Modelling atypical CYP3A4 kinetics: principles and pragmatism

The Michaelis-Menten model, and the existence of a single active site for the interaction of substrate with drug metabolizing enzyme, adequately describes a substantial number of in vitro metabolite kinetic data sets for both clearance and inhibition determination. However, in an increasing number of cases (involving most notably, but not exclusively, CYP3A4), atypical kinetic features are observed, e.g., auto- and heteroactivation; partial, cooperative, and substrate inhibition; concentration-dependent effector responses (activation/inhibition); limited substrate substitution and inhibitory reciprocity necessitating sub-group classification. The phenomena listed above cannot be readily interpreted using single active site models and the literature indicates that three types of approaches have been adopted. First the 'naı¨ve' approach of using the Michaelis-Menten model regardless of the kinetic behaviour, second the 'empirical' approach (e.g., employing the Hill or uncompetitive inhibition equations to model homotropic phenomena of sigmoidicity and substrate inhibition, respectively) and finally, the 'mechanistic' approach. The later includes multisite kinetic models derived using the same rapid equilibrium/steady-state assumptions as the single-site model. These models indicate that 2 or 3 binding sites exist for a given CYP3A4 substrate and/or effector. Multisite kinetic models share common features, depending on the substrate kinetics and the nature of the effector response observed in vitro, which allow a generic model to be proposed. Thus although more complex than the other two approaches, they show more utility and can be comprehensively applied in relatively simple versions that can be readily generated from generic model. Multisite kinetic features, observed in isolated hepatocytes as well as in microsomes from hepatic tissue and heterologous expression systems, may be evident in substrate depletion-time profiles as well as in metabolite formation rates. Failure to adequately account for multisite kinetic phenomena will compromise any attempts to predict human drug clearance and drug-drug interaction potential from in vitro data.