Effect of CYP2D6 genetic polymorphism on the metabolism of citalopram in vitro

Abstract Genetic polymorphisms of CYP2D6 significantly influence the efficacy and safety of some drugs, which might cause adverse effects and therapeutic failure. We aimed at investigating the role of CYP2D6 in the metabolism of citalopram and identifying the effect of 24 CYP2D6 allelic variants we found in Chinese Han population on the metabolism of citalopram in vitro. These CYP2D6 variants expressed by insect cells system were incubated with 10–1000 μM citalopram for 30 min at 37 °C and the reaction was terminated by cooling to −80 °C immediately. Citalopram and its metabolites were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The intrinsic clearance (V max /K m ) values of the variants toward citalopram metabolites were significantly altered, 38–129% for demethylcitalopram and 13–138% for citalopram N-oxide when compared with CYP2D6*1. Most of the tested rare alleles exhibited significantly decreased values due to increased K m and/or decreased V max values. We conclude that recombinant system could be used to investigate the enzymes involved in drug metabolism and these findings suggest that more attention should be paid to subjects carrying these CYP2D6 alleles when administering citalopram in the clinic.