Sertraline is a commonly used SSRI antidepressant drug, metabolized by CYP2C19 and CYP2B6, that exhibits a substantial interindividual variation in clinical response, of which only a part can be attributed to known genetic variants. In the current study we have examined the role of a newly discovered ultrarapid CYP2C:TG haplotype and CYP2B6 variants in order to identify the possible missing heritability for such variation in sertraline response in a large patient population (n = 840). Compared to the reference group (CYP2C19*1/*1, n = 160), sertraline exposure was increased by 128% in CYP2C19 PMs (n = 29, p < 0.001) and decreased by about 20% in CYP2C19 ultrarapid metabolizers (UMs) (homozygous carriers of CYP2C19*17 and/or CYP2C:TG haplotype) with the diplotypes CYP2C19*17/*17, CYP2C:TG/TG, or CYP2C19*17/CYP2C:TG (n = 135, p < 0.003, p = 0.022, p < 0.003, respectively). Interestingly, in patients carrying the increased function CYP2B6*4 allele, and also carrying the CYP2C19*17 and CYP2C:TG alleles (n = 10), sertraline exposure was 35.4% lower compared to the reference group, whereas in subjects being poor metabolizers (PM) in both the CYP2C19 and CYP2B6 gene, the sertraline concentrations were raised by 189%.In summary, the CYP2C19 variants including the CYP2C:TG haplotype had a significant impact on sertraline metabolism, as well as the CYP2B6*4, *6, and *9 alleles. Knowing the CYP2B6 and CYP2C19 genotype, including the CYP2C:TG haplotype status, can prospectively be useful to clinicians in making more appropriate sertraline dosing decisions.
Study Highlights
WHAT IS THE CURRENT KNOWLEDGE ON THE TOPIC?Sertraline is a commonly used antidepressant subjected to metabolism by multiple enzymes with CYP2C19 playing a key role along with CYP2B6 and CYP3A4. Previous pharmacogenetic studies have reported significant effects of CYP2C19 and CYP2B6 genotypes on sertraline concentration, but with inconsistent findings probably reflecting that the concurrent effects of the genotypes have not