Abstract

In humans, cytochrome P450 3A (CYP3A4) is a major enzyme involved in the metabolism of amiodarone (AM) to its major metabolite, desethylamiodarone (DEA). In rat, a commonly used animal model, metabolism of AM has not been well studied. To determine whether DEA is formed by CYP3A isoenzymes in the rat, microsomal protein was harvested from liver and intestine of male Sprague-Dawley rats. The metabolism of AM in each tissue was assessed utilizing chemical and immunological inhibitors. Ketoconazole, a presumed inhibitor of CYP3A1/2, significantly inhibited formation of DEA by hepatic and intestinal microsomes. However, based on the DEA formation kinetics in both microsomal preparations, it appeared that more than one cytochrome P450 enzyme was involved in the process. Coincubation of AM with microsomes and anti-CYP3A2 confirmed the role of CYP3A2 in the metabolism of AM in liver. DEA was also formed by rat recombinant CYP1A1 and CYP3A1, and was inhibited by ketoconazole; hence the participation of these enzymes in the intestinal DEA formation is likely. However, anti-CYP2B1/2 or -CYP1A2 antibodies had no effect on DEA formation. In rats given oral or intravenous AM, oral ketoconazole caused significant increases in area under the concentration versus time curve (AUC) of oral and i.v. treated rats and greater than 50% decreases in the total body clearance and V_dss of i.v. treated rats. Although low to undetectable concentrations of DEA were a limitation for determination of AUC of DEA in vivo, it was confirmed that ketoconazole could cause a significant increase in AM concentrations in rat.