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A calculated 3-D model of the kinase domain of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-R) protein-tyrosine kinase (PTK) was used to develop a pharmacophore model for ATP-competitive inhibitors and, subsequently, a new class of selective EGF-R kinase inhibitors. CGP 59326A, a highly selective and potent inhibitor of the EGF-R in vitro, inhibited the proliferation of EGF-R-expressing epithelial lines, while having little anti-proliferative activity against EGF-R-negative lines. In contrast to previously described inhibitors, CGP 59326A had potent and selective in vivo anti-tumor activity at well-tolerated doses against EGF-R-expressing tumors (e.g., ED50 of 0.78 to 1.5 mg/kg for inhibition of A431 tumor growth). CGP 59326A inhibited growth of human tumor xenografts expressing the EGF-R but showed little activity against EGF-R-negative xenografts. Combination of CGP 59326A with cytotoxic agents resulted in tumor regression and cures. The high selectivity and attractive biological profile of CGP 59326A suggest that it could have therapeutic value in the treatment of proliferative diseases which involve mitogenic signaling from the EGF-R.

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The murine model of acquired immunodeficiency disease was used to evaluate both the antiretroviral and antiherpetic activities of the acyclic nucleotide analog 9-(2-phosphonylmethoxyethyl)adenine (PMEA). The antiretroviral activity of PMEA was compared with that of azidothymidine (AZT) in mice receiving the drug either immediately after infection or at late times in disease progression. Both AZT (oral, 30 mg/kg) and PMEA (parenteral, 25 and 5 mg/kg) were effective in slowing the development of disease when administered daily beginning on the day of infection. In contrast, neither drug alone was effective in modifying disease outcome when administered several weeks after viral infection. Human recombinant alpha interferon (rhuIFN alpha-B/D at 5 x 10(7) U/kg) was also ineffective when administered late in the course of disease. However, when administered in combination, both alpha interferon and PMEA (25 mg/kg) were able to suppress disease progression even when treatment was initiated as late as 3 weeks postinfection. Mice that were immunocompromised due to LP-BM5 virus infection were highly susceptible to acute (lethal) infection with herpes simplex virus type 1, whereas their immunocompetent littermates were not. PMEA was as effective as acyclovir in the treatment of opportunistic herpes simplex virus type 1 infections in LP-BM5 virus-infected mice. Thus, like AZT, PMEA was effective against retrovirus infection, and, like acyclovir, PMEA was effective against herpes simplex virus type 1 infection. This gives PMEA the unique potential of being useful in the treatment of opportunistic herpes simplex virus infections as well as the underlying retroviral disease.

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The carbapenem imipenem and the penem CGP 31608 demonstrated unusually good bactericidal activity against slowly growing bacteria. In contrast to that of penicillin, the rate of killing was independent of growth rate. In logarithmically growing cells, a decrease in growth rate was paralleled by a decrease in the relative activity of only one of four autolysins measured (membrane-bound endopeptidase), suggesting that autolysis induced by penicillin G may be rate limited by this enzyme. Imipenem, on the other hand, appeared to trigger different autolysins in Escherichia coli, as evidenced by differences in the structure of peptidoglycan after imipenem- versus penicillin-induced autolysis.

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The bactericidal activity of 23 beta-lactam antibiotics was compared in slowly growing bacteria cultured in a chemostat. In an attempt to mimic possible in vivo conditions, slowly growing cultures were produced by limitation of iron, glucose, phosphate, or magnesium. Only select antibiotics remained effectively bactericidal against slowly growing cells. For these compounds, the rate of antibiotic-induced loss of viability was a constant when killing was expressed per generation (in contrast to absolute time) in that slowly growing bacteria were killed proportionately more slowly. Individual antibiotics differed greatly, however, in their specific bactericidal activities against slowly growing cells, i.e., in the absolute degree of killing elicited during exposure of the bacteria to MIC equivalents of the drugs. Specific bactericidal activities varied not only with drug structure but also with the bacterial strains and, to a lesser extent, with the nature of the growth-limiting nutrient. In slowly growing cultures exposure to the low drug concentrations studied here (near MIC) caused killing without detectable lysis. Antibiotics with high specific bactericidal activities were capable of rapidly killing cultures of slowly growing pathogens despite extremely long generation times approaching those reported for in vivo growth rates.

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Pseudomonas cepacia depleted of various nutrients showed marked variation in sensitivity to cetrimide, chlorhexidine, and benzalkonium chloride. In all cases cells depleted of magnesium were the most resistant. It is proposed that these observations may be due to alterations of the envelope of P. cepacia in response to changes in the growth environment. This may have profound implications for investigations of the resistance of this organism both in vivo and in vitro.

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The stability of and production of extracellular virulence factors by mucoid (M7) and nonmucoid (wild-type) strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were studied in batch culture and in chemostats. Chemostat cultures were nutrient limited by iron, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, magnesium, and sulfur at various growth rates. Both M7 and wild-type strains were relatively stable in simple salts media. The wild type gave rise to one variant and M7, to several. M7 was most stable under iron limitation. Chemostat production of extracellular polysaccharide, protease, elastase, lipase, and phospholipase C all varied in a complex manner with growth conditions.

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A method is described for the separation of the outer membrane (OM) from the cytoplasmic membrane (CM) of Pseudomonas cepacia grown in nutrient broth and in chemically defined media under different nutrient depletions. The method is particularly valuable since it is effective when applied to stationary phase cells. Enzyme activities indicated that the contamination of the OM with the CM was less than 5%. The OM protein profile of magnesium-depleted cells was much simpler than that of the iron-depleted and nutrient broth grown cells. The apparent molecular weights of the OM proteins of magnesium-depleted cells were: 40 000, 36 000, 24 500 and 14 500. Iron depletion induced the synthesis of an OM protein with apparent molecular weight of 66 000. The OM proteins with apparent molecular weights of 40 000, 36 000 and 24 500 were heat-modifiable and the 24 500 dalton protein was found also to be affected by the presence of 2-mercaptoethanol. The OM consisted of 50% protein and 20% phospholipid and the rest was probably LPS while the CM consisted of 80% phospholipid and 20% protein. The major phospholipid in both membranes was phosphatidylethanolamine with a smaller amount of phosphatidylglycerol and a trace amount of phosphatidylcholine; the OM contained more phosphatidylethanolamine than the CM.

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The lytic and bactericidal actions of polymyxin B on whole cells and spheroplasts of Pseudomonas aeruginosa varied markedly with the suspending media, and there was little correlation between them. Relative rates of lysis of these preparations and also of Bacillus megaterium protoplasts suggested that polymyxin causes progressive damage to the cytoplasmic membrane, such that membrane permeability towards various ions increased as follows: K(+) > Na(+) > NO(3) (-) > Cl(-), Ca(2+), H(2)PO(4) (-)/HPO(4) (2-). Impermeant compounds, such as NaCl and sucrose, protected whole cells against lysis but not against death. It is suggested that lysis of whole cells by polymyxin is a secondary effect, resulting from entry of solutes normally excluded by the cytoplasmic membrane and the fragility of the damaged outer membrane. Because the degree of lysis varies with the external solutes, it should be treated with caution as a descriptor of polymyxin activity.

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