Targeted drug delivery by in vivo coupling to endogenous albumin: an albumin-binding prodrug of methotrexate (MTX) is better than MTX in the treatment of murine collagen-induced arthritis - PubMed (original) (raw)
Comparative Study
. 2008 Aug;67(8):1188-91.
doi: 10.1136/ard.2007.086843. Epub 2008 Apr 13.
Affiliations
- PMID: 18408252
- DOI: 10.1136/ard.2007.086843
Comparative Study
Targeted drug delivery by in vivo coupling to endogenous albumin: an albumin-binding prodrug of methotrexate (MTX) is better than MTX in the treatment of murine collagen-induced arthritis
C Fiehn et al. Ann Rheum Dis. 2008 Aug.
Abstract
Objective: To examine the effect of an albumin-binding prodrug of methotrexate (MTX) in the treatment of murine collagen-induced arthritis (CIA).
Methods: The prodrug AWO54 with the formula EMC-d-Ala-Phe-Lys-Lys-MTX binds selectively to the cysteine-34 position of endogenous albumin, which acts as a macromolecular drug carrier for MTX to the site of inflammation. The CIA model was used to evaluate the anti-arthritic effect of the compound after intravenous application.
Results: The albumin-bound form of AWO54 was efficiently cleaved by cathepsin B and plasmin, two proteases that are overexpressed in rheumatoid arthritis, and release a MTX lysine derivative. AWO54 suppressed CIA in a dose-dependent manner and was significantly better than MTX. To obtain a similar effect only about 20% of the MTX-equivalent dose of AWO54 had to be given. The efficacy of the drug was tested in two different stages of CIA: while both, MTX and AWO54 inhibited arthritis in an early stage of the disease, in a later stage only AWO54 showed a significant inhibitory effect in comparison with control.
Conclusion: Targeted drug delivery by in vivo coupling of a prodrug of MTX to endogenous albumin is better than MTX in the treatment of CIA.
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