Kan Chiba

Effects of CYP2C19 genotypic differences in the metabolism of omeprazole and rabeprazole on intragastric pH

Omeprazole is mainly metabolized in the liver by CYP2C19, a genetically determined enzyme, whereas rabeprazole is mainly reduced non‐enzymatically and partially metabolized by CYP2C19. The therapeutic effects of rabeprazole are therefore assumed to be less affected by an individual’s CYP2C19 status.

Substrate Specificity of Carboxylesterase Isozymes and Their Contribution to Hydrolase Activity in Human Liver and Small Intestine

Hydrolase activity from human liver and small intestine microsomes was compared with that of recombinant human carboxylesterases, hCE-1 and hCE-2. Although both hCE-1 and hCE-2 are present in human liver, the dominant component was found to be hCE-1, whereas the hydrolase activity of the human small intestine was found to be predominantly hCE-2. hCE-2 has a limited ability to hydrolyze large acyl compound substrates. Interestingly, propranolol derivatives, good substrates for hCE-2, were easily hydrolyzed by substitution of the methyl group on the 2-position of the acyl moiety, but were barely hydrolyzed when the methyl group was substituted on the 3-position. These findings suggest that hCE-2 does not easily form acylated intermediates because of conformational interference in its active site. In contrast, hCE-1 could hydrolyze a variety of substrates. The hydrolytic activity of hCE-2 increased with increasing alcohol chain length in benzoic acid derivative substrates, whereas hCE-1 preferentially catalyzed the hydrolysis of substrates with short alcohol chains. Kinetic data showed that the determining factor for the rate of hydrolysis of p-aminobenzoic acid esters was Vmax for hCE-1 and Km for hCE-2. Furthermore, the addition of hydrophobic alcohols to the reaction mixture with p-aminobenzoic acid propyl ester induced high and low levels of transesterification by hCE-1 and hCE-2, respectively. When considering the substrate specificities of hCE-1, it is necessary to consider the transesterification ability of hCE-1, in addition to the binding structure of the substrate in the active site of the enzyme.

Incidence of S‐mephenytoin hydroxylation deficiency in a Korean population and the interphenotypic differences in diazepam pharmacokinetics

We studied the genetically determined hydroxylation polymorphism of S‐mephenytoin in a Korean population (N = 206) and the pharmacokinetics of diazepam and demethyldiazepam after an oral 8 mg dose of diazepam administered to the nine extensive metabolizers and eight poor metabolizers recruited from the population. The log10 percentage of 4‐hydroxymephenytoin excreted in the urine 8 hours after administration showed a bimodal distribution with an antimode of 0.3. The frequency of occurrence of the poor metabolizers was 12.6% in the population. In the panel study of diazepam in relation to the mephenytoin phenotype, there was a significant correlation between the oral clearance of diazepam and log10 urinary excretion of 4‐hydroxymephenytoin (rs = 0.777, p < 0.01). The plasma half‐life of diazepam in the poor metabolizers was longer than that in the extensive metabolizers (mean ± SEM, 91.0 ± 5.6 and 59.7 ± 5.4 hours, p < 0.005), and the poor metabolizers had the lower clearance of diazepam than the extensive metabolizers (9.4 ± 0.5 and 17.0 ± 1.4 ml/min, p < 0.001). In addition, the plasma half‐life of demethyldiazepam showed a statistically significant (p < 0.001) difference between the extensive metabolizers (95.9 ± 11.3 hours) and poor metabolizers (213.1 ± 10.7 hours), and correlated with the log10 urinary excretion of 4‐hydroxymephenytoin (rs = −0.615, p < 0.01). The findings indicate that the Korean subjects have a greater incidence of poor metabolizer phenotype of mephenytoin hydroxylation compared with that reported from white subjects and that the metabolism of diazepam and demethyldiazepam is related to the genetically determined mephenytoin hydroxylation polymorphism in Korean subjects.

Effects of clarithromycin on the metabolism of omeprazole in relation to CYP2C19 genotype status in humans

A triple therapy with omeprazole, amoxicillin (INN, amoxicilline), and clarithromycin is widely used for the eradication of Helicobacter pylori. Omeprazole and clarithromycin are metabolized by CYP2C19 and CYP3A4. This study aimed to elucidate whether clarithromycin affects the metabolism of omeprazole.

Pharmacokinetics of ketoprofen following single oral, intramuscular and rectal doses and after repeated oral administration

SummaryThe pharmacokinetics of ketoprofen was studied in the same healthy subjects after single oral, intramuscular and rectal doses, and after repeated oral administration. No significant difference in the mean t1/2 (1.13–1.27 h) was observed after the different modes of administration. The mean [AUC]0∞ after rectal administration of a suppository showed the minimum significant difference (p<0.05) from that after oral administration of the capsule. The apparent volume of distribution (Vd/F) was approximately 10–15% of body weight. The renal contribution (mean, 0.10–0.15 ml/min/kg) to the plasma clearance of free ketoprofen was assumed to be, at most, 8.3–12.9%. The projected cumulative excretion of total (free plus conjugated) ketoprofen via urine exceeded 63–75% of the dose, of which approximately 90% was ketoprofen glucuronide. A mean of 71–96% and 73–93% of the oral capsule was estimated to be systemically available after administration of the intramuscular preparation and rectal suppository, respectively. In four of seven subjects, CPK concentration was elevated after the intramuscular injection. The mean steady-state concentration of ketoprofen in plasma ranged from 0.43 to 5.62 µg/ml after the final dose of a 50 mg q.i.d. regimen. The disposition data and plasma levels observed at steady-state were in agreement with those predicted from the single oral dose study. The accumulation ratio was 1.08±0.08. The results suggest that the rectal suppository can be recommended as an extravascular mode of administration of this drug.

Identification of human cytochrome P450 isoforms involved in the 7-hydroxylation of chlorpromazine by human liver microsomes.

Studies to identify the cytochrome P450 (CYP) isoform(s) involved in chlorpromazine 7-hydroxylation were performed using human liver microsomes and cDNA-expressed human CYPs. The kinetics of chlorpromazine 7-hydroxylation in human liver microsomes showed a simple Michaelis-Menten behavior. The apparent Km and Vmax values were 3.4+/-1.0 microM and 200.5+/-83.7 pmol/min/mg, respectively. The chlorpromazine 7-hydroxylase activity in human liver microsomes showed good correlations with desipramine 2-hydroxylase activity (r = 0.763, p < 0.05), a marker activity for CYP2D6, and phenacetin O-deethylase activity (r = 0.638, p < 0.05), a marker activity for CYP1A2. Quinidine (an inhibitor of CYP2D6) completely inhibited while alpha-naphthoflavone (an inhibitor of CYP1A2) marginally inhibited the chlorpromazine 7-hydroxylase activity in a human liver microsomal sample showing high CYP2D6 activity. On the other hand, alpha-naphthoflavone inhibited the chlorpromazine 7-hydroxylase activity to 55-65% of control in a human liver microsomal sample showing low CYP2D6 activity. Among eleven cDNA-expressed CYPs studied, CYP2D6 and CYP1A2 exhibited significant activity for the chlorpromazine 7-hydroxylation. The Km values for the chlorpromazine 7-hydroxylation of both cDNA-expressed CYP2D6 and CYP1A2 were in agreement with the Km values of human liver microsomes. These results suggest that chlorpromazine 7-hydroxylation is catalyzed mainly by CYP2D6 and partially by CYP1A2.

Genomic Structure and Transcriptional Regulation of the Rat, Mouse, and Human Carboxylesterase Genes

The mammalian carboxylesterases (CESs) comprise a multigene family which gene products play important roles in biotransformation of ester- or amide-type prodrugs. Since expression level of CESs may affect the pharmacokinetic behavior of prodrugs in vivo, it is important to understand the transcriptional regulation mechanism of the CES genes. However, little is known about the gene structure and transcriptional regulation of the mammalian CES genes. In the present study, to investigate the transcriptional regulation of the promoter region of the CES1 and CES2 genes were isolated from mouse, rat and human genomic DNA by PCR amplification. A TATA box was not found the transcriptional start site of all CES promoter. These CES promoters share several common binding sites for transcription factors among the same CES families, suggesting that the orthologous CES genes have evolutionally conserved transcriptional regulatory mechanisms. The result of present study suggested that the mammalian CES promoters were at least partly conserved among the same CES families, and some of the transcription factors may play similar roles in transcriptional regulation of the human and murine CES genes.

cDNA cloning, characterization and stable expression of novel human brain carboxylesterase

The DNA sequence encoding a novel human brain carboxylesterase (CES) has been determined. The protein is predicted to have 567 amino acids, including conserved motifs, such as GE AGG, GXXXX FG, and GD GD which comprise a catalytic triad, and the endoplasmic reticulum retention motif (HXEL‐COOH) observed in CES families. Their gene products exhibited hydrolase activity towards temocapril, p‐nitrophenylacetate and long‐chain acyl‐CoA. Since the molecular masses of these gene products are similar to those that exist in capillary endothelial cells of the human brain [Yamamda et al. (1994) Brain Res. 658, 163–167], these CES isozymes may function as a blood‐brain barrier to protect the central nervous system from ester or amide compounds.

Simultaneous determination of omeprazole and its metabolites in plasma and urine by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with an alkaline-resistant polymer-coated C18 column

Omeprazole (OPZ) is a proton pump inhibitor in gastric parietal cells. A reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method was developed that enables concentrations of OPZ and its major metabolites, omeprazole sulphone (OPZ-SFN) and hydroxy-omeprazole (H-OPZ), to be determined simultaneously in plasma and that of H-OPZ in urine. To prevent decomposition of OPZ, all the processes (extraction, injection and elution) were carried out under alkaline conditions. Recoveries of the analytes and internal standard were greater than 93.1%. The intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation were less than 9.1 and 6.4% for plasma samples and less than 2.9 and 3.9% for urine samples, respectively. The minimum determinable concentration (relative standard deviation 10-15%) was 10 ng/ml for all analytes in plasma and H-OPZ in urine samples. The clinical applicability of this assay method was evaluated by determining plasma concentration-and urinary excretion-time courses of the respective analyte(s) in four healthy volunteers after an oral dose of 20 mg of OPZ. The present assay is considered to be simple, precise and accurate and suitable for the study of the kinetic disposition and metabolism of OPZ, which is an extensively metabolized drug in the human liver.

Lack of differences in diclofenac (a substrate for CYP2C9) pharmacokinetics in healthy volunteers with respect to the single CYP2C9*3 allele

AbstractObjectives: Evidence exists to suggest that diclofenac is metabolised by CYP2C9. The present study was undertaken in order to evaluate the effect of the single CYP2C9*3 variant on drug metabolism using diclofenac as a probe drug. Methods: A single dose of diclofenac was administered orally to 12 healthy subjects in whom the genotype of CYP2C9 had been determined previously. The disposition kinetics of diclofenac were compared between homozygotes for the wild type (CYP2C9*1/*1, n=6) and heterozygotes for the Leu359 variant (CYP2C9*1/*3, n=6). Results: For diclofenac, the following kinetic parameters were observed in the CYP2C9*1/*1 and CYP2C9*1/*3 subjects, respectively (mean ± SD): apparent oral clearance (ml/kg/h) 355.8 ± 56.9 and 484.4 ± 155.3; area under plasma concentration–time curve (μg h/ml) 2.7 ± 0.7 and 1.9 ± 0.6. The formation clearance of 4′-hydroxydiclofenac (ml/kg/h) was 63.6 ± 19.1 in the CYP2C9*1/*1 subjects compared with 75.9 ± 27.6 in the CYP2C9*1/*3 subjects. There were no significant differences in any of the kinetic parameters for either diclofenac disposition or formation clearance of 4′-hydroxydiclofenac between the two genotype groups. Conclusion: Since the disposition kinetics of diclofenac does not change in subjects with the single CYP2C9*3 mutant allele, it is suggested that the effects of CYP2C9 polymorphisms on the drug metabolism tend to be substrate specific.