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Biomedical subjects

G Pons

Publications and source records attributed to G Pons.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Pharmacokinetics of tiaprofenic acid in infants after a single oral dose.

Ten healthy infants (15.2 +/- 10.6 months old, range 6-35) anesthetized for minor surgery were given a single oral dose (3 mg x kg-1) of tiaprofenic acid (TA). Seven venous blood samples and 0-12 h urine were collected. TA concentrations in plasma and urine were measured by HPLC. Within the whole group the mean +/- SD kinetic parameters were: Cmax: 10.55 +/- 3.31 mg x l-1, Tmax: 1.73 +/- 0.87 h, AUC0-1 32.53 +/- 4.42 mg x l-1 x h, AUC0-infinity 35.33 +/- 4.73 mg x l-1 x h, t1/2 1.82 +/- 0.48 h, Cl/F: 0.09 +/- 0.01 l x h-1 x kg-1, VZ/F: 0.23 +/- 0.08 l x kg-1. Renal clearance was 0.030 +/- 0.009 l x h-1 x kg-1. 32% of the TA dose was recovered in urine, 60% of which was conjugated. AUC0-8h increased significantly with age. The TA kinetic parameters were close to those in 3 to 11-year-old children. The present study suggests slight differences in the TA kinetics between infants and adults. However, the lack of an evidenced direct relationship between plasma TA concentration and either efficacy or tolerance suggests that the TA dose regimen in infants may not have to be different from that in adults.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1995

The muscle-specific phosphoglycerate mutase gene is specifically expressed in testis during spermatogenesis.

Spermatogenesis is a dramatic differentiation process which involves very selective but poorly characterized gene-expression patterns. To gain insight into this process, we have investigated the expression during spermatogenesis of the genes that encode phosphoglycerate mutase, an essential glycolytic enzyme for the spermatozoa energy supply. By using cDNA and genomic probes we demonstrate the presence in testis of a mRNA corresponding to the muscle-specific phosphoglycerate mutase which shows a longer poly(A) tail. This muscle-specific gene is submitted to developmental regulation during testis maturation and begins to be expressed at postnatal day 22, when germ cells start to enter into meiosis. Northern blot and in situ hybridization experiments show that in contrast to what happens during skeletal-muscle differentiation, PGAM-M gene expression during spermatogenesis is not coupled to constitutive phosphoglycerate mutase (PGAM-B) gene repression. Thus, the muscle-specific PGAM-M gene constitutes a meiotic gene and therefore represents a very interesting model to study differential tissue-specific gene expression.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Overexpression and characterization of human tetrameric pyruvate dehydrogenase and its individual subunits.

Pyruvate dehydrogenase (E1), an alpha 2 beta 2 tetramer, is the first component of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex which catalyzes a two-step oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvic acid. To overexpress human E1 and its subunits individually, cDNAs for the mature forms of human E1 alpha and E1 beta were subcloned either individually or together into a plasmid pQE-9 and expressed in Escherichia coli M15. A polyhistidine extension was added at the NH2-termini of the recombinant E1 alpha and E1 beta for the rapid purification of the proteins by Ni-nitrilotriacetic-agarose chromatography. The polyhistidine extension on either E1 alpha or E1 beta subunit did not affect the activity of the recombinant tetrameric E1. Highly purified recombinant human E1 catalyzed the partial reactions of the oxidative and nonoxidative conversion of pyruvic acid with the same efficiency as E1 purified from bovine kidney. Recombinant human E1 interacted with thiamin pyrophosphate by forming a charge transfer complex band at 330 nm that changed during the catalytic cycle. Recombinant human E1 was phosphorylated by E1-kinase (with concomitant inactivation) by incorporating nearly three phosphoryl groups per mole of E1. When expressed individually, E1 alpha and E1 beta subunits lacked any catalytic activity in the oxidative or nonoxidative reactions. Spectral studies demonstrated that there was no thiamin pyrophosphate binding to either recombinant E1 alpha or E1 beta subunit. The E1 alpha subunit retained the ability to be phosphorylated; however, the incorporation of phosphoryl groups into recombinant E1 alpha alone was only about 12% of that observed with the tetrameric E1. These findings show that both subunits are required for formation of the active center and catalysis.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1995

Pharmacokinetics of cetirizine in 2- to 6-year-old children.

Eight children (3.84 +/- 1.17 years old) received a single oral 5 mg cetirizine dose (0.32 +/- 0.07 mg.kg-1) as a 10 mg.ml-1 solution, 1.73 (+/- 0.64) hours before a minor surgical intervention (mean duration +/- SD = 0.90 +/- 0.25 h). Seven venous blood samples were collected before administration (t0) and 0.5 h, 1.5 h, 4 h, 8 h, 12 h and 24 h after dosing, and urine samples were collected up to 24 hours after the dose. The mean +/- SD kinetic parameters were: peak plasma level (Cmax) 607 +/- 231 micrograms.l-1 reached in 1.93 +/- 1.39 h (tmax), elimination half-life (t1/2) 5.55 +/- 0.98 h, area under the plasma concentration time curve (AUC0-infinity) 4,772.1 +/- 1,318.4 micrograms.l-1.h, mean residence time (MRT) 8.13 +/- 1.31 h, apparent plasma clearance (Cl/f) 1.27 +/- 0.80 ml.min-1.kg-1, apparent volume of distribution (Vz/f) 0.60 +/- 0.38 l.kg-1. Urinary recovery was 38.4 +/- 9.9% (n = 4) of the dose. Renal clearance was 0.42 +/- 0.10 ml.min-1.kg-1 (n = 6). No influence of age on the cetirizine parameters was evidenced among this group, except for MRT (p < 0.05) which decreases with age. When compared with results in adults, elimination half-life (t1/2) was twice as short and apparent clearance twice as great. These results suggest that a higher dosage b.i.d. may be required in children.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1994

The gene encoding rat phosphoglycerate mutase subunit M: cloning and promoter analysis in skeletal muscle cells.

The expression of the gene encoding the muscle-specific (M)-subunit of phosphoglycerate mutase (PGAM-M) is restricted to adult skeletal and cardiac muscle. In order to study its expression in muscle, the rat PGAM-M gene has been isolated and sequenced. Rat PGAM-M spans about 2.2 kb and is composed of three exons: 442, 181 and 186-bp long, and two introns of 97 bp and 1.3 bp. The analysis of the 5'-flanking region reveals a promoter which contains multiple DNA regulatory elements and constitutes an ideal model to study muscle gene transcriptional regulation. Thus, the elements responsible for rat PGAM-M muscle-specific expression have been identified by transient transfection in chicken embryo primary cultures, using chimeric constructs of the rat promoter linked to a cat reporter gene. Here, we report that in spite of the abundance of E-box motifs in the rat PGAM-M promoter known for their involvement in muscle gene expression, two DNA elements regulate the muscle-specific transcription of rat PGAM-M: an A/T motif, the putative MEF-2-binding site (myocyte-specific enhancer-binding factor 2), and a proximal 27-bp element which is conserved between the rat and human genes. These two elements define a small promoter (170 bp) sufficient to support potent and skeletal-muscle-specific expression. The conserved 27-bp region contains a transcriptional regulatory element able to confer muscle-specific expression when located upstream from a heterologous TATA box.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Safety, tolerability, efficacy and plasma concentrations of tropisetron after administration at five dose levels to children receiving cancer chemotherapy.

In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, escalating dose study, 44 children receiving cancer chemotherapy of various degrees of emetogenicity were randomly allocated to once-daily treatment with tropisetron 0.05 mg/kg (6 patients), 0.10 mg/kg (5 patients), 0.20 mg/kg (6 patients), 0.33 mg/kg (6 patients), 0.50 mg/kg (6 patients) or placebo (15 patients). All doses of tropisetron were well tolerated; no tropisetron recipient discontinued treatment because of intolerance and no adverse effect could be plausibly correlated to tropisetron administration. Therapeutic plasma concentrations of tropisetron (> 3 ng/ml) were present for 9 h after administration of doses of 0.10 mg/kg or more. Tropisetron at doses of at least 0.20 mg/kg was significantly more effective in preventing vomiting than lower tropisetron doses or placebo, both in terms of treatment failure (> four vomits) (P = 0.015) and patient and investigator efficacy ratings (P = 0.04 for investigator rating; P = 0.035 for patient rating). Further comparative studies of the efficacy of tropisetron in chemotherapy-induced emesis in children are warranted.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Stereoselective disposition of ibuprofen enantiomers in infants.

The pharmacokinetics of the enantiomers of ibuprofen were investigated after oral administration of a single 7.6 +/- 0.3 mg kg-1 dose of the racemate in 11 infants. Mean (+/- s.d.) half-lives were 1.6 +/- 0.5 h for S(+) and 1.5 +/- 0.5 h for R(-) and mean (+/- s.d.) AUC values were 31.5 +/- 14.3 mg l-1 h for S(+) and 36.6 +/- 13.8 mg l-1 h for R(-). Since plasma concentrations of the active S(+)-isomer were lower than those reported in adults, a higher dosage might be required in infants.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1994

Biotransformation of caffeine in human liver microsomes from foetuses, neonates, infants and adults.

1. Caffeine metabolism was studied in human liver microsomes from foetuses (n = 10), neonates (n = 10), infants (n = 9) and adults (n = 5). Caffeine and its metabolites, 1-3-7-trimethyluric acid, paraxanthine, theophylline and theobromine, were assayed by h.p.l.c. Methoxyresorufin-O-demethylase activity (MEROD) was determined and immunoquantifiable levels of CYP1A2 were measured. 2. The formation of the dimethylxanthines by N-3, N-7 or N-1-demethylation was significantly less in foetuses, neonates and infants than in adults, as shown previously in vivo. The formation of 1-3-7-trimethyluric acid (C-8-hydroxylation) was not significantly different between age groups. The production of total dimethylxanthines, paraxanthine and theophylline increased significantly with age within the neonate-infant group over at least the 0-300 day range (rs = 0.739, 0.667, 0.682, respectively). These data differ from those reported in vivo which suggested that N-3 and N-7-demethylations matured at about 120 days. The difference in maturational profiles of each metabolic pathway suggests that the reactions depend on different isoenzymes. The delay in the maturation of N-1 compared with N-3 and N-7-demethylation is in agreement with previous in vivo data. 3. In the neonate-infant group, only N-3-demethylation correlated with both MEROD activity (rs = 0.681; P < 0.05) and CYP1A2 microsomal concentration (rs = 0.454; P approximately 0.05), suggesting that, as in adults, this reaction depends on CYP1A2. 4. In the foetal samples, the production of total dimethylxanthines, paraxanthine and theobromine decreased significantly (rs = -0.879, -0.767, -0.708, respectively) with increasing gestational age.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Excretion of psychoactive drugs into breast milk. Pharmacokinetic principles and recommendations.

The postpartum period is a time of great physical and emotional changes. The incidence of psychiatric illness is higher in this period than at any other time in a women's life. Therefore, the question of whether women receiving psychotropic drugs should continue breast feeding is an important one. Drug excretion in breast milk depends mostly on passive diffusion of the unionised unbound drug. Passive diffusion is affected mainly by the drug disposition in lactating mothers, by the physicochemical properties of the molecule and by the protein and lipid contents of breast milk. Indeed, breast milk can be considered as a compartment with bidirectional transfer rather than a reservoir into which drug accumulates. Benzodiazepines are the most prescribed psychotropic drugs. Generally there does not seem to be any contraindication to breast feeding after a single dose, provided the dose administered is relatively low. If higher doses are to be used or long term administration is required, then breast feeding should probably be discontinued, particularly with drugs with a long elimination half-life. On the basis of the average concentration of phenobarbital (phenobarbitone) in milk, breast feeding is not recommended. For glutethimide, breast feeding would appear to be safe for the infant when a single dose is taken occasionally. Zopiclone may also be prescribed on a short term basis to breast feeding mothers. Due to limited available data or to the large amount transferred to milk, administration of phenothiazines and nonphenothiazine tricyclic, butyrophenone, and benzamide antipsychotics to breast feeding mothers cannot be recommended. Breast feeding is not always considered an absolute contraindication to lithium therapy, but the mother should watch for signs of toxicity in her baby. Whether clomipramine should be contraindicated during breast feeding depends on the concentration of active metabolites in breast milk, and this has not yet been determined. It is probably safe for mothers to breast feed while receiving amitriptyline, but before more conclusive recommendations are made more infants should be studied. The available data suggest that the amount of doxepin and its metabolite in breast milk is small. However, the metabolite of doxepin may accumulate in the infant with risk of sedation and respiratory depression: therefore, an alternative antidepressant should be selected for breast feeding mothers.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Anti-Anxiety Agents↗
PubMed1994

[Pharmacokinetics of diphemanil methylsulfate in infants].

BACKGROUND: Diphemanil methylsulfate is an atropin-like drug used in some infants suffering from vagal bradycardia. Its pharmacokinetic parameters are known for adults but not for infants. The report describes these parameters in six infants. POPULATION AND METHODS: Five infants aged 35 to 109 days (mean: 62 +/- 28) and weighing 3.5 to 5.3 kg (mean: 4.3) were included in the study with the formal consent of their parents. All suffered from vagal hyperreactivity. The sixth younger full-term infant was aged 10 days and weighed 4 kg. They were given a single dose (3 mg/kg) of diphemanil methylsulfate orally, after a minimal fast of 4 hours. Blood samples were collected at T0 and 3, 6, 8, 12 and 24 hours after administration. Urines were also collected from 1 hour before drug administration to 24 hours after. Plasma concentrations of diphemanil methylsulfate were measured by gas-exchange chromatography. RESULTS: The peak plasma concentration in the five infants occurred at 3.9 +/- 2.3 hours (range: 2.9-8 hours). Half-life was 8.6 +/- 2.4 hours and tended to decrease with age. All the other parameters were identical to those found in adults. The peak plasma concentration occurred in the sixth younger infant at 2.9 hours, with a half-life of 17.2 hours. Renal clearance was high (0.3 l/h/kg). CONCLUSION: The relatively long half-life of diphemanil methylsulfate allows this drug to be given every 8 hours. This longer interval is more comfortable for the patients and their parents. The high renal clearance suggests that this drug is excreted by both glomerular filtration and tubular secretion.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1993

Satellite cell myogenesis is highly stimulated by the kinase inhibitor iso-H7: comparison with HA1004 and staurosporine effects.

Differentiation of rat satellite cells, measured by cell fusion into myotubes and isozymic conversion of creatine kinase and phosphoglycerate mutase, was shown to be highly increased in the presence of 1-(5-isoquinolinylsulfonyl)-3-methylpiperazine (iso-H7). This substance inhibited both protein kinase C (PKC) and cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) activities with similar IC50 between 22 and 34 microM. Iso-H7, as well as the PKA inhibitor HA1004 increased myogenic differentiation without altering the proliferation of satellite cells, whereas the proliferation and the differentiation of these cells were inhibited by the PKC inhibitor staurosporine. Our results suggest a predominant negative control of PKA on satellite cell myogenesis.

1-(5-Isoquinolinesulfonyl)-2-Methylpiperazine↗
PubMed1993

Pharmacokinetics of diphemanil methylsulphate in infants.

The pharmacokinetics of diphemanil methylsulphate was evaluated after oral administration of a single 3 mg.kg-1 dose to 5 infants being treated for symptomatic bradycardia. The mean pharmacokinetic parameters of oral diphemanil methylsulphate in infants were similar to those in adults. The mean half-life was 8.6 h. This would allow administration three times a day in infants instead of four to six times a day, as currently prescribed. The mean residence time decreases significantly with age (Spearman's r' = -1), and there is a trend for the half-life to decrease with age (r' = -0.9; NS), suggesting an influence of maturation on its elimination.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1993

Dose-response study of metoclopramide in gastroesophageal reflux in infancy.

Twenty-four infants, 1 to 18 months-old, who were referred to four centers for suspected gastroesophageal reflux and whose esophageal pH after a standard formula meal given at 9 to 10 am (Ho-day 1) fulfilled the criterion of being < 4 for more than 5% of the time between H1 and H6, entered a double-blind placebo-controlled dose-response trial of metoclopramide (M). Twenty-four hours later (day 2), patients were randomly assigned to receive either placebo or a single 0.1, 0.2, or 0.4 mg/kg dose of metoclopramide, 30 min before the formula meal (n = 6/group) and the procedure was repeated. Metoclopramide plasma concentration was measured 1 h after dosing (C1h). On day 1, the time during which the esophageal pH was < 4 (time pH < 4), and five other parameters, were not significantly different in the treatment groups. On day 2, time pH < 4 (m(SD)) decreased from 33(13) to 30(33), 39(27), to 36(47), 42(15) to 18(13) and 48(25) to 31(46) min in the placebo, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.4 mg/kg metoclopramide groups, respectively. Possibly due to the large interindividual variability, no significant differences in parameters were observed between the different groups. None of the parameters correlated with the metoclopramide dose. Time pH < 4 expressed as the difference between day 1 and day 2, relative to day 1, decreased significantly as a function of C1h. No side effects were observed. A similar study should be performed after repeated dosing regimen.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1992

Pharmacokinetics of diphemanil methylsulphate in healthy subjects.

The pharmacokinetic parameters of oral diphemanil methylsulphate have been evaluated in six healthy male volunteers. Absorption of the drug was slow (tmax = 2 to 4 h), the mean half-life was 8.35 h, and the amount of the drug recovered in urine within 48 h ranged from 0.6 to 7.4% of the administered dose. The results suggest low bioavailability, assuming that the drug is poorly metabolized.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1992

Could saliva stand for plasma in theophylline monitoring in asthmatic children? Still a controversial problem.

Theophylline determination in saliva was proposed several years ago as a convenient and non-invasive alternative to monitoring plasma in children and adults. Published data demonstrated that theophylline saliva concentration linearly correlates plasma concentration. However, the variability found in interindividual serum/saliva ratios and the wide scattering among the data points precluded the clinical use of saliva for theophylline monitoring. The purpose of this study was to compare different standardized methods for obtaining stimulated saliva intending to reduce the variability in plasma/saliva ratios and to determine the most reliable one. A group of 150 ambulatory chronic asthmatic 4.5 to 20.83 (10 +/- 3.7; M +/- SD) year-old patients receiving theophylline 6.85 +/- 1.88 mg/kg every 12 h as slow release preparations for 4 to 100 days was studied. One ml venous blood and salivary specimens were simultaneously collected 5.15 +/- 0.36 h after the morning maintenance dose. In a subgroup of 75 patients, saliva was collected using first a new device called salivette, immediately followed by the collection of an expectorated sample 30 s after citric acid crystals stimulation. In the other patients saliva was collected using citric acid containing salivette. Theophylline concentration was determined using HPLC. For all types of saliva collection, salivary and plasma theophylline concentrations correlated significantly. However whichever method was used, based on the -2 to +2 SD interval, a large range of plasma theophylline was predicted from a single salivary theophylline concentration. Despite a further standardization of the sampling of saliva, saliva theophylline could not accurately predict plasma concentration.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Functional antagonism between YY1 and the serum response factor.

The rapid, transient induction of the c-fos proto-oncogene by serum growth factors is mediated by the serum response element (SRE). The SRE shares homology with the muscle regulatory element (MRE) of the skeletal alpha-actin promoter. It is not known how these elements respond to proliferative and cell-type-specific signals, but the response appears to involve the binding of the serum response factor (SRF) and other proteins. Here, we report that YY1, a multifunctional transcription factor, binds to SRE and MRE sequences in vitro. The methylation interference footprint of YY1 overlaps with that of the SRF, and YY1 competes with the SRF for binding to these DNA elements. Overexpression of YY1 repressed serum-inducible and basal expression from the c-fos promoter and repressed basal expression from the skeletal alpha-actin promoter. YY1 also repressed expression from the individual SRE and MRE sequences upstream from a TATA element. Unlike that of YY1, SRF overexpression alone did not influence the transcriptional activity of the target sequence, but SRF overexpression could reverse YY1-mediated trans repression. These data suggest that YY1 and the SRF have antagonistic functions in vivo.

Animals↗