Therapeutic inhibitor of vascular smooth muscle cells

Details Therapeutic inhibitor of vascular smooth muscle cells Therapeutic inhibitor of vascular smooth muscle cells

1999-12-22

2001-07-31

Carlson, Karen Cochrane (Department: 1653)

Drug, bio-affecting and body treating compositions

Designated organic active ingredient containing

Having -c-, wherein x is chalcogen, bonded directly to...

C514S449000, C514S441000, C514S319000, C604S096010, C604S101030, C604S099030, C604S058000, C604S058000, C604S058000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06268390

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to therapeutic methods involving surgical or intravenous introduction of binding partners directed to certain target cell populations, such as smooth muscle cells, cancer cells, somatic cells requiring modulation to ameliorate a disease state and effector cells of the immune system, particularly for treating conditions such as stenosis following vascular trauma or disease, cancer, diseases resulting from hyperactivity or hyperplasia of somatic cells and diseases that are mediated by immune system effector cells. Surgical or intravenous introduction of active agents capable of altering the proliferation or migration of smooth muscle cells or contraction of smooth muscle proteins is also described. The invention also relates to the direct or targeted delivery of therapeutic agents to vascular smooth muscle cells that results in dilation and fixation of the vascular lumen (biological stenting effect). Combined administration of a cytocidal conjugate and a sustained release dosage form of a vascular smooth muscle cell inhibitor is also disclosed. Mechanisms for in vivo vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation modulation, agents that impact those mechanisms and protocols for the use of those agents are discussed.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) is widely used as the primary treatment modality in many patients with coronary artery disease. PTCA can relieve myocardial ischemia in patients with coronary artery disease by reducing lumen obstruction and improving coronary flow. The use of this surgical procedure has grown rapidly, with 39,000 procedures performed in 1983, nearly 150,000 in 1987, 200,000 in 1988, 250,000 in 1989, and over 500,000 PTCAs per year are estimated by 1994 (1, 2, 3). Stenosis following PTCA remains a significant problem, with from 25% to 35% of the patients developing restenosis within 1 to 3 months. Restenosis results in significant morbidity and mortality and frequently necessitates further interventions such as repeat angioplasty or coronary bypass surgery. No surgical intervention or post-surgical treatment (to date) has proven effective in preventing restenosis.
The processes responsible for stenosis after PTCA are not completely understood but may result from a complex interplay among several different biologic agents and pathways. Viewed in histological sections, restenotic lesions may have an overgrowth of smooth muscle cells in the intimal layers of the vessel (3). Several possible mechanisms for smooth muscle cell proliferation after PTCA have been suggested (1, 2, 4, 5).
Compounds that reportedly suppress smooth muscle proliferation in vitro (4, 6, 7) may have undesirable pharmacological side effects when used in vivo. Heparin is an example of one such compound, which reportedly inhibits smooth muscle cell proliferation in vitro but when used in vivo has the potential adverse side effect of inhibiting coagulation. Heparin peptides, while having reduced anti-coagulant activity, have the undesirable pharmacological property of having a short pharmacological half-life. Attempts have been made to solve such problems by using a double balloon catheter, i.e., for regional delivery of the therapeutic agent at the angioplasty site (e.g., 8; U.S. Pat. No. 4,824,436), and by using biodegradable materials impregnated with a drug, i.e., to compensate for problems of short half-life (e.g., 9; U.S. Pat. No. 4,929,602).
Verrucarins and Roridins are trichothecene drugs produced as secondary metabolites by the soil fungi
Myrothecium verrucaria
and
Myrothecium roridium.
Verrucarin is a macrocyclic triester. Roridin is a macrocyclic diester of verrucarol (10). As a group, the trichothecenes are structurally related to sesquiterpenoid mycotoxins produced by several species of fungi and characterized by the 12,13-epoxytrichothec-9-ene basic structure. Their cytotoxic activity to eukaryotic cells is closely correlated with their ability to bind to the cell, to be internalized, and to inhibit protein and macromolecular synthesis in the cell.
At least five considerations would, on their face, appear to preclude use of inhibitory drugs to prevent stenosis resulting from overgrowth of smooth muscle cells. First, inhibitory agents may have systemic toxicity that could create an unacceptable level of risk for patients with cardiovascular disease. Second, inhibitory agents might interfere with vascular wound healing following surgery and that could either delay healing or weaken the structure or elasticity of the newly healed vessel wall. Third, inhibitory agents killing smooth muscle cells could damage surrounding endothelium and/or other medial smooth muscle cells. Dead and dying cells also release mitogenic agents that might stimulate additional smooth muscle cell proliferation and exacerbate stenosis. Fourth, delivery of therapeutically effective levels of an inhibitory agent may be problematic from several standpoints: namely, a) delivery of a large number of molecules into the intercellular spaces between smooth muscle cells may be necessary, i.e., to establish favorable conditions for allowing a therapeutically effective dose of molecules to cross the cell membrane; b) directing an inhibitory drug into the proper intracellular compartment, i.e., where its action is exerted, may be difficult to control; and, c) optimizing the association of the inhibitory drug with its intracellular target, e.g, a ribosome, while minimizing intercellular redistribution of the drug, e.g. to neighboring cells, may be difficult. Fifth, because smooth muscle cell proliferation takes place over several weeks it would appear a priori that the inhibitory drugs should also be administered over several weeks, perhaps continuously, to produce a beneficial effect.
As is apparent from the foregoing, many problems remain to be solved in the use of inhibitory drugs, including cytotoxic agents, to effectively treat smooth muscle cell proliferation. It would be highly advantageous to develop new methods for inhibiting stenosis due to proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells following traumatic injury to vessels such as occurs during vascular surgery. In addition, delivery of compounds that produce inhibitory effects of extended duration to the vascular smooth muscle cells would be advantageous. Local administration of such sustained release compounds would also be useful in the treatment of other conditions where the target cell population is accessible by such administration.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In one aspect of the invention, new therapeutic methods and therapeutic conjugates are provided for inhibiting vascular smooth muscle cells in a mammalian host. The therapeutic conjugates contain a vascular smooth muscle binding protein or peptide that binds in a specific manner to the cell membranes of a vascular smooth muscle cell or an interstitial matrix binding protein/peptide that binds in a specific manner to interstitial matrix (e.g., collagen) of the artery wall, coupled to a therapeutic agent that inhibits the activity of the cell. In one embodiment, inhibition of cellular activity results in reducing, delaying, or eliminating stenosis after angioplasty or other vascular surgical procedures. The therapeutic conjugates of the invention achieve these advantageous effects by associating with vascular smooth muscle cells and pericytes, which may transform into smooth muscle cells. The therapeutic conjugate may contain: (1) therapeutic agents that alter cellular metabolism or are inhibitors of protein synthesis, cellular proliferation, or cell migration; (2) microtubule and microfilament inhibitors that affect morphology or increases in cell volume; and/or (3) inhibitors of extracellular matrix synthesis or secretion. In one representative embodiment, the conjugates include a cytotoxic therapeutic agent that is a sesquiterpenoid mycotoxin such as a verrucarin or a roridin. Other embodiments involve cytostatic therapeutic agents that inhibit DNA synthesis and proliferation at doses that ha

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