Chemically induced intracellular hyperthermia

Abstract

An invention relating to therapeutic pharmacological agents and methods to chemically induce intracellular hyperthermia and / or free radicals for the diagnosis and treatment of infections, malignancy and other medical conditions. The invention relates to a process and composition for the diagnosis or killing of cancer cells and inactivation of susceptible bacterial, parasitic, fungal, and viral pathogens by chemically generating heat, and / or free radicals and / or hyperthermia-inducible immunogenic determinants by using mitochondrial uncoupling agents, especially 2,4 dinitrophenol and, their conjugates, either alone or in combination with other drugs, hormones, cytokines and radiation.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims benefit of priority to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60 / 094,286, filed Jul. 27, 1998, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.FIELD OF INVENTION[0002]This invention relates to therapeutic pharmacological agents and methods to chemically induce intracellular hyperthermia and / or free radicals for the diagnosis and treatment of infections, malignancy and other medical conditions. This invention further relates to a process and composition for the diagnosis or killing of cancer cells and inactivation of susceptible bacterial, parasitic, fungal, and viral pathogens by chemically generating heat, free radicals and hyperthermia-inducible immunogenic determinants. Such pathogens, infected or transformed cells are inactivated or killed without irreparable injury to non-transformed, uninfected, normal cells. More specifically, this invention relates to the diagnosis and treatment of cancer; t...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0034]The present invention encompasses a composition and method using mitochondrial uncoupling agents, especially DNP, DNP with free radical producing drugs, DNP with liposomes, DNP conjugated to free radical formers, and DNP with other therapeutic pharmaceutical agents which are activated intracellularly by heat or reaction with mitochondrial electrons or free radicals to cause release of active medications for the treatment of cancer, HIV, other viruses, parasites, bacteria, fungi and other diseases. While not being bound by theory, it is submitted that the use of mitochondrial uncoupling agents, to increase intracellular heat and free radicals, as treatment for non-related cancers, viruses and other pathogens presupposes that the mechanism of action is non-specific for enzymes and receptors but is specific for interference with cellular and pathogen viability and induction of programmed cell death. The degree of intracellular heating, free radical formation, whole body hyperthermia and release of active drug molecules is controlled by the dose of DNP. Based on the quantity of oxygen consumed, the dose of DNP is adjusted to achieve the desired degree of hyperthermia. Safety and effectiveness is further controlled by manipulating metabolic rates of target tissues, duration of treatment and permissiveness of body cooling. In accordance with the present invention, intracellular, mitochondrial heat is generated by the use of DNP, other uncouplers, their conjugates, either alone or in combination with other drugs for the treatment of thermosensitive cancers such as non-Hodgkins lymphoma, prostate carcinoma, glioblastoma multiforme, Kaposi's sarcoma, etc; bacteria such as Borrelia burgdorferi, Mycobacterium leprae, Treponema pallidum, etc.; viruses such as HIV, hepatitis C, herpes viruses, papillomavirus, etc.; fungi such as Candida, Sporothrix schenkii, Histoplasma, Paracoccidiodes, Aspergillus, etc.: and, parasites such as Leishmania, malaria, acanthomoeba, cestodes, etc. 2,4-dinitrophenol was selected as the uncoupler of choice because it can be used at relatively high concentrations, permitting uniform distribution in organs and tissues. This invention also encompasses the use of DNP to selectively augment energy metabolism and heat production in inchoate malignant tumors for the purpose of increasing sensitivity of diagnostic positron emission tomography, temperature-sensitive magnetic resonance, and high-precision pixel temperature infrared imaging in differentiating normal from aberrant cell metabolisms. An additional object of the invention is the use of DNP to increase transcription of heat shock proteins, especially HSP 72, as a form of cellular pre-conditioning to decrease post-angioplasty restenosis, increase successful outcome of other surgeries, and facilitate antigen processing and presentation of immunogenic determinants on infectious agents, virally transformed cells and tumors so as to increase the natural or biologically activated immunological response.

[0035]In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, controlled thermogenesis with DNP is combined with other agents used to treat infectious, malignancy and other diseases. Examples of other agents include antifungal, antiviral, antibacterial, antiparasitic and antineoplastic drugs. Such drugs, including angiogenesis inhibitors and radiation have increased synergistic or additive activity when combined with hyperthermia in the treatment of cancer.

[0036]The method can be used for enhancing the sensitivity of positron emission tomography, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and infrared thermography in the diagnosis and monitoring of treatment of various diseases, including cancer. Similarly, the method can be used for enhancing the identification of unstable “hot” coronary and carotid artery plaques predisposed to rupture or undergo thrombosis. Such diagnostic and treatment monitoring methodology is based on the fact that most tumors have higher metabolic rates and generate more heat than normal tissues. Likewise, unstable atherosclerotic plaques are presumed to rupture because they have a dense infiltration of macrophages which have high metabolic rates and generate excessive enzymes and heat, causing the plaque to degrade and loosen. In both instances, controlled doses of DNP or other uncouplers can further increase metabolic rates and heat production to increase diagnostic sensitivity. Controlled heating with DNP and fibrinolytic recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activators can also be used therapeutically to accelerate fibrinolysis of clotted arteries.

[0037]In another aspect of the invention, DNP is administered in controlled and timed dosages to provide physiologic stress, “chemical exercise”, so as to induce synthesis of autologous heat shock proteins (HSPs). Intracellular heat exposure associated with autologous HSP induction has a significant cytoprotective effect against ischemia and cellular trauma and acts as a form of cellular thermal preconditioning in patients about to undergo surgery. Induction of HSPs by DNP in patients some 8 to 24 hours prior to angioplasty, coronary bypass surgery, organ transplantation and other forms of high risk surgery, would provide for improved clinical outcome with decreased post-angioplasty intimal thickening or restenosis, increased myocardial protection from infarction, improved musculocutaneous flap survival in plastic reconstruction and reduced ischemia / reperfusion injury in organ transplantation cases.

[0038]Another aspect of the invention provides for controlled dosages of DNP to induce long duration (6 to 8 hour), mild whole body hyperthermia (39.0 to 40.0° C.) to afford maximum expression of immunogenic HSPs or peptides associated with HSPs. The antigenic properties of HSPs and HSP-peptide complexes, induced by DNP in infectious agents, especially those located intracellularly, or on tumors can be exploited to enhance the immune response. This aspect of the present invention provides a process for modulating the immune system of a patient with other therapies, comprising the steps of: (1) increasing the expression of HSPs by the process described above, and (2) administering humanized monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies, or (3) administering recombinant cytokines, lymphokines, interferons, etc., or (4) administering standard anti-infectious or anti-neoplastic therapy.

Problems solved by technology

Likewise, unstable atherosclerotic plaques are presumed to rupture because they have a dense infiltration of macrophages which have high metabolic rates and generate excessive enzymes and heat, causing the plaque to degrade and loosen.

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