Interaction of γ-glutamyltranspeptidase with ibuprofen-S-acyl-glutathione in vitro and in vivo in human.

Ibuprofen is metabolized to chemically reactive acyl glucuronide and S-acyl-CoA metabolites that are proposed to transacylate glutathione (GSH) forming ibuprofen-S-acyl-GSH (I-SG) in vivo. Herein, we report the detection of novel metabolites of ibuprofen, namely ibuprofen-N-acyl-cysteinylglycine (I-N-CG), ibuprofen-N-acyl-cysteine (I-N-C), and the mercapturic acid conjugate, ibuprofen-S-acyl-N-acetylcysteine (I-S-NAC), in urine from an ibuprofen-dosed volunteer. Thus, analysis of ibuprofen-dosed (Advil, 800 mg, Pfizer, Madison, NJ) human urine extracts by sensitive liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometric detection resulted in the identification of I-N-CG, I-N-C, and I-S-NAC derivatives as minor metabolites (6.0, 1.7, and 0.2 µg excreted 10-hours postadministration, respectively). I-N-CG is proposed to be formed from the degradation of I-SG by γ-glutamyltranspeptidase (γ-GT)-mediated cleavage of the γ-glutamyl group, leading to an unstable ibuprofen-S-acyl-cysteinylglycine (I-S-CG) intermediate that undergoes spontaneous S to N intramolecular rearrangement. Then, dipeptidase-mediated cleavage of glycine from I-N-CG leads to the formation of I-N-C. Treatment of racemic I-SG (100 µM) in vitro with commercially available bovine kidney γ-GT (0.1 units/ml) in buffer at pH 7.4 and 37°C resulted in its complete degradation, yielding (R)- and (S)-I-N-CG after 15 minutes of incubation. In vitro enzyme kinetic studies with bovine kidney γ-GT incubated separately with (R)- and (S)-I-SG isomers revealed no enantioselective degradation. Results from these studies provided evidence that ibuprofen is metabolized in human to reactive transacylating-type intermediates that react with GSH, forming I-SG thioester that, following degradation by γ-GT and dipeptidase enzymes and following S to N intramolecular rearrangement, leads to the urinary excretion of the I-N-CG and I-N-C amide-linked conjugates, respectively.

Covalent binding of phenylacetic acid to protein in incubations with freshly isolated rat hepatocytes.

Phenylacetic acid (PAA) represents a substructure of a class of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory carboxylic acid-containing drugs capable of undergoing metabolic activation in the liver to acylcoenzyme A (CoA)- and/or acyl glucuronide-linked metabolites that are proposed to be associated with the formation of immunogenic, and hence potentially hepatotoxic, drug-protein adducts. Herein, we investigated the ability of PAA to undergo phenylacetyl-S-acyl-CoA thioester (PA-CoA)-mediated covalent binding to protein in incubations with freshly isolated rat hepatocytes in suspension. Thus, when hepatocytes were incubated with phenylacetic acid carboxy-(14)C (100 microM) and analyzed for PA-CoA formation and covalent binding of PAA to protein and over a 3-h time period, both PA-CoA formation and covalent binding to protein increased rapidly, reaching 1.3 microM and 291 pmol equivalents/mg protein after 4 and 6 min of incubation, respectively. However, the covalent binding of PAA to protein was reversible and decreased by 72% at the 3-h time point. After 3 h of incubation, PAA was shown to be metabolized primarily to phenylacetyl-glycine amide (84%). No PAA-acyl glucuronide was detected in the incubation extracts. PA-CoA reacted readily with glutathione in buffer, forming PA-S-acyl-glutathione; however, this glutathione conjugate was not detected in hepatocyte incubation extracts. Coincubation of hepatocytes with lauric acid led to a marked inhibition of PA-CoA formation and a corresponding inhibition of covalent binding to protein. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis showed the formation of two protein adducts having molecular masses of approximately 29 and approximately 33 kDa. In summary, PA-CoA formation in rat hepatocytes leads to the highly selective, but reversible, covalent binding to hepatocyte proteins, but not to the transacylation of glutathione.