Background and objectives: Gambogenic acid (GNA), which possesses diverse antitumor activities both in vitro and in vivo, is regarded as a potential anticancer compound. Cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes play an important role in the metabolism of most xenobiotics; constitutive androstane receptor (CAR), a nuclear receptor that might be activated by xenobiotics and associated with the expression of some CYPs. In this study, we determined the effect of GNA on multiple rat liver CYP isoforms (CYP1A2, 2B1, and 2E1) and CAR as well as the potential of GNA to interact with co-administered drugs.
Methods: Male SD rats were randomly divided into the control, and the low (5 mg/kg)-, medium (25 mg/kg)-, and high- (100 mg/kg) dose GNA groups. After the intragastric administration of GNA for 14 consecutive days, a cocktail method was adopted to evaluate the activities of CYP1A2, 2B1, and 2E1. The liver expression of CYP1A2, 2B1, and 2E1 and CAR was analyzed by Western blotting (WB) and quantitative real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR).
Results: The 14-day administration of GNA significantly increased both the mRNA and protein expressions and the activity of CYP2E1. Additionally, the mRNA and protein expressions of CYP1A2 were clearly induced, while only the high GNA dose increased the activity of liver CYP1A2. Moreover, the mRNA expression levels of CYP2B1 and CAR were increased, but their protein levels and the activity parameters of CYP2B1 did not show significant changes.
Conclusions: The obtained results suggest that the CYP1A2 and CYP2E1 enzymes could be induced in rats after treatment with GNA. Therefore, when GNA is administrated with other drugs, potential drug-drug interactions (DDI) mediated by CYP1A2 and CYP2E1 induction should be taken into consideration.