Analysis of the contributing role of drug transport across biological barriers in the development and treatment of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy
Hu, Y., Girdenyté, M., Roest, L. et al.
Fluids Barriers CNS 21, 13 (2024).
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12987-024-00519-7
Abstract
Background: Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) represents a major unmet medical need that currently has no preventive and/or curative treatment. This is, among others, driven by a poor understanding of the contributive role of drug transport across biological barriers to target-site exposure.
Methods: Here, we systematically investigated the transport of 11 small-molecule drugs, both, associated and not with CIPN development, at conventional (dorsal root ganglia, sciatic nerve) and non-conventional (brain, spinal cord, skeletal muscle) CIPN sites. We developed a Combinatory Mapping Approach for CIPN, CMA-CIPN, combining in vivo and in vitro elements.
Results: Using CMA-CIPN, we determined the unbound tissue-to-plasma concentration ratio (Kp,uu) and the unbound intracellular-to-extracellular concentration ratio (Kp,uu,cell), to quantitatively assess the extent of unbound drug transport across endothelial interfaces and parenchymal cellular barriers of investigated CIPN-sites, respectively, in a rat model. The analysis revealed that unique pharmacokinetic characteristics underly time-dependent accumulation of the CIPN-positive drugs paclitaxel and vincristine at conventional (dorsal root ganglia and sciatic nerve) and non-conventional (skeletal muscle) CIPN sites. Investigated CIPN-positive drugs displayed intracellular accumulation contrary to CIPN-negative drugs nilotinib and methotrexate, which lacked this feature in all investigated tissues.
Conclusions: Hence, high unbound drug intracellular and extracellular exposure at target sites, driven by an interplay of drug transport across the endothelial and parenchymal cellular barriers, is a predisposing factor to CIPN development for CIPN-positive drugs. Critical drug-specific features of unbound drug disposition at various CIPN- sites provide invaluable insights into understanding the pharmacological/toxicological effects at the target-sites which will inform new strategies for monitoring and treatment of CIPN.
Figure 1. Anatomical and functional differences between the CNS, PNS, and SM (non-NS) barriers, with an overview of key PK parameters for the evaluation of unbound drug exposure. […]
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Keywords
Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, CIPN, Blood–nerve barrier, Blood–dorsal root ganglion barrier, Kp,uu, Kp,uu,cell, Neuropharmacokinetics