Possible interaction of quinolone antibiotics with peptide transporter 1 in oral absorption of peptide‐mimetic drugs

The study investigated whether quinolone antibiotics inhibit the PEPT1‐mediated uptake of its substrates. Among the quinolones examined, lomefloxacin, moxifloxacin (MFLX) and purlifloxacin significantly inhibited the uptake of PEPT1 substrate phenylalanine‐Ψ(CN‐S)‐alanine (Phe‐Ψ‐Ala) in HeLa/PEPT1 cells to 31.6 ± 1.3%, 27.6 ± 2.9%, 36.8 ± 2.2% and 32.6 ± 1.4%, respectively. Further examination showed that MFLX was an uncompetitive inhibitor, with an IC₅₀ value of 4.29 ± 1.29 mm . In addition, MFLX significantly decreased the cephalexin and valacyclovir uptake in HeLa/PEPT1 cells. In an in vivo study in rats, the maximum plasma concentration (C_max) of orally administered Phe‐Ψ‐Ala was significantly decreased in the presence of MFLX (171 ± 1 ng/ml) compared with that in its absence (244 ± 9 ng/ml). The area under the concentration–time curve (AUC) of orally administered Phe‐Ψ‐Ala in the presence of MFLX (338 ± 50 ng/ml · h) tended to decrease compared with that in its absence (399 ± 75 ng/ml · h). The oral bioavailability of Phe‐Ψ‐Ala in the presence and absence of MFLX was 41.7 ± 6.2% and 49.2 ± 9.2%, respectively. The results indicate that administration of quinolone antibiotics concomitantly with PEPT1 substrate drugs may potentially result in drug–drug interaction. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.