Impact of ABCB1 Polymorphisms on Lacosamide Serum Concentrations in Uygur Pediatric Patients With Epilepsy in China

PURPOSE P-glycoprotein, encoded by ABCB1 (or MDR1), may contribute to drug resistance in epilepsy by limiting gastrointestinal absorption and brain access to antiseizure medications (ASMs). The study aimed to evaluate the impact of ABCB1 polymorphisms on lacosamide (LCM) serum concentrations in Uygur pediatric epileptic patients. METHODS The serum concentrations of LCM were determined by ultra-performance liquid chromatography, and the ABCB1 polymorphism was analyzed via polymerase chain reaction-fluorescence staining in situ hybridization. The chi-squared test and Fisher's exact test were used to analyze the allelic and genotypic distributions of ABCB1 polymorphisms between the drug-resistant and drug-responsive patient groups. Differences in steady-state and dose-corrected LCM serum concentrations between different genotypes were analyzed using the One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Mann-Whitney test. RESULTS A total of 131 Uygur children with epilepsy were analyzed, and of them, 41 demonstrated drug resistance. The frequency of the GT genotype of ABCB1 G2677T/A was significantly higher in the drug-resistant group than that in the drug-responsive group (p < 0.05, OR = 1.966, 95% CI = 1.060-3.647). Patients with the G2677T/A- AT genotype had a statistically significantly lower concentration-to-dose (CD) value than patients with the G2677T/A-GG genotype (mean: 0.6 ± 0.2 vs 0.8 ± 0.5 μg/ml per mg/kg, p < 0.001). Significantly lower LCM serum concentrations were observed in ABCB1 C3435T CT and TT genotype carriers than those in the CC carriers (p = 0.008 and p = 0.002), and a significantly lower LCM CD value was observed in ABCB1 C3435T CT genotype carriers than that in the CC carriers (p = 0.042). CONCLUSION ABCB1 G2677T/A and C3435T polymorphisms may affect LCM serum concentrations and treatment efficacy in Uygur pediatric patients with epilepsy, leading to drug resistance in pediatric patients.