The ansamycins: a novel class of hypolipidemic agents with a high affinity for lipoproteins

The ansamycins are derivatives of 3-piperazino rifamycin with potent hypolipidemic activity in nonprimate and primate species. Since the cholesterol reduction results from increased uptake and catabolism of lipoprotein cholesterol, it was hypothesized that the hydrophobicity of the ansamycins could result in a lipoprotein association which facilitates clearance. When radiolabeled ansamycins CGP 43371 or CGS 24565 were incubated with human plasma, > 95% was lipoprotein-bound up to drug levels of 25 microM. With plasma from chow-fed rats, radiolabeled compounds again distributed with the lipoproteins. Feeding a cholesterol/cholic acid diet to rats shifted the cholesterol distribution to lower density lipoproteins and in vitro incubation resulted in a shift of radiolabeled drug to lower density lipoproteins as well. Intravenous administration of radiolabeled ansamycins to chow-fed or cholesterol-fed rats resulted in a plasma lipoprotein binding profile indistinguishable from the corresponding in vitro incubations. When [14C]-CGP 43371 bound in vitro to high density lipoprotein (HDL) was reincubated with increasing concentrations of low density lipoprotein (LDL), a concentration-dependent fall in HDL association and increase in LDL binding was observed. Thus, the ansamycins have a high affinity for all plasma lipoproteins and can transfer between lipoprotein fractions. When [125I]-labeled LDL or HDL was incubated with CGP 43371 and Hep G2 cells, the cell association of the 125I label was significantly increased in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, plasma clearance of [14C]cholesterol oleate-labeled HDL coinjected with CGP 43371 was accelerated relative to control rats and radioactivity was specifically increased in livers of CGP 43371-treated rats. The physical association of the ansamycins with lipoproteins may thus lead to subtle conformational changes and enhanced hepatic uptake.