Effects of simvastatin on the pharmacokinetics of diltiazem and its main metabolite, desacetyldiltiazem, after oral and intravenous administration in rats: possible role of P-glycoprotein and CYP3A4 inhibition by simvastatin.
Journal Title: Pharmacological Reports - Year 2011, Vol 63, Issue 6
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible effects of hydroxymethylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitor, simvastatin, on the pharmacokinetics of diltiazem and its main metabolite, desacetyldiltiazem, in rats. HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors and diltiazem are sometimes prescribed as a combination therapy for the prevention or treatment of cardiovascular diseases. The effect of simvastatin on P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A4 activity was evaluated. Simvastatin inhibited CYP3A4 enzyme activity in a concentration-dependent manner with a 50% inhibition concentration (IC(50)) of 3.0 μM. In addition, simvastatin significantly enhanced the cellular accumulation of rhodamine-123 in MCF-7/ADR cells overexpressing P-gp. The pharmacokinetic parameters of diltiazem and desacetyldiltiazem were determined after oral and intravenous administration of diltiazem to rats in the presence and absence of simvastatin (0.3 and 1.0 mg/kg). The areas under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC) and the peak concentration (C(max)) of diltiazem were significantly (p < 0.05, 1.0 mg/kg) increased by 45.2% and 35.2%, respectively, in the presence of simvastatin compared to control. Consequently, the absolute bioavailability (AB) values of diltiazem in the presence of simvastatin (1.0 mg/kg) were significantly (p < 0.05) higher (44.8%) than that of the control group. Moreover, the relative bioavailability (RB) of diltiazem was 1.21- to 1.45-fold greater than that in the control group. The metabolite-parent AUC ratio (MR) in the presence of simvastatin (1.0 mg/kg) significantly decreased compared to the control group. This result implied that simvastatin effectively inhibited the metabolism of diltiazem. The increase in diltiazem oral bioavailability might be attributable to enhanced absorption in the small intestine via the inhibition of P-gp and to reduced first-pass metabolism of diltiazem via the inhibition of the CYP3A subfamily in the small intestine and/or in the liver rather than renal elimination of diltiazem by simvastatin.
Authors and Affiliations
Dong-Hyun Choi, Jin-Seok Choi, Cheng Li, Jun-Shik Choi
Effect of intraarticular tramadol administration in the rat model of knee joint inflammation.
Local administration of exogenous opioids may cause effective analgesia without adverse symptoms from the central nervous system. Experiments show that peripheral antinociceptive effect of opioids is observed especially...
Cigarette smoke-induced biochemical perturbations in human erythrocytes and attenuation by epigallocatechin-3-gallate--tea catechin.
The protective effect of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) against cigarette smoke (CS) induced alterations in human erythrocyte was studied using an in vitro model. Hemolysis, carboxyhemoglobin, osmotic fragility, hemin...
Primary and secondary clarithromycin, metronidazole, amoxicillin and levofloxacin resistance to Helicobacter pylori in southern Poland.
The aim of this study was to assess the primary and secondary resistance of H. pylori strains cultured from adult patients of the Małopolska region of Poland, mainly of Kraków and the surrounding areas, to antibacterial...
Simvastatin-induced prevention of the increase in TNF-alpha level in the acute phase of ischemic stroke.
Like other proinflammatory cytokines, TNF-alpha may play an important role in the development of central nervous system injury following ischemic stroke. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of early treat...
Apoptotic markers in various stages of amygdala kindled seizures in rats.
The aim of the study was to elucidate the relationship between various stages of amygdala kindling in rats and neuronal apoptosis. We used the unbiased method of RNase protection assay (RPA), measuring expression of seve...