Variation in the inhibitory potency of terbinafine among genetic variants of CYP2D6

Cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) is a highly polymorphic enzyme that is involved in the metabolism of many drugs. Terbinafine (TER) is a CYP2D6 inhibitor and causes persistent drug interactions in the clinical setting; however, its inhibitory mechanism and the differences in its inhibitory potency among genetic variants of CYP2D6 remain to be investigated. This study aimed to investigate the inhibitory mechanism of TER and the differences in its inhibitory potency among three CYP2D6 variants, CYP2D6.1, CYP2D6.2, and CYP2D6.10.In a competitive inhibition study, the metabolic activity of the CYP2D6 was assessed based on their demethylation of dextromethorphan in the presence or absence of TER, and the time-dependency of the inhibitory effects were examined by preincubating the enzymes with TER.TER had weaker inhibitory effects on CYP2D6.2 and CYP2D6.10 than on CYP2D6.1; i.e., TER exhibited Ki values (the concentration of inhibitor that results in half-maximal inhibition) of 0.0525, 0.355, and 1.85 μM for CYP2D6.1, CYP2D6.2, and CYP2D6.10, respectively. The inhibitory effects of TER were not time-dependent.Since TER's Ki value for CYP2D6.10 was 35.2-fold higher than its Ki value for CYP2D6.1, the CYP2D6 genotype of subjects should be taken into account when estimating the severity of drug interactions involving TER.