Local Anesthetic Properties of Prenylamine

2001 ◽  
Vol 95 (5) ◽  
pp. 1198-1204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mustafa G. Mujtaba ◽  
Peter Gerner ◽  
Ging Kuo Wang

Background Local anesthetics that produce analgesia of long duration with minimal impairment of autonomic functions are highly desirable for pain management in the clinic. Prenylamine is a known calcium channel blocker, but its local anesthetic blocking effects on voltage-gated sodium channels have not been studied thus far. Methods The authors characterized the tonic and use-dependent prenylamine block of native Na(+) channels in cultured rat neuronal GH3 cells during whole cell voltage clamp conditions and the local anesthetic effect of prenylamine by neurologic evaluation of sensory and motor functions of sciatic nerve during neural block in rats. Results Prenylamine elicits both use-dependent block of Na(+) channels during repetitive pulses (3 microm prenylamine produced 50% block at 5 Hz) and tonic block for both resting and inactivated Na(+) channels. The 50% inhibitory concentration for prenylamine was 27.6 +/- 1.3 microm for resting channels and 0.75 +/- 0.02 microm for inactivated channels. Furthermore, in vivo data show that 10 mm prenylamine produced a complete sciatic nerve block of motor function, proprioceptive responses, and nociceptive responses that lasted approximately 27, 34, and 24 h, respectively. Rats injected with 15.4 mm bupivacaine, a known local anesthetic currently used for pain management, had a significantly shorter duration of blockade (< 2 h) compared with rats injected with prenylamine. Conclusions The data presented here demonstrate that prenylamine possesses local anesthetic properties in vitro and elicits prolonged local anesthesia in vivo.

2001 ◽  
Vol 94 (4) ◽  
pp. 661-667 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Gerner ◽  
Mustafa Mujtaba ◽  
Catherine J. Sinnott ◽  
Ging Kuo Wang

Background Amitriptyline, a tricyclic antidepressant, is frequently used orally for the management of chronic pain. To date there is no report of amitriptyline producing peripheral nerve blockade. The authors therefore investigated the local anesthetic properties of amitriptyline in rats and in vitro. Methods Sciatic nerve blockade was performed with 0.2 ml amitriptyline or bupivacaine at selected concentrations, and the motor, proprioceptive, and nociceptive blockade was evaluated. Cultured rat GH3 cells were externally perfused with amitriptyline or bupivacaine, and the drug affinity toward inactivated and resting Na+ channels was assessed under whole-cell voltage clamp conditions. In addition, use-dependent blockade of these drugs at 5 Hz was evaluated. Results Complete sciatic nerve blockade for nociception was obtained with amitriptyline for 217 +/- 19 min (5 mM, n = 8, mean +/- SEM) and for 454 +/- 38 min (10 mM, n = 7) versus bupivacaine for 90 +/- 13 min (15.4 mM, n = 6). The time to full recovery of nociception for amitriptyline was 353 +/- 12 min (5 mM) and 656 +/- 27 min (10 mM) versus 155 +/- 9 min for bupivacaine (15.4 mM). Amitriptyline was approximately 4.7-10.6 times more potent than bupivacaine in binding to the resting channels (50% inhibitory concentration [IC50] of 39.8 +/- 2.7 vs. 189.6 +/- 22.3 microM) at - 150 mV, and to the inactivated Na+ channels (IC50 of 0.9 +/- 0.1 vs. 9.6 +/- 0.9 microM) at -60 mV. High-frequency stimulation at 3 microM caused an additional approximately 14% blockade for bupivacaine, but approximately 50% for amitriptyline. Conclusion Amitriptyline is a more potent blocker of neuronal Na+ channels than bupivacaine in vivo and in vitro. These findings suggest that amitriptyline could extend its clinical usefulness for peripheral nerve blockade.


2006 ◽  
Vol 104 (6) ◽  
pp. 1266-1273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philipp Lirk ◽  
Ingrid Haller ◽  
Robert R. Myers ◽  
Lars Klimaschewski ◽  
Yi-Chuan Kau ◽  
...  

Background Local anesthetic-induced direct neurotoxicity (paresthesia, failure to regain normal sensory and motor function) is a potentially devastating complication of regional anesthesia. Local anesthetics activate the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) system, which is involved in apoptotic cell death. The authors therefore investigated in vitro (cultured primary sensory neurons) and in vivo (sciatic nerve block model) the potential neuroprotective effect of the p38 MAPK inhibitor SB203580 administered together with a clinical (lidocaine) or investigational (amitriptyline) local anesthetic. Methods Cell survival and mitochondrial depolarization as marker of apoptotic cell death was assessed in rat dorsal root ganglia incubated with lidocaine or amitriptyline either with or without the addition of SB203580. Similarly, in a sciatic nerve block model, the authors assessed wallerian degeneration by light microscopy to detect a potential mitigating effect of MAPK inhibition. Results Lidocaine at 40 mm/approximately 1% and amitriptyline at 100 microm reduce neuron count, but coincubation with the p38 MAPK inhibitor SB203580 at 10 mum significantly reduces cytotoxicity and the number of neurons exhibiting mitochondrial depolarization. Also, wallerian degeneration and demyelination induced by lidocaine (600 mm/approximately 15%) and amitriptyline (10 mm/approximately 0.3%) seem to be mitigated by SB203580. Conclusions The cytotoxic effect of lidocaine and amitriptyline in cultured dorsal root ganglia cells and the nerve degeneration in the rat sciatic nerve model seem, at least in part, to be mediated by apoptosis but seem efficiently blocked by an inhibitor of p38 MAPK, making it conceivable that coinjection might be useful in preventing local anesthetic-induced neurotoxicity.


2002 ◽  
Vol 96 (6) ◽  
pp. 1435-1442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Gerner ◽  
Mustafa Mujtaba ◽  
Mohammed Khan ◽  
Yukari Sudoh ◽  
Kamen Vlassakov ◽  
...  

Background The antidepressant amitriptyline is commonly used orally for the treatment of chronic pain, particularly neuropathic pain, which is thought to be caused by high-frequency ectopic discharge. Among its many properties, amitriptyline is a potent Na(+) channel blocker in vitro, has local anesthetic properties in vivo, and confers additional blockade at high stimulus-discharge rates (use-dependent blockade). As with other drug modifications, adding a phenylethyl group to obtain a permanently charged quaternary ammonium derivative may improve these advantageous properties. Methods The electrophysiologic properties of N-phenylethyl amitriptyline were assessed in cultured neuronal GH(3) cells with the whole cell mode of the patch clamp technique, and the therapeutic range and toxicity were evaluated in the rat sciatic nerve model. Results In vitro, N-phenylethyl amitriptyline at 10 microm elicits a greater block of Na(+) channels than amitriptyline (resting block of approximately 90% vs. approximately 15%). This derivative also retains the attribute of amitriptyline in evoking high-degree use-dependent blockade during repetitive pulses. In vivo, duration to full recovery of nociception in the sciatic nerve model was 1,932 +/- 72 min for N-phenylethyl amitriptyline at 2.5 mm (n = 7) versus 72 +/- 3 min for lidocaine at 37 mm (n = 4; mean +/- SEM). However, there was evidence of neurotoxicity at 5 mm. Conclusion N-phenylethyl amitriptyline appears to have a narrow therapeutic range but is much more potent than lidocaine, providing a block duration several times longer than any clinically used local anesthetic. Further work in animal models of neuropathic pain will assess the potential use of this drug.


2006 ◽  
Vol 104 (1) ◽  
pp. 110-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars Söderberg ◽  
Henrik Dyhre ◽  
Bodil Roth ◽  
Sven Björkman

Background The aim of this study was to develop stable and easily injectable lipid depot preparations of local anesthetics in which the drug concentration can be varied according to desired duration of action. Methods The formulations contained a 2.0, 5.0, 10, 20, 40, 60, 80, or 100% eutectic mixture of lidocaine and prilocaine base in medium-chain triglyceride. Duration of sciatic nerve block and local neurotoxicity was investigated in rats with 2.0% lidocaine:prilocaine HCl solution and 99.5% ethanol as controls. The rate of release of local anesthetic from the site of administration and the possibility to predict in vivo depot characteristics from in vitro release data were investigated for the 20 and 60% formulations. Results The duration of sensory sciatic block was prolonged 3 times with the 20% formulation and approximately 180 times with the 60% formulation, in comparison with the 2% aqueous solution. With the 80 and 100% formulations, all animals still showed nerve block after 2 weeks. The in vivo release of local anesthetic could be approximately predicted from in vitro data for the 20% but not for the 60% formulation. The formulations of 60% or greater and ethanol showed neurotoxic effects. Conclusions The pharmaceutical properties of these formulations compare favorably with those of other depot preparations. The high-percentage ones showed the longest duration of action yet reported for sciatic nerve block in rats. The possibility of using a high-concentration local anesthetic depot formulation as an alternative to ethanol or phenol for long-term nerve blocks in chronic pain merits further investigation.


2000 ◽  
Vol 93 (3) ◽  
pp. 744-755 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Vladimirov ◽  
Carla Nau ◽  
Wai Man Mok ◽  
Gary Strichartz

Background Chiral local anesthetics, such as ropivacaine and levobupivacaine, have the potential advantage over racemic mixtures in showing reduced toxic side effects. However, these S-(levo, or "-")isomers also have reportedly lower potency than their optical antipode, possibly resulting in no advantage in therapeutic index. Potency for local anesthetics inhibiting Na+ channels or action potentials depends on the pattern of membrane potential and so also does the stereopotency ratio. Here the authors have quantitated the stereopotencies of R-, S-, and racemic bupivacaine, comparing several in vitro assays of neuronal Na+ channels with those from in vivo functional nerve block, to establish relative potencies and to understand better the role of different modes of channel inhibition in overall functional anesthesia. Methods The binding of bupivacaine to Na+ channels was assessed indirectly by its antagonism of [3H]-batrachotoxin binding to rat brain synaptosomes. Inhibition of Na+ currents by bupivacaine was directly assayed in voltage-clamped GH-3 neuroendocrine cells. Neurobehavioral functions were disrupted by bupivacaine percutaneously injected (0.1 ml; 0.0625-1.0%) at the rat sciatic nerve and semiquantitatively assayed. Concentration-dependent actions of R-, S-, and racemic bupivacaine were compared for their magnitude and duration of action. Results Competitive batrachotoxin displacement has a stereopotency ratio of R:S = 3:1. Inhibition of Na+ currents with different prepulse potentials shows that S > R potency when the membrane is hyperpolarized, and R > S potency when it is depolarized from normal resting values. Functional deficits assayed in vivo usually demonstrate no consistent enantioselectivity and only a modest stereopotency (R:S = 1.2-1.3) for peak analgesia achieved at the lowest doses. Other functions display no significant stereopotency in either the degree, the duration, or their product (area under the curve) at any dose. Conclusion Although the in vitro actions of bupivacaine showed stereoselectivity ratios of 1.3-3:1 (R:S), in vivo nerve block at clinically used concentrations showed much smaller ratios for peak effect and no significant enantioselectivity for duration. A primary role for the blockade of resting rather than open or inactivated Na+ channels may explain the modest stereoselectivity in vivo, although stereoselective factors controlling local disposition cannot be ruled out. Levo-(S-)bupivacaine is effectively equipotent to R- or racemic bupivacaine in vivo for rat sciatic nerve block.


1995 ◽  
Vol 83 (3) ◽  
pp. 583-592. ◽  
Author(s):  
F. A. Popitz-Bergez ◽  
S. Leeson ◽  
G. R. Strichartz ◽  
J. G. Thalhammer

Background During peripheral nerve block, local anesthetic (LA) penetrates within and along the nerve to produce the observed functional deficits. Although much is known about the kinetics and steady-state relation for LA inhibition of impulse activity in vitro in isolated nerve, little is known about the relation between functional loss and intraneural LA content in vivo. This study was undertaken to investigate the relation of functional change to intraneural LA. Methods A sciatic nerve block was performed in rats with 0.1 ml 1% lidocaine radiolabeled with 14C. The total intraneural uptake of LA was determined at different times after injection, and the distribution of lidocaine along the nerve was assayed at different stages of functional block. Drug content was also compared with equilibrium lidocaine uptake in the isolated rat sciatic nerve. Results Total intraneural lidocaine in vivo increased to near steady-state in about 3 min, stabilizing at approximately 14.3 nmol/mg wet tissue for about 12 min before decreasing to zero at 70 min after injection. Although intraneural lidocaine was 1.6% of the injected dose during full block, only 0.3% was left when deep pain sensation returned and 0.065% was still detected when functions fully recovered. Despite these large differences in total lidocaine content, the longitudinal distribution remained constant. Intraneural lidocaine concentrations obtained at full block and partial recovery could be achieved in vitro by equilibration in 0.7-0.9 and 0.2-0.3 mM lidocaine, respectively. Conclusions During peripheral nerve block only a small amount of injected LA penetrates into the nerve. The intraneural content of LA correlates with the depth of functional block.


2007 ◽  
Vol 107 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chi-Fei Wang ◽  
Peter Gerner ◽  
Sho-Ya Wang ◽  
Ging Kuo Wang

Abstract Background: Bulleyaconitine A (BLA) is an active ingredient of Aconitum bulleyanum plants. BLA has been approved for the treatment of chronic pain and rheumatoid arthritis in China, but its underlying mechanism remains unclear. Methods: The authors examined (1) the effects of BLA on neuronal voltage-gated Na+ channels in vitro under the whole cell patch clamp configuration and (2) the sensory and motor functions of rat sciatic nerve after single BLA injections in vivo. Results: BLA at 10 μm did not affect neuronal Na+ currents in clonal GH3 cells when stimulated infrequently to +50 mV. When stimulated at 2 Hz for 1,000 pulses (+50 mV for 4 ms), BLA reduced the peak Na+ currents by more than 90%. This use-dependent reduction of Na+ currents by BLA reversed little after washing. Single injections of BLA (0.2 ml at 0.375 mm) into the rat sciatic notch not only blocked sensory and motor functions of the sciatic nerve but also induced hyperexcitability, followed by sedation, arrhythmia, and respiratory distress. When BLA at 0.375 mm was coinjected with 2% lidocaine (approximately 80 mm) or epinephrine (1:100,000) to reduce drug absorption by the bloodstream, the sensory and motor functions of the sciatic nerve remained fully blocked for approximately 4 h and regressed completely after approximately 7 h, with minimal systemic effects. Conclusions: BLA reduces neuronal Na+ currents strongly at +50 mV in a use-dependent manner. When coinjected with lidocaine or epinephrine, BLA elicits prolonged block of both motor and sensory functions in rats with minimal adverse effects.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (28) ◽  
pp. 3020-3027 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mir W. Sekandarzad ◽  
Chris Doornebal ◽  
Markus W. Hollmann

: Opioids remain the standard of care in the provision of analgesia in the patient undergoing cancer surgery preoperatively. : The effects of opioids on tumor growth and metastasis have been discussed for many years. In recent years their use as part of the perioperative pain management bundle in the patients undergoing cancer surgery has been thought to promote cancer recurrence and metastasis. : This narrative review highlights earlier and more recent in vitro, in vivo and human retrospective studies that yield conflicting results as to the immune-modulatory effects of morphine on tumor biology. The article examines and explains the discrepancies with regards to the seemingly opposite results of morphine in the tumor milieu. The results of both, earlier studies that demonstrated procarcinogenic effects versus the data of more recent refined rodent studies that yielded neutral or even anti-carcinogenic effects are presented here. : Until the results of prospective randomized controlled trials are available to clarify this important question, it is currently not warranted to support opiophobia and opioids continue to constitute a pivotal role in the pain management of cancer patients.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 1491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica Iannotta ◽  
Carmela Belardo ◽  
Maria Consiglia Trotta ◽  
Fabio Arturo Iannotti ◽  
Rosa Maria Vitale ◽  
...  

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are key receptors through which infectious and non-infectious challenges act with consequent activation of the inflammatory cascade that plays a critical function in various acute and chronic diseases, behaving as amplification and chronicization factors of the inflammatory response. Previous studies have shown that synthetic analogues of lipid A based on glucosamine with few chains of unsaturated and saturated fatty acids, bind MD-2 and inhibit TLR4 receptors. These synthetic compounds showed antagonistic activity against TLR4 activation in vitro by LPS, but little or no activity in vivo. This study aimed to show the potential use of N-palmitoyl-D-glucosamine (PGA), a bacterial molecule with structural similarity to the lipid A component of LPS, which could be useful for preventing LPS-induced tissue damage or even peripheral neuropathies. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations showed that PGA stably binds MD-2 with a MD-2/(PGA)3 stoichiometry. Treatment with PGA resulted in the following effects: (i) it prevented the NF-kB activation in LPS stimulated RAW264.7 cells; (ii) it decreased LPS-induced keratitis and corneal pro-inflammatory cytokines, whilst increasing anti-inflammatory cytokines; (iii) it normalized LPS-induced miR-20a-5p and miR-106a-5p upregulation and increased miR-27a-3p levels in the inflamed corneas; (iv) it decreased allodynia in peripheral neuropathy induced by oxaliplatin or formalin, but not following spared nerve injury of the sciatic nerve (SNI); (v) it prevented the formalin- or oxaliplatin-induced myelino-axonal degeneration of sciatic nerve. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT We report that PGA acts as a TLR4 antagonist and this may be the basis of its potent anti-inflammatory activity. Being unique because of its potency and stability, as compared to other similar congeners, PGA can represent a tool for the optimization of new TLR4 modulating drugs directed against the cytokine storm and the chronization of inflammation.


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