BACKGROUND AND PURPOSEAtorvastatin metabolites differ in their potential for drug interaction because of differential inhibition of drug-metabolizing enzymes and transporters. We here investigate whether they exert differential effects on the induction of these genes via activation of pregnane X receptor (PXR) and constitutive androstane receptor (CAR). EXPERIMENTAL APPROACHLigand binding to PXR or CAR was analysed by mammalian two-hybrid assembly and promoter/reporter gene assays. Additionally, surface plasmon resonance was used to analyse ligand binding to CAR. Primary human hepatocytes were treated with atorvastatin metabolites, and mRNA and protein expression of PXR-regulated genes was measured. Two-hybrid co-activator interaction and co-repressor release assays were utilized to elucidate the molecular mechanism of PXR activation. KEY RESULTSAll atorvastatin metabolites induced the assembly of PXR and activated CYP3A4 promoter activity. Ligand binding to CAR could not be proven. In primary human hepatocytes, the para-hydroxy metabolite markedly reduced or abolished induction of cytochrome P450 and transporter genes. While significant differences in co-activator recruitment were not observed, para-hydroxy atorvastatin demonstrated only 50% release of co-repressors. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONSAtorvastatin metabolites are ligands of PXR but not of CAR. Atorvastatin metabolites demonstrate differential induction of PXR target genes, which results from impaired release of co-repressors. Consequently, the properties of drug metabolites have to be taken into account when analysing PXR-dependent induction of drug metabolism and transport. The drug interaction potential of the active metabolite, para-hydroxy atorvastatin, might be lower than that of the parent compound.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSEWidespread resistance to antimalarial drugs requires combination therapies with increasing risk of pharmacokinetic drug-drug interactions. Here, we explore the capacity of antimalarial drugs to induce drug metabolism via activation of constitutive androstane receptors (CAR) by ligand binding. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACHA total of 21 selected antimalarials and 11 major metabolites were screened for binding to CAR isoforms using cellular and in vitro CAR-coactivator interaction assays, combined with in silico molecular docking. Identified ligands were further characterized by cell-based assays and primary human hepatocytes were used to elucidate induction of gene expression. KEY RESULTSOnly two artemisinin derivatives arteether and artemether, the metabolite deoxyartemisinin and artemisinin itself demonstrated agonist binding to the major isoforms CAR1 and CAR3, while arteether and artemether were also inverse agonists of CAR2. Dihydroartemisinin and artesunate acted as weak inverse agonists of CAR1. While arteether showed the highest activities in vitro, it was less active than artemisinin in inducing hepatic CYP3A4 gene expression in hepatocytes. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONSArtemisinin derivatives and metabolites differentially affect the activities of CAR isoforms and of the pregnane X receptor (PXR). This negates a common effect of these drugs on CAR/PXR-dependent induction of drug metabolism and further provides an explanation for artemisinin consistently inducing cytochrome P450 genes in vivo, whereas arteether and artemether do not. All these drugs are metabolized very rapidly, but only artemisinin is converted to an enzyme-inducing metabolite. For better understanding of pharmacokinetic drug-drug interaction possibilities, the inducing properties of artemisinin metabolites should be considered.

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Cytokinesis partitions the cytoplasm of dividing eukaryotic cells. In higher plants, a dynamic microtubule array--phragmoplast--mediates the formation of the partitioning membrane--cell plate--in a centrifugal fashion. This phragmoplast dynamic involves microtubule-associated proteins. Mutations in a novel Arabidopsis gene RUNKEL (RUK) result in cytokinesis defects caused by abnormal phragmoplast organization and arrested cell plate expansion. RUK encodes an essential cell-cycle-regulated 152 kDa protein with a putative serine/threonine kinase domain and a large microtubule-binding domain, both of which are largely conserved in uncharacterized proteins from protozoa, plants, and animals. RUK directly bound to microtubules in vitro and colocalized with mitotic preprophase band, spindle, and phragmoplast in vivo. An engineered RUK fusion protein that was degraded before telophase did not rescue the ruk mutant phenotype, demonstrating RUK action during cytokinesis. Both microtubule-binding domain and putative kinase domain were essential for RUK function. Surprisingly, RUK did not show kinase activity in vitro, and transgenically expressed "kinase-dead" RUK rescued the seedling lethality of ruk mutants. Our results suggest that RUK plays a regulatory, rather than catalytic, role in phragmoplast microtubule organization during cell plate expansion in cytokinesis.

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