Decreased oral absorption of cyclosporine A after liver ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats: the contribution of CYP3A and P-glycoprotein to the first-pass metabolism in intestinal epithelial cells.

ABSTRACT

The bioavailability of orally administrated cyclosporine A (CsA) is poor and variable in liver transplantation recipients. Little information is available about the effect of liver ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury, which is associated with liver transplantation, on the intestinal first-pass metabolism of CsA. In the present study, we investigated the pharmacokinetics of CsA after liver I/R and assessed the effect of liver I/R via CYP3A and P-glycoprotein (P-gp) on its intestinal first-pass metabolism. When CsA alone was administrated orally, the area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) in the I/R rats was significantly decreased compared with that in the sham rats. On the other hand, there were no significant differences in the AUC between I/R and sham rats when CsA was administrated intravenously or orally with ketoconazole. After intraloop administration of CsA to the small intestine (upper, middle, and lower portions) of the I/R and sham rats, the AUC(0-15 min) in the upper intestine was significantly lower in the I/R rats than in the sham rats. CYP3A activity and the expression levels of P-gp in the upper intestine of the I/R rats were significantly higher than those of the sham rats. Our study clearly demonstrates for the first time that liver I/R decreases the oral bioavailability of CsA and that this is attributable principally to increased first-pass metabolism mediated by CYP3A and P-gp in the upper small intestine. The present findings provide useful information for the etiology of liver I/R injury and appropriate use of CsA after liver transplantation.