ABSTRACT:Predictive models of complex drug-drug interactions between multiple inhibitors and their metabolites have not been evaluated. The purpose of this study was to evaluate an interaction model for cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) that incorporated the simultaneous reversible and irreversible inhibition by multiple inhibitors. Erythromycin (ERY) and diltiazem (DTZ), and their major metabolites, N-desmethylerythromycin (nd-ERY) and N-desmethyldiltiazem (nd-DTZ), were chosen to evaluate the model. k inact (rate constant for maximal inactivation), K I (inhibitor concentration at 50% maximal inactivation), and K i (reversible inhibition constant) were estimated for ERY, DTZ, nd-ERY, and nd-DTZ, respectively, using cDNA-expressed CYP3A4 and human liver microsomes under optimal experimental conditions. To evaluate the interaction model, combinations of inhibitors and metabolites were incubated at concentrations equal to K I , 1 ⁄2K I , and 2K I of each inhibitor for specified durations in both enzyme systems. The models were further evaluated by the incubation of combinations of inhibitors with the substrate testosterone for 10 min. CYP3A4 inhibition in the presence of drug mixtures was predicted from the inhibition parameters determined for each drug or metabolite alone. The CYP3A4 activity in the presence of multiple inhibitors was well predicted by the model incorporating additive irreversible inhibition as modified by mutual competitive inhibition (percent mean error and percent mean absolute error ranged from ؊0.06 to 0.04 and from 0.03 to 0.09, respectively). In conclusion, the additive model predicted the combined effect of multiple inhibitors on CYP3A inhibition in vitro. However, simultaneous reversible and irreversible inhibition effects should be taken into account in a reaction mixture of substrate and multiple inhibitors of CYP3A4.Concomitant medications causing drug-drug interactions (DDIs) have led to serious adverse drug events during treatment and resulted in restrictions in prescribing drugs and withdrawal of drugs from the market (Jankel and Fitterman, 1993;Yuan et al., 1999). The incidence and extent of DDIs would be expected to increase when multiple inhibitors of a specific drug-metabolizing enzyme are administered simultaneously compared with administration of a single inhibitor alone. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Guidance for Industry Drug Interaction Studies, inhibitors of cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) can be classified as potent, moderate, or weak if the area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC) fold increase of midazolam with the coadministered inhibitor is more than 5-fold, between 2-and 5-fold, or less than 2-fold, respectively (Guidance for Industry: In Vivo Drug Metabolism/Drug Interaction Studies: Study Design, Data Analysis, and Recommendations for Dosing and Labeling, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2006, http://www. fda.gov/cder). Thus, when two moderate inhibitors or one moderate and one weak inhibitor are given together, it is likely that they ...