The effect of different dosing schedules of UCN-01 on its pharmacokinetics and cardiohaemodynamics in dogs.

7-Hydroxy-staurosporine (UCN-01) is now under development as a novel anticancer drug. In clinical studies, different infusion schedules are being investigated in the USA and Japan. To examine the effect of different infusion schedules on the pharmacokinetics and cardiohaemodynamics of UCN-01, dogs were treated with UCN-01 as either a 3-h or a 24-h constant intravenous infusion. Blood pressure and heart rate, together with UCN-01 concentrations during and after infusion, were monitored. To analyse the relationship between the pharmacokinetics and cardiohaemodynamics of UCN-01, the plasma concentration of UCN-01 at the end of infusion (Cend), the area under the plasma concentration versus time curves (AUC0-infinity) and the mean residence time (MRT) were used. As indices of cardiohaemodynamic changes, the area under decreasing systolic blood pressure and increasing heart rate versus time curves (dAUCpressure and AUCheart rate) were calculated by the trapezoidal method. For the 3-h (0-22 and 0.65 mgkg(-1)) and 24-h infusion (0.81 to 6.48 mgkg(-1)), systolic and diastolic blood pressures fell after or during infusions, accompanied by a dose-dependent increase in heart rate for both infusions. During both infusion schedules, the plasma concentrations of UCN-01 gradually increased and Cend showed a dose-proportional increase. After that, UCN-01 was eliminated bi-exponentially with an elimination half-life of 5.14+/-1.12 to 8.32+/-1.80 h. The total clearance (CLtotal) ranged from 0.383 to 0.666+/-0.149 L h(-1) kg(-1). There was no significant difference in these parameters among the doses in each infusion schedule, indicating that UCN-01 has a linear pharmacokinetic profile over the dose range examined for each infusion, and there were also no significant differences between the 3-h and 24-h infusion except for MRT. The pharmacokinetic parameters of Cend, AUC0-infinity and slope0-3 h exhibited a degree of correlation with the AUCheart rate in the 3-h infusion and correlated significantly with the dAUCpressure in the 24-h infusion. The MRT did not correlate with cardiohaemodynamic changes during either infusion. In conclusion, the pharmacokinetic profile of UCN-01 after the shorter infusion is similar to that after the longer one. However, a longer dosing period of UCN-01 increased the residence time in comparison with the shorter infusion. This may be due to the effect on the circulatory function in dogs.