In vitro toxicity of zamifenacin (UK-76,654) and metabolites in primary hepatocyte cultures

1. We compared the sensitivities of primary hepatocytes from rat, dog and monkey to zamifenacin and two major metabolites, the methylenedioxy ring-opened catechol, UK-80,178 and its methylated product, UK-82,201. Toxicity was determined both via neutral red uptake and enzyme leakage data. 2. Canine hepatocytes were most sensitive to the cytotoxic effects of zamifenacin during 24-h exposure. Significant decreases in medium concentrations of zamifenacin in the presence of primary hepatocytes verified cellular uptake during the initial 2-h incubation. All three cell types were much more sensitive to UK-82,201 than to the catechol metabolite or parent drug. 3. The rapid onset of cytotoxicity indicated by elevations of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and other markers in the medium after UK-82,201 exposure, the delayed but substantial cytotoxic response to the parent drug which was suggestive of biotransformation to a reactive moiety, in vivo and in vitro drug metabolism results and subacute toxicology data suggest that dog may more effectively transform zamifenacin into UK-82,201, which is relatively hepatotoxic. 4. Because the catechol was generally less toxic than the O-methylated product, species that eliminate zamifenacin primarily as the catechol or its conjugate may be less affected by the potential hepatotoxicity of the methylated product. Our studies show that dog is the most sensitive species due to metabolism of the common catechol metabolite. The low incidence of potential hepatotoxicity in the clinic points to rare but important differences in the metabolism of Zamifencin. We conclude that the findings in dog were not predictive of subsequent effects in man.