The inhibitory effects of three novel staurosporine-derived compounds were tested with five different types of protein kinases, including protein kinase C (PKC). IC50 values of two of these compounds were found to be 300 to > 5000 times lower for PKC alpha beta gamma (a mixture of the PKC isoenzymes alpha, beta and gamma) than for any of the other protein kinases. The inhibitory action of the most selective inhibitor was tested also with the Ca(2+)-unresponsive PKC isoenzyme delta and was found to suppress PKC alpha beta gamma and PKC delta differentially. The highly specific PKC inhibitors are active both in cell culture and in vivo. They inhibit the PKC-catalyzed phosphorylation of the specific PKC substrate MARCKS in Swiss-3T3 fibroblasts and the okadaic acid-induced edema of the mouse ear. However, the more complex biological processes triggered by the phorbol ester 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate in mouse skin, such as inflammation, stimulation of cellular hyperproliferation and tumor promotion, remain largely unaffected upon topical application of these compounds.

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The binding of antibiotics to plasma (serum) proteins through hydrogen bonding can significantly influence the biological characteristics of these drugs. A rapid spectrophotometric assay has been developed that measures the level of free (unbound) penem antibiotic in serum ultrafiltrates. Whole human serum was adjusted to a standard concentration of antibiotic and then filtered by centrifugation through a Centrifree (Amicon Corp., Lexington, Mass.) filter that retained >99.9% of serum protein. The degree of penem protein binding was determined spectrophotometrically by measuring the level of unbound drug in the ultrafiltrate at 322 nm. At this wavelength, no interfering absorption from residual protein was detected in the ultrafiltrate, and penem absorption was linear over a wide concentration range. The method gave protein-binding values comparable to those obtained by a high-pressure liquid chromatography assay but was more rapid, since it did not require solvent extraction and high-pressure liquid chromatography calibration procedures. The spectrophotometric assay has been used to assay over 100 penems to determine the structure-activity relationships that are involved with the high serum protein binding of these agents. As with penicillins and some cephalosporins, the nonpolar nature of the penem side chain at the C-2 position strongly influenced the degree of penem binding to serum proteins.