Aim: This study examined whether the ABCG2 421C>A polymorphism and variants in other genes potentially related to the pharmacokinetics of rosuvastatin influenced the plasma concentration of rosuvastatin in Chinese patients with hypercholesterolemia.
Patients & methods: Overnight fasting blood samples were collected from 291 patients who had received a rosuvastatin 10 mg night-time dose for at least 4 weeks. Plasma concentrations of rosuvastatin and N-desmethyl rosuvastatin were quantified using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.
Results: In subjects with the ABCG2 421AA genotype (n = 39), the mean plasma concentrations of rosuvastatin and its metabolite were 63 and 41% greater than the values in those with the 421CA genotype (n = 108) and 120 and 99% greater than in those with the 421CC genotype (n = 129). The plasma concentrations of rosuvastatin were associated (r = -0.194; p = 0.001) with the percentage reduction in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol with rosuvastatin, but the association was not significant after adjusting for the ABCG2 421C>A polymorphism. The SLCO1B1 521T>C polymorphism was associated with increased plasma concentrations of rosuvastatin and impaired N-demethylation of rosuvastatin, but had no impact on its lipid-lowering effect. Polymorphisms in CYP2C9, CYP2C19 and SLC10A1 had minimal effects.
Conclusion: These findings suggest that the increased plasma concentrations of rosuvastatin in Chinese patients are associated with increased lipid-lowering effects and lower doses of rosuvastatin should be effective in subjects with the ABCG2 421C>A variant.