Tripterygium Wilfordii Hook F Increase the Blood Concentration of Tacrolimus

ObjectiveTo observe the influence of the Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F (T II) on the blood concentration of tacrolimus and analyze the impact of this effect.MethodTwenty-two renal transplant receipts taking tacrolimus combined with the T II were selected for this study. We analyzed the blood concentrations and the rate of concentration compared with dosage (C/D rate) pre- and postcombination over 6 months. All cases underwent the CYP3A5 genotype test.ResultThe concentrations of tacrolimus were raised to a certain degree after the combination in all the cases. The first-time elevation differed from 1 week to 4 months. The C/D rate increased by 1.7 to 7.2 times with most evaluated C/D rates ranging from 1.8 to 3.8. The elevated C/D rate of the subgroup of CYP3A5 1*/1* and 1*/*3 (n = 10) contrasted with the *3/*3 genotype subgroup (n = 12: 2.99 ± 1.71 vs 2.55 ± 1.07; P = .472). The mycophenolate mofetil subgroup (n = 17) was not contrasted to the mizoribine subgroup (n = 5: 2.85 ± 1.51 vs 2.31 ± 0.26; P = .498).ConclusionT II considerably increased the blood concentration and the C/D rate of tacrolimus. The degree of increase was probably not related to the CYP3A5 genotype and the combination of immunosuppressive agents.