The impact of experimental design on assessing mechanism-based inactivation of CYP2D6 by MDMA (Ecstasy)

• Published in: Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford) 2006-11, Vol.20 (6), p.834-841
• Main Authors: Van, Linh M., Heydari, Amir, Yang, Jiansong, Hargreaves, Judith, Rowland-Yeo, Karen, Lennard, Martin S., Tucker, Geoffrey T., Rostami-Hodjegan, Amin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analysis; Biological and medical sciences; Biotransformation; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Cytochrome P-450; Cytochrome P-450 CYP2D6 - genetics; Cytochrome P-450 CYP2D6 Inhibitors; Data Interpretation, Statistical; Dextromethorphan - metabolism; Dextromethorphan - pharmacokinetics; Dextrorphan - blood; DNA, Complementary - biosynthesis; DNA, Complementary - genetics; Dosage and administration; Ecstasy (Drug); Enzyme Inhibitors; Enzymes; Genetic aspects; Half-Life; Hallucinogens - pharmacology; Humans; Kinetics; Medical sciences; Microsomes - enzymology; N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine - pharmacology; Nervous system; Neuropharmacology; Organisms, Genetically Modified; Pharmacogenetics; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Physiological aspects; Saccharomyces cerevisiae - enzymology; Saccharomyces cerevisiae - genetics; Spectrometry, Fluorescence; Stimulants; Surveys
• ISSN: 0269-8811; 1461-7285
• DOI: 10.1177/0269881106062902

MDMA (3-4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, commonly known as Ecstasy) is a potent mechanism-based inhibitor (MBI) of cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6), causing quasi-irreversible inhibition of the enzyme in vitro. An evaluation of the in vivo implications of this phenomenon depends on the accuracy of the estimates of the parameters that define the inhibition in vitro, namely kinact (the maximal inhibition rate) and KI (the inactivation constant). These values are determined in two steps, pre-incubation of the enzyme with the inhibitor (enzyme inactivation), followed by dilution and further incubation to measure residual enzyme activity with a probe substrate. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of different dilutions and probe substrate concentrations on the estimates of kinact and KI using recombinantly expressed CYP2D6. Enzyme activity was measured by the conversion of dextromethorphan (DEX) to dextrorphan (DOR). Dilution factors of 1.25, 2, 5, 10, 25 and 50 (DEX at 30µM) gave mean (±SE) values of kinact (min 1) of 0.20±0.06, 0.21±0.05, 0.31±0.06, 0.37±0.11, 0.51±0.10 and 0.58±0.08, respectively, and KI (µM) values (after correction for non-specific microsomal binding) of 2.22±1.90, 2.80±1.34, 5.78±2.07, 6.36±2.93, 3.99±1.57 and 4.86±1.37, respectively. Accordingly, high (e.g. 50 fold) and low (e.g. 1.25 fold) dilutions were associated with statistically significant differences in kinetic values (p