The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of polymorphisms in the EPHX1 (c.416A > G, c.337T > C) and CYP3A4*22 genes involved in carbamazepine (CBZ) metabolism and pharmacoresistance among 118 Tunisian patients with epilepsy under maintenance dose of CBZ. These genetic polymorphisms were analyzed by PCR-RFLP. Associations between plasma CBZ concentration, CBZ-E concentration, maintenance doses and metabolic ratio (CBZ-E:CBZ, CBZ-D:CBZ-E) were analyzed with each polymorphism. Both variants of EPHX1 c.416A > G and c.337T > C are significantly associated with higher metabolic ratio CBZ-E:CBZ and seem to decrease the activity of the epoxide hydrolase. The CYP3A4*22 variant allele is significantly associated with lower CBZ-D:CBZ-E ratio and seems also to be associated with less activity of the cytochrome. Our data suggest that certain polymorphisms of metabolizing enzyme genes could influence inter-individual variability of CBZ metabolism.
Keywords: CYP3A4*22; EPHX1 gene; drug metabolism.