Drug-drug Interaction between Losartan and Paclitaxel in Human Liver Microsomes with Different CYP2C8 Genotypes

The cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2C8*3 allele is associated with reduced metabolic activity of paclitaxel. This study was aimed to investigate the inhibitory effect of losartan on paclitaxel metabolism in human liver microsomes (HLMs) and to determine the impact of the CYP2C8*3 polymorphism. HLMs that contained the CYP2C8*1 homozygote (HL60) or CYP2C8*3 heterozygote (HL54) genotype were used for the inhibition study. Losartan, at a concentration of 50 μmol/L, significantly inhibited paclitaxel metabolism by 29% and 57% in the HL60 (p < 0.001) and HL54 (p < 0.01), respectively. When using HL60, losartan and the CYP3A4-selective inhibitors, erythromycin and ketoconazole, caused a greater inhibition of the paclitaxel metabolism than quercetin, a CYP2C8-selective inhibitor. This demonstrated that the paclitaxel metabolism was mainly catalysed by CYP3A4 in HL60. There were no significant differences found for the inhibitory effects caused by the four inhibitors of the paclitaxel metabolism in HL54, indicating that both CYP2C8 and CYP3A4 play important roles in paclitaxel metabolism in HL54. These findings suggest that 50 μmol/L of losartan inhibits both CYP2C8 and CYP3A4 in HLMs. In summary, losartan inhibited paclitaxel metabolism, with concentrations over 50 μmol/L in HLMs. The CYP2C8*3 allele carriers are likely susceptible to the interactions of losartan and CYP3A4 inhibitors to paclitaxel metabolism.