In vitrometabolism of a novel PPARγagonist, KR-62980, and its stereoisomer, KR-63198, in human liver microsomes and by recombinant cytochrome P450s

Characterization of Clofazimine Metabolism in Human Liver Microsomal Incubation In Vitro

Clofazimine [N,5-bis(4-chlorophenyl)-3-[(propane-2-yl)rimino]-3,5-dihydrophenazin-2-amine] is an antimycobacterial agent used as a second-line antituberculosis (anti-TB) drug. Nonetheless, little information is known about the metabolic routes of clofazimine, and the enzymes involved in metabolism. This study aimed to characterize the metabolic pathways and enzymes responsible for the metabolism of clofazimine in human liver microsomes. Eight metabolites, including four oxidative metabolites, three glucuronide conjugates, and one sulfate conjugate were identified, and their structures were deduced based on tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) spectra. Hydroxylated clofazimine and hydrated clofazimine was generated even in the absence of the NADPH generating system presumably via a nonenzymatic pathway. Hydrolytic-dehalogenated clofazimine was catalyzed mainly by CYP1A2 whereas hydrolytic-deaminated clofazimine was formed by CYP3A4/A5. In case of glucuronide conjugates, UGT1A1, UGT1A3, and UGT1A9 showed catalytic activity toward hydroxylated and hydrated clofazimine glucuronide whereas hydrolytic-deaminated clofazimine glucuronide was catalyzed by UGT1A4, UGT1A9, UGT1A3, and UGT2B4. Our results suggested that CYP1A2 and CYP3A are involved in the formation of oxidative metabolites while UGT1A1, 1A3, 1A4, 1A9, and 2B4 are involved in the formation of glucuronide conjugates of oxidative metabolites of clofazimine.

In vitro metabolism of magnolol and honokiol in rat liver microsomes and their interactions with seven cytochrome P substrates

RATIONALE

Magnolol and honokiol are the main active components of Magnolia officinalis Rehd. et Wils. The study of their interactions with liver microsomes is very important for the clinical safety of M. officinalis Rehd. et Wils.

METHODS

The main metabolites of magnolol and honokiol in rat liver microsomes were investigated using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry and their possible structures were identified. In addition, cytochrome P450 (CYP450) isoenzymes of the major rat metabolites of magnolol and honokiol were identified using a specific inhibitor.

RESULTS

This study suggests that the CYP2E1 subtype is responsible for the oxidation of magnolol and honokiol terminal double bonds to epoxy metabolites. CYP3A4 appears to be the major subtype responsible for further hydrolytic metabolism, while CYP1A2 may promote decarboxylation of the metabolites. CYP2A6 may be the main subtype responsible for the hydrogenation of magnolol (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrated that different CYP450 enzyme isoforms showed different activities in the in vitro metabolism of magnolol and honokiol in rat liver microsomes. It has certain practical applications in that we should pay attention to drug-drug interactions in clinical medications and also to drug-enzyme interactions.

In vitro metabolism of 4, 5-dimethoxycanthin-6-one by human liver microsomes and its inhibition on human CYP1A2

AIMS

P. quassioides is a traditional Chinese medicine used for the treatment of gastroenteritis, snakebite, infection and hypertension in China. 4, 5-dimethoxycanthin-6-one is one of the main active canthinone alkaloid isolated from P. quassioides. The aim of this work was to identify the cytochrome P (CYP) 450 enzymes responsible for the metabolism of 4, 5-dimethoxycanthin-6-one (DCO) and to evaluate the inhibitory effect of DCO on CYP activity in human liver microsomes (HLM) in vitro.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

the CYP isoforms responsible for DCO metabolism and the inhibitory effects of DCO on CYP activity was studied in HLM.

KEY FINDINGS

The in vitro metabolic enzyme of DCO was CYP3A4 (mediated the formation of metabolites M1-M5), CYP2C9 (mediated the formation of metabolites M1-M3, M6 and M8) and CYP2D6 (mediated the formation of metabolite M3) in HLM. Furthermore, the present work found that DCO uncompetitively inhibited CYP1A2-mediated phenacetin O-deethylation with an IC₅₀ value of 1.7μM and a Ki value of 2.6μM.

SIGNIFICANCE

The results suggested that the metabolic interaction should be existed when the substrate drugs of CYP1A2 were co-administered with DCO or traditional Chinese medicine containing it, such as the extract of P. quassioides and Kumu injection.

In-vitro metabolism of glycyrrhetinic acid by human and rat liver microsomes and its interactions with six CYP substrates

Objectives

Glycyrrhetinic acid is the main metabolite of glycyrrhizin and the main active component of Licorice root. This study was designed to investigate the in-vitro metabolism of glycyrrhetinic acid by liver microsomes and to examine possible metabolic interactions that glycyrrhetinic acid may have with other cytochrome P450 (CYP) substrates.

Methods

Glycyrrhetinic acid was incubated with rat liver microsomes (RLM) and human liver microsomes (HLM). Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry was used for glycyrrhetinic acid or substrates identification and quantification.

Key findings

The Km and Vmax values for HLM are 33.41 µm and 2.23 nmol/mg protein/min, respectively; for RLM the Km and Vmax were 24.24 µm and 6.86 nmol/mg protein/min, respectively. CYP3A4 is likely to be the major enzyme responsible for glycyrrhetinic acid metabolism in HLM while CYP2C9 and CYP2C19 are considerably less active. Other human CYP isoforms have minimal or no activity toward glycyrrhetinic acid. The interactions of glycyrrhetinic acid and six CYP substrates, such as phenacetin, diclofenac, (S)-mephenytoin, dextromethorphan, chlorzoxazone and midazolam were also investigated. The inhibitory action of glycyrrhetinic acid was observed in CYP2C9 for 4-hydroxylation of diclofenac, CYP2C19 for 4′-hydroxylation of (S)-mephenytoin and CYP3A4 for 1′-hydroxylation of midazolam with half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of 4.3-fold, 3.8-fold and 9.6-fold higher than specific inhibitors in HLM, respectively. However, glycyrrhetinic acid showed relatively little inhibitory effect (IC50 &gt; 400 µm) on phenacetin O-deethylation, dextromethorphan O-demethylation and chlorzoxazone 6-hydroxylation.

Conclusions

The study indicated that CYP3A4 is likely to be the major enzyme responsible for glycyrrhetinic acid metabolism in HLM while CYP2C9 and CYP2C19 are considerably less active. The results suggest that glycyrrhetinic acid has the potential to interact with a wide range of xenobiotics or endogenous chemicals that are CYP2C9, CYP2C19 and CYP3A4 substrates.

Dose-independent pharmacokinetics of a new peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ agonist, KR-62980, in Sprague-Dawley rats and ICR mice

The pharmacokinetics of a novel peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ agonist, KR-62980, were characterized in vitro with respect to liver metabolic stability, cell permeability, and plasma protein binding and in vivo using Sprague-Dawley rats and ICR mice. The metabolic half-life of 0.1-10 μM KR-62980 was 11.5-15.2 min in rat liver microsomes and 25.8-28.8 min in human liver microsomes. KR-62980 showed high permeability across MDCK cell monolayers, with apparent permeability coefficients of 20.4 × 10(-6) to 30.8 × 10(-6) cm/sec. The plasma protein binding rate of KR-62980 was 89.4%, and most was bound to serum albumin. After intravenous administration of KR-62980 (2 mg/kg), the systemic clearance was 2.50 L/h/kg, and the volume of distribution at steady-state was 9.16 L/kg. The bioavailability after oral administration was approximately 60.9%. The dose-normalized AUC values were 0.50 ± 0.09, 0.41 ± 0.20, and 0.62 ± 0.08 h · μg/mL after oral administration of 2, 5, and 10 mg/kg KR-62980, respectively, showing no dose-dependency. The in vivo pharmacokinetic parameters in ICR mice were also dose independent. These data suggest that KR-62980 is not significantly dose dependent in rats or mice, although it may disappear rapidly from the systemic circulation via metabolism in the liver.

Ilaprazole, a new proton pump inhibitor, is primarily metabolized to ilaprazole sulfone by CYP3A4 and 3A5

Ilaprazole is a new proton pump inhibitor, designed for treatment of gastric ulcers, and developed by Il-Yang Pharmaceutical Co (Seoul, Korea). It is extensively metabolised to the major metabolite ilaprazole sulfone. In the present study, several in vitro approaches were used to identify the cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes responsible for ilaprazole sulfone formation. Concentrations of ilaprazole sulfone were determined by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Incubation of ilaprazole with cDNA-expressed recombinant CYPs indicated that CYP3A was the major enzyme that catalyses ilaprozole to ilaprazole sulfone. This reaction was inhibited significantly by ketoconazole, a CYP3A inhibitor, and azamulin, a mechanism-based inhibitor of CYP3A, while no substantial effect was observed using selective inhibitors for eight other P450s (CYP1A2, CYP2A6, CYP2B6, CYP2C8, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2D6, and CYP2E1). In addition, the formation of ilaprazole sulfone correlated well with CYP3A-catalysed testosterone 6β-hydroxylation and midazolam 1'-hydroxylation in 20 different human liver microsome panels. The intrinsic clearance of the formation of ilaprazole sulfone by CYP3A4 was 16-fold higher than that by CYP3A5. Collectively, these results indicate that the formation of the major metabolite of ilaprazole, ilaprazole sulfone, is predominantly catalysed by CYP3A4/5.

Structure, function, regulation and polymorphism and the clinical significance of human cytochrome P450 1A2

Human CYP1A2 is one of the major CYPs in human liver and metabolizes a number of clinical drugs (e.g., clozapine, tacrine, tizanidine, and theophylline; n > 110), a number of procarcinogens (e.g., benzo[a]pyrene and aromatic amines), and several important endogenous compounds (e.g., steroids). CYP1A2 is subject to reversible and/or irreversible inhibition by a number of drugs, natural substances, and other compounds. The CYP1A gene cluster has been mapped on to chromosome 15q24.1, with close link between CYP1A1 and 1A2 sharing a common 5'-flanking region. The human CYP1A2 gene spans almost 7.8 kb comprising seven exons and six introns and codes a 515-residue protein with a molecular mass of 58,294 Da. The recently resolved CYP1A2 structure has a relatively compact, planar active site cavity that is highly adapted for the size and shape of its substrates. The architecture of the active site of 1A2 is characterized by multiple residues on helices F and I that constitutes two parallel substrate binding platforms on either side of the cavity. A large interindividual variability in the expression and activity of CYP1A2 has been observed, which is largely caused by genetic, epigenetic and environmental factors (e.g., smoking). CYP1A2 is primarily regulated by the aromatic hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) and CYP1A2 is induced through AhR-mediated transactivation following ligand binding and nuclear translocation. Induction or inhibition of CYP1A2 may provide partial explanation for some clinical drug interactions. To date, more than 15 variant alleles and a series of subvariants of the CYP1A2 gene have been identified and some of them have been associated with altered drug clearance and response and disease susceptibility. Further studies are warranted to explore the clinical and toxicological significance of altered CYP1A2 expression and activity caused by genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors.