E- and Z-10-hydroxylation of nortriptyline by human liver microsomes--methods and characterization.

To enable in vitro characterization of nortriptyline 10-hydroxylase activity of microsomal fractions of human liver, methods for the determination of E- and Z-10-hydroxynortriptyline were developed. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV-detection or HPLC separation followed by quantitation by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry were used. The microsomal 10-hydroxylation of nortriptyline was linear to 60 min with a protein concentration of 1 mg x ml-1. In 15 human livers a 5-fold variation in activity was found. The formation of the Z-isomer comprised 13 +/- 3% (mean +/- SD) of the total 10-hydroxylase activity. The 10-hydroxylation was inhibited by debrisoquine, sparteine, propranolol, and encainide. No effect or a stimulation of the activity was seen with p-nitroanisole and acetanilide.