Pharmacokinetic parameters of chlorzoxazone and its main metabolite, 6-hydroxychlorzoxazone, after intravenous and oral administration of chlorzoxazone to liver cirrhotic rats with diabetes mellitus.

Protein expression of the hepatic CYP2E1 has been reported to be increased in diabetic rats. This enzyme is the primary metabolizer of chlorzoxazone (CZX) to 6-hydroxychlorzoxazone (OH-CZX). Although patients with liver cirrhosis have a higher prevalence of diabetes mellitus, there have been no reported studies on the protein expression of CYP2E1 in rats induced to have liver cirrhosis and diabetes mellitus by injection of N-dimethylnitrosamine followed by streptozotocin [liver cirrhosis with diabetes mellitus (LCD) rats]. Thus, in the present study, the pharmacokinetics of CZX and OH-CZX were evaluated in LCD rats. Compared with control rats, LCD rats had significantly decreased (by 62%) total liver protein and significantly increased (by 124%) protein expression of CYP2E1, but the intrinsic clearance (Cl(int); formation of OH-CZX per milligram protein) was comparable in both groups of rats. As a result, the relative Cl(int) was also comparable for the two groups. Thus, OH-CZX formation in LCD and control rats was expected to be similar. As expected, after i.v. (20 mg/kg) and p.o. (50 mg/kg) administration of CZX, the area under the curve (AUC) of OH-CZX was comparable in control and LCD rats (i.v., 571 +/- 85.8 and 578 +/- 413 microg x min/ml, respectively; p.o., 1540 +/- 338 and 2170 +/- 1070 microg x min/ml, respectively). In LCD rats, the AUC(OH-CZX)/AUC(CZX) ratio was similar to the value in control rats after i.v. and p.o. administration. These results indicate that OH-CZX can be used as a chemical probe to assess the activity of CYP2E1 in LCD rats.