<p>Delivery of drugs to the brain requires passage across the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Both for drugs already on the market and for new drugs under development, it is important to know to what extent a drug enters the CNS. Many drugs used clinically are racemic mixtures, <i>i.e.</i> equal parts of the (<i>S</i>)- and (<i>R</i>)-enantiomers. </p><p>The present studies focus on the enantiomers and racemates of a number of 5-HT<sub>1A</sub> receptor agonists and antagonists (pindolol, propranolol, 8-OH-DPAT and other 8-substituted-2-(di-<i>n</i>-propylamino)tetralin derivatives) and BBB transport <i>in vitro</i> and distribution to the brain <i>in vivo.</i> Assays (HPLC-based) were set up or developed for determination of the racemates and the pure enantiomers (chiral column) of drugs in plasma and brain tissue. BBB transport was assessed <i>in vitro</i> using bovine brain endothelial cells cocultured with rat astrocytes. The physicochemical constants (log P, pKa) and plasma protein binding were determined. Pindolol, propranolol and several tetralines accumulated over time in brain tissue. For pindolol and propranolol, but not for most tetralins, the distribution to the brain was stereoselective, (<i>S</i>)>(<i>R</i>). Pretreatment with verapamil, an inhibitor of drug efflux <i>via</i> P-glycoprotein, differentially decreased the brain/plasma ratios of the enantiomers of pindolol and propranolol, indicating that verapamil may also inhibit an influx transport mechanism. <i>In vitro</i> results with racemic pindolol, propranolol and tetralins showed no differences in BBB transport between the enantiomers. A more rapid apical to basolateral transport (influx) <i>vs</i>. the basolateral to apical (efflux) transport of propranolol (not pindolol) and most tetralins <i>in vitro</i> indicated active transport across the BBB. </p><p>In conclusion, the combined <i>in vivo</i> and <i>in vitro</i> results are consistent with active transport of the studied compounds across the BBB rather than passive diffusion due to their lipophilicity. Some, but not all, chiral drugs are stereoselectively distributed to the brain. Stereoselective plasma protein binding or stereoselective transport across brain endothelial cells does not seem to explain the stereoselective accumulation of pindolol and propranolol. The stereochemical configuration of compounds contributes to their pharmacokinetic as well as their pharmacodynamic uniqueness. The characteristics of the enantiomers of chiral compounds need to be determined empirically rather than based on generalizations from structural or physicochemical information.</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA/oai:DiVA.org:uu-1950 |
| Date | January 2002 |
| Creators | Yan, Hongmei |
| Publisher | Uppsala University, Department of Neuroscience, Uppsala : Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary, text |
| Relation | Comprehensive Summaries of Uppsala Dissertations from the Faculty of Medicine, 0282-7476 ; 1138 |
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