Cyclosporine metabolite cross-reactivity in different cyclosporine assays

There is a controversy regarding the role of cyclosporine (CsA) metabolites in both immunosuppression and toxicity, and measurement of the parent drug is commonly recommended. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is the method commonly used for specific measurement of the parent drug, but is very time consuming. Antibody techniques are available but vary in specificity. Mixed lymphocyte culture assay (MLC) is a functional bioassay for the measurement of CsA which measures both parent drug and active metabolites. Because it is time consuming and labor intensive, it is not practical to use the MLC to monitor patient's CsA levels. The objective of this study is to evaluate the degree of cross-reactivity or interference among two different CsA immunoassays [(Immunoassay: CYCLO-Trac-RIA, Monoclonal-TDX; and two radioreceptor assays (RRA) (52 kDa immunophilin and cyclophilin)] with seven cyclosporine metabolites (AM19, AM1c9, AM4n9, AM1, AM9, AM1c, AM4n). The results are compared with a previously published MLC assay for the same metabolites.

500 ng/mL of each of the CsA metabolites was assayed in spiked blood samples with both RRA using 52 kDa immunophilin and commercial cyclophilin and two commonly used commercial immunoassay procedures. The results were compared to those obtained with the previously published MLC assay.

The CYCLO-Trac-radioimmunoassay showed minimal cross-reactivity with all of the seven CsA metabolites tested and is more specific to parent CsA than the current Abbott monoclonal procedure for the measurement of CsA. However the cross-reactivity of the seven metabolites using the Abbott monoclonal assay matched closely with their pharmacological potency as measured in the MLC assay. The RRAs showed greater cross-reactivity for most of the CsA metabolites tested than that found in the immunoassay procedures.