Biomaterial Database

Interaction of D-penicillamine with gold salts: in vivo studies on gold chelation and in vitro studies on protein binding. 1977

P Davis, and D Barraclough

Serum and urinary gold levels were monitored in 18 patients previously treated with gold salts for rheumatoid arthritis and the effects of D-penicillamine studied. There was no statistically significant change in urinary gold levels on D-penicillamine therapy although there were some individual variations. Serum gold levels fell during D-penicillamine therapy but the rates of fall did not differ from those seen in patients not treated. In vitro studies on protein binding of gold salts suggest that a high affinity exists between gold salts and albumin with low levels of unbound gold even at concentrations far exceeding those seen in vivo. These preliminary results suggest that at therapeutic levels only small amounts of gold are available for chelation by penicillamine. It is concluded that penicillamine at low dosage is an unreliable chelator of gold salts in vivo and its use in the management of gold toxicity remains speculative.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D010396	Penicillamine	3-Mercapto-D-valine. The most characteristic degradation product of the penicillin antibiotics. It is used as an antirheumatic and as a chelating agent in Wilson's disease.	Dimethylcysteine,Mercaptovaline,beta,beta-Dimethylcysteine,Copper Penicillaminate,Cuprenil,Cuprimine,D-3-Mercaptovaline,D-Penicillamine,Metalcaptase,D 3 Mercaptovaline,D Penicillamine,Penicillaminate, Copper,beta,beta Dimethylcysteine
D011485	Protein Binding	The process in which substances, either endogenous or exogenous, bind to proteins, peptides, enzymes, protein precursors, or allied compounds. Specific protein-binding measures are often used as assays in diagnostic assessments.	Plasma Protein Binding Capacity,Binding, Protein
D002614	Chelating Agents	Chemicals that bind to and remove ions from solutions. Many chelating agents function through the formation of COORDINATION COMPLEXES with METALS.	Chelating Agent,Chelator,Complexons,Metal Antagonists,Chelators,Metal Chelating Agents,Agent, Chelating,Agents, Chelating,Agents, Metal Chelating,Antagonists, Metal,Chelating Agents, Metal
D004347	Drug Interactions	The action of a drug that may affect the activity, metabolism, or toxicity of another drug.	Drug Interaction,Interaction, Drug,Interactions, Drug
D006046	Gold	A yellow metallic element with the atomic symbol Au, atomic number 79, and atomic weight 197. It is used in jewelry, goldplating of other metals, as currency, and in dental restoration. Many of its clinical applications, such as ANTIRHEUMATIC AGENTS, are in the form of its salts.
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D001172	Arthritis, Rheumatoid	A chronic systemic disease, primarily of the joints, marked by inflammatory changes in the synovial membranes and articular structures, widespread fibrinoid degeneration of the collagen fibers in mesenchymal tissues, and by atrophy and rarefaction of bony structures. Etiology is unknown, but autoimmune mechanisms have been implicated.	Rheumatoid Arthritis