Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the leading cause of liver disease in the Western world, given its association with obesity, type 2 diabetes, and dyslipidemia. Medications are widely used in NAFLD to manage comorbid conditions, and there is significant interest in developing new drug therapies to treat the disease. Despite this, little is known about the effects of NAFLD on drug metabolism. We examined the activity and expression of the major drug-metabolizing enzyme subfamily, CYP3A, in subjects with NAFLD as well as in mouse and cellular models. CYP3A activity was determined in healthy volunteers and subjects with biopsy-proven NAFLD by oral midazolam phenotyping and measurement of plasma 4b-hydroxycholesterol, an endogenous metabolic biomarker. CYP3A4 transcriptional activity, metabolic activity, and expression were also assessed in a mouse and cellular model of NAFLD. Subjects with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) had 2.4-fold higher plasma midazolam levels compared with controls. Plasma 4b-hydroxycholesterol was 51% and 37% lower than controls in subjects with simple steatosis and NASH, respectively. Fibrosis was associated with 57% lower plasma 4b-hydroxycholesterol levels than controls. Furthermore, hepatic CYP3A4 mRNA expression in NASH was 69% lower than control livers. CYP3A4 gene luciferase activity in the livers of NAFLD mice was 38% lower than that of controls. Lipidloaded Huh7 human hepatoma cells had a 38% reduction in CYP3A4 activity and 80% lower CYP3A4 mRNA expression compared with the control. CYP3A activity is reduced in human NAFLD in addition to mouse and in vitro cell models of the disease.

Trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) is a recently identified predictor of cardiovascular and chronic kidney disease. TMAO is primarily generated through gut-microbiome mediated conversion of dietary choline and carnitine to TMA, which is converted to TMAO by hepatic flavin monooxygenase 3 (FMO3) and subsequently undergoes renal elimination. We investigated the role of uptake and efflux drug transporters in TMAO disposition in vitro and in vivo. After screening a large array of uptake transporters, we show organic cation transporter 2 (OCT2) is the key transporter for TMAO cellular uptake. In Oct1/2 knockout mice, we observed increased plasma TMAO levels with reduced renal retention, suggesting the importance of Oct2 in facilitating the uptake of TMAO into renal tubular cells in vivo. Multiple transporters of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) family, including ABCG2 (BCRP) and ABCB1 (MDR1), were capable of TMAO efflux. In human subjects, clinical, dietary, and pharmacogenetic covariates were evaluated for contribution to TMAO levels in a cohort of dyslipidemic patients (n = 405). Interestingly, genetic variation in ABCG2, but not other transporters, appeared to play a role in modulating TMAO exposure.

Organic anion transporting polypeptide 2B1 (OATP2B1) is a widely expressed membrane transporter with diverse substrate specificity. In vitro and clinical studies suggest a role for intestinal OATP2B1 in the oral absorption of medications. Moreover, OATP2B1 is highly expressed in hepatocytes where it is thought to promote liver drug clearance. However, until now, a shortcoming of studies implicating OATP2B1 in drug disposition has been a lack of in vivo models. Here, we report the development of a knockout (KO) mouse model with targeted, global disruption of the Slco2b1 gene to examine the disposition of two confirmed mOATP2B1 substrates, namely, fexofenadine and rosuvastatin. The plasma pharmacokinetics of intravenously administered fexofenadine was not different between KO and wildtype (WT) mice. However, after oral fexofenadine administration, KO mice had 70% and 41% lower maximal plasma concentration (C max) and area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC 0-last) than WT mice, respectively. In WT mice, coadministration of fexofenadine with grapefruit juice (GFJ) or apple juice (AJ) was associated with reduced C max by 80% and 88%, respectively, while the AUC 0-last values were lower by 35% and 70%, respectively. In KO mice, AJ coadministration reduced oral fexofenadine C max and AUC 0-last values by 67% and 59%, respectively, while GFJ had no effects. Intravenous and oral rosuvastatin pharmacokinetics were similar among WT and KO mice. We conclude that intestinal OATP2B1 is a determinant of oral fexofenadine absorption, as well as a target for fruit juice interactions. OATP2B1 does not significantly influence rosuvastatin disposition in mice. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT A novel mouse model with targeted disruption of the Slco2b1 gene revealed that OATP2B1 is a determinant of oral absorption but not systemic disposition of fexofenadine, as well as a target of fruit juice interactions. Rosuvastatin oral and intravenous pharmacokinetics were not dependent on OATP2B1. These findings support the utility of the Slco2b1 KO mouse model for defining mechanisms of drug disposition at the intersection of in vitro and clinical pharmacology.

ABSTRACT:Tamoxifen is widely prescribed to patients with estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer, and it is a prodrug that requires bioactivation by cytochrome P450 enzymes CYP2D6 and 3A4 to generate the active metabolite, endoxifen. Large interpatient variability in endoxifen plasma levels has been reported, and polymorphisms in CYP2D6 have been implicated as a major determinant of such variability. However, little is known regarding the role of drug transporters such as P-glycoprotein [multidrug resistance 1 (MDR1), ATP-binding cassette B1 (ABCB1)] to endoxifen disposition and response. Therefore, we determined the ability of P-glycoprotein to transport endoxifen in vitro, using a polarized human P-glycoprotein-overexpressing cell line. Markedly higher transport of endoxifen was observed in the basal-to-apical direction, which was abrogated in the presence of the potent and specific P-glycoprotein inhibitor (2R)-anti-5-{3-[4-(10,11-difluoromethanodibenzo-suber-5-yl)piperazin-1-yl]-2-hydroxypropoxy}quinoline trihydrochloride (LY335979). To validate the in vivo relevance of P-glycoprotein to endoxifen disposition, plasma and tissue concentrations were also determined in Mdr1a-deficient mice after oral administration of endoxifen. Plasma endoxifen levels did not significantly differ between wild-type and Mdr1a-deficient mice. However, brain concentrations of endoxifen were nearly 20-fold higher in Mdr1a-deficient mice compared to wild-type mice. Because Pglycoprotein is highly expressed at the blood-brain barrier and in some breast cancer tumors, variation in expression and function of this transporter may alter central nervous system entry and the attained intracellular concentration in such breast cancer cells and therefore may prove to be of relevance to therapeutic outcome.