Development and validation of a LC-MS/MS assay for pharmacokinetic studies of complement C5a receptor antagonists PMX53 and PMX205 in mice

PMX53 and PMX205 are cyclic hexapeptide inhibitors of complement C5a receptors (C5aR1), that are widely used to study C5aR1 pathobiology in mouse models of disease. Despite their widespread use, limited information regarding their pharmacokinetics have been reported. Here, a bioanalytical method for the quantitative determination of PMX53 and PMX205 in plasma, brain and spinal cord of mice was developed using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) techniques. The LC-MS/MS method was validated in all three matrices according to regulatory guidelines and successfully applied to pharmacokinetic studies of PMX53 and PMX205 in C57BL/6 J mice following intravenous administration. The developed method was highly sensitive and sufficiently accurate with a lower limit of quantification within the range of 3-6 ng/ml in extracted plasma samples and 3-6 ng/g in processed tissue samples, which outperforms previously published LC-MS/MS methods. The results thus support the suitability, reliability, reproducibility and sensitivity of this validated technique. This method can therefore be applied to perform a complete pre-clinical investigation of PMX53 and PMX205 pharmacokinetics in mice.