Effect of chronic cysteamine treatment on mouse liver aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase activity

Patients receive chronic cysteamine in the management of nephropathic cystinosis. In a previous report our results indicated that acute cysteamine treatment inhibited cytochrome P-450. Cysteamine (85 mg/kg i.p.) was administered daily to female Swiss mice for 1.5 and 8.5 months. Cysteamine treatment (8.5 months) did not affect hepatic microsomal aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH) activity compared with controls. A small decrease in liver AHH activity was seen after 1.5 months of treatment with cysteamine. Liver histology, body weight, liver and spleen weights, and serum aminotransferase activity after chronic and subchronic treatment did not differ from controls. Chronic in vivo cysteamine treatment, unlike acute in vitro treatment did not decrease AHH activity. Incubation of isolated murine hepatocytes with cysteamine significantly inhibited AHH activity compared with controls. The inhibition occurred in a concentration-related manner, with 65% inhibition at 8.8 mM (1 mg/mL) (equivalent to the predicted plasma concentration using the maximally tolerable human dose), and 100% inhibition at 44 mM (5 mg/mL). The concentrations used in vitro were not cytotoxic. This suggests that chronic cysteamine treatment may not result in drug interactions and that in vitro results are not always good indicators of in vivo effects.