Vincristine Disposition and Neurotoxicity Are Unchanged in Humanized CYP3A5 Mice

Abstract

Previous studies have suggested that the incidence of vincristine-induced peripheral neuropathy (VIPN) is potentially linked with CYP3A5, a polymorphic enzyme that metabolizes vincristine in vitro, and with concurrent use of azole antifungals such as ketoconazole. The assumed mechanism for these interactions is through modulation of CYP3A-mediated metabolism, leading to decreased vincristine clearance and increased susceptibility to VIPN. Given the controversy surrounding the contribution of these mechanisms, we directly tested these hypotheses in genetically-engineered mouse models with a deficiency of the entire murine Cyp3a locus [Cyp3a(-/-) mice] and in humanized transgenic animals with hepatic expression of functional and non-functional human CYP3A5 variants. Compared to wild-type mice, the systemic exposure to vincristine was increased by only 1.15-fold (95% CI: 0.84-1.58) in Cyp3a(-/-) mice, suggesting that the clearance of vincristine in mice is largely independent of hepatic Cyp3a function. In line with these observations, we found that Cyp3a-deficiency or pretreatment with the CYP3A inhibitors ketoconazole or nilotinib did not influence the severity and time course of VIPN, and that exposure to vincristine was not substantially altered in humanized CYP3A5*3 mice or humanized CYP3A5*1 mice compared to Cyp3a(-/-) mice. Our study suggests that the contribution of CYP3A5-mediated metabolism to vincristine elimination and the associated drug-drug interaction potential is limited, and that plasma levels of vincristine are unlikely to be strongly predictive of VIPN.