N-acetylation of etamicastat, a reversible dopamine-β-hydroxylase inhibitor

Etamicastat [(R)-5-(2-aminoethyl)-1-(6,8-difluorochroman-3-yl)-1H-imidazole-2(3H)-thione hydrochloride] is a reversible dopamine-β-hydroxylase inhibitor that decreases norepinephrine levels in sympathetically innervated tissues. After in vivo administration, N-acetylation of etamicastat was found to be a main metabolic pathway. The purpose of the current study was to characterize the N-acetylation of etamicastat by N-acetyltransferases (NAT1 and NAT2) and evaluate potential species differences in etamicastat N-acetylation using a sensitive and specific liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry assay. Marked differences in etamicastat N-acetylation were observed among the laboratory species and humans. After oral administration, the rat, hamster, and human subjects presented the highest rates of etamicastat N-acetylation, whereas almost no acetylation was observed in the mouse, rabbit, minipig, and monkey and no acetylation was observed in the dog. In in vitro studies, rats and humans showed similar acetylation rates, whereas no acetylation was detected in the dog. Studies performed with human recombinant NAT1 4 and NAT2 4 enzymes revealed that both were able to conjugate etamicastat, although at different rates. NAT1 had lower affinity compared with NAT2 (Km, 124.8 ± 9.031 µM and 17.14 ± 3.577 µM, respectively). A significant correlation (r(2) = 0.65, P < 0.05) was observed in a comparison of etamicastat N-acetylation by human single-donor enzymes and sulfamethazine, a selective substrate to NAT2. No correlation was observed with p-aminosalicylic acid, a NAT1 selective substrate. In conclusion, these results suggest that NAT2 and, to a lesser extent, NAT1 contribute to etamicastat N-acetylation. Furthermore, the high interspecies and intraspecies differences in N-acetylation should be taken into consideration when evaluating the in vivo bioavailability of etamicastat.