Effects of intravenous administration of pirfenidone on horses with experimentally induced endotoxemia.

Objective: To characterize effects of IV administration of pirfenidone on clinical, biochemical, and hematologic variables and circulating tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha concentrations in horses after infusion of a low dose of endotoxin.

Animals: 18 healthy adult horses.

Procedures: Horses were randomly assigned to 3 groups (n = 6 horses/group) and administered an IV infusion of 30 ng of endotoxin/kg or saline (0.

Effects of 5-ethyl-1-phenyl-2-(1H) pyridone on serum biomarkers of multiorgan dysfunction and mortality in lipopolysaccharide/galactosamine and cecal ligation and puncture models of septic shock in mice.

Septic shock results from a systemic host response to infection, in particular, and is associated with multiorgan dysfunction (MOD). Effective preventive measures against organ failure are essential as it is the cumulative burden of MOD that invariably leads to death. The aim of this study was to determine if a novel compound, 5-ethyl-1-phenyl-2-(1H) pyridone (5-EPP), could decrease the increased serum levels of various biomarkers of MOD in LPS/D-Galactosamine (LPS/D-GalN) and cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) models of septic shock in mice.

Effects of 5-ethyl-1-phenyl-2-(1H) pyridone on serum biomarkers of multiorgan dysfunction and mortality in lipopolysaccharide/glactosamine and cecal ligation and puncture models of septic shock in mice.

Septic shock results from a systemic host response to infection, in particular, and is associated with multiorgan dysfunction (MOD). Effective preventive measures against organ failure are essential as it is the cumulative burden of MOD that invariably leads to death. The aim of this study was to determine if a novel compound, 5-ethyl-1-phenyl-2-(1H) pyridone (5-EPP), could decrease the increased serum levels of various biomarkers of MOD in LPS/D-Galactosamine (LPS/D-GalN) and cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) models of septic shock in mice.

Pharmacokinetics and clinical effects of pirfenidone administered intravenously in horses.

Objective: To characterize the plasma pharmacokinetics and clinical effects of pirfenidone administered IV in healthy horses.

Animals: 6 adult horses.

Procedures: A 15 mg/kg dose of pirfenidone was administered IV over 5 minutes.

Effects of topical application of pirfenidone ointment on thermoplasty-induced acute lameness in a double-blind and acute and chronic lameness of musculoskeletal origin in an open multi-centered field trial in horses.

The effectiveness of pirfenidone ointment against thermoplasty-induced acute foreleg lameness in a double-blind study, and against acute and chronic lameness of musculoskeletal origin in an open multi-centered field trial was evaluated in this study. Thermoplasty was performed on both inner forelegs at designated locations of each horse under anesthetics. A 10% pirfenidone or placebo ointment was topically applied starting 24 hours after the thermoplasty three times daily for 7 days.

Pharmacokinetics and metabolism of intravenous pirfenidone in sheep.

Pirfenidone, a promising antifibrotic agent, was administered intravenously to six female sheep at 30 mg/kg. Four sheep received 14C-pirfenidone simultaneously. Plasma and urine were obtained for assay of pirfenidone and its metabolites over two days, and tissues were obtained via necropsy.

Influence of pirfenidone on airway hyperresponsiveness and inflammation in a Brown-Norway rat model of asthma.

Pirfenidone was administered to sensitized Brown Norway rats prior to a series of ovalbumin challenges. Airway hyperresponsiveness, inflammatory cell infiltration, mucin and collagen content, and the degree of epithelium and smooth muscle staining for TGF-beta were examined in control, sensitized, and sensitized/challenged rats fed a normal diet or pirfenidone diet. Pirfenidone had no effect on airway hyperresponsiveness, but reduced distal bronchiolar cell infiltration and proximal and distal mucin content.

A double-blind, randomized, controlled study of oral pirfenidone for treatment of secondary progressive multiple sclerosis.

Currently, there are no approved treatments for secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) that stabilize or reverse the neurological disabilities associated with this disease. Oral pirfenidone was found to stabilize and overcome the disabilities in two published independent open-label studies in secondary progressive MS. This led us to study pirfenidone in a phase II double-blind, randomized and controlled, clinical trial in patients with advanced secondary progressive MS for 12 months.

Modulation of articular chondrocyte activity by pirfenidone.

Pirfenidone is under investigation as an anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic agent in several organs including lung. Since important features of arthritic conditions include inflammation and long-term damage to articular cartilage, we have investigated whether PD can suppress chondrocyte responses to bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and interleukin 1 (IL-1); modulators that induce a cascade of inflammatory responses that lead to articular joint tissue damage. PD (0 - 5microM) showed no effect on cell number or viability when incubated with high density primary equine chondrocyte cultures for a 24 hr period.

Amelioration of doxorubicin-induced cardiac and renal toxicity by pirfenidone in rats.

Purpose: Doxorubicin (DXR) is an anthracycline glycoside with a broad spectrum of therapeutic activity against various tumors. However, the clinical use of DXR has been limited by its undesirable systemic toxicity, especially in the heart and kidney. This study was designed to test the effectiveness of dietary intake of pirfenidone (PD) against DXR-induced cardiac and renal toxicity.

Novel pharmacological approaches to manage interstitial lung fibrosis in the twenty-first century.

Pharmacological agents currently in use to treat interstitial lung fibrosis are either ineffective or too toxic in humans. This review addresses mechanistically based novel approaches that have the potential to minimize the accumulation of collagen in the lung, a hallmark of lung fibrosis. These approaches include maintaining the intracellular levels of NAD(+) and ATP, blocking the biological activities of TGF-beta and integrins, evaluating the effectiveness of PAF-receptor antagonists and NOS inhibitors, and developing a new generation of cysteine pro-drugs with an adequate degree of bioavailability.

Effects of delayed treatment with transforming growth factor-beta soluble receptor in a three-dose bleomycin model of lung fibrosis in hamsters.

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) plays a pivotal role in an exaggerated synthesis and accumulation of collagen in fibrotic disorders of many organs. We have previously demonstrated that repeated intratracheal (IT) instillation of TGF-beta soluble receptor (TR) in hamsters markedly decreased the bleomycin (BL)-induced lung fibrosis in response to a single dose. The present study was carried out in a 3-dose BL-hamster model of lung fibrosis to better evaluate the therapeutic potential of TR.

Effect of pirfenidone against vanadate-induced kidney fibrosis in rats.

Renal fibrosis is a complication of kidney injury and can contribute to organ failure. Currently, there are no drugs for the treatment of renal fibrosis. Pirfenidone (PD) has been proven to have antifibrotic effects in animal models of fibrosis.

Pharmacokinetics and metabolism of a novel antifibrotic drug pirfenidone, in mice following intravenous administration.

The present study describes the pharmacokinetics and metabolism of pirfenidone (PD), a compound which has been shown to have significant antifibrotic effects in rodent models of pulmonary and cardiac fibrosis. Despite the fact that this compound is currently in phase II clinical trials, little data are available on the metabolism and disposition of this agent in rodents or humans. Radioactive PD [benzene ring (14)C(U)] was administered i.