Prediction of human clearance of twenty-nine drugs from hepatic microsomal intrinsic clearance data: An examination of in vitro half-life approach and nonspecific binding to microsomes.

Twenty-nine drugs of disparate structures and physicochemical properties were used in an examination of the capability of human liver microsomal lability data ("in vitro T(1/2)" approach) to be useful in the prediction of human clearance. Additionally, the potential importance of nonspecific binding to microsomes in the in vitro incubation milieu for the accurate prediction of human clearance was investigated. The compounds examined demonstrated a wide range of microsomal metabolic labilities with scaled intrinsic clearance values ranging from less than 0.5 ml/min/kg to 189 ml/min/kg. Microsomal binding was determined at microsomal protein concentrations used in the lability incubations. For the 29 compounds studied, unbound fractions in microsomes ranged from 0.11 to 1.0. Generally, basic compounds demonstrated the greatest extent of binding and neutral and acidic compounds the least extent of binding. In the projection of human clearance values, basic and neutral compounds were well predicted when all binding considerations (blood and microsome) were disregarded, however, including both binding considerations also yielded reasonable predictions. Including only blood binding yielded very poor projections of human clearance for these two types of compounds. However, for acidic compounds, disregarding all binding considerations yielded poor predictions of human clearance. It was generally most difficult to accurately predict clearance for this class of compounds; however the accuracy was best when all binding considerations were included. Overall, inclusion of both blood and microsome binding values gave the best agreement between in vivo clearance values and clearance values projected from in vitro intrinsic clearance data.     

Direct determination of unbound intrinsic drug clearance in the microsomal stability assay.

The microsomal stability assay is commonly used to rank compounds according to their metabolic stability. Determination of the unbound intrinsic clearance (CL(in,u)) is essential for the accurate comparison of compounds, since nonspecific binding to microsomes can lead to an underestimation of the microsomal clearance. In this study, a new method (linear extrapolation in the stability assay, LESA) was established, which allows direct calculation of CL(in,u) from microsomal stability data, without the need to independently determine the fraction of free (unbound) drug. The method was validated using nine drugs with different chemical structures and physicochemical properties. The CL(in,u) of these compounds was extrapolated from the intrinsic clearance values obtained at different concentrations of human liver microsomes and compared with that calculated by the conventional method, using microsomal intrinsic clearance values and the free fraction of drug determined by equilibrium dialysis, ultracentrifugation, or ultrafiltration. A good agreement was observed between the data generated by the LESA method and those determined by conventional procedures. The method was further evaluated using a published dataset for 10 additional drugs and found to yield intrinsic clearance data comparable to the previously reported values. LESA provides a convenient and rapid method to determine the influence of microsome binding on intrinsic clearance in a single assay.     

Impact of nonspecific binding to microsomes and phospholipid on the inhibition of cytochrome P4502D6: implications for relating in vitro inhibition data to in vivo drug interactions.

The effects of microsomal concentration on the inhibitory potencies of four compounds--fluoxetine, quinidine, imipramine, and ezlopitant--on heterologously expressed recombinant CYP2D6-catalyzed bufuralol 1'-hydroxylase activity were determined. Increasing microsomal concentration from 0.0088 to 2.0 mg/ml, using additional microsomes not containing cytochrome P450, resulted in a marked increase in IC(50) and K(I) values for fluoxetine, ezlopitant, and imipramine, when inhibition constants were calculated using the nominal concentration of inhibitor added to the incubation mixture. The extent of nonspecific binding of these inhibitors to microsomes was determined using equilibrium dialysis. The extent of binding increased with increasing microsomal concentration. Binding was greatest for ezlopitant, followed by fluoxetine, imipramine, and quinidine. Correcting inhibition constants for the extent of nonspecific binding resulted in greater consistency of these values with differing microsomal protein concentrations. This effect was also studied with added phospholipid. Inhibition constants increased with increasing phospholipid, and nonspecific binding was also observed for these four drugs to phospholipid. This suggests that the phospholipid component of microsomes possesses some or all of the responsibility for nonspecific binding, and its effect on inhibitors of drug-metabolizing enzymes. These findings suggest that inhibition constants for drugs as inhibitors of microsomal drug-metabolizing enzymes, such as cytochrome P450, should be corrected for the extent of nonspecific binding to components of the in vitro matrix. The implications of this on the prediction of drug-drug interactions from in vitro data are discussed.     

Nonspecific binding of drugs to human liver microsomes

AIMS: To characterize the nonspecific binding to human liver microsomes of drugs with varying physicochemical characteristics, and to develop a model for the effect of nonspecific binding on the in vitro kinetics of drug metabolism enzymes. METHODS: The extent of nonspecific binding to human liver microsomes of the acidic drugs caffeine, naproxen, tolbutamide and phenytoin, and of the basic drugs amiodarone, amitriptyline and nortriptyline was investigated. These drugs were chosen for study on the basis of their lipophilicity, charge, and extent of ionization at pH 7.4. The fraction of drug unbound in the microsomal mixture, fu(mic), was determined by equilibrium dialysis against 0.1 M phosphate buffer, pH 7.4. The data were fitted to a standard saturable binding model defined by the binding affinity KD, and the maximum binding capacity Bmax. The derived binding parameters, KD and Bmax, were used to simulate the effects of saturable nonspecific binding on in vitro enzyme kinetics. RESULTS: The acidic drugs caffeine, tolbutamide and naproxen did not bind appreciably to the microsomal membrane. Phenytoin, a lipophilic weak acid which is mainly unionized at pH 7. 4, was bound to a small extent (fu(mic) = 0.88) and the binding did not depend on drug concentration over the range used. The three weak bases amiodarone, amitriptyline and nortriptyline all bound extensively to the microsomal membrane. The binding was saturable for nortriptyline and amitriptyline. Bmax and KD values for nortriptyline at 1 mg ml-1 microsomal protein were 382 +/- 54 microM and 147 +/- 44 microM, respectively, and for amitriptyline were 375 +/- 23 microM and 178 +/- 33 microM, respectively. Bmax, but not KD, varied approximately proportionately with the microsome concentration. When KD is much less than the Km for a reaction, the apparent Km based on total drug can be corrected by multiplying by fu(mic). When the substrate concentration used in a kinetic study is similar to or greater than the KD (Km >/= KD), simulations predict complex effects on the reaction kinetics. When expressed in terms of total drug concentrations, sigmoidal reaction velocity vs substrate concentration plots and curved Eadie Hofstee plots are predicted. CONCLUSIONS: Nonspecific drug binding in microsomal incubation mixtures can be qualitatively predicted from the physicochemical characteristics of the drug substrate. The binding of lipophilic weak bases is saturable and can be described by a standard binding model. If the substrate concentrations used for in vitro kinetic studies are in the saturable binding range, complex effects are predicted on the reaction kinetics when expressed in terms of total (added) drug concentration. Sigmoidal reaction curves result which are similar to the Hill plots seen with cooperative substrate binding.     

The binding of drugs to hepatocytes and its relationship to physicochemical properties.

The binding of 17 drugs to rat hepatocytes has been determined using equilibrium dialysis in combination with metabolic inhibitors and a kinetic model for the binding and dialysis processes. Metabolic inhibitors were used to retard the main routes of metabolism such that the half-life for turnover of the drugs was comparable to or greater than the time scale of the equilibrium dialysis process. Further experiments were carried out to determine the kinetics of diffusion of the compounds across the dialysis membrane and the observed extent of binding to hepatocytes. Knowledge of the rate of metabolism of the drugs in the presence of the inhibitors, the kinetics of the dialysis process, and the observed extent of binding was then used with a kinetic model of the system to give true free fractions of the drugs in live hepatocytes. Further studies show that, for this set of compounds, there is no significant difference in the extent of binding to live or dead hepatocytes. The extent of hepatocyte binding is correlated with lipophilicity, and the best model for binding uses log P for basic compounds and log D(7.4) for acidic and neutral compounds. Hepatocyte binding is also demonstrated to be highly correlated with microsome binding.     

Influence of microsomal concentration on apparent intrinsic clearance: implications for scaling in vitro data.

The influence of microsomal concentration on unbound fraction (fu(mic)), half-life (t(1/2)), apparent intrinsic clearance (CL(int,app)) and apparent Michaelis-Menten constant (K(m,app)) was examined for two compounds, one representative of high nonspecific binding to microsomes (compound A) and one representative of low (compound B). Kinetic parameters were estimated for the two probe compounds at two human microsomal protein concentrations (0.46 and 2.3 mg/ml) and cytochrome P450 concentrations (0.20 and 1.0 microM), representing a 5-fold difference in microsomal concentration. For compound A, fu(mic) and CL(int,app) were inversely proportional to microsomal concentration. Conversely, the K(m,app) of compound A was proportional to microsomal concentration and the half-life was unchanged. For compound B, half-life was inversely proportional to microsomal concentration. In this case, fu(mic), CL(int,app), and K(m,app) were not proportionally influenced. The experimental observations were entirely consistent with that predicted by a mathematical relationship between microsomal concentration, fu(mic), t(1/2), CL(int,app), and K(m,app). These results demonstrate that when nonspecific binding is extensive, CL(int,app) is dependent on the arbitrary choice of microsomal concentration included in the incubation.     

Predictions of the In Vivo Clearance of Drugs from Rate of Loss Using Human Liver Microsomes for Phase I and Phase II Biotransformations

Purpose The utility of in vitro metabolism to accurately predict the clearance of hepatically metabolized drugs was evaluated. Three major goals were: (1) to optimize substrate concentration for the accurate prediction of clearance by comparing to K_m value, (2) to prove that clearance of drugs by both oxidation and glucuronidation may be predicted by this method, and (3) to determine the effects of nonspecific microsomal binding and plasma protein binding. Methods The apparent K_m values for five compounds along with scaled intrinsic clearances and predicted hepatic clearances for eight compounds were determined using a substrate loss method. Nonspecific binding to both plasma and microsomal matrices were also examined in the clearance calculations. Results The K_m values were well within the 2-fold variability expected for between laboratory comparisons. Using both phase I and/or phase II glucuronidation incubation conditions, the predictions of in vivo clearance using the substrate loss method were shown to correlate with published human clearance values. Of particular interest, for highly bound drugs (>95% plasma protein bound), the addition of a plasma protein binding term increased the accuracy of the prediction of in vivo clearance. Conclusions The substrate loss method may be used to accurately predict hepatic clearance of drugs.     

Strategic Use of Plasma and Microsome Binding To Exploit in Vitro Clearance in Early Drug Discovery

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Metabolism of ezlopitant, a nonpeptidic substance P receptor antagonist, in liver microsomes: enzyme kinetics, cytochrome P450 isoform identity, and in vitro-in vivo correlation.

The enzyme kinetics of the metabolism of ezlopitant in liver microsomes from various species have been determined. The rank order of the species with regard to the in vitro intrinsic clearance of ezlopitant was monkey > guinea pig > rat > dog > human. CJ-12,764, a benzyl alcohol analog, was observed as a major metabolite, and a dehydrogenated metabolite (CJ-12,458) was equally important in human liver microsomes. Scale-up of the liver microsomal intrinsic clearance data and correcting for both serum protein binding and nonspecific microsomal binding yielded predicted hepatic clearance values that showed a good correlation with in vivo systemic blood clearance values. Including microsomal binding was necessary to achieve agreement between hepatic clearance values predicted from in vitro data and systemic clearance values measured in vivo. Cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A4, 3A5, and 2D6 demonstrated the ability to metabolize ezlopitant to CJ-12,458 and CJ-12,764. However, in liver microsomes, the CYP3A isoforms appear to play a substantially more important role in the metabolism of ezlopitant than CYP2D6, as assessed through the use of CYP-specific inhibitors, correlation to isoform-specific marker substrate activities, and appropriate scale-up of enzyme kinetic data generated in microsomes containing individual heterologously expressed recombinant CYP isoforms. The apparent predominance of CYP3A over CYP2D6 is consistent with observations of the pharmacokinetics of ezlopitant in humans in vivo.     

In vitro investigation of the hepatic intrinsic clearance of apicidin, a histone deacetylase inhibitor, in mouse, rat, and human, with correction by nonspecific protein binding

Apicidin is a potent histone deacetylase inhibitor exhibiting broad-spectrum antiprotozoal, antiproliferative, and antiangiogenic activities. This study was conducted to calculate the intrinsic hepatic clearance of apicidin in mouse, rat, and human. The microsomal stability was determined in pooled microsomes of mouse, rat, and human. The V(max) and K(m) were 680.4 ng/min/mg protein and 10,544.1 ng/ml for mouse, 745.0 ng/min/mg protein and 24,306.0 ng/ml for rat, and 927.0 ng/min/mg protein and 62,906.0 ng/ml for human, respectively. The f(u,plasma) was extremely low, 0.369 +/- 0.034% for mouse, 0.376 +/- 0.059% rat, and 1.042 +/- 0.114% human. The unbound fraction of apicidin in microsomes (f(u,mic)) was also low, 1.731 +/- 0.237% for mouse, 0.767 +/- 0.048% for rat, and 5.751 +/- 1.575% for human. The hepatic intrinsic clearance calculated by Michaelis kinetics was further corrected by nonspecific binding to microsomal proteins. The corrected intrinsic clearance of apicidin was 1.9, 8.6, and 284.2 ml/min for mouse, rat, and human, respectively. The allometric correlation was improved when the hepatic intrinsic clearance was corrected by the nonspecific protein binding.     

The glucuronidation of mycophenolic acid by human liver, kidney and jejunum microsomes

AIMS: To estimate the relative contribution of liver, kidney and jejunum to MPA elimination via glucuronidation from in vitro kinetic data. METHODS: The kinetics of MPA glucuronidation by human liver, kidney and jejunum microsomes were characterized. Mycophenolic acid glucuronide (MPAG) concentrations in microsomal incubations were determined using a specific h.p.l.c. procedure. Non-specific microsomal binding of MPA was excluded using an equilibrium dialysis approach. RESULTS: Microsomes from all three tissues catalysed the conversion of MPA to MPAG. Mean microsomal intrinsic clearances for MPAG formation by liver, kidney and jejunum microsomes were 46.6, 73.5 and 24.5 microl (min mg)(-1), respectively. When extrapolated to the whole organ, however, hepatic intrinsic clearance was 21- and 38-fold higher than the respective intrinsic clearances for kidney and small intestine. CONCLUSIONS: The data suggest that the liver is the organ primarily responsible for the systemic clearance of MPA, with little contribution from the kidney, and that the small intestine would be expected to contribute to first-pass extraction to a minor extent only.     

New method for the simultaneous estimation of intrinsic hepatic clearance and protein binding by matrix inhibition

The purpose of this study was to develop a method for estimating the hepatic clearance (CL(h)) without using a protein binding test. This method allows the simultaneous evaluation of the intrinsic hepatic clearance (CL(int)) with a correction for microsomal binding, and the free fraction in the serum (fu). It uses the decrease in metabolic velocity achieved by decreasing the free fraction of a compound in the incubation mixture (fu(inc)) by the addition of serum, and by changing the microsomal protein concentration. This method is denoted as the 'matrix inhibition method', because it uses the inhibition of the metabolic velocity by the incubation matrix. The metabolic rates of eight compounds (diazepam, imipramine, warfarin, and compounds A-E) were evaluated under several incubation conditions using rat serum and microsomes. The correlation of CL(int) evaluated using the method and using equilibrium dialysis after the CL(int) was corrected for microsomal binding was r = 0.968. The correlation of fu . CL(int) was r = 0.996. Although the method required a high enough fu and fu(microsomes) difference among the reaction conditions for each compound, it could evaluate CL(int) and fu simultaneously and easily by adding additional reaction conditions to the metabolic stability tests performed in ADME screening.     

Microsome composition-based model as a mechanistic tool to predict nonspecific binding of drugs in liver microsomes

The purpose of this study was to investigate the ability of the microsome composition-based model to predict the unbound fraction determined in vitro in microsomal incubation system (fu_inc). Another objective was to make a comparative assessment between the proposed mechanistic method and three empirical methods published in the literature, namely the models of Austin et al. (2002, Drug Metab Dispos 30:1497–1503), Turner et al. [2007, Drug Metab Rev 38(S1):162], and Halifax and Houston (2006, Drug Metab Rev 34:724–726), which are based solely on physicochemical properties. The assessment was confined by the availability of measured fu_inc data in rat and human at diverse microsomal protein concentrations for 132 compounds. The proposed microsome composition-based model can be viewed as a combination of two distinct processes, namely the nonspecific binding to neutral lipids and the ionic binding to acidic phospholipids. Across methods, the maximum success rate in predicting fu_inc of all compounds was 98%, 91%, and 84% with predictions falling within threefold, twofold, and 1.5-fold error of the observed fu_inc, respectively. The statistical analyses suggest that the prediction models are more effective at computing fu_inc (i) for rat as compared with human, and (ii) for acids and neutral drugs as compared with strong basic drugs. In addition, on the basis of the comparisons made using all datasets, the method that made use of microsome composition data compares well with those methods that relied solely on physicochemistry. The sensitivity analysis demonstrated the importance of the compound properties and physiological parameters reflective of specific mechanistic determinants relevant to prediction of fu_inc values of drugs. Overall, the results obtained with our proposed model demonstrate a significant step toward the development of a generic and mechanistic model of fu_inc for liver microsomes, which should provide rationale extrapolation procedures of hepatic clearance using a physiologically-based pharmacokinetics (PBPK) modeling approach. © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 100:4501–4517, 2011     

Lack of Appreciable Species Differences in Nonspecific Microsomal Binding

Species differences in microsomal binding were evaluated for 43 drug molecules in human, monkey, dog and rat liver microsomes, using a fixed concentration of microsomal protein. The dataset included 32 named drugs and 11 proprietary compounds encompassing a broad spectrum of physicochemical properties (11 acids, 24 bases, 8 neutral, c log D ? 1 to 7, MW 200 to 700 and free fraction < 0.001 to 1). Free fractions (f_u,mic) in monkey, dog, rat and human microsomes were highly correlated, with linear regression correlation coefficients greater than 0.97. The average fold-difference in f_u,mic between monkey, dog, or rat, and human was 1.6-, 1.3-, and 1.5-fold, respectively. Species differences in f_u,mic were also assessed for a range of microsomal protein concentrations (0.2-2 mg/mL) for midazolam, clomipramine, astemizole, and tamoxifen, drugs with low to high microsomal binding. The mean fold species-difference in f_u,mic for midazolam, clomipramine, astemizole, and tamoxifen was 1.1-, 1.2-, 1.3-, and 2.0-fold, respectively, and was independent of normalized microsomal protein concentration. For a fixed concentration of microsomal protein, greater than 76% and 90% of drugs examined in this study had preclinical species f_u,mic within 1.5- and 2-fold, respectively, of experimentally measured human values.     

The role of substrate lipophilicity in determining type 1 microsomal P450 binding characteristics

The Type 1 cytochrome P450 binding of 53 aliphatic, alicyclic and aromatic compounds to microsomes from phenobarbitone or 3 methylcholanthrene pre-treated or normal hamsters has been studied. A good correlation between binding affinity and substrate lipophilicity was observed for each series of compounds. Sterically hindered molecules tended to partially deviate from this relationship. The pronounced slopes of plots of K_s against log P indicate that substrate lipophilicity is the predominant requirement for Type 1 binding of these compounds. Microsomes from phenobarbitone pre-treated animals showed very similar substrate binding characteristics to those of normal animals whilst 3-methylcholanthrene pre-treated animals showed a spectral shift but similar binding affinities.     

Antimicrobial activity of n-alkyltrimethylammonium bromides: influence of specific growth rate and nutrient limitation

The antimicrobial activity of an homologous series of n-alkyltrimethylammonium bromides has been assessed towards Escherichia coli grown at a variety of specific growth rates and under various conditions of nutrient limitation. For each individual set of growth conditions activity was parabolically related to the n-alkyl chain length of the compounds and thus to compound lipophilicity (log P). The compound that showed optimal activity and thereby optimal lipophilicity (log Po) changed according to growth rate and nutrient limitation. Such changes are related to variations in the gross cell envelope composition of the cultures (phospholipid, lipopolysaccharide, neutral lipids, proteins). The data therefore support the hypothesis that changes in growth rate and nutrient limitation alter the overall lipophilicity of the cell envelope and thereby the optimal value of log P for compounds to traverse it. Additionally, the data suggest that for the compounds examined, the neutral acidic:neutral phospholipid ratios of the cell envelope, also influence the permeation of it.     

Human hepatic metabolism of a novel 2-carboxyindole glycine antagonist for stroke: in vitro-in vivo correlations

1. The hepatic metabolism of 3-[-2(phenylcarbamoyl) ethenyl]-4,6-dichloroindole-2-carboxylic acid (GV150526), a novel glycine antagonist for stroke, was investigated. 2. After a single intravenous administration of 800 mg GV150526 to healthy volunteers, six metabolites were observed. The major metabolites detected in human plasma have been shown by mass spectrometry to be glucoronides and one sulphate conjugate. 3. After incubation of GV150526 for 6 and 24 h with human liver slices, three glucuronide metabolites were observed. After incubation of GV150526 with pooled human liver microsomes, only one metabolite was observed, with the same molecular weight and HPLC retention time as the synthetic standard GV217053 (GV150526 hydroxylated on the para-position of the phenyl ring). 4. GV150526 hydroxylase enzyme kinetics--a step before sulphation--was determined using pooled human microsomes and was shown to be catalysed by cytochrome P4502C9. Glucuronidation kinetics towards GV150526 using microsomal preparations were also determined. Glucuronidation of GV150526 was observed with UGT1A1 cDNA-expressed protein, but not with UGT1A6. 5. The above enzyme kinetic data were used to calculate intrinsic clearance after scaling-up and hepatic clearance were calculated. Since GV150526 has a high plasma protein binding capacity, the effect of GV150526 binding to microsomal protein was determined. Thus, enzyme kinetic data were corrected, plotting the free (unbound) concentration of GV150526 versus enzymatic velocities: apparent Vmax did not alter significantly but apparent Km was approximately 10-fold lower. Correlation of these corrected enzyme kinetic data to predict clearance with in vivo clearance of GV150526 was good when both fu(plasma) and fu(microsomes) were included in the clearance calculations.     

Interactions of the anti-tumor ametantrone and mitoxantrone with rat hepatic microsomes

The interaction of the anti-tumor anthraquinones, ametantrone and mitoxantrone, with rat hepatic microsomes has been studied with a fluorescence technique using 7,12-dimethylbenzanthracene as a new fluorescent probe. The two drugs were able to quench the intrinsic fluorescence of microsomal suspension. Mitoxantrone was able to displace dimethylbenzanthracene bound microsomes with a linear representation of one ligand-one acceptor model, whereas bimodal shape was found in the case of ametantrone. The mechanism of quenching and/or binding is discussed.     

Can in vitro metabolism-dependent covalent binding data in liver microsomes distinguish hepatotoxic from nonhepatotoxic drugs? An analysis of 18 drugs with consideration of intrinsic clearance and daily dose

In vitro covalent binding assessments of drugs have been useful in providing retrospective insights into the association between drug metabolism and a resulting toxicological response. On the basis of these studies, it has been advocated that in vitro covalent binding to liver microsomal proteins in the presence and the absence of NADPH be used routinely to screen drug candidates. However, the utility of this approach in predicting toxicities of drug candidates accurately remains an unanswered question. Importantly, the years of research that have been invested in understanding metabolic bioactivation and covalent binding and its potential role in toxicity have focused only on those compounds that demonstrate toxicity. Investigations have not frequently queried whether in vitro covalent binding could be observed with drugs with good safety records. Eighteen drugs (nine hepatotoxins and nine nonhepatotoxins in humans) were assessed for in vitro covalent binding in NADPH-supplemented human liver microsomes. Of the two sets of nine drugs, seven in each set were shown to undergo some degree of covalent binding. Among hepatotoxic drugs, acetaminophen, carbamazepine, diclofenac, indomethacin, nefazodone, sudoxicam, and tienilic acid demonstrated covalent binding, while benoxaprofen and felbamate did not. Of the nonhepatotoxic drugs evaluated, buspirone, diphenhydramine, meloxicam, paroxetine, propranolol, raloxifene, and simvastatin demonstrated covalent binding, while ibuprofen and theophylline did not. A quantitative comparison of covalent binding in vitro intrinsic clearance did not separate the two groups of compounds, and in fact, paroxetine, a nonhepatotoxin, showed the greatest amount of covalent binding in microsomes. Including factors such as the fraction of total metabolism comprised by covalent binding and the total daily dose of each drug improved the discrimination between hepatotoxic and nontoxic drugs based on in vitro covalent binding data; however, the approach still would falsely identify some agents as potentially hepatotoxic.