ABSTRACT:The CYP3A5*1 allele has been associated with differences in the metabolism of some CYP3A substrates. CYP3A5 polymorphism may also influence susceptibility for certain drug interactions. We have previously noted a correlation between basal CYP3A activity and the inductive effects of dexamethasone using the erythromycin breath test (ERBT). To determine whether CYP3A5 polymorphism influences induction of CYP3A activity, we examined the effect of an antiemetic regimen of dexamethasone, and the prototypical inducer rifampin, on the ERBT in African American volunteers prospectively stratified by CYP3A5*1 allele carrier status.Mean basal ERBTs were significantly higher in CYP3A5*1 carriers (2.71 ؎ 0.53%) versus noncarriers (2.12 ؎ 0.37%, P ؍ 0.006). Rifampin increased ERBTs in CYP3A5*1 carriers (4.68 versus 2.60%, P ؍ 0.0008) and noncarriers (3.55 versus 2.11%, P ؍ 0.0017), whereas dexamethasone increased ERBTs only in CYP3A5*1 noncarriers (3.03 versus 2.14%, P ؍ 0.031). CYP3A5 polymorphism appears to influence susceptibility to induction-type drug interactions for some inducers, and CYP3A5*1 noncarriers may be more susceptible to the inductive effects of dexamethasone as a result of lower basal CYP3A activity.Members of the cytochrome P450 3A (CYP3A) subfamily of drug-metabolizing enzymes are the most abundantly expressed cytochrome P450 enzymes in human liver and are involved in the metabolism of nearly 50% of clinically used drugs (Wilkinson, 2005). In adults, hepatic CYP3A activity reflects primarily the net contributions of CYP3A4 and CYP3A5, which share overlapping substrate specificities but differ with regard to tissue expression and transcriptional regulation (Gibson et al., 2002;Goodwin et al., 2002;. Recent efforts to understand interindividual variability in CYP3A activity have focused primarily on CYP3A5 polymorphisms because variability in the contribution of functional CYP3A5 activity could influence an individual's susceptibility to inducer-or inhibitor-mediated drug interactions. The major CYP3A5 polymorphisms include the CYP3A5*3, *6, and *7 alleles, which are functionally inactive because of single nucleotide polymorphisms that result in either splice defects or the introduction of an early stop codon that results in reduced production of the full-length active protein Wojnowski, 2004;Xie et al., 2004). CYP3A5*1 is the only functional CYP3A5 allele known to contribute to total CYP3A activity, and the frequency of the CYP3A5*1 allele has been shown to differ among ethnic groups (Kuehl et al., 2001). The CYP3A5*1 allele has been associated with higher midazolam systemic clearance and tacrolimus dose requirements (Kuehl et al., 2001;Wong et al., 2004) and greater metabolism of quinidine and saquinavir (Mouly et al., 2005;Mirghani et al., 2006).Less is known about the influence of the CYP3A5*1 allele on susceptibility for drug interactions caused by different CYP3A inducers and inhibitors. Recently, the CYP3A5*1 allele was shown to influence susceptibility to the inhibitory effects of fl...