Carvedilol is mainly metabolized in the liver to O-glucuronide (O-Glu). We previously found that the glucuronidation activity of racemic carvedilol in pooled human liver microsomes (HLM) was increased, R-selectively, in the presence of amiodarone. The aim of this study was to clarify the mechanisms for the enhancing effect of amiodarone on R-and S-carvedilol glucuronidation. We evaluated O-Glu formation of R-and S-carvedilol enantiomers in a reaction mixture of HLM including 0.2% bovine serum albumin (BSA). In the absence of amiodarone, glucuronidation activity of R-and S-carvedilol for 25 min was 0.026, and 0.51 pmol/min/mg protein, and that was increased by 6.15 and 1.60-fold in the presence of 50 µM amiodarone, respectively. On the other hand, in the absence of BSA, or when BSA was replaced with human serum albumin, no enhancing effect of amiodarone on glucuronidation activity was observed, suggesting that BSA played a role in the mechanisms for the enhancement of glucuronidation activity. Unbound fraction of S-carvedilol in the reaction mixture was greater than that of R-carvedilol in the absence of amiodarone. Also, the addition of amiodarone caused a greater increase of unbound fraction of R-carvedilol than that of S-carvedilol. These results suggest that the altered protein binding by amiodarone is a key mechanism for R-selective stimulation of carvedilol glucuronidation.Key words drug interaction; protein binding; human liver microsome; glucuronidation; carvedilol; amiodaroneThe nonselective β-and α 1 -adrenoceptor antagonist carvedilol has been clinically used to treat chronic heart failure, as well as hypertension, angina pectoris, and cardiac arrhythmia.1) Carvedilol is administered orally as a racemate mixture, but undergoes enantioselective first-pass metabolism. The blood concentration of the S-enantiomer, which has high β-blocking activity, is approximately one-half of that of the R-enantiomer, which has low β-blocking activity.2,3) Both enantiomers are mostly eliminated by hepatic metabolism, with renal excretion accounting for only 0.3% of the administered dose.4) Carvedilol is metabolized extensively via aliphatic side-chain oxidation, aromatic ring oxidation, and conjugation pathways.5) We previously demonstrated that R-carvedilol is metabolized mainly by CYP 2D6 and partly by CYP1A2, 2C9, and 3A4, and that S-carvedilol is metabolized mainly by CYP1A2 and partly by CYP2C9, 2D6, and 3A4.6-9) On the other hand, Ohno et al. found that uridine 5′-diphosphate (UDP)-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) 2B7, 2B4, and 1A1 are capable of catalyzing the glucuronidation of carvedilol using microsomes from insect cells expressing human UGT. 10) They also reported that glucuronidation of R-carvedilol is mediated by UGT1A1 and 2B4, and glucuronidation of S-carvedilol is mediated by UGT2B7 and 2B4. 10) In 2005, Fukumoto et al. reported that coadministration of amiodarone affects the enantioselective pharmacokinetics of carvedilol in patients with heart failure. 11) That is, the mean serum concentration to dose (C/D...