Vol. 26, Issue 6, 536-539, June 1998

In Vitro Characterization of Cytochrome P450 2D6 Inhibition by Classic Histamine H₁ Receptor Antagonists

Bettina A. Hamelin, Asmàa Bouayad, Benoît Drolet, Anne Gravel, and Jacques Turgeon

Quebec Heart Institute, Laval Hospital, and Faculty of Pharmacy, Laval University

Classic antihistamines, namely diphenhydramine, chlorpheniramine, clemastine, perphenazine, hydroxyzine, and tripelennamine, share structural features with substrates and inhibitors of the polymorphic cytochrome P450 (CYP) isozyme CYP2D6. Therefore, the current study was undertaken to characterize the in vitro inhibition of CYP2D6 by these commonly used, histamine H₁ receptor antagonists. Microsomal incubations were performed using bufuralol as a specific CYP2D6 substrate and microsomes derived from human cells transfected with CYP2D6 cDNA. Reaction velocities were assessed in the absence and presence of antihistamines (20 µM) at 11 substrate concentrations (1, 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 50, 75, and 100 µM), as well as at three nonsaturating substrate concentrations (2.5, 5, and 20 µM) and three inhibitor concentrations (5, 20, and 50 µM). In the presence of all antihistamines, the V_max and K_M of bufuralol 1'-hydroxylation were significantly altered, compared with the uninhibited reaction (p < 0.05). Lineweaver-Burke plots suggested competitive inhibition of the reaction by diphenhydramine and mixed inhibition by all other antihistamines tested. Diphenhydramine and chlorpheniramine, with estimated K_i values of ~11 µM, were the weakest inhibitors of CYP2D6 in vitro. Whereas tripelennamine, promethazine, and hydroxyzine were similar in their inhibitory capacities (K_i ~ 4-6 µM), clemastine appeared to be significantly more potent, with a K_i of ~2 µM. These data demonstrate that classic histamine H₁ receptor antagonists, available in over-the-counter preparations, inhibit CYP2D6 in vitro. Furthermore, the CYP2D6-inhibitory concentrations of these antihistamines are in the range of their expected hepatic blood concentrations, suggesting that, under specific circumstances, clinically relevant interactions between classic antihistamines and CYP2D6 substrates might occur.