Author: Schaefer, Martina Barbara ; Seeger, Werner ; Schudt, Christian ; Leiper, James ; Wilhelm, Jochen ; Schermuly, Ralph Theo ; Fleming, Ingrid ; Pullamsetti, Soni Savai ; Weissmann, Norbert ; Mayer, Konstantin ; Savai, Rajkumar ; Ghofrani, Hossein Ardeschir ; Grimminger, Friedrich

Background—Pulmonary arterial hypertension is characterized by a progressive increase in pulmonary vascular resistance caused by endothelial dysfunction, inward vascular remodeling, and severe loss of precapillary pulmonary vessel cross-sectional area. Asymmetrical dimethylarginine (ADMA), an endogenous nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, and its metabolizing enzyme dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase (DDAH) play important roles in endothelial dysfunction. We investigated whether combined phosphodiesterase (PDE) 3 and 4 inhibition ameliorates endothelial function by regulating the ADMA-DDAH axis.Methods and Results—We investigated the effects of the PDE3/4 inhibitor tolafentrine in vitro on endothelial cell survival, proliferation, and apoptosis. Effects of tolafentrine on the endothelial nitric oxide synthase/nitric oxide pathway, DDAH expression, DDAH promoter activity, and cytokine release from endothelial cells and their subsequent influence on DDAH expression were investigated. In monocrotaline-induced pulmonary arterial hypertension in rats, the effects of inhaled tolafentrine on DDAH expression and activity were investigated. Real-time-polymerase chain reaction, immunocytochemistry, and PDE activity assays suggested high expression of PDE3 and PDE4 isoforms in endothelial cells. Treatment of endothelial cells with PDE3/4 inhibitor significantly decreased ADMA-induced apoptosis via a cAMP/PKA-dependent pathway by induction of DDAH2. Chronic nebulization of PDE3/4 inhibitor significantly attenuated monocrotaline-induced hemodynamic, gas exchange abnormalities, vascular remodeling, and right heart hypertrophy. Interestingly, PDE3/4 inhibitor treatment reduced ADMA and elevated nitric oxide/cGMP levels. Mechanistically, this could be attributed to direct modulatory effects of cAMP on the promoter region of DDAH2, which was consequently found to be increased in expression and activity. Furthermore, PDE3/4 inhibitor suppressed apoptosis in endothelial cells and increased vascularization in the lung.Conclusion—Combined inhibition of PDE3 and 4 regresses development of pulmonary hypertension and promotes endothelial regeneration by modulating the ADMA-DDAH axis.

01 Dec 2005·Respiratory ResearchQ2 · MEDICINE

Inhaled tolafentrine reverses pulmonary vascular remodeling via inhibition of smooth muscle cell migration

Q2 · MEDICINE

ArticleOA

Author: Soni Pullamsetti ; Werner Seeger ; Beate Fuchs ; Stefanie Krick ; Friedrich Grimminger ; Christian Schudt ; Ralph Theo Schermuly ; Norbert Weissmann ; Hossein Ardeschir Ghofrani ; Hüseyin Yilmaz

AbstractBackgroundThe aim of the study was to assess the chronic effects of combined phosphodiesterase 3/4 inhibitor tolafentrine, administered by inhalation, during monocrotaline-induced pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in rats.MethodsCD rats were given a single subcutaneous injection of monocrotaline to induce PAH. Four weeks after, rats were subjected to inhalation of tolafentrine or sham nebulization in an unrestrained, whole body aerosol exposure system. In these animals (i) the acute pulmonary vasodilatory efficacy of inhaled tolafentrine (ii) the anti-remodeling effect of long-term inhalation of tolafentrine (iii) the effects of tolafentrine on the expression profile of 96 genes encoding cell adhesion and extracellular matrix regulation were examined. In addition, the inhibitory effect of tolafentrine on ex vivo isolated pulmonary artery SMC cell migration was also investigated.ResultsMonocrotaline injection provoked severe PAH (right ventricular systolic pressure increased from 25.9 ± 4.0 to 68.9 ± 3.2 after 4 weeks and 74.9 ± 5.1 mmHg after 6 weeks), cardiac output depression and right heart hypertrophy. The media thickness of the pulmonary arteries and the proportion of muscularization of small precapillary resistance vessels increased dramatically, and the migratory response of ex-vivo isolated pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMC) was increased. Micro-arrays and subsequent confirmation with real time PCR demonstrated upregulation of several extracellular matrix regulation and adhesion genes, such as matrixmetalloproteases (MMP) 2, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 20, Icam, Itgax, Plat and serpinb2. When chronically nebulized from day 28 to 42 (12 daily aerosol maneuvers), after full establishment of severe pulmonary hypertension, tolafentrine reversed about 60% of all hemodynamic abnormalities, right heart hypertrophy and monocrotaline-induced structural lung vascular changes, including the proportion of pulmonary artery muscularization. The upregulation of extracellular matrix regulation and adhesion genes was reduced by nearly 80% by inhalation of the tolafentrine. When assessed in vitro, tolafentrine blocked the enhanced PASMC migratory response.ConclusionIn conclusion, we demonstrate for the first time that inhalation of combined PDE3/4 inhibitor reverses pulmonary hypertension fully developed in response to monocrotaline in rats. This "reverse-remodeling" effect includes structural changes in the lung vascular wall and key molecular pathways of matrix regulation, concomitant with 60% normalization of hemodynamics.

30 Apr 2004·Circulation ResearchQ1 · MEDICINE

Antiremodeling Effects of Iloprost and the Dual-Selective Phosphodiesterase 3/4 Inhibitor Tolafentrine in Chronic Experimental Pulmonary Hypertension

Q1 · MEDICINE

Article

Author: Schermuly, Ralph Theo ; Schudt, Christian ; Seeger, Werner ; Pullamsetti, Soni ; Samidurai, Arun ; Grimminger, Friedrich ; Weissmann, Norbert ; Ghofrani, Hossein Ardeschir ; Kreisselmeier, Klaus Peter ; Ermert, Leander

Severe pulmonary hypertension is a disabling disease with high mortality. We investigated acute and chronic effects of iloprost, a long-acting prostacyclin analogue, and the dual-selective phosphodiesterase 3/4 inhibitor tolafentrine in monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension in rats. Twenty-eight and 42 days after administration of the alkaloid, right ventricular systolic pressure increased from 25.8±2.0 to 62.9±3.4 and 70.5±7.4 mm Hg, with concomitant decline in cardiac index, central venous oxygen saturation, and arterial oxygenation. Marked right heart hypertrophy was demonstrated by the strongly elevated ratio of right ventricle/left ventricle plus septum weight, and massive thickening of the precapillary artery smooth muscle layer was shown histologically. Western blot analysis demonstrated increased levels of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) -2 and -9 and increased gelatinolytic activities in isolated pulmonary arteries. In these animals, both intravenous iloprost and tolafentrine displayed characteristic features of pulmonary vasodilators. When chronically infused from days 14 to 28, both agents significantly attenuated all monocrotaline-induced hemodynamic and gas exchange abnormalities as well as right heart hypertrophy. Full normalization of all variables including right ventricle size was achieved on combined administration of both agents during this period. This was also true for MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression and activity. Moreover, when iloprost plus tolafentrine was used for late therapeutic intervention, with infusion from days 28 to 42 after full establishment of severe pulmonary hypertension and cor pulmonale, hemodynamic, gas exchange, and cardiac and pulmonary vascular remodeling changes were significantly reversed. We conclude that the combined administration of iloprost and a dual-selective phosphodiesterase 3/4 inhibitor prevents and reverses the development of pulmonary hypertension and cor pulmonale in response to monocrotaline in rats. This regimen may therefore offer a possible antiremodeling therapy in severe pulmonary hypertension.

100 Deals associated with Tolafentrine

R&D Status

10 top R&D records.

to view more data

Indication	Highest Phase	Country/Location	Organization	Date
Asthma	Phase 2	DE	ALTANA Pharma AG	-
Asthma	Phase 2	-	ALTANA AG	-

Clinical Result

Indication

Phase

Evaluation

View All Results

Translational Medicine

Boost your research with our translational medicine data.

view full example data

Deal

Boost your decision using our deal data.

view full example data

Core Patent

Boost your research with our Core Patent data.

view full example data

Clinical Trial

Identify the latest clinical trials across global registries.

view full example data

Approval

Accelerate your research with the latest regulatory approval information.

view full example data

Regulation

Understand key drug designations in just a few clicks with Synapse.

view full example data

Chat with Hiro

Get started for free today!

Accelerate Strategic R&D decision making with Synapse, PatSnap’s AI-powered Connected Innovation Intelligence Platform Built for Life Sciences Professionals.

Start your data trial now!

Synapse data is also accessible to external entities via APIs or data packages. Empower better decisions with the latest in pharmaceutical intelligence.

Bio

Bio Sequences Search & Analysis

Chemical

Chemical Structures Search & Analysis


No Data

Tolafentrine

Overview

Basic Info

Structure

Related

R&D Status

Clinical Result

Translational Medicine

Deal

Core Patent

Clinical Trial

Approval

Regulation