Depsipeptide (FR901228, NSC-630176) pharmacokinetics in the rat by LC/MS/MS

Depsipeptide, a cyclic peptide (FR), isolated from Chrombacterium violaceum strain WB968 by Fujisawa Company during a screening program for anti-oncogene agents, possesses potent antitumor activity against human tumor cell lines and xenografts. This compound has been selected for preclinical and early clinical development by the National Cancer Institute. The pharmacokinetics and oral bioavailability of this depsipeptide in the rat were investigated in the present study. A sensitive and specific electrospray LC-tandem mass spectrometry method was first developed and validated for the analysis of this depsipeptide in plasma using t-boc-alpha-d-glutamic acid benzyl ester as the internal standard. The routine sensitivity limit was 1 or 10 ng/ml using 1.0 or 0.1 ml of plasma sample. The within-run CV values were 11.8, 17.9, 11.0, and 5.0% at 1, 10, 100, and 500 ng/ml levels, respectively, with corresponding accuracy of 94.4, 109, 95, and 97% (all n = 6). A formulation based on ethanol, normal saline and PEG400 was then developed and Fischer rats were given this formulated drug separately by intravenous and oral route. Plasma drug concentrations were measured by this method and pharmacokinetics were analyzed by the standard techniques. Plasma concentration-time profiles were found to follow a biexponential decline with a mean terminal t1/2 of 97 min and mean total clearance (CLt) of 425.3 ml/min/kg following i.v. dosing at 10 mg/kg. Following oral dosing at 50 mg/kg, the peptide was absorbed but produced erratic drug levels also with a bioavailability of 15.6%. Thus, active plasma concentrations can be produced up to 3 hrs in the rat following a single dose at 10 mg/kg and the peptide represents one of the very few orally absorbed peptides reported.