CYP2C9, CYP2C19 and CYP2D6 allele frequencies in the Ashkenazi Jewish population

Population pharmacogenomics: an update on ethnogeographic differences and opportunities for precision public health

Both safety and efficacy of medical treatment can vary depending on the ethnogeographic background of the patient. One of the reasons underlying this variability is differences in pharmacogenetic polymorphisms in genes involved in drug disposition, as well as in drug targets. Knowledge and appreciation of these differences is thus essential to optimize population-stratified care. Here, we provide an extensive updated analysis of population pharmacogenomics in ten pharmacokinetic genes (CYP2D6, CYP2C19, DPYD, TPMT, NUDT15 and SLC22A1), drug targets (CFTR) and genes involved in drug hypersensitivity (HLA-A, HLA-B) or drug-induced acute hemolytic anemia (G6PD). Combined, polymorphisms in the analyzed genes affect the pharmacology, efficacy or safety of 141 different drugs and therapeutic regimens. The data reveal pronounced differences in the genetic landscape, complexity and variant frequencies between ethnogeographic groups. Reduced function alleles of CYP2D6, SLC22A1 and CFTR were most prevalent in individuals of European descent, whereas DPYD and TPMT deficiencies were most common in Sub-Saharan Africa. Oceanian populations showed the highest frequencies of CYP2C19 loss-of-function alleles while their inferred CYP2D6 activity was among the highest worldwide. Frequencies of HLA-B*15:02 and HLA-B*58:01 were highest across Asia, which has important implications for the risk of severe cutaneous adverse reactions upon treatment with carbamazepine and allopurinol. G6PD deficiencies were most frequent in Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia with pronounced differences in variant composition. These variability data provide an important resource to inform cost-effectiveness modeling and guide population-specific genotyping strategies with the goal of optimizing the implementation of precision public health.

Genophenotypic Factors and Pharmacogenomics in Adverse Drug Reactions

Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) rank as one of the top 10 leading causes of death and illness in developed countries. ADRs show differential features depending upon genotype, age, sex, race, pathology, drug category, route of administration, and drug–drug interactions. Pharmacogenomics (PGx) provides the physician effective clues for optimizing drug efficacy and safety in major problems of health such as cardiovascular disease and associated disorders, cancer and brain disorders. Important aspects to be considered are also the impact of immunopharmacogenomics in cutaneous ADRs as well as the influence of genomic factors associated with COVID-19 and vaccination strategies. Major limitations for the routine use of PGx procedures for ADRs prevention are the lack of education and training in physicians and pharmacists, poor characterization of drug-related PGx, unspecific biomarkers of drug efficacy and toxicity, cost-effectiveness, administrative problems in health organizations, and insufficient regulation for the generalized use of PGx in the clinical setting. The implementation of PGx requires: (i) education of physicians and all other parties involved in the use and benefits of PGx; (ii) prospective studies to demonstrate the benefits of PGx genotyping; (iii) standardization of PGx procedures and development of clinical guidelines; (iv) NGS and microarrays to cover genes with high PGx potential; and (v) new regulations for PGx-related drug development and PGx drug labelling.

Clinical pharmacogenomics in action: design, assessment and implementation of a novel pharmacogenetic panel supporting drug selection for diseases of the central nervous system (CNS)

Background

Pharmacogenomics describes the link between gene variations (polymorphisms) and drug responses. In view of the implementation of precision medicine in personalized healthcare, pharmacogenetic tests have recently been introduced in the clinical practice. However, the translational aspects of such tests have been limited due to the lack of robust population-based evidence.

Materials

In this paper we present a novel pharmacogenetic panel (iDNA Genomics-PGx–CNS or PGx–CNS), consisting of 24 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on 13 genes involved in the signaling or/and the metabolism of 28 approved drugs currently administered to treat diseases of the Central Nervous System (CNS). We have tested the PGx–CNS panel on 501 patient-derived DNA samples from a southeastern European population and applied biostatistical analyses on the pharmacogenetic associations involving drug selection, dosing and the risk of adverse drug events (ADEs).

Results

Results reveal the occurrences of each SNP in the sample and a strong correlation with the European population. Nonlinear principal component analysis strongly indicates co-occurrences of certain variants. The metabolization efficiency (poor, intermediate, extensive, ultra-rapid) and the frequency of clinical useful pharmacogenetic, associations in the population (drug relevance), are also described, along with four exemplar clinical cases illustrating the strong potential of the PGx–CNS panel, as a companion diagnostic assay. It is noted that pharmacogenetic associations involving copy number variations (CNVs) or the HLA gene were not included in this analysis.

Conclusions

Overall, results illustrate that the PGx–CNS panel is a valuable tool supporting therapeutic medical decisions, urging its broad clinical implementation.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12967-021-02816-3.

Development and Analytical Validation of a 29 Gene Clinical Pharmacogenetic Genotyping Panel: Multi-Ethnic Allele and Copy Number Variant Detection

To develop a novel pharmacogenetic genotyping panel, a multidisciplinary team evaluated available evidence and selected 29 genes implicated in interindividual drug response variability, including 130 sequence variants and additional copy number variants (CNVs). Of the 29 genes, 11 had guidelines published by the Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium. Targeted genotyping and CNV interrogation were accomplished by multiplex single‐base extension using the MassARRAY platform (Agena Biosciences) and multiplex ligation‐dependent probe amplification (MRC Holland), respectively. Analytical validation of the panel was accomplished by a strategic combination of > 500 independent tests performed on 170 unique reference material DNA samples, which included sequence variant and CNV accuracy, reproducibility, and specimen (blood, saliva, and buccal swab) controls. Among the accuracy controls were 32 samples from the 1000 Genomes Project that were selected based on their enrichment of sequence variants included in the pharmacogenetic panel (VarCover.org). Coupled with publicly available samples from the Genetic Testing Reference Materials Coordination Program (GeT‐RM), accuracy validation material was available for the majority (77%) of interrogated sequence variants (100% with average allele frequencies > 0.1%), as well as additional structural alleles with unique copy number signatures (e.g., CYP2D6*5, *13, *36, *68; CYP2B6*29; and CYP2C19*36). Accuracy and reproducibility for both genotyping and copy number were > 99.9%, indicating that the optimized panel platforms were precise and robust. Importantly, multi‐ethnic allele frequencies of the interrogated variants indicate that the vast majority of the general population carries at least one of these clinically relevant pharmacogenetic variants, supporting the implementation of this panel for pharmacogenetic research and/or clinical implementation programs.

Essential Characteristics of Pharmacogenomics Study Publications

Pharmacogenomics (PGx) can be seen as a model for biomedical studies: it includes all disease areas of interest and spans in vitro studies to clinical trials, while focusing on the relationships between genes and drugs and the resulting phenotypes. This review will examine different characteristics of PGx study publications and provide examples of excellence in framing PGx questions and reporting their resulting data in a way that maximizes the knowledge that can be built on them.

Integrated CYP2D6 interrogation for multiethnic copy number and tandem allele detection

AIM

To comprehensively interrogate CYP2D6 by integrating genotyping, copy number analysis and novel strategies to identify CYP2D6*36 and characterize CYP2D6 duplications.

METHODS

Genotyping of 16 CYP2D6 alleles, multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) and CYP2D6*36 and duplication allele-specific genotyping were performed on 427 African-American, Asian, Caucasian, Hispanic, and Ashkenazi Jewish individuals.

RESULTS

A novel PCR strategy determined that almost half of all CYP2D6*10 (100C>T) alleles are actually *36 (isolated or in tandem with *10) and all identified duplication alleles were characterized. Integrated results from all testing platforms enabled the refinement of genotype frequencies across all studied populations.

CONCLUSION

The polymorphic CYP2D6 gene requires comprehensive interrogation to characterize allelic variation across ethnicities, which was enabled in this study by integrating multiplexed genotyping, MLPA copy number analysis, novel PCR strategies and duplication allele-specific genotyping.

Multi-ethnic SULT1A1 copy number profiling with multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification

AIM

To develop a SULT1A1 multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification assay and to investigate multi-ethnic copy number variant frequencies.

METHODS

A novel multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification assay was developed and tested on 472 African-American, Asian, Caucasian, Hispanic and Ashkenazi Jewish individuals.

RESULTS

The frequencies of atypical total copy number (i.e., greater or less than two) were 38.7% for Hispanics, 38.9% for Ashkenazi Jewish, 43.2% for Caucasians, 53.6% for Asians and 64.1% for African-Americans. Heterozygous SULT1A1 deletion carriers (slow sulfators) were most common among Caucasians (8.4%), whereas African-Americans had the highest frequencies of three or more copies (rapid sulfators; 60.9%).

CONCLUSION

Different ethnic and racial populations have varying degrees of SULT1A1-mediated sulfation activity, which warrants further research and that may have utility for drug response prediction among SULT1A1-metabolized medications.

Frequency of CYP2D6 Alleles Including Structural Variants in the United States

The CYP2D6 gene encodes an enzyme important in the metabolism of many commonly used medications. Variation in CYP2D6 is associated with inter-individual differences in medication response, and genetic testing is used to optimize medication therapy. This report describes a retrospective study of CYP2D6 allele frequencies in a large population of 104,509 de-identified patient samples across all regions of the United States (US). Thirty-seven unique CYP2D6 alleles including structural variants were identified. A majority of these alleles had frequencies which matched published frequency data from smaller studies, while eight had no previously published frequencies. Importantly, CYP2D6 structural variants were observed in 13.1% of individuals and accounted for 7% of the total variants observed. The majority of structural variants detected (73%) were decreased-function or no-function alleles. As such, structural variants were found in approximately one-third (30%) of CYP2D6 poor metabolizers in this study. This is the first CYP2D6 study to evaluate, with a consistent methodology, both structural variants and single copy alleles in a large US population, and the results suggest that structural variants have a substantial impact on CYP2D6 function.

CYP2C9 polymorphisms in epilepsy: influence on phenytoin treatment

Phenytoin (PHT) is an antiepileptic drug widely used in the treatment of focal epilepsy and status epilepticus, and effective in controlling focal seizures with and without tonic-clonic generalization and status epilepticus. The metabolization of PHT is carried out by two oxidative cytochrome P450 enzymes CYP2C9 and CYP2C19; 90% of this metabolization is done by CYP2C9 and the remaining 10% by CYP2C19. Genetic polymorphism of CYP2C9 may reduce the metabolism of PHT by 25-50% in patients with variants *2 and *3 compared to those with wild-type variant *1. The frequency distribution of CYP2C9 polymorphism alleles in patients with epilepsy around the world ranges from 4.5 to 13.6%, being less frequent in African-Americans and Asians. PHT has a narrow therapeutic range and a nonlinear pharmacokinetic profile; hence, its poor metabolization has significant clinical implications as it causes more frequent and more serious adverse effects requiring discontinuation of treatment, even if it had been effective. There is evidence that polymorphisms of CYP2C9 and the use of PHT are associated with an increase in the frequency of some side effects, such as cerebellar atrophy, gingival hypertrophy or acute cutaneous reactions. The presence of HLA-B*15:02 and CYP2C9 *2 or *3 in the same patient increases the risk of Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis; hence, PHT should not be prescribed in these patients. In patients with CYP2C9 *1/*2 or *1/*3 alleles (intermediate metabolizers), the usual PHT maintenance dose (5-10 mg/kg/day) must be reduced by 25%, and in those with CYP2C9 *2/*2, *2/*3 or *3/*3 alleles (poor metabolizers), the dose must be reduced by 50%. It is controversial whether CYP2C9 genotyping should be done before starting PHT treatment. In this paper, we aim to review the influence of CYP2C9 polymorphism on the metabolization of PHT and the clinical implications of poor metabolization in the treatment of epilepsies.

Institutional profile: translational pharmacogenomics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

For almost 50 years, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has continually invested in genetics and genomics, facilitating a healthy ecosystem that provides widespread support for the ongoing programs in translational pharmacogenomics. These programs can be broadly cataloged into discovery, education, clinical implementation and testing, which are collaboratively accomplished by multiple departments, institutes, laboratories, companies and colleagues. Focus areas have included drug response association studies and allele discovery, multiethnic pharmacogenomics, personalized genotyping and survey-based education programs, pre-emptive clinical testing implementation and novel assay development. This overview summarizes the current state of translational pharmacogenomics at Mount Sinai, including a future outlook on the forthcoming expansions in overall support, research and clinical programs, genomic technology infrastructure and the participating faculty.

High frequency of CYP2D6 ultrarapid metabolizers in Spain: controversy about their misclassification in worldwide population studies

A high frequency (7-10%) of CYP2D6 ultrarapid metabolizers estimated from the genotype (gUMs) has been claimed to exist among Spaniards and Southern Europeans. However, methodological aspects such as the inclusion of individuals carrying non-active multiplied alleles as gUMs may have led to an overestimation. Thus, this study aimed to analyze the gUM frequency (considering only those carrying more than two active genes) in 805 Spanish healthy volunteers studied for CYP2D6*2, *3, *4, *5, *6, *10, *17, *35, *41, and multiplications. Second, all worldwide studies reporting gUM frequencies were reviewed in order to evaluate potential misclassifications. The gUM frequency in this Spanish population was 5.34%, but increased to 8.3% if all individuals with CYP2D6 multiplications were classified as gUMs without considering the activity of the multiplied alleles. Moreover, among all reviewed worldwide studies only 55.6% precisely determined whether the multiplied alleles were active. Present results suggest that the evaluation of CYP2D6 ultrarapid metabolism should be standarized, and that the frequency of gUMs should be reconsidered in Spaniards and globally.

High frequency of CYP2D6 ultrarapid metabolizer genotypes in an Ashkenazi Jewish population from Argentina

A twofold higher frequency of CYP2D6 ultrarapid metabolizers (estimated from genotype: gUMs) was reported among Ashkenazi Jews (AJ) living in New York (USA) than in other North American Caucasians, which might be important to guide the prescription for CYP2D6 substrates in AJ communities around the world. This study was aimed to determine whether the high frequency of CYP2D6 gUMs described in AJ from USA was replicated in AJ from Argentina when compared with other multiethnic admixture Argentines (GA). The frequency of the most common allelic variants and of CYP2D6 gUMs (>2 active genes) and poor metabolizers (0 active genes, gPMs) was also compared among the studied Argentine populations. CYP2D6 genotyping was performed in 173 AJ and 246 GA DNA samples of unrelated donors from the metropolitan area of Buenos Aires. CYP2D6 alleles (*2, *3, *4, *5, *6, *10, *17, *35, *41 and multiple copies), genotypes and functional phenotype frequencies were determined. The frequencies of gUMs and gPMs in AJ from Argentina were 11.5% and 5.2%, respectively, whereas in GA, the frequencies of gUM and gPMs were 6.5% and 4.9%, respectively. Comparisons between AJ and GA showed that gUMs frequencies were twofold higher (P<0.05) in AJ than GA. CYP2D6*35 allele was more frequent in GA than AJ, whereas CYP2D6*41 and *1xN were more frequent in AJ than in GA (P<0.05). This study supports the previously reported high frequency of gUMs on another Ashkenazi population in New York. The present findings also support the interethnic variability of CYP2D6 genetic polymorphism in the overall Argentine population.

Characterization of 137 Genomic DNA Reference Materials for 28 Pharmacogenetic Genes: A GeT-RM Collaborative Project

Pharmacogenetic testing is increasingly available from clinical laboratories. However, only a limited number of quality control and other reference materials are currently available to support clinical testing. To address this need, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-based Genetic Testing Reference Material Coordination Program, in collaboration with members of the pharmacogenetic testing community and the Coriell Cell Repositories, has characterized 137 genomic DNA samples for 28 genes commonly genotyped by pharmacogenetic testing assays (CYP1A1, CYP1A2, CYP2A6, CYP2B6, CYP2C8, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2D6, CYP2E1, CYP3A4, CYP3A5, CYP4F2, DPYD, GSTM1, GSTP1, GSTT1, NAT1, NAT2, SLC15A2, SLC22A2, SLCO1B1, SLCO2B1, TPMT, UGT1A1, UGT2B7, UGT2B15, UGT2B17, and VKORC1). One hundred thirty-seven Coriell cell lines were selected based on ethnic diversity and partial genotype characterization from earlier testing. DNA samples were coded and distributed to volunteer testing laboratories for targeted genotyping using a number of commercially available and laboratory developed tests. Through consensus verification, we confirmed the presence of at least 108 variant pharmacogenetic alleles. These samples are also being characterized by other pharmacogenetic assays, including next-generation sequencing, which will be reported separately. Genotyping results were consistent among laboratories, with most differences in allele assignments attributed to assay design and variability in reported allele nomenclature, particularly for CYP2D6, UGT1A1, and VKORC1. These publicly available samples will help ensure the accuracy of pharmacogenetic testing.

Interethnic variation of CYP2C19 alleles, 'predicted' phenotypes and 'measured' metabolic phenotypes across world populations

The present study evaluates the worldwide frequency distribution of CYP2C19 alleles and CYP2C19 metabolic phenotypes ('predicted' from genotypes and 'measured' with a probe drug) among healthy volunteers from different ethnic groups and geographic regions, as well as the relationship between the 'predicted' and 'measured' CYP2C19 metabolic phenotypes. A total of 52 181 healthy volunteers were studied within 138 selected original research papers. CYP2C19*17 was 42- and 24-fold more frequent in Mediterranean-South Europeans and Middle Easterns than in East Asians (P<0.001, in both cases). Contrarily, CYP2C19*2 and CYP2C19*3 alleles were more frequent in East Asians (30.26% and 6.89%, respectively), and even a twofold higher frequency of these alleles was found in Native populations from Oceania (61.30% and 14.42%, respectively; P<0.001, in all cases), which may be a consequence of genetic drift process in the Pacific Islands. Regarding CYP2C19 metabolic phenotype, poor metabolizers (PMs) were more frequent among Asians than in Europeans, contrarily to the phenomenon reported for CYP2D6. A correlation has been found between the frequencies of CYP2C19 poor metabolism 'predicted' from CYP2C19 genotypes (gPMs) and the poor metabolic phenotype 'measured' with a probe drug (mPMs) when subjects are either classified by ethnicity (r=0.94, P<0.001) or geographic region (r=0.99, P=0.002). Nevertheless, further research is needed in African and Asian populations, which are under-represented, and additional CYP2C19 variants and the 'measured' phenotype should be studied.

Pharmacogenetics in Jewish populations

Spanning over 2000 years, the Jewish population has a long history of migration, population bottlenecks, expansions, and geographical isolation, which has resulted in a unique genetic architecture among the Jewish people. As such, many Mendelian disease genes and founder mutations for autosomal recessive diseases have been discovered in several Jewish groups, which have prompted recent genomic studies in the Jewish population on common disease susceptibility and other complex traits. Although few studies on the genetic determinants of drug response variability have been reported in the Jewish population, a number of unique pharmacogenetic variants have been discovered that are more common in Jewish populations than in other major racial groups. Notable examples identified in the Ashkenazi Jewish (AJ) population include the vitamin K epoxide reductase complex subunit 1 (VKORC1) c.106G>T (p.D36Y) variant associated with high warfarin dosing requirements and the recently reported cytochrome P450 2C19 (CYP2C19) allele, CYP2C19*4B, that harbors both loss-of-function [*4 (c.1A>G)] and increased-function [*17 (c.-806C>T)] variants on the same haplotype. These data are encouraging in that like other ethnicities and subpopulations, the Jewish population likely harbors numerous pharmacogenetic variants that are uncommon or absent in other larger racial groups and ethnicities. In addition to unique variants, common multi-ethnic variants in key drug metabolism genes (e.g., ABCB1, CYP2C8, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2D6, NAT2) have also been detected in the AJ and other Jewish groups. This review aims to summarize the currently available pharmacogenetics literature and discuss future directions for related research with this unique population.

In vitro and in vivo characterization of 13 CYP2C9 allelic variants found in Chinese Han population

Our previous study detected totally 35 CYP2C9 allelic variants in 2127 Chinese subjects, of whom 21 novel alleles were reported for the first time in Chinese populations. The aim of the present study was to characterize the 13 CYP2C9 allelic variants both in vitro and in vivo. Different types of CYP2C9 variants were highly expressed in COS-7 cells, and 50 μM tolbutamide was added as the probing substrate to evaluate their metabolic abilities in vitro. Subsequently, the concentrations of tolbutamide and its metabolite in the plasma and urine within individuals with different types of genotypes were determined by HPLC to evaluate the catalytic activity of the 13 mutant CYP2C9 proteins in vivo. Our results showed that compared with *1/*1 wild-type subjects, subjects with *1/*40 genotype showed increased oral clearance (CL/F), whereas individuals with *1/*3, *1/*13, *3/*3, *3/*13, *1/*16, *1/*19, *1/*34, *1/*42, *1/*45, *1/*46, and *1/*48 genotype exhibited significantly decreased CL/F, and those with *1/*27, *1/*29, *1/*40, and *1/*41 genotype presented similar CL/F value. When expressed in COS-7 cells, the CYP2C9 variants showed similar pattern to the results in clinical study. The study suggests that, besides two typical defective alleles, *3 and *13, seven CYP2C9 allelic variants (*16, *19, *34, *42, *45, *46, and *48) cause defective effects on the enzymatic activities both in vitro and in vivo. In clinic, patients with these defective alleles should be paid close attention to.

Multi-ethnic distribution of clinically relevant CYP2C genotypes and haplotypes

To determine CYP2C19 and CYP2C8 allele frequencies, 28 coding and/or functional variants were genotyped in 1250 African-American, Asian, Caucasian, Hispanic and Ashkenazi Jewish (AJ) individuals. The combined CYP2C19 variant allele frequencies ranged from ∼0.30 to 0.41; however, the CYP2C8 frequencies were much lower (∼0.04-0.13). After incorporating previously reported CYP2C9 genotyping results from these populations (36 total CYP2C variants), 16 multi-ethnic CYP2C haplotypes were inferred with frequencies >0.5%. Notably, the 2C19*17-2C9*1-2C8*2 haplotype was identified among African-Americans (8%) and Hispanics (2%), indicating that CYP2C19*17 does not always tag a CYP2C haplotype that encodes efficient CYP2C-substrate metabolism. The 2C19*1-2C9*2-2C8*3 haplotype was identified in all populations except African-Americans and additional novel haplotypes were identified in selected populations (for example, 2C19*2-2C9*1-2C8*4 and 2C19*4B-2C9*1-2C8*1), together indicating that both CYP2C19*17 and *2 can be linked with other CYP2C loss-of-function alleles. These results have important implications for pharmacogenomic association studies involving the CYP2C locus and are clinically relevant when administering CYP2C-substrate medications.

CYP2B6 SNPs are associated with methadone dose required for effective treatment of opioid addiction

Adequate methadone dosing in methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) for opioid addiction is critical for therapeutic success. One of the challenges in dose determination is the inter-individual variability in dose-response. Methadone metabolism is attributed primarily to cytochrome P450 enzymes CYP3A4, CYP2B6 and CYP2D6. The CYP2B6*6 allele [single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) 785A>G (rs2279343) and 516G>T (rs3745274)] was associated with slow methadone metabolism. To explore the effects of CYP2B6*6 allele on methadone dose requirement, it was genotyped in a well-characterized sample of 74 Israeli former heroin addicts in MMT. The sample is primarily of Middle Eastern/European ancestry, based on ancestry informative markers (AIMs). Only patients with no major co-medication that may affect methadone metabolism were included. The stabilizing daily methadone dose in this sample ranges between 13 and 260mg (mean 140±52mg). The mean methadone doses required by subjects homozygous for the variant alleles of the CYP2B6 SNPs 785A>G and 516G>T (88, 96mg, respectively) were significantly lower than those of the heterozygotes (133, 129mg, respectively) and the non-carriers (150, 151mg, respectively) (nominal P=0.012, 0.048, respectively). The results remain significant after controlling for age, sex and the ABCB1 SNP 1236C>T (rs1128503), which was previously shown to be associated with high methadone dose requirement in this population (P=0.006, 0.030, respectively). An additional 77 CYP2B6, CYP3A4 and CYP2D6 SNPs were genotyped. Of these, 24 SNPs were polymorphic and none showed significant association with methadone dose. Further studies are necessary to replicate these preliminary findings in additional subjects and other populations.

Multi-ethnic cytochrome-P450 copy number profiling: novel pharmacogenetic alleles and mechanism of copy number variation formation

To determine the role of CYP450 copy number variation (CNV) beyond CYP2D6, 11 CYP450 genes were interrogated by MLPA and qPCR in 542 African-American, Asian, Caucasian, Hispanic, and Ashkenazi Jewish individuals. The CYP2A6, CYP2B6 and CYP2E1 combined deletion/duplication allele frequencies ranged from 2% to 10% in these populations. High-resolution microarray-based comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) localized CYP2A6, CYP2B6 and CYP2E1 breakpoints to directly-oriented low-copy repeats. Sequencing localized the CYP2B6 breakpoint to a 529 bp intron 4 region with high homology to CYP2B7P1, resulting in the CYP2B6*29 partial deletion allele and the reciprocal, and novel, CYP2B6/2B7P1 duplicated fusion allele (CYP2B6*30). Together, these data identified novel CYP450 CNV alleles (CYP2B6*30 and CYP2E1*1Cx2) and indicate that common CYP450 CNV formation is likely mediated by non-allelic homologous recombination resulting in both full gene and gene-fusion copy number imbalances. Detection of these CNVs should be considered when interrogating these genes for pharmacogenetic drug selection and dosing.

Genetic polymorphisms and novel allelic variants of CYP2C19 in the Chinese Han population

Aim: This study aims to systematically investigate the genetic polymorphisms of the CYP2C19 gene and provide accurate data of the allele distribution pattern in the Chinese Han population. Materials & Methods: We amplified all nine exons of the CYP2C19 gene in 2127 unrelated healthy Chinese Han subjects from two geographical locations (Zhejiang province, n = 1127; Hebei province, n = 1000), using direct sequencing. Results: In total, six previously reported alleles were found in our study, in which two alleles CYP2C19*6 and CYP2C19*18 were reported for the first time in Chinese Han subjects. In addition, 35 novel variants were detected in the present work, which included 11 new named alleles, 12 nonsynonymous mutations and one insert variant. Conclusion: This study provides important data on the pattern of CYP2C19 polymorphisms in Chinese Han subjects, using the largest group of individuals. Furthermore, the study also detects the largest number of novel alleles in one population. These findings are of potential benefit to the development of personalized medicine for the Chinese Han population.

Original submitted 25 June 2012; Revision submitted 20 August 2012

Impact of drug transporter pharmacogenomics on pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic variability - considerations for drug development

INTRODUCTION

Drug transporter proteins are expressed on the cell membrane, regulating substrate exposure in systemic circulation and/or peripheral tissues. Genetic polymorphism of drug transporter genes encoding these proteins could alter the functional activity and/or protein expression, having effects on absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (ADME), efficacy and adverse effects.

AREAS COVERED

The authors provide the reader with an overview of the pharmacogenetics (PGx) of 12 membrane transporters. The clinical literature is summarized as to the quantitative significance on pharmacokinetics (PK) and implications on pharmacodynamics (PD) and adverse effects, due to transporter influence on intracellular drug concentrations.

EXPERT OPINION

Unlike polymorphisms for cytochrome P450s (CYPs) resulting in large magnitude of PK variation, genetic mutations for membrane transporters are typically less than threefold alteration in systemic PK for drugs with a few exceptions. However, substantially greater changes in intracellular drug levels may result. We are aware of 1880 exome variants in 12 of the best-studied transporters to date, and nearly 40% of these change the amino acid. However, the functional consequences of most of these variants remain to be determined, and have only been empirically evaluated for a handful. To the extent that genetic polymorphisms impact ADME, it is a variable that will contribute to ethnic differences due to substantial frequency differences for the known variants.

CYP2C9 polymorphism in patients with epilepsy: genotypic frequency analyzes and phenytoin adverse reactions correlation

OBJECTIVE

CYP2C9 is a major enzyme in human drug metabolism and the polymorphism observed in the corresponding gene may affect therapeutic outcome during treatment. The distribution of variant CYP2C9 alleles and prevalence of phenytoin adverse reactions were hereby investigated in a population of patients diagnosed with epilepsy.

METHOD

Allele-specific PCR analysis was carried out in order to determine frequencies of the two most common variant alleles, CYP2C9*2 and CYP2C9*3 in genomic DNA isolated from 100 epileptic patients. We also analyzed the frequency of phenytoin adverse reactions among those different genotypes groups. The data was presented as mean±standard deviation.

RESULTS

The mean age at enrollment was 39.6±10.3 years (range, 17-72 years) and duration of epilepsy was 26.5±11.9 years (range 3-48 years). The mean age at epilepsy onset was 13.1±12.4 years (range, 1 month-62 years). Frequencies of CYP2C9*1 (84%), CYP2C9*2 (9%) and CYP2C9*3 (7%) were similar to other published reports. Phenytoin adverse reactions were usually mild and occurred in 15% patients, without correlation with the CYP2C9 polymorphism (p=0.34).

CONCLUSION

Our findings indicate an overall similar distribution of the CYP2C9 alleles in a population of patients diagnosed with epilepsy in the South of Brazil, compared to other samples. This sample of phenytoin users showed no drug related adverse reactions and CYP2C9 allele type correlation. The role of CYP2C9 polymorphism influence on phenytoin adverse reaction remains to be determined since some literature evidence and our data found negative results.

Testing for variants in CYP2C19: population frequencies and testing experience in a clinical laboratory

PURPOSE

We sought to determine the genotype frequencies for cytochrome p450 enzyme 2C19 variant alleles both in the US pan-ethnic population and various US ethnic groups and to establish the frequency of clinically actionable genotypes.

METHODS

Analytical results were obtained from 1,396 consecutive samples submitted for cytochrome p450 enzyme 2C19 genotyping tests and stored in a proprietary database. This database was queried and genotypes and predicted phenotypes established. Anonymized samples were obtained from specimens submitted for cystic fibrosis genotyping that contained ethnicity information. Samples from 357, 149, and 346 individuals self-identified as white, African American, and Hispanic, respectively, were analyzed. In addition, 342 anonymized samples submitted for Ashkenazi Jewish panel testing were analyzed.

RESULTS

Significant ethnic differences were observed in the frequencies of the *17 ultrarapid allele among the various groups studied. In the pan-ethnic population, 3.8% of tested patients were classified as ultrarapid metabolizers, 24% as extensive metabolizers heterozygous for a *17 ultrarapid allele, 27% as intermediate metabolizers, and 3.5% as poor metabolizers. Using stringent criteria, 7.3% of individuals would have clinically actionable genotypes. In addition, we detected two individuals with a haplotype of *2/*17 and a single individual with a haplotype of *4/*17 indicating that the *17 hypermetabolic allele can occur on a *1, *2, or *4 background.

Increasing tamoxifen dose in breast cancer patients based on CYP2D6 genotypes and endoxifen levels: effect on active metabolite isomers and the antiestrogenic activity score

Tamoxifen (Tam), the major drug for estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer, is converted to its active metabolites, Z- and Z'-endoxifen and 4-OH-Tam isomers, primarily by cytochrome P450 CYP2D6. In 117 patients taking 20 mg/day of Tam, we determined CYP2D6 genotypes and measured the plasma levels of Tam metabolites. The Z-endoxifen levels increased while Z'-endoxifen levels decreased with increasing metabolizer phenotype activity (MPA) score (P ≤ 0.0004). The dosage in patients with endoxifen <40 nmol/l and/or CYP2D6 MPA scores of 0 was increased to 30 mg/day and their metabolite isomers were monitored for up to 90 days. Of the 24 patients on the increased dose, 90% showed an increase in active isomers by day 60; the rate of increase correlated with the MPA score. Notably, their antiestrogenic activity scores (AASs), which estimate total isomer biologic activity, increased from a baseline median of 17 to 26 at day 60. Further studies involving increasing/decreasing the Tam dosage based on the AAS may determine whether dose adjustment can optimize treatment and improve long-term survival.

Identification of CYP2C19*4B: pharmacogenetic implications for drug metabolism including clopidogrel responsiveness

CYP2C19 is a principal enzyme involved in the bioactivation of the antiplatelet prodrug clopidogrel and common CYP2C19 loss-of-function alleles are associated with adverse cardiovascular events. To assess the impact of the CYP2C19*17 increased activity allele in the Ashkenazi Jewish (AJ) and Sephardi Jewish (SJ) populations and to determine the frequencies of additional variant alleles, 250 AJ and 135 SJ individuals were genotyped for CYP2C19*2-*10, *12-*17, *22 and P-glycoprotein (ABCB1) c.3435C>T. Importantly, CYP2C19*4, a loss-of-function allele, was identified in linkage disequilibrium with *17. This novel haplotype, designated CYP2C19*4B, significantly alters the interpretation of CYP2C19 genotyping when testing *17. Moreover, genotyping CYP2C19*17 changed the frequency of extensive metabolizers from ∼70 to ∼40%, reclassifying ∼30% as ultrarapid metabolizers. Combining CYP2C19 and ABCB1 identified ∼1 in 3 AJ and ∼1 in 2 SJ individuals at increased risk for adverse responses to clopidogrel. These data underscore the importance of including *4B and *17 when clinically genotyping CYP2C19.

Combined CYP2C9, VKORC1 and CYP4F2 frequencies among racial and ethnic groups

AIMS

CYP4F2*3 (p.V433M) has been associated with higher warfarin dose requirements; however, its frequency, like other CYP2C9 and VKORC1 variants, has not been systematically assessed in major racial/ethnic populations. Thus, we determined the individual and combined frequencies of important CYP2C9, VKORC1 and CYP4F2 variants in several racial/ethnic groups.

MATERIALS & METHODS

Healthy African-American, Asian, Caucasian, Hispanic and Ashkenazi Jewish (AJ) blood donors were genotyped for CYP2C9 (*2, *3, *4, *5, *6, *8, *11 and *13), VKORC1 (g.-1639G>A) and CYP4F2 (*3 [p.V433M] and rs2189784).

RESULTS

The combined frequencies of variant CYP2C9 alleles were 0.133, 0.078, 0.212, 0.178 and 0.212 among African-American, Asian, Caucasian, Hispanic and AJ individuals, respectively. CYP4F2*3 frequencies were prevalent (0.233-0.342) among Asian, Caucasian, Hispanic and AJ individuals, while significantly less frequent among African-Americans (0.117; p < 0.0001). In addition, CYP4F2*3 was in linkage disequilibrium with rs2189784, an allele recently associated with time-to-therapeutic international normalized ratio, among all studied populations. Importantly, 87-95% of Asian, Caucasian, Hispanic and AJ individuals had a variant CYP2C9, VKORC1 and/or CYP4F2*3 allele, compared with only 53% of African-Americans (p < 0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS

Compared with other racial/ethnic populations studied, only approximately one in 80 African-Americans were CYP4F2*3 homozygous, indicating that this population would benefit less from dosing algorithms that include this variant. In addition, the unique allele frequency profiles identified among the different populations partly explain why genotype-guided warfarin dosing algorithms perform less well for African-Americans and suggest that other unidentified genetic and/or nongenetic factors that influence warfarin dosage may exist in this population.

Potent CYP2D6 Inhibiting drugs do not increase relapse rate in early breast cancer patients treated with adjuvant tamoxifen

Endoxifen, the most active metabolite of the prodrug tamoxifen, is produced by cytochrome P450 CYP2D6. Breast cancer patients treated with tamoxifen who have reduced CYP2D6 activity, related to either genetic variation or drug inhibition, may have inferior outcomes. To assess the effect of concomitant CYP2D6 inhibiting drug use on clinical outcomes of breast cancer patients treated with adjuvant tamoxifen. We conducted a retrospective database analysis. Women with non-metastatic estrogen receptor positive tumors who had completed adjuvant tamoxifen therapy for 2 years, without treatment with adjuvant aromatase inhibitors or early relapse, were included. Patients were classified as users of CYP2D6 inhibitors if they purchased strong CYP2D6 inhibiting drugs for ≥ 4 consecutive months during tamoxifen treatment. Tumors were classified as "high risk" if adjuvant chemotherapy was prescribed. Primary endpoint was disease free (DFS) and secondary endpoint was overall survival (OS). 902 patients treated with tamoxifen (median duration, 4.9 years) were followed for a median period of 5.9 years. Fifty-nine (6.5%) patients were users of CYP2D6 inhibitors (median duration, 23 months). DFS at 3 years (corresponding to 5 years after tamoxifen initiation) did not differ between users and non-users of CYP2D6 inhibiting drugs (92.7 vs. 93.0%, respectively; adjusted P = 0.44). OS at 3 years was lower in the patients using CYP2D6 inhibiting drugs: 89.4 vs. 93.8%, but after adjustment for age and comorbidities this difference was not significant (P = 0.20). Overall recurrence rates did not differ between users and non-users of CYP2D6 inhibiting drugs (11.8 vs. 19.0% respectively, P = 0.23). Concomitant prolonged therapy with strong CYP2D6 inhibiting drugs does not affect adversely DFS and recurrence rates in tamoxifen-treated early breast cancer patients.

Implementing genotype-guided antithrombotic therapy

Genotyping has the potential to improve the efficacy and safety of major antithrombotic drugs. For warfarin, the stable maintenance dose varies from 1-10 mg/day. The VKORC1 -1639G>A allele and the CYP2C9*2 and *3 alleles (cumulative frequency: 90% in Asians, 65% in Europeans and 20% in Africans), explain 45% of response variability in European and 30% in African populations. The large clinical trials COAG and EU-PACT will define the extent to which pharmacogenetic dosing affects the safety and efficacy of warfarin and coumarin derivatives. The platelet inhibitor clopidogrel requires activation by the CYP2C19 enzyme. CYP2C19*2 and *3 alleles (cumulative frequency: 20-50%) produce null enzyme activity, and their presence attenuates platelet inhibition and increases cardiovascular events. The US FDA-mandated drug labeling recognizes the relevance of genotyping in the selection and dosing of both warfarin and clopidogrel.

Pharmacogenetic testing in psychiatry: a review of features and clinical realities

This article focuses on the first generation of pharmacogenetic tests that are potentially useful in psychiatry. All pharmacogenetic tests currently on the market, or soon to be marketed in psychiatry, for which some information has been published in peer-reviewed journal articles (or abstracts), were selected. Five pharmacogenetic tests are reviewed in detail: the Roche AmpliChip CYP450 Test, the Luminex Tag-It Mutation Detection Kit, the LGC clozapine response test, the PGxPredict: Clozapine test, and the Genomas PhyzioType system. After reviewing these tests, three practical aspects of implementing pharmacogenetic testing in psychiatric clinical practice are briefly reviewed: (1) the evaluation of these tests in clinical practice, (2) cost-effectiveness, and (3) regulatory oversight. Finally, the future of these and other pharmacogenetic tests in psychiatry is discussed.

Pharmacogenomics: the promise of personalized medicine for CNS disorders

This review focuses first on the concept of pharmacogenomics and its related concepts (biomarkers and personalized prescription). Next, the first generation of five DNA pharmacogenomic tests used in the clinical practice of psychiatry is briefly reviewed. Then the possible involvement of these pharmacogenomic tests in the exploration of early clinical proof of mechanism is described by using two of the tests and one example from the pharmaceutical industry (iloperidone clinical trials). The initial attempts to use other microarray tests (measuring RNA expression) as peripheral biomarkers for CNS disorders are briefly described. Then the challenge of taking pharmacogenomic tests (compared to drugs) into clinical practice is explained by focusing on regulatory oversight, the methodological/scientific issues concerning diagnostic tests, and cost-effectiveness issues. Current information on medicine-based evidence and cost-effectiveness usually focuses on average patients and not the outliers who are most likely to benefit from personalized prescription. Finally, future research directions are suggested. The future of 'personalized prescription' in psychiatry requires consideration of pharmacogenomic testing and environmental and personal variables that influence pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic drug response for each individual drug used by each patient.

Increased carrier prevalence of deficient CYP2C9, CYP2C19 and CYP2D6 alleles in depressed patients referred to a tertiary psychiatric hospital

OBJECTIVE

This study compared the types and carrier prevalences of clinically significant DNA polymorphisms in the cytochrome P450 (CYP450) genes CYP2C9, CYP2C19 and CYP2D6 in major depressive disorder patients with a control group of nonpsychiatrically ill, medical outpatients.

METHOD

We conducted a case-control study using 73 psychiatric outpatients diagnosed with depression and referred to a tertiary center, The Institute of Living (Hartford, CT, USA), for treatment resistance or intolerable side-effects to psychotropic drugs. The controls were 120 cardiovascular patients from Hartford Hospital being treated for dyslipidemia but otherwise healthy and not psychiatrically ill. DNA typing to detect polymorphisms in the genes CYP2C9, CYP2C19 and CYP2D6 was accomplished with the Tag-It™ mutation detection assay and the Luminex xMAP^® system.

RESULTS

The percentage of individuals in psychiatric versus control groups with two wild-type alleles for CYP2C9, CYP2C19 and CYP2D6 genes, were 50 versus 74% (p < 0.001), 71 versus 73% (not statistically significant) and 36 versus 43% (trend, p < 0.2), respectively. Within the psychiatric population, 57% of individuals were carriers of non-wild-type alleles for 2-3 genes, compared with 36% in the control population (p < 0.0001). The balance, 43% in the psychiatric population and 64% in the control, were carriers of non-wild-type alleles for none or one gene.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings reveal that clinically relevant CYP2C9 polymorphisms occur more frequently in depressed psychiatric patients than in nonpsychiatric controls. The same trend was found for polymorphisms in the CYP2D6 gene. We found a significant cumulative metabolic deficiency in the psychiatric population for combinations of the CYP2C9, CYP2C19 and CYP2D6 genes. The significant enrichment of CYP2C9-deficient alleles in the psychiatric population validates a previously reported association of this gene with the risk for depression disorders. The high prevalence of carriers with deficient and null alleles suggests that CYP450 DNA typing may play a role in the management of psychiatric patients at tertiary care institutions.

Warfarin pharmacogenetics: CYP2C9 and VKORC1 genotypes predict different sensitivity and resistance frequencies in the Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jewish populations

Warfarin is a widely used anticoagulant that has a narrow therapeutic range because of both genetic and environmental factors. CYP2C9( *)2 (p.R144C), CYP2C9( *)3 (p.I359L), and the VKORC1 promoter (g.-1639G-->A) polymorphisms occur frequently in patients who are warfarin "sensitive" and require lower doses, whereas patients with VKORC1 missense mutations are warfarin "resistant" and require higher doses. To compare the CYP2C9 and VKORC1 allele and genotype frequencies among 260 Ashkenazi (AJ) and 80 Sephardi Jewish (SJ) individuals, we genotyped six CYP2C9 and eight VKORC1 alleles by using the Tag-It Mutation Detection Kit and PCR-RFLP assays. The "sensitive"CYP2C9( *)2 and ( *)3 alleles had significantly higher frequencies in SJ than in AJ individuals, 0.194 and 0.144 versus 0.127 and 0.081, respectively (p <or= 0.001). In contrast, the VKORC1 p.D36Y mutation, which predicts warfarin "resistance," had a significantly higher frequency in AJ than in SJ individuals, 0.043 versus 0.006, respectively (p <or= 0.025). Of note, 11.3% of AJ individuals predicted to be CYP2C9 extensive metabolizers and 8.7% of those predicted to be intermediate and poor metabolizers were VKORC1 p.D36Y carriers who require markedly higher warfarin doses. Thus, approximately 10% of all AJ individuals would be misclassified when only genotyping CYP2C9( *)2, ( *)3, and VKORC1 g.-1639G-->A, underscoring the importance of screening for p.D36Y prior to initiating warfarin anticoagulation in AJ individuals. Taken together, our findings show that approximately 85% of AJ and approximately 90% of SJ individuals have at least one "sensitive" (CYP2C9( *)2, ( *)3, VKORC1 g.-1639G-->A) or "resistant" (VKORC1 p.D36Y) allele, indicating that each group has different warfarin pharmacogenetics and would benefit from genotype-based dose predictions.