Measurement and Compartmental Modeling of the Effect of CYP3A5 Gene Variation on Systemic and Intrarenal Tacrolimus Disposition

We evaluated the hypothesis that CYP3A5 expression can affect intrarenal tacrolimus accumulation. An oral dose of tacrolimus was administered to 24 healthy volunteers who were selected based on their CYP3A5 genotype. Compared to CYP3A5 nonexpressors, expressors had a 1.6-fold higher oral tacrolimus clearance and 2.0- to 2.7-fold higher metabolite/parent AUC ratios for 31-DMT, 12-HT and 13-DMT. In addition, the apparent urinary tacrolimus clearance was 36% lower in CYP3A5 expressors, compared to nonexpressors. To explore the mechanism behind this observation, we developed a semi-physiological model of renal tacrolimus disposition and predicted that tacrolimus exposure in the renal epithelium of CYP3A5 expressors is 53% of that for CYP3A5 nonexpressors, when normalized to blood AUC. These data suggest that at steady state, intrarenal accumulation of tacrolimus, and its primary metabolites, will depend on the CYP3A5 genotype of the liver and kidneys. This may contribute to inter-patient differences in the risk of tacrolimus-induced nephrotoxicity.