Orally available NO-mimicking free radical trapping agent and sulfatase 2 (SULF2) inhibitor with in vivo efficacy in animal models of glioma and stroke.

Originally characterized for its NO-mimicking activity in preventing peroxynitrite formation and in vivo neuroprotective efficacy in animal models of cerebral ischemia (100 mg/kg i.v. in rabbits; 30-60 mg/kg plus 30-60 mg/kg/h i.v. or 50 mg/kg plus 8.8 mg/kg/h s.c. in rats; 28 mg/kg plus 16 mg/kg/h i.v. in monkeys), OKN-007 (HPN-07, NXY-059) is an orally available α-phenyl-tert-butylnitrone (PBN) derivative that is also shown to exhibit sulfatase 2 (SULF2) inhibitory activity and anticancer efficacy both in cultures (effective conc. 170-200 μM in Huh7 heptoma cultures) and in several rodent glioma models in vivo (C6, RG2, and GL261; 75 mg/kg/day for rats and 168 mg/kg/day for mice via drinking water).