This study aimed to construct a widely applicable method for quantitative analyses of drug-drug interactions (DDIs) caused by the inhibition of hepatic organic anion transporting polypeptides (OATPs) using physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling. Models were constructed for pitavastatin, fluvastatin, and pravastatin as substrates and cyclosporin A (CsA) and rifampicin (RIF) as inhibitors, where enterohepatic circulations (EHC) of statins were incorporated. By fitting to clinical data, parameters that described absorption, hepatic elimination, and EHC processes were optimized, and the extent of these DDIs was explained satisfactorily. Similar in vivo inhibition constant (K ) values of each inhibitor against OATPs were obtained, regardless of the substrates. Estimated K values of CsA were comparable to reported in vitro values with the preincubation of CsA, while those of RIF were smaller than reported in vitro values (coincubation). In conclusion, this study proposes a method to optimize in vivo PBPK parameters in hepatic uptake transporter-mediated DDIs.

These results suggest that direct bilirubin, GCDCA-S, and coproporphyrin I are promising surrogate probes for the quantitative assessment of potential OATP1B-mediated DDI.

The aim of the present study was to establish a physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model for coproporphyrin I (CP‐I), a biomarker supporting the prediction of drug‐drug interactions (DDIs) involving hepatic organic anion transporting polypeptide 1B (OATP1B), using clinical DDI data with an OATP1B inhibitor rifampicin (300 and 600 mg, orally). The in vivo inhibition constants of rifampicin used as initial input parameters for OATP1Bs (K i,u,OATP1Bs) and multidrug resistance‐associated protein two‐mediated biliary excretion were estimated as 0.23 and 0.87 μM, respectively, from previous reports. Sensitivity analysis demonstrated that the K i,u,OATP1Bs and biosynthesis rate of CP‐I affected the magnitude of the interaction. K i,u,OATP1Bs values optimized by nonlinear least‐squares fitting were ~0.5‐fold of the initial value. It was determined that the blood concentration‐time profiles of four statins were well‐predicted using corrected individual K i,u,OATP1B values (ratio of in vitro K i,u(statin)/in vitro K i,u(CP‐I)). In conclusion, PBPK modeling of CP‐I supports dynamic prediction of OATP1B‐mediated DDIs.

We identified GCDCA-S and CDCA-24G as substrates of NTCP, OATP1B1, and OATP1B3. GCDCA-S is a surrogate endogenous probe for the assessment of drug interactions involving hepatic OATP1B1 and OATP1B3.

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