Abstract

Prasugrel, a thienopyridine anti-platelet agent, is pharmacologically activated by hydrolysis and hydroxylation. It is efficiently hydrolyzed in the intestine after oral administration, and the enzyme responsible for the hydrolysis in humans was demonstrated to be carboxylesterase (CES)2. Prasugrel hydrolase activity is detected in dog intestines, where CES enzymes are absent; therefore, this prompted us to investigate the involvement of an enzyme(s) other than CES. Human arylacetamide deacetylase (AADAC) is highly expressed in the small intestine, catalyzing the hydrolysis of several clinical drugs containing small acyl moieties. In the present study, we investigated whether AADAC catalyzes prasugrel hydrolysis. Recombinant human AADAC was shown to catalyze prasugrel hydrolysis with a CL_int value of 50.0 ± 1.2 ml/min/mg protein with a similar K_m value to human intestinal and liver microsomes, whereas the CL_int values of human CES1 and CES2 were 4.6 ± 0.1 and 6.6 ± 0.3 ml/min/mg protein, respectively. Inhibition studies using various chemical inhibitors and the relative activity factor approach suggested that the contribution of AADAC to prasugrel hydrolysis in human intestine is comparable to that of CES2. In dog intestine, the expression of AADAC, but not CES1 and CES2, was confirmed by measuring the marker hydrolase activities of each human esterase. The similar K_m values and inhibition profiles between recombinant dog AADAC and small intestinal microsomes suggest that AADAC is a major enzyme responsible for prasugrel hydrolysis in dog intestine. Collectively, we found that AADAC largely contributes to prasugrel hydrolysis in both human and dog intestine.