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Biomedical subjects

S Lundquist

Publications and source records attributed to S Lundquist.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

Transport screening of drug cocktails through an in vitro blood-brain barrier: is it a good strategy for increasing the throughput of the discovery pipeline?

PURPOSE: The objective of the current study was to investigate whether blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability studies in vitro could be accelerated by running several compounds together in the same experiment. METHODS: To address this question, we compared the transport of six compounds run separately with the results of the same compounds run together (cocktails). RESULTS: The study clearly demonstrated that the outcome of the experiments were totally different depending on the strategy used. Furthermore, the study highlights the importance of having the resistance to drug transport offered by filters without cells under control, as the filter membrane itself can be the rate-limiting step for some compounds; in addition, there is always a potential risk of interactions between molecules in cocktails as well as drug-drug interaction at the level of BBB transporters. In this study, the presence of several P-glycoprotein substrates in the drug cocktail was found to cause breakdown of the BBB. CONCLUSIONS: The results demonstrate that unless a strategy that involves running several compounds in the same experiment is properly validated, the results are of little predictive value.

ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B↗

Physicochemical characterisation of a drug-containing phospholipid-stabilised o/w emulsion for intravenous administration.

Clomethiazole (CMZ) was used as a model drug to be incorporated into an emulsion vehicle. The effects of drug concentration and number of homogenisation steps were evaluated using multiple linear regression. The droplet size, measured as a z-average diameter by photon correlation spectroscopy (PCS), was found to be between 60 and 260 nm in the investigated range of CMZ concentrations, highly dependent on the concentration, but more weakly so on the number of homogenisation steps. Slow-scanning high-sensitivity differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements showed that CMZ depresses the phospholipid chain melting temperature in the emulsion system, whereas (13)C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments suggested that the CMZ molecules are to a large extent located in the surface region of the emulsion droplets. This interpretation is compatible with results from NMR self-diffusion measurements, which showed that most of the CMZ molecules are rapidly exchanged between emulsion droplets and the aqueous surrounding. It can be concluded that the surface-active drug CMZ has a significant influence on the characteristics of phospholipid-stabilised emulsions through its ability to interact with the phospholipid interface. Thus, the results underline the importance of characterising drug-lipid interactions for the development of lipid-based formulations.

1,2-Dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine↗

In vitro model for evaluating drug transport across the blood-brain barrier.

The passage of substances across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is regulated in the cerebral capillaries, which possess certain distinct different morphological and enzymatic properties compared with the capillaries of other organs. Investigations of the functional characteristics of brain capillaries have been facilitated by the use of cultured brain endothelial cells, but in most studies some characteristics of the in vivo BBB are lost. To provide an in vitro system for studying brain capillary functions, we have developed a process of coculture that closely mimics the in vivo situation by culturing brain capillary endothelial cells on one side of a filter and astrocytes on the other. In order to assess the drug transport across the blood-brain barrier, we compared the extraction ratios in vivo to the permeability of the in vitro model. The in vivo and the in vitro values showed a strong correlation. The relative ease with which such cocultures can be produced in large quantities facilitates the screening of new centrally active drugs. This model provides an easier, reproducible and mass-production method to study the blood-brain barrier in vitro.

Journal Article↗

Analysis of a recombination hotspot for gene conversion occurring at the HIS2 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The properties of gene conversion as measured in fungi that generate asci containing all the products of meiosis imply that meiotic recombination initiates at specific sites. The HIS2 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae displays a high frequency of gene conversion, indicating that it is a recombination hotspot. The HIS2 gene was cloned and sequenced, and the cloned DNA was used to make several different types of alterations in the yeast chromosome by transformation; these alterations were used to determine the location of the sequences necessary for the high levels of meiotic conversion observed at HIS2. Previous work indicated that the gene conversion polarity gradient is high at the 3' end of the gene, and that the promoter of the gene is not necessary for the high frequency of conversion observed. Data presented here suggest that at least some of the sequences necessary for high levels of conversion at HIS2 are located over 700 bp downstream of the end of the coding region, extend over (at least) several hundred base pairs, and may be quite complex, perhaps involving chromatin structure. Additional data indicate that multiple single base heterologies within a 1-kb interval contribute little to the frequency of gene conversion. This contrasts with other reports about the role of heterologies at the MAT locus.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Systemic and pulmonary haemodynamic effects of intravenous infusion of non-ionic isoosmolar dimeric contrast media. An investigation in the pig of two ratio 6 contrast media.

The systemic and pulmonary haemodynamic effects of i.v. infusion (1 ml/s) of high doses (4 ml/kg) of 2 non-ionic, isoosmolar dimeric contrast media (CM) were investigated in 17 female pigs. The 2 CM were iodixanol and iotrolan. Both CM induced a significant increase of the following parameters: mean arterial, mean right atrial, mean pulmonary arterial, mean pulmonary arterial occlusion pressure, cardiac output, stroke volume, and diuresis. The plasma concentration of atrial natriuretic peptide was significantly increased following infusion of the 2 CM. A significant decrease was seen in the systemic and pulmonary vascular resistance.

Animals↗

A meiotic gene conversion gradient opposite to the direction of transcription.

Genetic recombination involves classical crossing-over and gene conversion (aberrant segregation). In fungi that produce an ascus containing four spores, a gene conversion event is manifested as 3:1 or 1:3 (or more rarely 4:0 or 0:4) segregations, in contrast to the normal mendelian 2:2 segregation. Polarity is one of the properties of gene conversion; in almost all cases the frequency of conversion exhibits a gradient across the gene monitored. The frequency of conversion is usually independent of the specific allele used as a marker, but dependent on its location. An interpretation of conversion polarity is that it is caused by the existence of specific initiation sites for meiotic recombination, located at the high end of the polarity gradient. Here we show that the polarity gradient for the HIS2 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is high at the 3' end of the gene, implying that the promoter of HIS2 is not the initiation site.

Alleles↗

Obesity and eating style.

Eating styles of 30 obese women and 37 matched women of normal weight were observed unobtrusively in a fast-food restaurant in the search for an "obese eating style" or other differences between the two groups. The size and character of the food was carefully matched by giving each woman a coupon entitling her to a free meal of either 985 or 1,800 calories. There were only small and inconsistent differences between obese and normal-weight women. No evidence of an "obese eating style" was found.

Feeding Behavior↗

Weekly periodicity of headache and the effect of changes in weather on headache.

The effect of changes in weather on headache was investigated in two separate studies in Uppsala. In a pilot study 60 healthy persons (all medical staff) reported their headache during a period of 2 months. Later 53 patients with migraine and 20 with tension headache registered their headache during 4 weeks. Several climate factors were recorded during the observation periods. Both studies showed a significant weekly periodicity of headache. In patients with migraine the headache frequency was lowest on Sunday-Monday and highest on Thursday and on Saturday. In patients with tension headache the highest frequency was noted on Thursday-Friday and lowest frequency on Sunday-Tuesday. The pilot study showed that personnel off work had significantly more headache when bad weather occurred. There was a tendency for headache the day before windy weather. In the 53 migraine patients there was also a correlation between some climate factors and headache frequency. In this group the deviation from the expected headache frequency (actual headache frequency minus that of observed weekly periodicity) correlated significantly to the air-pressure and air-temperature measured 1-3 days later.

Adult↗