Investigation of Orally Administered Small Molecule Inhibitors of Caspase-3 in Murine Models of Apoptosis
D. S. Samiulla*1, A. Naidu2 and M. Ramachandra11DMPK Department, Aurigene Discovery Technologies Limited, Electronic City Phase 2, Hosur Road, Bangalore - 560 100 (India).
2Department of Chemistry, JNTUH, Kukatpally, Hyderabad - 500 085 (India).
Abstract: Caspases play a major role in apoptosis, and are considered to be key targets for the development of cytoprotective drugs. Previous studies have shown that irreversible caspase inhibitors are effective at protecting against endotoxic shock and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/D-galatosamine liver injury model. This study involves the efficacy evaluation of broad spectrum, irreversible caspase inhibitors in preclinical models of anti-apoptotic therapy. Among the compounds tested, compound 3D significantly improved survival of mice in LPS induces apoptosis and acute lung injury in mice upon oral administration. It also exhibited a dose dependent inhibition of LPS/D-gal induced liver damage with ED50 of 1.01 mg/kg po, based on alanine aminotransferase activities. Protection from liver damage by compound 3D correlated well with suppression of liver tissue caspase-3 activity and drug levels. These results support further development of compound 3D as a potential anti-apoptotic agent.
Keywords: Caspase-3; small-molecule; Apoptosis; Inhibition Back to TOC