Chronopharmacology
Contents
• Circadian Rhythm and Biological
Clock
• Circadian Pharmacokinetics
• Applications of Chronotherapy in
Diseases
Objective
At the
end of this lecture, the student will be able to:
• Explain Circadian Rhythm and
Biological Clock
• Enumerate the Molecular Fundamentals
of Circadian Clocks
• Discuss the applications of
chronotherapy in diseases
Circadian Rhythm
• Any biological process that displays
an endogenous, entrainable oscillation of about 24 hours driven by a circadian
clock
• Circadian rhythms are endogenous
("built-in", self-sustained), they are adjusted (entrained) to the
local environment by external cues called zeitgebers - light, temperature etc.
• Zeitgebers- any external or
environmental cue that synchronizes an organism's biological rhythms to the
Earth's 24-hour light/dark cycle and 12-month cycle
• In medical science, an abnormal
circadian rhythm in humans is known as circadian rhythm disorder
Some Features of the Human Circadian (24-hour) Biological
Clock
The canonical mammalian
circadian oscillator and output for xenobiotic metabolism
Output
genes involved in transcriptional control of the detoxification metabolism
shown in blue.
ALAS1- aminolevulinic acid synthase 1
β-TrCP- β-transducin repeat-containing protein
CAR-constitutive androstane receptor Ck1δ/ε- casein kinase
1 delta/epsilon
CRY- cryptochrome
Fbxl- F-box and leucine-rich repeat
protein
PARbZip- proline and acidic amino acid–rich basic
region/leucine zipper protein
PER- period
POR- cytochrome P450 oxidoreductase
ROR- retinoic acid receptor–related
orphan receptor
RORE- ROR element.
Molecular Fundamentals of
Circadian Clocks
• Two interlocked feedback loops
composed of activators (green) and repressors (red) drive the expression of
output genes important for xenobiotic metabolism
• Components of these loops use
auxiliary factors like histone methyltransferases (HMTs), histone deacetylases
(HDACs), Drosophila behavior/human splicing (DBHS) family RNA-binding proteins
(beige), and kinases and proteasome machinery (gray)
From Circadian Control of
Physiology to Chronopharmacology
• Neurotransmitters and Circadian
Behavior
• Circadian Hormones, Cellular Clocks,
and the Control of Metabolism, Digestion, and Cardiac Function
• Circadian Immune Regulation
Circadian Pharmacokinetics:
Oscillations in Jejunal, Hepatic, and Renal Systems
• Rhythmic Gastric and Intestinal
Absorption
• Rhythmic Liver Drug Metabolism
• Rhythmic Elimination by the
Hepatobiliary System
• Rhythmic Elimination by the Kidney
Modulation of drug pharmacokinetics by the circadian clock
All
rhythmic parameters influencing drug transport and metabolism are highlighted
in red. Characteristic functions of the circadian clock in these processes are
indicated in the respective organs.
ABC- ATP-binding cassette
ALAS- aminolevulinic acid synthase
CAR- constitutive androstane receptor
CYP- cytochrome P450; DBP- D-albumin
binding protein
HLF- hepatic leukemia factor
POR- P450 oxido-reductase
SLC- solute carrier Family
SULT-sulfotransferase TEF- thyrotrophic
embryonic factor
UGT- UDP-glucuronosyltransferase.
Chronobiological implications
for drug treatment
• Successful chronotherapy are ones
with obvious time-ofday-dependent symptoms
• Not only are PK/PD parameters
modulated by time of day, but drug metabolism is as well
• For example, over-the-counter
acetaminophen [analgesic N-acetyl-paminophenol (APAP)] is a
leading cause of drug-induced liver failure in the United States
• APAP toxicity is dependent on
generation of N-acetyl-p-benzoquinone imine (NAPQI) by the CYP
P450 system of the liver (116), mainly CYP2E1 (92). APAP toxicity is
time-of-day
Implications for Drug
Discovery and Development
• The drug discovery process is
preceded by the validation of a given target
• The mechanism of action is established
and molecular targets defined
• Parameters
evaluation are significantly of high cost, as the same parameters have to be
checked multiple times a day
• However, online resources can be
mined for information about the circadian expression of a given transcript or
metabolite
• Once the target is confirmed and the
lead optimization process has started, the properties of the novel chemical
entities are evaluated and selected
• The recent findings that we have
highlighted yield insight into the growing field of chronopharmacology and into
the mechanistic basis for the variations in PK/PD that have been observed in a
vast number of instances
• However, many important questions
remain unanswered. Most if not all of the circadian expression data at the
genomic level on which these conclusions are based are available only for
rodents
• Considering the fact that the
expression and functional properties of drug-metabolizing enzymes and drug
transporters are highly species specific, extrapolation of these results to
humans is not a foregone conclusion
• To translate research data to
clinical application, significant progress in the characterization of circadian
variations in protein expression and activity in humans is absolutely necessary
Applications of Chronotherapy
in Diseases
• Chronopharmacotherapy of Asthma
• Chronopharmacotherapy of Peptic
Ulcer Disease
• Chronopharmacotherapy of
Hypertension
Summary
• Circadian rhythm is any biological
process that displays an endogenous, entrainable oscillation of about 24 hours
driven by a circadian clock
• Circadian rhythms are endogenous
("built-in", self-sustained), they are adjusted (entrained) to the
local environment by external cues called zeitgebers - light, temperature etc.
• Drug pharmacokinetics are modulated
by the circadian clock
• Chronopharmacology is applicable in the therapy of many diseases
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