title: Exploring Factors Causing Low Brain Penetration of the Opioid Peptide DAMGO through Experimental Methods and Modeling.
abstract: To advance the development of peptide analogues for improved treatment of pain, we need to learn more about the blood-brain barrier transport of these substances. A low penetration into the brain, with an unbound brain to blood ratio, Kp,uu, of 0.08, is an important reason for the lack of effect of the enkephalin analogue DAMGO (H-Tyr-d-Ala-Gly-MePhe-Gly-ol) according to earlier findings. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of efflux transporters, metabolism in the brain, and/or elimination through interstitial fluid bulk flow for the brain exposure of DAMGO. The in vivo brain distribution of DAMGO was evaluated using microdialysis in the rat. Data were analyzed with population modeling which resulted in a clearance into the brain of 1.1 and an efflux clearance 14 μL/min/g_brain. The efflux clearance was thus much higher than the bulk flow known from the literature. Coadministration with the efflux transporter inhibitors cyclosporin A and elacridar in vivo did not affect Kp,uu. The permeability of DAMGO in the Caco-2 assay was very low, of the same size as mannitol. The efflux ratio was <2 and not influenced by cyclosporin A or elacridar. These results indicate that the well-known efflux transporters Pgp and Bcrp are not responsible for the higher efflux of DAMGO, which opens up for an important role of other transporters at the BBB.
authors.affiliation: Translational PKPD Group, Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Associate Member of SciLife Lab, Uppsala University , Box 591, Uppsala, SE-75124, Sweden.
authors.forename: Annika
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lindqvist
authors.affiliation: Pharmacometrics Group, Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Uppsala University , Box 591, Uppsala, SE-75124, Sweden.
authors.forename: Siv
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jönsson
authors.affiliation: Translational PKPD Group, Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Associate Member of SciLife Lab, Uppsala University , Box 591, Uppsala, SE-75124, Sweden.
authors.forename: Margareta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hammarlund-Udenaes
mesh_terms: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D001812:Blood-Brain Barrier / Q000378:metabolism; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D018938:Caco-2 Cells; D020875:Enkephalin, Ala(2)-MePhe(4)-Gly(5)- / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid; D020875:Enkephalin, Ala(2)-MePhe(4)-Gly(5)-
keywords: CNS; NONMEM; Pgp; blood−brain barrier; cyclosporin A; efflux; elacridar; microdialysis; permeability; pharmacokinetics; population modeling