To investigate the respective roles of cytochromes P450
2C9 and
3A in drug oxidation in human livers, the in vivo pharmacokinetics of S-warfarin and diclofenac were
analyzed after intravenous administrations in chimeric mice that had
been transplanted with human hepatocytes. P450 2C9 was metabolically
inactivated in the humanized mice by orally pretreating them with
tienilic acid. After intravenous administration of S-warfarin, a significant difference in the concentration–time
profiles of the primary metabolite 7-hydroxywarfarin between untreated
mice and mice treated with tienilic acid was observed. In contrast,
there were no apparent differences in the profiles for S-warfarin between the treated and untreated groups. The mean values
of the maximum concentrations (C
max) and
the areas under the plasma concentration versus time curves (AUCinfinity) for 7-hydroxywarfarin were significantly lower (22
and 16% of the untreated values, respectively) in the treated group.
This presumably resulted from suppressed P450 2C9 activity in the
primary oxidative metabolism in vivo in the treated
group. After diclofenac administration, plasma levels of diclofenac,
5-hydroxydiclofenac, and diclofenac acylglucuronide were roughly similar
in pretreated and untreated mice. However, the mean C
max and AUCinfinity values for 4′-hydroxydiclofenac
were significantly lower (38 and 53% of the untreated group, respectively)
in the treated group. The reported value of ∼0.8 for the fraction
of S-warfarin metabolized to 7-hydroxywarfarin mediated
by P450 2C9 in in vitro systems was similar to the
value implied by the present humanized-liver mouse model pretreated
with tienilic acid in which the AUC of 7-hydroxywarfarin was reduced
by 84%. In contrast, the fractions of diclofenac metabolized to 4′-hydroxydiclofenac
in in vitro and in vivo experiments
were inconsistent. These results suggested that humanized-liver mice
orally treated with tienilic acid might constitute an in vivo model for metabolically inactivated P450 2C9 in human hepatocytes
transplanted into chimeric mice. Moreover, diclofenac, a typical in vitro P450 2C9 probe substrate, was cleared differently in vitro and in humanized-liver mice in vivo.