Diltiazem (DTZ), a calcium channel blocker, and enalapril (EN), an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, are being developed as combination therapy for cardiovascular disease. A toxicokinetic evaluation of EN and DTZ drug levels during a 27-week toxicity study used an enzyme assay to measure EN and an HPLC assay to measure DTZ, deacetylated DTZ (DAD), and desmethyl DTZ (DMD). EN exposure during drug week 7 was proportional to dose and without dispositional gender differences. However, gender differences in DTZ and metabolite plasma profiles were dramatic. For example, female DTZ Cmax values were roughly 15-20% of males; DAD plasma Cmax values were roughly 3- to 10-fold greater; and the desmethyl metabolite, DMD, was roughly 2- to 10-fold lower. Sodium fluoride added to samples taken during drug week 26 to inhibit plasma esterase activity did not alter DTZ plasma profiles, suggesting that gender differences in DTZ and metabolite plasma levels were not caused by sample degradation. Liver esterase activity in treated rats was significantly greater (p > 0.05) than controls, whereas plasma activity was not affected. Female plasma and liver esterase activities were roughly 3- and 5-fold greater than males (p < 0.002), respectively, which may explain the low DTZ and high DAD plasma levels we measured. These results indicate that liver and plasma esterase activity is much greater in female rats and may be responsible for the differences in drug and metabolite plasma profiles relative to males. In addition, chronic coadministration of EN/DTZ may modestly increase liver esterase activity.

It has previously been shown that Verlukast is converted to Verlukast dihydrodiol in microsomes from beta-naphthoflavone (BNF)-treated, but not uninduced Swiss Webster mice and Sprague-Dawley rats. We have examined the involvement of CYP1A1 in this reaction in more detail. It is concluded that this reaction is catalyzed exclusively by CYP1A1 in rats, mice, and humans based on the following criteria: 1) the epoxidation of Verlukast is negligible in uninduced rats, which express CYP1A2 but not CYP1A1; 2) Verlukast epoxidation is highly inducible by BNF treatment (60- to 200-fold); 3) Verlukast epoxidation in BNF-treated rat microsomes was inhibited by alpha-naphthoflavone (ANF) treatment, indicating that this activity was mediated by the CYP1A subfamily; 4) > 95% of Verlukast epoxidation in BNF-treated rat microsomes was inhibited by antibodies raised against CYP1A1; and 5) Verlukast was epoxidized by human CYP1A1 but not CYP1A2. Thus, Verlukast epoxidation appears to be specific for rat, mouse, and human CYP1A1. Additional studies showed that Verlukast was metabolized to Verlukast dihydrodiol in microsomes from uninduced rhesus monkeys. This reaction was inhibited by nanomolar concentrations of ANF in rhesus monkey microsomes implicating the involvement of the CYP1A subfamily. In addition, the 8-hydroxylation of R-warfarin, a pathway that is selective for rodent and human CYP1A1 activity, was also catalyzed at significant rates by rhesus monkey microsomes. These findings indicate that, unlike rats, mice, and humans, which have very low constitutive levels of hepatic CYP1A1 activity, the uninduced rhesus monkey is able to catalyze reactions specific to CYP1A1 in rodents and humans.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The effects of a racemic leukotriene antagonist (MK-0571) and its component enantiomers (L-668,018 and L-668,019) on hepatic peroxisome proliferation were examined in mice, rats, and rhesus monkeys. Administration of racemic MK-0571 to mice resulted in increased liver weights, increased peroxisomal volume density, and a pleiotropic induction of characteristic peroxisomal and nonperoxisomal enzyme activities associated with peroxisomal proliferation. When the individual enantiomers of MK-0571 were administered to mice, a pronounced enantioselective induction of peroxisome proliferation was observed. Toxicokinetic studies showed that the levels of each enantiomer in the liver or plasma after separate administration were similar. Thus, the enantioselectivity in the induction of peroxisome proliferation could not be explained on the basis of pharmacokinetic differences between the enantiomers. The hepatic peroxisomal response of the rat to MK-0571 was greatly attenuated compared to the mouse. As has been seen with other peroxisome-proliferating agents, MK-0571 had no effect on either peroxisomal volume density or peroxisomal enzyme activity in monkeys. Due to the high degree of enantiomeric discrimination toward the induction of peroxisomal proliferation by these enantiomers, compounds of this type may prove useful as probes to examine the mechanisms by which peroxisomal proliferating agents induce their effects.

Clofibrate, a peroxisome proliferator, is hepatocarcinogenic in rats in a dose-dependent fashion. While there is a relationship between peroxisome proliferation and rodent liver carcinogenesis, recent evidence also suggests an association between the tumorigenicity of peroxisome proliferators and sustained cell proliferation. To investigate the role of early cell proliferation in clofibrate-induced carcinogenesis and the predictive potential of this end-point, in a 3-month study, rats were fed clofibrate doses equivalent to those used in the chronic bioassay, and cell proliferation was determined after 1 week and 3 months, using a 1-week continuous bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU)-labeling technique. Adult Sprague-Dawley rats were fed clofibrate at 1500, 4500, or 9000 ppm. Six rats/sex/group were killed after 1 or 13 weeks of treatment. Osmotic minipumps containing BrdU were implanted into rats 7 days prior to necropsy to determine the cumulative 7-day hepatocyte labeling index immunohistochemically. A dose-related increase in hepatocyte labeling index was seen after 1 week of treatment. However, at 13 weeks, sustained increases in hepatocyte proliferation were not seen; but a dose-related decrease in the hepatocyte labeling index was observed. Liver stereology at 13 weeks demonstrated a dose-related increase in liver weight and volume, but a decrease in hepatocyte nuclei per unit volume, a minimal increase or no change in the total number of hepatocyte nuclei per liver, and an absolute decline in the total number of BrdU-labeled hepatocyte nuclei per liver. These data suggest that in rats, clofibrate may influence hepatocarcinogenicity by decreases in normal hepatocyte proliferation over time and this effect may influence the pathogenesis of tumors at time points beyond 13 weeks of treatment.

Differences in the nature and extent of hepatic injury were examined after administration of para-substituted thiobenzamides to rats. In accordance with previous studies, the extent of hepatotoxicity varied with the electron-donating ability of the substituent. There was also a good correlation between the extent of hepatic necrosis and the amount of substituted thiobenzamide sulfoxide found in the plasma after intraperitoneal dosing. The nature of the hepatic lesion, characterized as a combination of hepatic necrosis, ballooning degeneration, and biliary dysfunction, varied qualitatively with each thiobenzamide analog. When the hepatotoxicity of thiobenzamide was compared after either intraperitoneal or oral dosing, differences in the extent of hepatic necrosis, ballooning degeneration, transaminase elevation, and biliary dysfunction were observed. Intraperitoneal dosing with thiobenzamide gave less severe necrosis and more pronounced elevations in bile acids, while oral dosing led to more severe necrosis along with impaired biliary function. The route of administration was shown to dramatically affect the pharmacokinetics of thiobenzamide and thiobenzamide sulfoxide. Intraperitoneal administration of thiobenzamide gave high plasma and liver levels of both thiobenzamide and thiobenzamide sulfoxide, whereas oral administration gave slightly lower levels of the sulfoxide but much lower levels of thiobenzamide. The reason for greater hepatic necrosis after oral administration may be due to a greater ability to further metabolize the sulfoxide to a reactive metabolite in the absence of high levels of thiobenzamide.