Elimination of macrophages drives LXR-induced regression both in initial and advanced stages of atherosclerotic lesion development.

While numerous studies have aimed to develop strategies to inhibit the development and progression of atherosclerosis, recent attention has focussed on the regression of pre-existing atherosclerotic plaques. As important regulator of total body cholesterol homeostasis, the liver X receptor (LXR) could possibly be an important target to induce regression. Here, we describe the effect of LXR activation by the synthetic agonist T0901317 on lesion regression in different mouse models with early fatty streak lesions or advanced collagen-rich lesions.

Org 214007-0: a novel non-steroidal selective glucocorticoid receptor modulator with full anti-inflammatory properties and improved therapeutic index.

Glucocorticoids (GCs) such as prednisolone are potent immunosuppressive drugs but suffer from severe adverse effects, including the induction of insulin resistance. Therefore, development of so-called Selective Glucocorticoid Receptor Modulators (SGRM) is highly desirable. Here we describe a non-steroidal Glucocorticoid Receptor (GR)-selective compound (Org 214007-0) with a binding affinity to GR similar to that of prednisolone.

Liver receptor homolog-1 is critical for adequate up-regulation of Cyp7a1 gene transcription and bile salt synthesis during bile salt sequestration.

Unlabelled: Liver receptor homolog-1 (LRH-1) is a nuclear receptor that controls a variety of metabolic pathways. In cultured cells, LRH-1 induces the expression of CYP7A1 and CYP8B1, key enzymes in bile salt synthesis. However, hepatic Cyp7a1 mRNA levels were not reduced upon hepatocyte-specific Lrh-1 deletion in mice.

Nonpeptidergic allosteric antagonists differentially bind to the CXCR2 chemokine receptor.

The chemokine receptor CXCR2 is involved in different inflammatory diseases, like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, and ulcerative colitis; therefore, it is considered an attractive drug target. Different classes of small CXCR2 antagonists have been developed. In this study, we selected seven CXCR2 antagonists from the diarylurea, imidazolylpyrimide, and thiazolopyrimidine class and studied their mechanisms of action at human CXCR2.

A signaling-selective, nanomolar potent allosteric low molecular weight agonist for the human luteinizing hormone receptor.

Luteinizing hormone (LH) and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) activate the LH receptor/cyclic AMP (cAMP) signaling pathway to induce ovulation. As an alternative to parenterally administered hCG to treat anovulatory infertility, orally active low molecular weight (LMW) LHR agonists have been developed at Organon. In this paper, we present the mechanism of action of a prototypic, nanomolar potent and almost full LHR agonist, Org 43553.

Sensitivity of (1)H NMR analysis of rat urine in relation to toxicometabonomics. Part I: dose-dependent toxic effects of bromobenzene and paracetamol.

(1)H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy of rat urine in combination with pattern recognition analysis was evaluated for early noninvasive detection of toxicity of investigational chemical entities. Bromobenzene (B) and paracetamol (P) were administered at five single oral dosages between 2 and 500 mg/kg and between 6 and 1800 mg/kg, respectively. The sensitivity of the proposed method to detect changes in the NMR spectra 24 and 48 h after single dosing was compared with histopathology and biochemical parameters in plasma and urine.

Uniform procedure of (1)H NMR analysis of rat urine and toxicometabonomics Part II: comparison of NMR profiles for classification of hepatotoxicity.

A procedure of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) urinalysis using pattern recognition is proposed for early detection of toxicity of investigational compounds in rats. The method is applied to detect toxicity upon administration of 13 toxic reference compounds and one nontoxic control compound (mianserine) in rats. The toxic compounds are expected to induce necrosis (bromobenzene, paracetamol, carbon tetrachloride, iproniazid, isoniazid, thioacetamide), cholestasis (alpha-naphthylisothiocyanate (ANIT), chlorpromazine, ethinylestradiol, methyltestosterone, ibuprofen), or steatosis (phenobarbital, tetracycline).

Unique overlap in the prerequisites for thrombin inhibition and oral bioavailability resulting in potent oral antithrombotics.

Despite intense research over the last 10 years, aided by the availability of X-ray structures of enzyme-inhibitor complexes, only very few truly orally active thrombin inhibitors have been found. We conducted a comprehensive study starting with peptide transition state analogues (TSA). Both hydrophobic nonpeptide analogues as well as hydrophilic peptidic analogues were synthesized.

Increased hepatobiliary and fecal cholesterol excretion upon activation of the liver X receptor is independent of ABCA1.

The ATP-binding cassette transporter ABCA1 is essential for high density lipoprotein (HDL) formation and considered rate-controlling for reverse cholesterol transport. Expression of the Abca1 gene is under control of the liver X receptor (LXR). We have evaluated effects of LXR activation by the synthetic agonist T0901317 on hepatic and intestinal cholesterol metabolism in C57BL/6J and DBA/1 wild-type mice and in ABCA1-deficient DBA/1 mice.