Pyrazinoylguanidine (PZG), 3-aminopyrazinoylguanidine (NH₂PZG) and their pyrazinoic acid metabolites were measured by a new reverse-phase HPLC method in the serum of dogs and humans after administration of PZG, NH₂PZG or 2-pyrazinoic acid (PZA). Kinetic properties of PZG and its principal metabolite, PZA, were studied in normal humans and also in azotemic patients, since PZG acts on renal tubules of patients with kidney failure to increase urea elimination. In humans and dogs, PZG was rapidly hydrolyzed to PZA. The serum half-life (t_½) of PZG was 1 h. In turn, PZA was metabolized to 5-hydroxy-PZA, but no evidence appeared for conjugation of PZA with glycine. The apparent volume of distribution of PZG and its 3-amino analog, NH₂PZG, exceeded that of total body water. In the dog the serum t_½ for NH₂PZG was twice that of PZG. Compared to PZG, NH₂PZG and its metabolite, 3-aminopyrazinoic acid, were much stabler in vitro in serum and water.

Metabolic oxidative profiles of diazepam (I) were obtained by aromatic C-4'-hydroxylation, N-1-demethylation, and 3-hydroxylation using a supernatant of rat liver. Incubation of 3-methyldiazepam (VI), which suppressed 3-hydroxylation, and N-1-nor-3-methyldiazepam (VII), were used to separately investigate these three oxidative pathways. Treatment of animals with phenobarbital enhanced N-1-demethylation and 3-hydroxylation, and to a variable extent C-4'-hydroxylation. Application of metyrapone reduced metabolite formation by 3-hydroxylation and N-1-demethylation, but had no effect on C-4'-hydroxylation. Metyrapone inhibition was more pronounced following than prior to phenobarbital treatment. C-2-hydroxylation was studied using medazepam (XX) incubations. This pathway was increased by phenobarbital pretreatment and reduced by metyrapone inhibition which was again more pronounced following than prior to phenobarbital pretreatment. These results support earlier conclusions on the heterogeneity of liver microsomes and suggests the presence of different species of hepatic microsomal terminal oxidases. Phenobarbital treatment and metyrapone change the metabolic profile via induction and inhibition, respectively, and, thus, in the case of 1,4-benzodiazepines, the formation of metabolites with varying pharmacological activity. This could become important in clinical situations as a diagnostic mean to determine induction under various treatment or, possibly, during cumulation of metabolites with a long half-life.

In streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats, pyrazinoylguanidine (PZG) markedly reduced elevated fasting concentrations of plasma glucose, triglycerides, and cholesterol. In contrast, these parameters were unaffected by a sulfonylurea, glyburide, or by a biguanide, metformin. PZG’s glucose- and lipid-lowering effects were dose-dependent. These metabolic effects were also investigated after: (a) pyrazinoic acid (PZA), a metabolite of PZG; (b) 3-amino-PZG, an analog of PZG, and (c) 3-amino-PZA, a hydrolytic product of 3-amino-PZG. PZA moderately reduced elevated fasting glucose and lipid concentrations in STZ-diabetic rats, suggesting partial mediation of PZG’s antidiabetic actions by PZA. Neither 3-amino-PZG nor 3-amino-PZA exerted any glucose- or lipid-lowering effect in STZ-diabetic rats.

The effects of pyrazinoylguanidine (PZG) on lipolysis and intracellular cyclic AMP concentrations were investigated in isolated rat adipocytes. PZG reduced basal cyclic AMP concentrations and blocked in a concentration-dependent manner forskolin (1 µmol/l) and isoproterenol (1 µmol/l) stimulatory effects on intracellular cyclic AMP production and lipolysis. PZG’s effects on hormone-sensitive lipase were investigated in the presence and absence of glucagon (1 µmol/l) or isoproterenol (1 µmol/l). PZG inhibited uncompetitively the induction of hormone-sensitive lipase by either glucagon or isoproterenol. PZG’s antilipolytic effects appeared to result from downregulation of intracellular cyclic AMP concentrations. In adipose tissue, cyclic AMP controls lipolysis through hormone-sensitive lipase. PZG’s downregulation of lipolysis and cyclic AMP concentrations was unaffected by adenosine deaminase or pertussis toxin, suggesting that PZG did not activate G_i, the inhibitory guanyl nucleotide regulatory protein.

Pyrazinoylguanidine (PZG) is a new antihyperglycemic, antihyperlipidemic drug. The current study reports on the development of an animal model in which the favorable metabolic effects of PZG, previously described in diabetic patients, could be reproduced and investigated. Adult* male as well as female Sprague-Dawley rats received a single intraperitoneal dose (50 mg/kg) of streptozotocin (STZ). One week later, they received PZG (50 mg/kg i.p.) twice daily for a week. Compared to vehicle (saline-treated controls), PZG reduced plasma concentrations of glucose by 33–70%, triglycerides by 50–70%, nonesterified fatty acids by 17–27%, cholesterol by 10–50%, and glucagon by 18–20%. Hydrochlorothiazide given in a dose of 20 mg/kg i.p. b.i.d for 1 week induced metabolic effects opposite to those of PZG. In the Zucker fatty rat, PZG also lowered plasma glucose and lipid concentrations. These results indicate that PZG ameliorated the abnormalities of plasma glucose and lipid that characterize STZ-diabetic and Zucker fatty rats.