Male C57BL/6 mice (Taconic), 10-12 weeks of age at purchase, were randomly assigned to study groups. Groups included a range of 4 to 8 mice. Prior to dosing, animals were mechanically restrained, and 25 μL of blood was collected via tail snip into
EDTA collection tubes (Sarstedt AG) and stored on ice. Blood samples were centrifuged at 16,260 g, 4°C for 10 minutes, with resulting plasma aliquoted and frozen at -80°C for subsequent measurement of plasma total cholesterol concentrations. Vehicle (propylene glycol, 20%; 20% Solutol in water, 25%; PBS, 55%) or compound in vehicle (3 mg/mL or 30 mg/kg) was administered twice-daily, 12 hours apart, for 3 days to mice via subcutaneous injection. Mice in the PCSK9 antibody (human IgG1-LALA31H4; Amgen PCSK9 antibody, WO 2009/026558) group received a single intravenous injection of 1 mg/mL (10 mg/kg). Blood samples for the measurement of plasma drug levels were collected immediately prior to dosing throughout the study (every 12 hours) and were processed, as described above. On Day 4, mice were euthanized via CO 2 asphyxiation, blood collected by cardiac puncture and liver samples obtained. A 25-35 mg piece of liver for the measurement of LDLR protein concentration was placed in a 2 mL Eppendorf tube before being frozen on dry ice and stored at -80°C.
Brousseau M.E., Clairmont K.B., Spraggon G., Flyer A.N., Golosov A.A., Grosche P., Amin J., Andre J., Burdick D., Caplan S., Chen G., Chopra R., Ames L., Dubiel D., Fan L., Gattlen R., Kelly-Sullivan D., Koch A.W., Lewis I., Li J., Liu E., Lubicka D., Marzinzik A., Nakajima K., Nettleton D., Ottl J., Pan M., Patel T., Perry L., Pickett S., Poirier J., Reid P.C., Pelle X., Seepersaud M., Subramanian V., Vera V., Xu M., Yang L., Yang Q., Yu J., Zhu G, & Monovich L.G. (2022). Identification of a PCSK9-LDLR disruptor peptide with in vivo function. Cell chemical biology, 29(2).