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Osamu Irie,
Takatoshi Kosaka,
Masashi Kishida,
Junichi Sakaki,
Keiichi Masuya,
Kazuhide Konishi,
Fumiaki Yokokawa,
Takeru Ehara,
Atsuko Iwasaki,
Yuki Iwaki, [......],
Takanori Kanazawa,
Keiko Tanabe,
Peter C Hiestand,
Marzia Malcangio, Alyson J Fox,
Stuart J Bevan,
Mohammed Yaqoob,
Andrew J Culshaw,
Terance W Hart,
Allan Hallett
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ABSTRACT: We describe here orally active and brain-penetrant cathepsin S selective inhibitors, which are virtually devoid of hERG K(+) channel affinity, yet exhibit nanomolar potency against cathepsin S and over 100-fold selectivity to cathepsin L. The new non-peptidic inhibitors are based on a 2-cyanopyrimidine scaffold bearing a spiro[3.5]non-6-yl-methyl amine at the 4-position. The brain-penetrating cathepsin S inhibitors demonstrate potential clinical utility for the treatment of multiple sclerosis and neuropathic pain.
Bioorganic & medicinal chemistry letters 09/2008; 18(19):5280-4. · 2.65 Impact Factor
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Edward K Dziadulewicz,
Stuart J Bevan,
Christopher T Brain,
Paul R Coote,
Andrew J Culshaw,
Andrew J Davis,
Lee J Edwards,
Adrian J Fisher, Alyson J Fox,
Clive Gentry, [......],
Luigi La Vecchia,
Yvonne Loong,
Isabelle Lyothier,
Kara McNair,
Cathal O'Farrell,
Marcus Peacock,
Robert Portmann,
Ulrich Schopfer,
Mohammed Yaqoob,
Jiri Zadrobilek
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ABSTRACT: Selective activation of peripheral cannabinoid CB1 receptors has the potential to become a valuable therapy for chronic pain conditions as long as central nervous system effects are attenuated. A new class of cannabinoid ligands was rationally designed from known aminoalkylindole agonists and showed good binding and functional activities at human CB1 and CB2 receptors. This has led to the discovery of a novel CB1/CB2 dual agonist, naphthalen-1-yl-(4-pentyloxynaphthalen-1-yl)methanone (13), which displays good oral bioavailability, potent antihyperalgesic activity in animal models, and limited brain penetration.
Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 09/2007; 50(16):3851-6. · 5.25 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is markedly upregulated in the peripheral and central nervous systems following nerve injury; however, the functional effects of this are unclear. This study investigates the effect of peripheral interleukin-6 on nociceptive transmission in naive and neuropathic states. Using an in vitro rat skin-nerve preparation, 50 ng interleukin-6 inhibited responses of single nociceptive fibers to noxious heat. A 20-ng sample of interleukin-6 only inhibited heat responses in the presence of soluble interleukin-6 receptors. To examine in vivo effects of peripheral interleukin-6, extracellular recordings from dorsal horn neurons were made in anaesthetised naive, sham-operated and neuropathic (spinal nerve ligated) rats. Peripheral interleukin-6 (40-100 ng) markedly inhibited all naturally evoked neuronal responses in naive rats, yet only neuronal responses to heat in neuropathic rats. Behaviourally, intraplantar administration of interleukin-6 (0.01-1 microg) elicited ipsilateral thermal hypoalgesia in naive rats. Thus, interleukin-6 inhibits normal peripheral nociceptive transmission, yet such anti-nociceptive effects are attenuated following nerve injury in a modality-specific manner.
European Journal of Pharmacology 02/2004; 484(2-3):183-91. · 2.52 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a neuropoietic cytokine which is dramatically upregulated following peripheral nerve injury at the site of injury, in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) and in the spinal cord. The functional effects of IL-6 in nociception in normal conditions and following nerve injury are unclear. Thus the aim of this study was to assess the effect of spinal IL-6 administration on nociceptive transmission in naive, sham-operated and neuropathic (spinal nerve ligation, SNL) rats using in vivo electrophysiology to elucidate the possible role of IL-6 in neuropathic pain. In anaesthetised rats, extracellular recordings were made from individual convergent dorsal horn neurones following electrical and natural (mechanical and thermal) stimulation of peripheral receptive fields. Exogenous spinal IL-6 (100-500 ng) had no significant effect on electrically evoked neuronal responses in naive rats. In contrast, following neuropathy, spinal IL-6 produced a dose-related inhibition of the electrically evoked C-fibre, initial C-fibre and measures of neuronal hyperexcitability (post discharge and wind-up). In addition, spinal IL-6 markedly inhibited mechanical neuronal responses in neuropathic rats. Higher doses of spinal IL-6 also inhibited, to a lesser degree, the initial C-fibre, post discharge and wind-up responses in sham-operated rats. These studies show that following nerve injury the actions of the cytokine alter so that spinal administration of IL-6 elicits anti-nociceptive effects not observed under normal conditions. Moreover, the inhibitory effects of IL-6 on C-fibre activity and neuronal hyperexcitability, suggest IL-6 to be a potential modulator of neuropathic pain.
Brain Research 10/2003; 984(1-2):54-62. · 2.73 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Vanilloid receptor type 1 (VR1) (TRPV1) is a ligand-gated ion channel expressed on sensory nerves that responds to noxious heat, protons, and chemical stimuli such as capsaicin. Herein, we have examined the activity of the VR1 antagonist capsazepine in models of inflammatory and neuropathic pain in the rat, mouse, and guinea pig. In naïve animals, subcutaneous administration of capsazepine (10-100 mg/kg s.c.) did not affect withdrawal thresholds to noxious thermal or mechanical stimuli. However, pretreatment with capsazepine prevented the development of mechanical hyperalgesia induced by intraplantar injection of capsaicin, with a similar potency in all three species. Capsazepine (up to 100 mg/kg s.c.) did not affect mechanical hyperalgesia in the Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA)-inflamed hind paw of the rat or mouse. Strikingly, capsazepine (3-30 mg/kg s.c.) produced up to 44% reversal of FCA-induced mechanical hyperalgesia in the guinea pig. Capsazepine also produced significant reversal of carageenan-induced thermal hyperalgesia in the guinea pig at 30 mg/kg s.c., but was ineffective in the rat. Similarly, in the partial sciatic nerve ligation model of neuropathic pain, capsazepine was surprisingly effective in the guinea pig, producing up to 80% reversal of mechanical hyperalgesia (1-30 mg/kg s.c.) but had no effect in the rat or mouse. These data show that VR1 antagonists have antihyperalgesic activity in animal models of chronic inflammatory and neuropathic pain, and illustrate species differences in the in vivo pharmacology of VR1 that correlate with differences in pharmacology previously seen in vitro.
Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics 02/2003; 304(1):56-62. · 3.83 Impact Factor
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Katharine Walker,
Stephen J Medhurst,
Bruce L Kidd,
Markus Glatt,
Mick Bowes,
Sadhana Patel,
Kara McNair,
Adam Kesingland,
Jonathan Green,
Otto Chan, Alyson J Fox,
Laszlo A Urban
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ABSTRACT: Inoculation of syngeneic MRMT-1 mammary tumour cells into one tibia of female rats produced tumour growth within the bone associated with a reduction in bone mineral density (BMD) and bone mineral content (BMC), severe radiological signs of bone destruction, together with the development of behavioural mechanical allodynia and hyperalgesia. Histological and radiological examination showed that chronic treatment with the bisphosphonate, zoledronic acid (30 microg/kg, s.c.), for 19 days significantly inhibited tumour proliferation and preserved the cortical and trabecular bone structure. In addition, BMD and BMC were preserved and a dramatic reduction of tartrate resistant acid phosphatase-positive polykaryocytes (osteoclasts) was observed. In behavioural tests, chronic treatment with zoledronic acid but not the significantly less effective bisphosphonate, pamidronate, or the selective COX-2 inhibitor, celebrex, attenuated mechanical allodynia and hyperalgesia in the affected hind paw. Zoledronic acid also attenuated mechanical hyperalgesia associated with chronic peripheral neuropathy and inflammation in the rat. In contrast, pamidronate or clodronate did not have any anti-hyperalgesic effect on mechanical hyperalgesia in the neuropathic and inflammatory pain models. We conclude that zoledronic acid, in addition to, or independent from, its anti-metastatic and bone preserving therapeutic effects, is an anti-nociceptive agent in a rat model of metastatic cancer pain. This unique property of zoledronic acid amongst the bisphosphonate class of compounds could make this drug a preferred choice for the treatment of painful bone metastases in the clinic.
Pain 01/2003; 100(3):219-29. · 5.78 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Galanin is a 29-amino-acid neuropeptide that has been implicated in the processes of nociception. This study examines the effect of exogenous galanin on dorsal horn neurone activity in vivo in the spinal nerve ligation (SNL) model of neuropathic pain. SNL rats but not naive or sham-operated rats exhibited behaviour indicative of allodynia. In anaesthetized rats, extracellular recordings were made from individual convergent dorsal horn neurones following stimulation of peripheral receptive fields electrically or with natural (innocuous mechanical, noxious mechanical and noxious thermal) stimuli. Spinal administration of galanin (0.5-50 microg) caused a slight facilitation of the neuronal responses to natural and electrical stimuli in naive rats and up to a 65% inhibition of neuronal responses in sham-operated rats following 50 microg galanin. In contrast, there was a marked inhibition of up to 80% of responses to both natural and electrical stimuli in SNL rats following spinal galanin administration. These results suggest that following peripheral nerve injury, there is plasticity in the levels of galanin and/or its receptors at spinal cord level so that the effect of exogenous galanin favours inhibitory function.
Pain 09/2002; 98(3):249-58. · 5.78 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The effects of three different opioid agonists on contractions and [3H]-acetylcholine (ACh) release evoked by 5-hydroxytryptamine3 (5-HT3) and neurokinin-3 (NK-3) receptor activation were examined in the guinea-pig ileum longitudinal muscle-myenteric plexus strip (LMMP) preparation. The selective mu ()-opioid receptor agonist (d-Ala2,NMe-Phe4,Gly-ol]-enkephalin) (DAMGO; 1 nM–100 nM) and the selective kappa ()-opioid receptor agonist U50488 (10 nM -1 M) inhibited contractile responses to 5-HT and to the selective NK-3 receptor agonist senktide, producing a concentration-related progressive flattening of their concentration-response curves. IC50 estimates for DAMGO and U50488 were somewhat higher for inhibition of 5-HT-evoked as compared to senktide-evoked contractions, and overall lay in the range 6 nM – 51 nM. The selective delta ()-opioid receptor agonist [d-Pen2,5]-enkephalin (DPDPE) inhibited contractile responses only at the highest concentration used (1 M).
3H-overflow from LMMP preparations preincubated with [3H]-choline was measured as an indicator of [3H]-ACh release. DAMGO (1 nM –100 nM) and U50488 (10 nM -1 M) inhibited the increases in release of [3H]-ACh evoked by 5-HT (10 M) and by senktide (10 nM) in a concentration-dependant manner. IC50 estimates for DAMGO and U50488 were not significantly different for inhibition of 5-HT as compared to senktide-evoked increases in [3H]-ACh release and lay in the range 6 nM –23 nM. DPDPE again only inhibited these responses at the maximum concentration used (1 M). The inhibitory effects of DAMGO, U50488 and DPDPE on contractions and [3H]-ACh release evoked by 5-HT and senktide were completely reversed by naloxone (10 M).These results show that ACh release in the guinea-pig ileum evoked by 5-HT and senktide can be modulated to a similar extent by the opioid agonists DAMGO and U50488, but not by DPDPE. This suggests that the pathways of excitation for 5-HT3 and NK-3 receptors converge at some level susceptible to opioid inhibition, which may be mediated by - and -, but not -, opioid receptors.
Archiv für Experimentelle Pathologie und Pharmakologie 01/1991; 344(1):8-15. · 2.65 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a neuropoietic cytokine which is dramatically upregulated following peripheral nerve injury at the site of injury, in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) and in the spinal cord. The functional effects of IL-6 in nociception in normal conditions and following nerve injury are unclear. Thus the aim of this study was to assess the effect of spinal IL-6 administration on nociceptive transmission in naive, sham-operated and neuropathic (spinal nerve ligation, SNL) rats using in vivo electrophysiology to elucidate the possible role of IL-6 in neuropathic pain. In anaesthetised rats, extracellular recordings were made from individual convergent dorsal horn neurones following electrical and natural (mechanical and thermal) stimulation of peripheral receptive fields. Exogenous spinal IL-6 (100–500 ng) had no significant effect on electrically evoked neuronal responses in naive rats. In contrast, following neuropathy, spinal IL-6 produced a dose-related inhibition of the electrically evoked C-fibre, initial C-fibre and measures of neuronal hyperexcitability (post discharge and wind-up). In addition, spinal IL-6 markedly inhibited mechanical neuronal responses in neuropathic rats. Higher doses of spinal IL-6 also inhibited, to a lesser degree, the initial C-fibre, post discharge and wind-up responses in sham-operated rats. These studies show that following nerve injury the actions of the cytokine alter so that spinal administration of IL-6 elicits anti-nociceptive effects not observed under normal conditions. Moreover, the inhibitory effects of IL-6 on C-fibre activity and neuronal hyperexcitability, suggest IL-6 to be a potential modulator of neuropathic pain.
Brain Research.
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[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is markedly upregulated in the peripheral and central nervous systems following nerve injury; however, the functional effects of this are unclear. This study investigates the effect of peripheral interleukin-6 on nociceptive transmission in naive and neuropathic states. Using an in vitro rat skin-nerve preparation, 50 ng interleukin-6 inhibited responses of single nociceptive fibers to noxious heat. A 20-ng sample of interleukin-6 only inhibited heat responses in the presence of soluble interleukin-6 receptors. To examine in vivo effects of peripheral interleukin-6, extracellular recordings from dorsal horn neurons were made in anaesthetised naive, sham-operated and neuropathic (spinal nerve ligated) rats. Peripheral interleukin-6 (40–100 ng) markedly inhibited all naturally evoked neuronal responses in naive rats, yet only neuronal responses to heat in neuropathic rats. Behaviourally, intraplantar administration of interleukin-6 (0.01–1 μg) elicited ipsilateral thermal hypoalgesia in naive rats. Thus, interleukin-6 inhibits normal peripheral nociceptive transmission, yet such anti-nociceptive effects are attenuated following nerve injury in a modality-specific manner.
European Journal of Pharmacology.