Pharmacokinetics of Murine p75-Fc Fusion Protein and MP6-XT22 Anti-Murine TNF-α mAb in Mice

Immunologic limitations make it difficult to study the pharmacokinetic effects of human tumor necrosis factor (TNF) blockers in murine models. To counter this, we have studied the pharmacokinetics in mice of two murine analogs of human TNF blockers, a murine p75-FC fusion protein (analogous to etanercept), and the rat MP6-XT22 anti-murine TNF mAb (analogous to infliximab). We analyzed the pharmacokinetics of the murine p75-Fc protein and MP6-XT22 antibody in mice that were uninfected and in mice with disseminated candidiasis in order to confirm dosing strategies and interpret future studies evaluating the efficacy and tolerability of these agents in mice. We propose that, while conducting safety or efficacy studies in murine disease models, it is reasonable to administer the murine p75-Fc protein to mice at <10 mg/kg every 4-5 days, and the MP6-XT22 antibody at 10-20 mg/kg every 4-5 days.