Abstract
A protein conjugate that forms during the metabolism of D-penicillamine (D-PEN) in rats is electrophoretically indistinguishable from the (D-PEN-albumin) mixed disulfide that forms during the oxidation of D-PEN in plasma in vitro. Both the conjugate formed in vivo and the mixed disulfide synthesized in vitro are eliminated slowly in rats, with half-lives of 5.33 +/- 0.25 days and 3.48 +/- 0.42 days, respectively. These half-lives approximate or exceed the half-lives of radioiodinated plasma protein in the animals. The stability of the D-PEN-albumin conjugate contrasts with the rapid elimination of D-PEN itself and probably explains delayed elimination of D-PEN-containing disulfides in humans. Stable modification of tissue proteins by D-PEN may also be involved in the mode of action of D-PEN in rheumatoid arthritis.
DMD articles become freely available 12 months after publication, and remain freely available for 5 years.Non-open access articles that fall outside this five year window are available only to institutional subscribers and current ASPET members, or through the article purchase feature at the bottom of the page.
|