Design, synthesis, and preliminary evaluation of a potential synthetic opioid rescue agent

Sidnee L. Hedrick, Dan Luo, Sophia Kaska, Kumar Kulldeep Niloy, Karen Jackson, Rupam Sarma, Jamie Horn, Caroline Baynard, Markos Leggas, Eduardo R. Butelman, Mary Jeanne Kreek, Thomas E. Prisinzano

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: One of the most prominent opioid analgesics in the United States is the high potency agonist fentanyl. It is used in the treatment of acute and chronic pain and as an anesthetic adjuvant. When used inappropriately, however, ingestion of just a few milligrams of fentanyl or other synthetic opioid can cause opioid-induced respiratory depression (OIRD), often leading to death. Currently, the treatment of choice for OIRD is the opioid receptor antagonist naloxone. Recent reports, however, suggest that higher doses or repeated dosing of naloxone (due to recurrence of respiratory depression) may be required to reverse fully fentanyl-induced respiratory depression, rendering this treatment inadequate. To combat this synthetic opioid overdose crisis, this research aims at identifying a novel opioid reversal agent with enhanced efficacy towards fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. Methods: A series of naltrexone analogues were characterized for their ability to antagonize the effects of fentanyl in vitro utilizing a modified forskolin-induced cAMP accumulation assay. Lead analogue 29 was chosen to undergo further PK studies, followed by in vivo pharmacological analysis to determine its ability to antagonize opioid-induced antinociception in the hot plate assay. Results: A series of potent MOR antagonists were identified, including the highly potent analogue 29 (IC50 = 2.06 nM). Follow-up PK studies revealed 29 to possess near 100% bioavailability following IP administration. Brain concentrations of 29 surpassed plasma concentrations, with an apparent terminal half-life of ~ 80 min in mice. In the hot plate assay, 29 dose-dependently (0.01–0.1 mg/kg; IP) and fully antagonized the antinociception induced by oxycodone (5.6 mg/kg; IP). Furthermore, the dose of 29 that is fully effective in preventing oxycodone-induced antinociception (0.1 mg/kg) was ineffective against locomotor deficits caused by the KOR agonist U50,488. Conclusions: Methods have been developed that have utility to identify enhanced rescue agents for the treatment of OIRD. Analogue 29, possessing potent MOR antagonist activity in vitro and in vivo, provides a promising lead in our search for an enhanced synthetic opioid rescue agent.

Original languageEnglish
Article number62
JournalJournal of Biomedical Science
Volume28
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2021

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s).

Funding

This work was supported by in part by DA018151 (to T.E.P.), GM008545 (to S.L.H.) and the Kentucky Medical Services Foundation Endowed Chair in Pharmacy (T.E.P.). Support for the NMR instrumentation was provided by NIH Shared Instrumentation Grant #S10OD028690. The content is the sole responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, or the National Science Foundation. We thank the NIDA Drug Supply for providing compounds used in the forskolin-induced cAMP assays.

FundersFunder number
Kentucky Medical Services Foundation
National Institutes of Health (NIH)10OD028690
National Institute on Drug Abuse
National Institute of General Medical SciencesT32GM008545

    Keywords

    • Antinociceptive activity
    • Fentanyl
    • MOR antagonist
    • Naltrexone
    • Structure–activity relationship

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
    • Molecular Biology
    • Clinical Biochemistry
    • Cell Biology
    • Biochemistry, medical
    • Pharmacology (medical)

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