Age-Dependent Human Hepatic Carboxylesterase 1 (CES1) and Carboxylesterase 2 (CES2) Postnatal Ontogeny

Human hepatic carboxylesterase 1 and 2 (CES1 and CES2) are important for the disposition of ester- and amide-bond-containing pharmaceuticals and environmental chemicals. CES1 and CES2 ontogeny has not been well characterized, causing difficulty in addressing concerns regarding juvenile sensitivity to adverse outcomes associated with exposure to certain substrates. To characterize postnatal human hepatic CES1 and CES2 expression, microsomal and cytosolic fractions were prepared using liver samples from subjects without liver disease (N = 165, aged 1 day to 18 years). Proteins were fractionated, detected, and quantitated by Western blotting. Median microsomal CES1 was lower among samples from subjects younger than 3 weeks (n = 36) compared with the rest of the population (n = 126; 6.27 vs. 17.5 pmol/mg microsomal protein, respectively; P < 0.001; Kruskal-Wallis test). Median cytosolic CES1 expression was lowest among samples from individuals between birth and 3 weeks of age (n = 36), markedly greater among those aged 3 weeks to 6 years (n = 90), and modestly greater still among those older than 6 years (n = 36; median values = 4.7, 15.8, and 16.6 pmol/mg cytosolic protein, respectively; P values < 0.001 and 0.05, respectively; Kruskal-Wallis test). Median microsomal CES2 expression increased across the same three age groups with median values of 1.8, 2.9, and 4.2 pmol/mg microsomal protein, respectively (P < 0.001, both). For cytosolic CES2, only the youngest age group differed from the two older groups (P < 0.001; median values = 1.29, 1.93, 2.0, respectively). These data suggest that infants younger than 3 weeks of age would exhibit significantly lower CES1- and CES2-dependent metabolic clearance compared with older individuals.