used as drug delivery devices (DDSs) for chemotherapeutics and/or unstable drugs. The clinical DDS DC bead® was studied with respect to loading and release, measured as relative bead-volume, of six amphiphilic molecules in a micropipette-assisted microscopy method. Theoretical models for loading and release was used to increase the mechanistic understanding of the DDS.

It was shown that equilibrium loading was independent of amphiphile concentration. The loading model showed that the rate-determining step was diffusion of the molecule from the bulk to the bead surface (‘film control’). Calculations with the developed and applied release model on the release kinetics were consistent with the observations, as the amphiphiles distribute unevenly in the bead. The rate determining step of the release was the diffusion of the amphiphile molecule through the developed amphiphile-free depletion layer. The release rate is determined by the diffusivity and the tendency for aggregation of the amphiphile where a weak tendency for aggregation (i.e. a large cac_b) lead to faster release. Salt was necessary for the release to happen, but at physiological concentrations the entry of salt was not rate-determining. This study provides valuable insights into the loading to and release from the DDS. Also, a novel release mechanism of the clinically used DDS is suggested.

Transarterial chemoembolization with emulsion-based formulations using doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) and Lipiodol (R) is the golden standard for the loco-regional treatment of unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, from a pharmaceutical quality perspective these emulsions are poorly characterized. In this study, clinically relevant Lipiodol (R)-based emulsions were characterized in terms of emulsion stability, continuous phase classification and droplet-size distribution. Also, the solubility of DOX in the different emulsion components and the distribution of DOX to the lipid phase were investigated. These are key features to investigate due to the claimed tumor-seeking properties of Lipiodol (R). The in vitro release of DOX was studied in a miniaturized dialysis method and an empirical release model was applied to adjust for the passage of DOX across the dialysis membrane. The most stable emulsion ( > 72 h) was classified as water-in-oil (w/o), had the highest distribution of DOX to the lipid phase (20%) and an aqueous-to-lipid phase ratio of 1:4. The composition of the aqueous phase was a mixture (v/v) of iohexol (85%) and water (15%). Emulsions containing iohexol and a high aqueousto-lipid phase ratio (1:2-1:4) displayed prolonged in vitro release profiles of DOX. This study further emphasizes the medical need to standardize these emulsion-based drug delivery systems.

We have evaluated a miniaturized in vitro method, based on the mDISS Profiler (TM) technique that enables on-line monitoring of drug release from a 21 mu l sample with 10 ml of release medium. Four model drugs in eight clinically used formulations, including both solid and non-solid drug delivery systems, were investigated. The acquired data were compared with historical in vitro release data from the same formulations. Use of the Weibull function to describe the in vitro drug-release profiles allowed discrimination between the selected formulations with respect to the drug-release mechanisms. Comparison of the release data from the same formulation in different in vitro set-ups showed that the methodology used can affect the mechanism of in vitro release. We also evaluated the ability of the in vitro methods to predict in vivo activity by comparing simulated plasma concentration-time profiles acquired from the application of the biopharmaceutical software GI-Sim to the in vitro observations. In summary, the simulations based on the miniaturized-method release data predicted the plasma profiles as well as or more accurately than simulations based on the historical release data in 71% of the cases and this miniaturized in vitro method appears to be applicable for both solid and non-solid formulations.