• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.104-109
• /
• 2010

Purpose: $[^{18}F]$Fallypride plays an effective radiotracer for the study of dopamine $D_2/D_3$ receptor occupancy, neuropsychiatric disorders and aging in humans. This tracer has the potential for clinical use, but automated labeling efficiency showed low radiochemical yields about 5~20% with relatively long labelling time of fluorine-18. In present study, we describe an improved automatic synthesis of [$^{18}F$]Fallypride using different base concentration for routine clinical use. Materials and Methods: Fully automated synthetic process of [$^{18}F$]Fallypride was perform using the TracerLab $FX_{FN}$ synthesizer under various labeling conditions and tosyl-fallypride was used as a precursor. [$^{18}F$]Fluoride was extracted with various concentration of $K_{2.2.2.}/K_2CO_3$ from $^{18}O$-enriched water trapped on the ion exchange cartridge. After azeotropic drying, the labeling reaction proceeded in $CH_3CN$ at $100^{\circ}C$ for 10 or 30 min. The reaction mixture was purified by reverse phase HPLC and collected organic solution was exchanged by tc-18 Sep-Pak for the clinically available solution. Results: The optimal labeling condition of [$^{18}F$]Fallypride in the automatic production was that 2 mg of tosyl-fallypride in acetonitrile (1 mL) was incubated at $100^{\circ}C$ for 10 min with $K_{2.2.2.}/K_2CO_3$ (11/0.8 mg). [$^{18}F$]Fallypride was obtained with high radiochemical yield about $66{\pm}1.4%$ (decay-corrected, n=28) within $51{\pm}1.2$ min including HPLC purification and solid-phase purification for the final formulation. Conclusion: [$^{18}F$]Fallypride was prepared with a significantly improved radiochemical yield with high specific activity and shorten synthetic time. In addition, this automated procedure provides the high reproducibility with no synthesis failures (n=28).

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
• /
• v.52 no.6
• /
• pp.680-688
• /
• 2009

Purpose : Cysteinyl leukotrienes are important proinflammatory mediators in asthma. Recently, it was suggested that a promoter polymorphism in the genes encoding for leukotriene C4 synthase (LTC4S), a key enzyme in the leukotriene synthetic pathway, and cysteinyl leukotriene receptor 1 (CysLTR1) might be associated with aspirin-intolerant asthma. We investigated whether polymorphisms in LTC4S and CysLTR1 genes or their interactions were associated with the asthma phenotype, lung function, or bronchial hyperreactivity (BHR) in Korean children. Methods : A total of 856 asthmatic children and 254 non-asthmatic controls were enrolled; a skin prick test, lung function test and bronchial provocation test were performed. Of those enrolled, 395 children underwent exercise challenge tests. The LTC4S A(-444)C and CysLTR1 T(＋927)C were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. Results : Of those enrolled, 699 children were classified as having atopic asthma and 277 children, as having exercise-induced asthma (EIA). LTC4S and CysLTR1 polymorphisms were not associated with atopic asthma, EIA, or asthma per se. Lung function and BHR were not significantly different between the wild type (AA or TT) and the variant (AC＋CC or TC＋CC) genotypes in asthmatics, atopic asthmatics, and EIA (＋) asthmatics, while total eosinophil counts were higher in the variant type of LTC4S than in the wild type in atopic asthmatics. There were no associations between the gene-gene interactions of LTC4S and CysLTR1 genotypes and the asthma phenotypes. Conclusion : LTC4S A(-444)C and CysLTR1 T(＋927)C polymorphisms and their gene-gene interactions are not associated with asthma phenotype, lung function, or BHR in Korean children.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
• /
• v.41 no.1
• /
• pp.31-36
• /
• 2011

$5HT_{2C}$ receptor among fourteen 5-HT subtypes plays important roles in several disorders such as depression, anxiety, epilepsy, schizophrenia and sleep disorders. The purpose of the study is to investigate pharmacokinetic parameters and bioavailability of a newly synthesized selective agonist of $5-HT_{2C}$ receptor, KOPC-20010 (KP10) in rats after intravenous and oral administration for the development of therapeutic anti-obesity agents. KP10 was administered orally (40 mg/kg) or intravenously (20 mg/kg), blood was collected via a catheter, and analyzed by GC/MSD. The calibration curve of KP10 in plasma and urine showed high linearity ($r^2$ >0.999). The retention times of KP10 in plasma and urine were 8.7 and 9.7 min, respectively. After oral administration of 40 mg/kg, pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated as follows; $C_{max}$ value was $1242.9{\pm}1195.5$ ng/mL at $1.1{\pm}0.6$ hr ($T_{max}$). $AUC_{0->24hr}$ and $AUC_{0>{\infty}}$ were $8034.2{\pm}960.7$ and $10464.1{\pm}681.5\;ng{\cdot}hr/mL$, respectively. The terminal half-life was $21.9{\pm}7.6$ hr. $AUC_{0->24hr}$ and $AUC_{0>{\infty}}$ were $4292.4{\pm}523.0$ and $6111.2{\pm}756.2\;ng{\cdot}hr/mL$, respectively, after 20 mg/kg of intravenous administration. The terminal half-life after intravenous administration was $25.1{\pm}9.4$ hr. Bioavailability of KP10 was determined to 86%. The excretion amount into the urine within 48 hr was approximately 4.7 to 6.7% of the dose administered. These data may be beneficial to the anti-obesity drug development of KP10.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• v.10 no.2
• /
• pp.104-113
• /
• 2002

The effects of enzyme inhibitors and penetration enhancers on the permeation of leucine enkephalin (Leu-Enk) and its synthetic analog, [${D-ala}^2$]-leucine enkephalinamide (YAGFL) across the nasal, rectal and vaginal mucosae were evaluated. Enzyme inhibitors and penetration enhancers employed for Leu-Enk permeation study were amastatin(AM), thimerosal(TM) and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium salt(EDTA), and sodium taurodihydrofusidate (STDHF). Those for YAGFL permeation study were TM, benzalkonium chloride(BC) and EDTA, and STDHF, sodium deoxycholate(SDC), sodium glycholate(SGC), glycyrrhizic acid ammonium salt (GAA), L-$\alpha$-Iysophosphatidylcholine(LPC) and mixed micelle (MM, STDHF: linoleic acid = 15 mM : 5 mM). The addition of TM alone on the donor and receptor solutions for Leu-Enk permeation study across all the three kinds of mucosae failed to inhibit the degradation; it completely degraded in 6 hrs, and no permeation occurred. However, with addition of three kinds of inhibitors together, the fluxes across nasal, rectal and vaginal mucosae were $\20.7{pm}2.5$>/TEX>,$\0.3{pm}0.05$>/TEX> and $\1.4{pm}0.5$ $\mu$\mid$textrm{m}$/$\textrm{cm}^2$/hr, respectively. Moreover, the addition of STDHF in the presence of the above three inhibitors enhanced permeation across nasal, rectal and vaginal mucosae 1.3, 15 and 1.3 times, respectively. YhGFL also degraded in the donor and receptor solutions rapidly as time went. With mixed inhibitors of TM and EDTA, the percents of YAGFL remaining in the donor solutions facing nasal, rectal and vaginal mucosae were 69.7, 69.8 and 79.8%, respectively; the percent permeated increased to 10, 2.1 and 5.7%, respectively. The addition of STDHF in the presence of either BC/EDTA or TW/EDTA increased the permeation 2.2, 11.0 and 2.9 times, and 2.21, 14.0 and 2.7 times for nasal, rectal and vaginal mucosae, respectively. With SDC, SGC, GAA, LPC ud MM in the presence of TM/EDTA increased permeation; especially, they increased permeation across vaginal mucosae effectively, and the enhancement factors were 12.5, 7.6, 8.7, 5.7 and 5.5, respectively. The degradation extent of YAGFL was correlated with protein concentrations in the epidermal and serosal extracts. The flux of YAGFL across nasal mucosa increased dose-dependently.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
• /
• v.21 no.3
• /
• pp.309-316
• /
• 2017

Transient receptor potential vanilloid 3 (TRPV3) is a non-selective cation channel with modest permeability to calcium ions. It is involved in intracellular calcium signaling and is therefore important in processes such as thermal sensation, skin barrier formation, and wound healing. TRPV3 was initially proposed as a warm temperature sensor. It is activated by synthetic small-molecule chemicals and plant-derived natural compounds such as camphor and eugenol. Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill (SC) has diverse pharmacological properties including antiallergic, anti-inflammatory, and wound healing activities. It is extensively used as an oriental herbal medicine for the treatment of various diseases. In this study, we investigated whether SC fruit extracts and seed oil, as well as four compounds isolated from the fruit can activate the TRPV3 channel. By performing whole-cell patch clamp recording in HEK293T cells overexpressing TRPV3, we found that the methanolic extract of SC fruit has an agonistic effect on the TRPV3 channel. Furthermore, electrophysiological analysis revealed that ${\gamma}$-schisandrin, one of the isolated compounds, activated TRPV3 at a concentration of $30{\mu}M$. In addition, ${\gamma}$-schisandrin (${\sim}100{\mu}M$) increased cytoplasmic $Ca^{2+}$ concentrations by approximately 20% in response to TRPV3 activation. This is the first report to indicate that SC extract and ${\gamma}$-schisandrin can modulate the TRPV3 channel. This report also suggests a mechanism by which ${\gamma}$-schisandrin acts as a therapeutic agent against TRPV3-related diseases.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
• /
• v.13 no.2
• /
• pp.117-125
• /
• 2009

Phenylformamidine derivatives are well known as insecticides for their specific activity against the insects. It has now been established that they show insecticidal activity as agonists on the octopamine receptor which is located in the synapse membrane. The reaction of triethylorthoformate and fluoroanilines gave formimidates (1) in good yields and N',N'-Disubstituted N-fluorophenylformamidine derivatives were synthesized more easily by using microwave. This microwave reaction condition gave products in high yields and faster reaction time than conventional methods. All the compounds were screened for their biological activity agaist harmful insects of plant hoppers, moths, aphids and mites. Synthetic compounds of 2-I-a, 2-I-c, 2-I-d, 2-II-d showed good activity against mites and plant hoppers.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.78 no.2
• /
• pp.99-105
• /
• 2015

Background: Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), a ligand-dependent transcription factor, binds to a wide variety of synthetic and naturally occurring compounds. AhR is involved in the regulation of inflammatory response during acute and chronic respiratory diseases. We investigated whether nuclear receptor coactivator 7 (NCOA7) could regulate transcriptional levels of AhR target genes and inflammatory cytokines in 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD)-treated human bronchial epithelial cells. This study was based on our previous study that NCOA7 was differentially expressed between normal and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease lung tissues. Methods: BEAS-2B and A549 cells grown under serum-free conditions were treated with or without TCDD (0.15 nM and 6.5 nM) for 24 hours after transfection of pCMV-NCOA7 isoform 4. Expression levels of cytochrome P4501A1 (CYP1A1), IL-6, and IL-8 were measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results: The transcriptional activities of CYP1A1 and inflammatory cytokines were strongly induced by TCDD treatment in both BEAS-2B and A549 cell lines. The NCOA7 isoform 4 oppositely regulated the transcriptional activities of CYP1A1 and inflammatory cytokines between BEAS-2B and A549 cell lines. Conclusion: Our results suggest that NCOA7 could act as a regulator in the TCDD-AhR signaling pathway with dual roles in normal and abnormal physiological conditions.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
• /
• v.2 no.4
• /
• pp.461-469
• /
• 1998

Tetrahydroisoquinoline (THI) alkaloids can be considered as cyclized derivatives of simple phenylethy-lamines, and many of them, especially with 6,7-disubstitution, demonstrate relatively high affinity for catecholamines. Two -OH groups at 6 and 7 positions are supposed to be essential to exert ?${\beta}-receptor$ activities. However, it is not clear whether -OH at 6,7 substitution of THIs also shows ?${\alpha}-adrenoceptor$ activities. In the present study, we investigated whether -OH or $-OCH_3$ substitutions of 6,7 position of THIs differently affect the ?1-adrenoceptor affinity. We synthesized two 1-naphthylmethyl THI alkaloids, $1-{\beta}-naphthylmethyl-6,7-dihydroxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline$ HBr (YS 51) and $1-{\beta}-naphthylmethyl-6, 7-dimethoxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline$ HCl (YS 55), and their pharmacological actions on ?${\alpha}_1-adrenoceptor$ were compared. YS 51 and YS 55, concentration-dependently relaxed endothelium-denuded rat thoracic aorta precontracted with phenylephrine (PE, 0.1 ${\mu}M$) in which $pEC_{50}$ were $5.89{\pm}0.21$ and $5.93{\pm}0.19$, respectively. Propranolol (30 nM) did not affect the relaxation-response curves to YS 51 and YS 55. Concentration-response curves to PE were shifted to right by the pretreatment with YS 51 or YS 55. The $pA_2$ values of YS 51 and YS 55 showed $6.05{\pm}0.24$ and $5.88{\pm}0.16$, respectively. Both probes relaxed KCl (65.4 mM)-contracted aorta and inhibited $CaCl_2-induced$ contraction of PE-stimulated endothelium- denuded rat thoracic aorta in $Ca^{2+}-free$ solutions. In isolated guinea pig papillary muscle, 1 and 10 ${\mu}M$ YS 51 increased contractile force about 4- and 8- fold over the control, respectively, along with the concentration-dependent increment of cytosolic $Ca^{2+}$ ions. While, 10 ${\mu}M$ YS 55 reduced the contractile force about 50 % over the control and lowered the cytosolic $Ca^{2+}$ level, in rat brain homogenates, YS 51 and YS 55 displaced $[^3H]prazosin$ binding competitively with Ki 0.15 and 0.12 ${\mu}M$, respectively. However, both probes were ineffective on $[^3H]nitrendipine$ binding. Therefore, it is concluded that two synthetic naphthylmethyl-THI alkaloids have considerable affinity to ?1-adrenenoceptors in rat aorta and brain.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
• /
• v.8 no.5
• /
• pp.253-257
• /
• 2004

Schwann cells play an important role in peripheral nerve regeneration. Upon neuronal injury, activated Schwann cells clean up the myelin debris by phagocytosis, and promote neuronal survival and axon outgrowth by secreting various neurotrophic factors. However, it is unclear how the nerve injury induces Schwann cell activation. Recently, it was reported that certain cytoplasmic molecules, which are secreted by cells undergoing necrotic cell death, induce immune cell activation via the toll-like receptors (TLRs). This suggests that the TLRs expressed on Schwann cells may recognize nerve damage by binding to the endogenous ligands secreted by the damaged nerve, thereby inducing Schwann cell activation. Accordingly, this study was undertaken to examine the expression and the function of the TLRs on primary Schwann cells and iSC, a rat Schwann cell line. The transcripts of TLR2, 3, 4, and 9 were detected on the primary Schwann cells as well as on iSC. The stimulation of iSC with poly (I : C), a synthetic ligand for the TLR3, induced the expression of $TNF-{\alpha}$ and RANTES. In addition, poly (I : C) stimulation induced the iNOS expression and nitric oxide secretion in iSC. These results suggest that the TLRs may be involved in the inflammatory activation of Schwann cells, which is observed during Wallerian degeneration after a peripheral nerve injury.

• The Korean Journal of Pharmacology
• /
• v.16 no.2 s.27
• /
• pp.25-29
• /
• 1980

Etomidoline ($Nonspa^{\circledR}$), which is chemically related to tertiary amine, is new synthetic antispasmodic agent with analgesic action. Antispasmodic effect of this agent is stronger than hyoscine butylbromide ($Buscopan^{\circledR}$), quaternary amine, and the absorption from intestine is also much higher. This study was undertaken to determine the effect of etomidoline on duodenal motility and other smooth muscles of rabbit. Strips of various isolated smooth muscle, 2 cm long from adult rabbits weighting about 2 kg, were suspended in a muscle chamber containing Tyrode's solution, which was bubbled with oxygen gas, and the temperature of the solution was kept constant at $38^{\circ}C$. After being washed with fresh solution several times the strips of smooth muscle attained constant motility and tonus. Etomidoline and other drugs were added in various concentrations to the chamber. Contractility of the strips was measured by using polygraph (Grass, model 7). The results are as follows: 1) In isolated rabbit atrium etomidoline produces a slight depression of contractility and the rate is also decreased. 2) On the other hand, etomidoline relaxed isolated strips of stomach, duodenal, and detrusor of rabbit. This relaxing effect of etomidoline on isolated duodenal strip of rabbit was not blocked by ${\alpha}$-adrenergic blocking agent, phenoxybenzamine, but by ${\beta}$-adrenergic blocking agent, propranolol. 3) Etomidoline did not exert any effect on isolated aorta, gall bladder, and trigone of rabbit. From the above results, it may be concluded that the relaxing effect of etomidoline on duodenal strip is related ${\beta}$-adrenergic receptor.