Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA; Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
Pharmacol Res. 2023 Sep;195:106876. doi: 10.1016/j.phrs.2023.106876. Epub 2023 Aug 1.
There is a lack of FDA-approved tocolytics for the management of preterm labor (PL). In prior drug discovery efforts, we identified mundulone and mundulone acetate (MA) as inhibitors of in vitro intracellular Ca-regulated myometrial contractility. In this study, we probed the tocolytic potential of these compounds using human myometrial samples and a mouse model of preterm birth. In a phenotypic assay, mundulone displayed greater efficacy, while MA showed greater potency and uterine-selectivity in the inhibition of intracellular-Ca mobilization. Cell viability assays revealed that MA was significantly less cytotoxic. Organ bath and vessel myography studies showed that only mundulone exerted inhibition of myometrial contractions and that neither compounds affected vasoreactivity of ductus arteriosus. A high-throughput combination screen identified that mundulone exhibits synergism with two clinical-tocolytics (atosiban and nifedipine), and MA displayed synergistic efficacy with nifedipine. Of these combinations, mundulone+atosiban demonstrated a significant improvement in the in vitro therapeutic index compared to mundulone alone. The ex vivo and in vivo synergism of mundulone+atosiban was substantiated, yielding greater tocolytic efficacy and potency on myometrial tissue and reduced preterm birth rates in a mouse model of PL compared to each single agent. Treatment with mundulone after mifepristone administration dose-dependently delayed the timing of delivery. Importantly, mundulone+atosiban permitted long-term management of PL, allowing 71% dams to deliver viable pups at term (>day 19, 4-5 days post-mifepristone exposure) without visible maternal and fetal consequences. Collectively, these studies provide a strong foundation for the development of mundulone as a single or combination tocolytic for management of PL.
目前缺乏 FDA 批准的用于治疗早产(PTB)的保胎药物。在之前的药物研发工作中,我们发现 mundulone 和 mundulone 乙酸盐(MA)是细胞内 Ca 调节的子宫收缩力的抑制剂。在这项研究中,我们使用人子宫组织样本和早产小鼠模型来研究这些化合物的保胎潜力。在表型测定中,mundulone 显示出更强的疗效,而 MA 显示出更强的效力和对细胞内 Ca 动员的子宫选择性抑制作用。细胞活力测定显示 MA 的细胞毒性显著降低。器官浴和血管肌电图研究表明,只有 mundulone 对子宫收缩具有抑制作用,并且这两种化合物都不影响动脉导管的血管反应性。高通量组合筛选表明 mundulone 与两种临床保胎药物(阿托西班和硝苯地平)表现出协同作用,而 MA 与硝苯地平表现出协同疗效。在这些组合中,与 mundulone 单独使用相比,mundulone+阿托西班在体外治疗指数方面表现出显著改善。 mundulone+阿托西班在体内和体外的协同作用得到证实,与单独使用每种药物相比,在子宫组织上表现出更强的保胎疗效和效力,并降低了 PL 小鼠模型的早产率。与米非司酮给药后, mundulone 的治疗剂量依赖性地延迟了分娩时间。重要的是, mundulone+阿托西班允许 PL 的长期管理,使 71%的母鼠能够在足月(>第 19 天,米非司酮暴露后 4-5 天)分娩存活的幼崽,而不会对母体和胎儿产生可见的影响。总的来说,这些研究为 mundulone 作为单一或联合保胎药物用于治疗 PL 提供了坚实的基础。