Topical immunomodulating compositions for treatment of aids, Hepatitis B & C, other infectious diseases, and cancer

This final patent application filing is a continuation of the Provisional Patent Application No. 60/112,363 dated Dec. 15, 1998.

Contact sensitizers such as dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB) have been reported to raise CD4+ helper T cell counts and reduce viral load in HIV positive patients (1,2). The DNCB was applied to the skin in 10% concentration dissolved in the volatile solvent acetone which resulted in unreliable and unpredictable contact sensitization reactions. Biologically, increases in CD+ helper T cell counts are accompanied by variable decreases in HIV retroviral replication as measured by human immunovirus ribonucleic acid (RNA) levels in dendritic cells that are the primary antigen presenting cells of the human immune system. It is the dendritic cells and microphages that are infected during the initial phases of human immunovirus growth in AIDS patients. Optimally formulated contact sensitizers when topically applied, can induce TH-1 type immunity by releasing cytokines including Interleukin 2,valuable in treating hepatitis B&C, and forms of cancer as well as AIDS. On the other hand, the medical use of the preferred contact sensitizer diphenylcyclopropenone has been limited primarily to the treatment of alopecia areata as disclosed in referenced U.S. Pat. No. 4,985,464 wherein the volatile solvent acetone with unreliable absorption properties was used as the formulation vehicle. Other contact sensitizers referenced in the literature (3) are, but not limited to, squaric acid dibutylester, urishiol, oxazolone, dinitrofluorobenzene, and paraphenylenediamine. In all referenced cases, the volatile solvent acetone with unreliable absorption characteristics was used as the drug delivery system for the contact sensitizers. Accordingly, there is a need for a more reliable stabilized composition in which the contact sensitizers are soluble and will be reliably and predictably absorbed through the skin to reach the aforementioned dendritic cells of the dermis.

This invention provides compositions for the topical application of contact sensitizers in a unique topical pharmaceutical emulsion drug delivery system to reliably penetrate the epidermis of immunocompromised human patients in order to stimulate the release of CD4+ helper T cells and induce TH-1 type immunity by releasing cytokines including Interleukin 2, valuable in treating AIDS, Hepatitis B&C, other viral infectious diseases, and Cancer. The compositions contain controlled amounts of diphenyl-cyclopropenone, dinitrochlorobenzene, dinitrofluorobenzene, squaric acid dibutylester, urishiol, oxazolone, paraphenylene-diamine or other medically useful contact sensitizers emulfified in a non-toxic drug delivery system formula consisting of pharmaceutically acceptable non-volatile, non-ionic surfactants and pharmaceutically acceptable emollients at optimized levels wherein the contact sensitizer(s) are reliably absorbed through the epidermis to reach the dendritic cells in the dermis during the early stages of viral infections in immunocompromised patients. A preferred embodiment of the invention includes diphenylcyclopropenone as the contact sensitizer uniquely formulated in a microemulsified drug delivery sytem consisting of the non-ionic surfactant polyoxyethylene 20 sorbitan momooleate and the emollients isopropyl myristate and/or isopropyl palmitate.

The immunmodulating compositions of this invention treat viral infections embodied by AIDS, Hepatitis B&C, other viral infectious diseases and certain types of cancer wherein the the patient's immune system is attacked by the disease. The active ingredients in these compositions are those that are classified pharmacologically as contact sensitizers such as dinitrochlorobenzene, dinitrofluorobenzene, diphenylcyclopropenone, oxazolone, paraphenylenediamine, squaric acid dibutylester, urushiol and the like that are generally recognized as pharmacologically active contact sensitizers. Topically applied, contact sensitizers have been shown to raise the CD4+ helper T cell counts and variably reduce viral load in HIV positive patients when applied as a concentrated solutions in Acetone as the vehicle (1,2,3).

Acetone is a volatile and highly inflammable organic liquid with an LD/50 of 10.7 mg/Kg in rodents and may be classified as a toxic material with repeated human use causing epidermal erythema, dryness, headache, bronchial irritation, CNS effects including fatigue and excitement and with chronic use narcosis. In addition, due to its high vapor pressure and volatility, the contact sensitizer/Acetone solutions when applied to the skin can result in variable, inconsistent and unreliable levels of contact sensitizer absorption through the skin.

In order for the topically applied contact sensitizers to be optimally safe and effective in raising the CD4+ helper T cell counts and reduce viral loads, we found unexpectedly that the topical compositions of this invention consisting of medically accepted contact sensitizers microemulsified in drug delivery vehicles of non-volatile, non-toxic combinations of non-ionic surfactants and cosmetically acceptable emollient esters of fatty esters embodied by isopropyl myristate and isopropyl palmitate result in consistent and reliable absorption of the contact sensitizers through the epidermis to the dendritic cells of the dermis as demonstrated by increases in CD4+ helper T cell counts and reductions in serum viral loads in AIDS patients.

The drug compositions of this invention accordingly may contain non-ionic surfactants of the following classes:

Polyoxyethylene (POE) sorbitan fatty acid esters identified generically as POE 20 sorbitan monolaurate, POE 4 sorbitan monolaurate, POE 20 sorbitan monopalmitate, POE 20 sorbitan monostearate, POE 20 sorbitan monooleate, POE 5 sorbitan monooleate, POE 20 sorbitan trioleate and the like that are oily liquids with low vapor pressure properties and therefore non-volatile and non-irritating to the skin and have the property of emulsifying immiscible combinations of the active ingredient contact sensitizers and the emollient co-solvents embodied by the following alcoholic esters of myristic and palmitic fatty acids:

Isopropyl myristate consisting of esters of isopropyl alcohol and saturated high molecular weight fatty acids, principally myristic acid; and Isopropyl palmitate consisting of esters of isopropyl alcohol and saturated high molecular weight fatty acids, principally palmitic acid, and other like alcohol esters of saturated high molecular weight fatty acids that are mobile oily liquids at room temperature and are miscibly emulsified with the polyoxyethylene sorbitan fatty acid esters embodied in this invention to provide non-toxic, non-volatile topical drug delivery vehicles for the contact sensitizers of this invention.

The drug compositions of this invention are best administered to the skin under an occlusive or semi-occlusive patch to permit localized absorption of the contact sensitizer contained in optimized pharmaceutical vehicles as described in the following examples:

Apply 0.1 ml to 1.0 ml to an absorbent pad bonded to a polyvinyl chloride backing with adhesive to be applied to the skin surface

Apply 0.1 ml to 1.0 ml to a cellulosic pad bonded to a cotton backing with adhesive to be applied to the skin surface

Apply 0.25 ml to 1.00 ml to a non-woven textile pad bonded to an occlusive backing with adhesive to be applied to the skin surface

Apply 0.05 ml to 0.5 ml to an absorbent pad bonded to a to a suitable occlusive or semi-occlusive backing with adhesive to be applied to the skin surface

Apply 0.1 ml to 1.0 ml to cotton pad bonded to a suitable backing with adhesive for controlled absorption when applied to the skin.

These composition examples are cited to demonstrate, but not to limit, various concentrations of active contact sensitizers in non-volatile vehicles applied to the skin by means of various absorbent pads under occlusive or semi-occlusive backings serving as patch applications for administration of the sensitizers to the skin surface.

Other examples of contact sensitizers applicable to formulation in the unique non-volatile, non-irritating, skin absorble vehicle compositions are as follows:

Oxazolone

Fluoroscine isothiocyanate

Dinitrofluorobenzene

Beryllium

Nickel Chloride

Trinitrochlorobenzene

Urishiol

Paraphenylenediamine

and the like.

As examples of the HIV viral load reducing effects of the subject compositions, two patients were sensitized with 0.400% diphenylcyclopropenone in a vehicle consisting of equal parts of polyoxyethylene sorbitan 20 monooleate and isopropyl myristate and subsequently rechallenged with 0.100% diphenylcyclopropenone in the same vehicle two weeks, four weeks and eight weeks later. HIV-1 RNA copies per 1.0 ml plasma are shown in Table (1):