Pharmacokinetic Characteristics of Levosulpiride in Relation to the Genetic Polymorphism of MDR1: From Knockout Mouse to Human

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to clarify the involvement of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) in the efflux of levosulpiride in knockout mice that lack the mdr1a1b gene and to evaluate the relationship between the genetic polymorphisms in MDR1 gene (exon 21) and levosulpiride disposition in healthy Korean subjects. After oral administration () of levosulpiride to mdr1a/1b(-/-) and wild-type mice, plasma and brain samples were obtained at 45 min. We also investigated the genotype for MDR1 (exon 21) gene in humans using a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. A single oral dose of 25 mg levosulpiride was administered to 58 healthy subjects, who were based on the MDR1 genotype for the G2677T SNP. Blood samples were taken up to 36 hr after dosing. The concentrations of levosulpiride in mouse plasma and brain were statistically significant difference between the two animal groups (P, partial AUC () and were significantly different between homozygous 2677TT subjects and the subjects with at least one wild-type allele (GG and GT subjects, P=0.012 for ; P=0.008 for ; P=0.038 for ). The results confirm that levosulpiride is a P-gp substrate in vivo, and clearly demonstrate the effect of SNP 2677G>T in exon 21 of the MDR1 gene on levosulpiride disposition.