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Enzyme induction is a process whereby a molecule enhances the expression of enzymes. If the affected enzymes are involved in the elimination of a drug, this may result in a drug interaction. Induction is therefore of major concern during drug development and in clinical practice. The induction process depends on the half-life of the induced enzyme, the pharmacokinetics of the inducing agent, and the relationship between the inducer’s concentration and the induction stimulus. The aim of the conducted research was to investigate these key aspects of enzyme induction and the consequences that induction has for substrate elimination. Successful investigations of the induction process presuppose the existence of appropriate methods for the estimation of the metabolic activity. Enzyme activity measurements can be conducted in tissues with low enzyme content using the analytical method presented here. A model was developed describing the changes in the pharmacokinetics of clomethiazole and its metabolite NLA-715, that are attributable to carbamazepine induction. The consequences of the induction was explained using a mechanistic approach, acknowledging food-induced changes in the blood flow to the liver, and interpreting in vitro generated metabolic information. The time course of the induction process was examined in two investigations. In the first of these, the pharmacokinetics of the autoinducing drug phenobarbital and its effect on several enzymes were described in rats. This was accomplished by integrating the bidirectional interaction between drug and enzymes in a mechanistic manner. In the final investigation, the time course of the increase and cessation in enzyme activity was studied in healthy volunteers treated with carbamazepine. This investigation allowed the half-lives of CYP3A and CYP1A2 to be estimated. The key aspects of the enzyme induction process have been examined using mechanistic induction models. These novel models improve the understanding of the induction process and its consequences for substrate elimination. |
