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The accurate prediction of pharmacokinetics (PK) is fundamental to underwriting safety and efficacy in pediatric clinical trials; age-dependent PK may be observed with pediatrics because of the growth and maturation processes that occur during development. Understanding the ontogeny of drug-metabolizing enzymes is a critical enabler for pediatric PK prediction, as enzyme expression or activity may change with age. Although ontogeny functions for the cytochrome P450s (CYPs) have been developed, disconnects between ontogeny functions for the same CYP may exist, depending on whether the functions were derived from in vitro or in vivo data. This report describes the development of ontogeny functions for all the major hepatic CYPs based on in vitro or in vivo data; these ontogeny functions were subsequently incorporated into a physiologically based pharmacokinetic model and evaluated. Pediatric PK predictions based on in vivo-derived ontogeny functions performed markedly better than those developed from in vitro data for intravenous (100% versus 51% within 2-fold, respectively) and oral (98% versus 67%, respectively) dosing. The verified models were then applied to complex pediatric scenarios involving active metabolites, CYP polymorphisms and physiological changes because of critical illness; the models reasonably explained the observed age-dependent changes in pediatric PK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cytochrome P450-derived epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EET) are biologically active metabolites of arachidonic acid that have potent effects on renal vascular reactivity and tubular ion transport and have been implicated in the control of blood pressure. EETs are hydrolyzed to their less active diols, dihydroxyeicosatrienoic acids (DHET), by the enzyme soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH). 1,3-Dicyclohexylurea (DCU), a potent sEH inhibitor, lowers systemic blood pressure in spontaneously hypertensive rats when dosed intraperitoneally. However, DCU has poor aqueous solubility, posing a challenge for in vivo oral delivery. To overcome this limitation, we formulated DCU in a nanosuspension using wet milling. Milling reduced particle size, increasing the total surface area by approximately 40-fold. In rats chronically infused with angiotensin II, the DCU nanosuspension administered orally twice daily for 4 days produced plasma exposures an order of magnitude greater than unmilled DCU and lowered blood pressure by nearly 30 mmHg. Consistent with the mechanism of sEH inhibition, DCU increased plasma 14,15-EET and decreased plasma 14,15-DHET levels. These data confirm the antihypertensive effect of sEH inhibition and demonstrate that greatly enhanced exposure of a low-solubility compound is achievable by oral delivery using a nanoparticle drug delivery system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies were designed to investigate the possible mechanisms associated with the kinetic observation of CYP2C9 activation by dapsone and its phase I metabolite, N-hydroxydapsone. Kinetic studies suggested that dapsone activated CYP2C9-mediated flurbiprofen 4′-hydroxylation by decreasing the Km (α=0.2) and increasing the Vmax (β=1.9). Interestingly, N-hydroxydapsone also activated flurbiprofen 4′-hydroxylation by increasing Vmax (β=1.5) but had no effect on Km (α=0.98). To study the effects of these modulators on the binding affinity of flurbiprofen, spectral binding studies were performed. In the presence of dapsone, the spectral binding constant (Ks) for flurbiprofen was reduced from 14.1 to 2.1 μM, while in the presence of N-hydroxydapsone, the Ks remained unchanged (14.0 μM), which suggests that dapsone causes an increase in the affinity of flurbiprofen for CYP2C9, whereas N-hydroxydapsone does not. Additionally, stoichiometry measurements under activation conditions in the presence of dapsone resulted in a doubling of both NADPH and oxygen consumption for flurbiprofen 4′-hydroxylation, with an overall increase in metabolite formation and a decrease in formation of peroxide and excess water. Interestingly, the presence of N-hydroxydapsone generally caused the same effects on stoichiometry as those of flurbiprofen 4′-hydroxylation but failed to reduce excess water formation, which suggests that, while N-hydroxydapsone activates CYP2C9, it does so less efficiently and possibly through a mechanism different from that of dapsone. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Examines the ability of cytochrome P450cam to catalyze the formation of 2-ethylhexanoic acid from 2-ethylhexanol. Indication of (R)-2-ethylhexanol using kinetic studies; Reason for the stereoselective 2-ethylhexanoic acid production.