Schulz Christian, Stegen Sarah, Jung Friedrich, Küpper Jan-Heiner
Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology, Branch Bioanalytics and Bioprocesses (IZI-BB), Site Lausitz (IZI-BB-L), 01968 Senftenberg, Germany.
Institute of Biotechnology, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, 01968 Senftenberg, Germany.
Int J Mol Sci. 2025 Apr 23;26(9):3992. doi: 10.3390/ijms26093992.
The metabolism of drugs and foreign substances in humans typically involves multiple enzymatic steps, particularly in phase-1 biotransformation in the liver, where various cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (CYPs) play crucial roles. This complexity can lead to a wide range of metabolites. Understanding the contributions of individual CYPs and their interactions within these intricate enzyme cascades can be challenging. We recently developed an in vitro biotransformation platform employing various Chinese Hamster Ovarian (CHO) cell clones. These clones express human cytochrome P450 oxidoreductase (CPR), and each is defined by a specific human CYP enzyme expression, thus exhibiting no detectable endogenous CYP enzyme activity (mono-CYP CHO platform). In this study, we investigated whether the mono-CYP CHO platform is a suitable tool for modeling complex drug metabolization reactions in vitro. Tamoxifen (TAM) was selected as a model substance due to its role as a prodrug widely used in breast cancer therapy, where its main active metabolite, endoxifen, arises from a two-step metabolism primarily involving the CYP system. Specifically, the combined activity of CYP3A4 and CYP2D6 is believed to be essential for efficient endoxifen production. However, the physiological metabolization pathway of TAM is more complex and interconnected, and the reasons for TAM's therapeutic success and variability among patients are not yet fully understood. Analogous to our recently introduced mono-CYP3A4 CHO cells, we generated a CHO cell line expressing human CPR and CYP2D6, including analysis of CYP2D6 expression and specific activity. Comparative studies on the metabolization of TAM were performed with both mono-CYP CHO models individually and in co-culture with intact cells as well as with isolated microsomes. Supernatants were analyzed by HPLC to calculate individual CYP activity for each metabolite. All the picked mono-CYP2D6 clones expressed similar CYP2D6 protein amounts but showed different enzyme activities. Mono-CYP2D6 clone 18 was selected as the most suitable for TAM metabolization based on microsomal activity assays. TAM conversion with mono-CYP2D6 and -3A4 clones, as well as the combination of both, resulted in the formation of the expected main metabolites. Mono-CYP2D6 cells and microsomes produced the highest detected amounts of 4-hydroxytamoxifen and endoxifen, along with -desmethyltamoxifen and small amounts of ,-didesmethyltamoxifen. -desmethyltamoxifen was the only TAM metabolite detected in notable quantities in mono-CYP3A4, while 4-hydroxytamoxifen and endoxifen were present only in trace amounts. In CYP2D6/3A4 co-culture and equal mixtures of both CYP microsomes, all metabolites were detected at concentrations around 50% of those in individual clones, indicating no significant synergistic effects. In conclusion, our mono-CYP CHO model confirmed the essential role of CYP2D6 in synthesizing the active TAM metabolite endoxifen and indicated that CYP2D6 is also involved in producing the by-metabolite ,-didesmethyltamoxifen. The differences in metabolite spectra between the two mono-CYP models highlight the CYP specificity and sensitivity of our in vitro system.
人类体内药物和外来物质的代谢通常涉及多个酶促步骤,尤其是在肝脏中的一期生物转化过程,各种细胞色素P450单加氧酶(CYPs)在其中发挥着关键作用。这种复杂性会导致产生多种代谢产物。了解各个CYPs的作用及其在这些复杂酶级联反应中的相互作用具有挑战性。我们最近开发了一种体外生物转化平台,该平台采用了各种中国仓鼠卵巢(CHO)细胞克隆。这些克隆表达人细胞色素P450氧化还原酶(CPR),并且每个克隆都由特定的人CYP酶表达所定义,因此不表现出可检测到的内源性CYP酶活性(单CYP CHO平台)。在本研究中,我们调查了单CYP CHO平台是否是体外模拟复杂药物代谢反应的合适工具。他莫昔芬(TAM)被选作模型物质,因为它是一种广泛用于乳腺癌治疗的前药,其主要活性代谢产物4-羟基他莫昔芬主要通过两步代谢产生,这两步代谢主要涉及CYP系统。具体而言,CYP3A4和CYP2D6的联合活性被认为是高效产生4-羟基他莫昔芬的关键。然而,TAM的生理代谢途径更为复杂且相互关联,TAM治疗成功的原因以及患者之间的差异尚未完全了解。类似于我们最近引入的单CYP3A4 CHO细胞,我们构建了一种表达人CPR和CYP2D6的CHO细胞系,包括对CYP2D6表达和比活性的分析。分别使用单CYP CHO模型以及与完整细胞和分离的微粒体共培养,对TAM的代谢进行了比较研究。通过HPLC分析上清液,以计算每种代谢产物的单个CYP活性。所有挑选出的单CYP2D6克隆表达的CYP2D6蛋白量相似,但显示出不同的酶活性。基于微粒体活性测定,单CYP2D6克隆18被选为最适合TAM代谢的克隆。单CYP2D6和 -3A4克隆以及两者的组合对TAM的转化导致形成预期的主要代谢产物。单CYP2D6细胞和微粒体产生的4-羟基他莫昔芬和4-羟基他莫昔芬的检测量最高,同时还有N-去甲基他莫昔芬和少量的N,N-二去甲基他莫昔芬。N-去甲基他莫昔芬是在单CYP3A4中检测到的唯一大量存在的TAM代谢产物,而4-羟基他莫昔芬和4-羟基他莫昔芬仅以痕量存在。在CYP2D6/3A4共培养以及两种CYP微粒体的等量混合物中,所有代谢产物的检测浓度约为单个克隆中浓度的50%,表明没有明显的协同作用。总之,我们的单CYP CHO模型证实了CYP2D6在合成活性TAM代谢产物4-羟基他莫昔芬中的重要作用,并表明CYP2D6也参与产生副代谢产物N,N-二去甲基他莫昔芬。两种单CYP模型之间代谢产物谱的差异突出了我们体外系统的CYP特异性和敏感性。