Potent inhibition of the cytochrome P-450 3A-mediated human liver microsomal metabolism of a novel HIV protease inhibitor by ritonavir: A positive drug-drug interaction. (1/326)

ABT-378 is a potent in vitro inhibitor of the HIV protease and is currently being developed for coadministration with another HIV protease inhibitor, ritonavir, as an oral therapeutic treatment for HIV infection. In the present study, the effect of ritonavir, a potent inhibitor of cytochrome P-450 (CYP) 3A, on the in vitro metabolism of ABT-378 was examined. Furthermore, the effect of ABT-378-ritonavir combinations on several CYP-dependent monooxygenase activities in human liver microsomes was also examined. ABT-378 was found to undergo NADPH- and CYP3A4/5-dependent metabolism to three major metabolites, M-1 (4-oxo) and M-3/M-4 (4-hydroxy epimers), as well as several minor oxidative metabolites in human liver microsomes. The mean apparent K(m) and V(max) values for the metabolism of ABT-378 by human liver microsomes were 6.8 +/- 3.6 microM and 9.4 +/- 5.5 nmol of ABT-378 metabolized/mg protein/min, respectively. Ritonavir inhibited human liver microsomal metabolism of ABT-378 potently (K(i) = 0.013 microM). The combination of ABT-378 and ritonavir was much weaker in inhibiting CYP-mediated biotransformations than ritonavir alone, and the inhibitory effect appears to be primarily due to the ritonavir component of the combination. The ABT-378-ritonavir combinations (at 3:1 and 29:1 ratios) inhibited CYP3A (IC(50) = 1.1 and 4.6 microM), albeit less potently than ritonavir (IC(50) = 0.14 microM). Metabolic reactions mediated by CYP1A2, CYP2A6, and CYP2E1 were not affected by the ABT-378-ritonavir combinations. The inhibitory effects of ABT-378-ritonavir combinations on CYP2B6 (IC(50) = >30 microM), CYP2C9 (IC(50) = 13.7 and 23.0 microM), CYP2C19 (IC(50) = 28.7 and 38.0 microM), and CYP2D6 (IC(50) = 13.5 and 29.0 microM) were marginal and are not likely to produce clinically significant drug-drug interactions.  (+info)

Identification of genotypic changes in human immunodeficiency virus protease that correlate with reduced susceptibility to the protease inhibitor lopinavir among viral isolates from protease inhibitor-experienced patients. (2/326)

The association of genotypic changes in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) protease with reduced in vitro susceptibility to the new protease inhibitor lopinavir (previously ABT-378) was explored using a panel of viral isolates from subjects failing therapy with other protease inhibitors. Two statistical tests showed that specific mutations at 11 amino acid positions in protease (L10F/I/R/V, K20M/R, L24I, M46I/L, F53L, I54L/T/V, L63P, A71I/L/T/V, V82A/F/T, I84V, and L90M) were associated with reduced susceptibility. Mutations at positions 82, 54, 10, 63, 71, and 84 were most closely associated with relatively modest (4- and 10-fold) changes in phenotype, while the K20M/R and F53L mutations, in conjunction with multiple other mutations, were associated with >20- and >40-fold-reduced susceptibility, respectively. The median 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC(50)) of lopinavir against isolates with 0 to 3, 4 or 5, 6 or 7, and 8 to 10 of the above 11 mutations were 0.8-, 2.7-, 13.5-, and 44.0-fold higher, respectively, than the IC(50) against wild-type HIV. On average, the IC(50) of lopinavir increased by 1.74-fold per mutation in isolates containing three or more mutations. Each of the 16 viruses that displayed a >20-fold change in susceptibility contained mutations at residues 10, 54, 63, and 82 and/or 84, along with a median of three mutations at residues 20, 24, 46, 53, 71, and 90. The number of protease mutations from the 11 identified in these analyses (the lopinavir mutation score) may be useful for the interpretation of HIV genotypic resistance testing with respect to lopinavir-ritonavir (Kaletra) regimens and may provide insight into the genetic barrier to resistance to lopinavir-ritonavir in both antiretroviral therapy-naive and protease inhibitor-experienced patients.  (+info)

Safety and antiviral activity at 48 weeks of lopinavir/ritonavir plus nevirapine and 2 nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitors in human immunodeficiency virus type 1-infected protease inhibitor-experienced patients. (3/326)

The safety and antiviral activity of lopinavir (Lpv), a protease inhibitor (PI) coformulated with ritonavir (Rtv) to enhance its pharmacokinetic properties, were evaluated in 70 patients with plasma human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) RNA levels of 1000-100,000 copies/mL on a first PI-containing regimen. Patients were randomized to substitute only the PI with Lpv/Rtv, 400/100 mg or 400/200 mg twice daily. On day 15, nevirapine (200 mg 2x/day) was added, and nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitors were changed. Despite a >4-fold reduction in phenotypic susceptibility to the preentry PI in 63% of patients, mean plasma HIV-1 RNA levels declined by 1.14 log(10) copies/mL after 2 weeks of Lpv/Rtv. At week 48, 86% of subjects receiving treatment had plasma HIV-1 RNA levels of <400 copies/mL; 76% had levels <50 HIV-1 RNA copies/mL (intent-to-treat: 70% and 60%, respectively). Mean CD4 cell counts increased by 125 cells/muL. Three patients discontinued therapy for drug-related adverse events.  (+info)

Absence of opioid withdrawal symptoms in patients receiving methadone and the protease inhibitor lopinavir-ritonavir. (4/326)

A study was designed to determine the interactions, both clinical and pharmacokinetic, between methadone and lopinavir-ritonavir. Results demonstrated a 36% reduction in the methadone area under the plasma concentration-time curve after the introduction of lopinavir-ritonavir, with no coincident symptoms of opioid withdrawal and no requirement for methadone dose adjustment.  (+info)

Select HIV protease inhibitors alter bone and fat metabolism ex vivo. (5/326)

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) therapies have been associated with alterations in fat metabolism and bone mineral density. This study examined the effects of HIV protease inhibitors (PIs) on bone resorption, bone formation, and adipocyte differentiation using ex vivo cultured osteoclasts, osteoblasts, and adipocytes, respectively. Osteoclast activity, measured using a rat neonatal calvaria assay, increased in the presence of nelfinavir (NFV; 47.2%, p = 0.001), indinavir (34.6%, p = 0.001), saquinavir (24.3%, p = 0.001), or ritonavir (18%, p < 0.01). In contrast, lopinavir (LPV) and amprenavir did not increase osteoclast activity. In human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs), the PIs LPV and NFV decreased osteoblast alkaline phosphatase enzyme activity and gene expression significantly (p < 0.05). LPV and NFV diminished calcium deposition and osteoprotegrin expression (p < 0.05), whereas the other PIs investigated did not. Adipogenesis of hMSCs was strongly inhibited by saquinavir and NFV (>50%, p < 0.001) and moderately inhibited by ritonavir and LPV (>40%, p < 0.01). Expression of diacylglycerol transferase, a marker of adipocyte differentiation, decreased in hMSCs treated with NFV. Amprenavir and indinavir did not affect adipogenesis or lipolysis. These results suggest that bone and fat formation in hMSCs of bone marrow may be coordinately down-regulated by some but not all PIs.  (+info)

In vitro antiviral interaction of lopinavir with other protease inhibitors. (6/326)

The in vitro inhibition of wild-type human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) by combinations of lopinavir and six other protease inhibitors over a range of two-drug combination ratios was evaluated. Combinations of lopinavir with indinavir, nelfinavir, amprenavir, tipranavir, and BMS-232632 generally displayed an additive relationship. In contrast, a consistent, statistically significant synergistic inhibition of HIV type 1 replication with combinations of lopinavir and saquinavir was observed. Analysis of the combination indices indicated that lopinavir with saquinavir was synergistic over the entire range of drug combination ratios tested and at all levels of inhibition in excess of 40%. Cellular toxicity was not observed at the highest drug concentrations tested. These results suggest that administration of combinations of the appropriate dose of lopinavir with other protease inhibitors in vivo may result in enhanced antiviral activity with no associated increase in cellular cytotoxicity. More importantly, the observed in vitro synergy between lopinavir and saquinavir provides a theoretical basis for the clinical exploration of a novel regimen of lopinavir-ritonavir and saquinavir.  (+info)

Lopinavir-ritonavir versus nelfinavir for the initial treatment of HIV infection. (7/326)

BACKGROUND: Lopinavir is a newly developed inhibitor of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) protease that, when formulated with ritonavir, yields mean trough plasma lopinavir concentrations that are at least 75 times as high as that needed to inhibit replication of wild-type HIV by 50 percent. METHODS: We conducted a double-blind trial in which 653 HIV-infected adults who had not received antiretroviral therapy for more than 14 days were randomly assigned to receive either lopinavir-ritonavir (400 mg of lopinavir plus 100 mg of ritonavir twice daily) with nelfinavir placebo or nelfinavir (750 mg three times daily) with lopinavir-ritonavir placebo. All patients also received open-label stavudine and lamivudine. The primary efficacy end points were the presence of fewer than 400 HIV RNA copies per milliliter of plasma at week 24 and the time to the loss of virologic response through week 48. RESULTS: At week 48, greater proportions of patients treated with lopinavir-ritonavir than of patients treated with nelfinavir had fewer than 400 copies of HIV RNA per milliliter (75 percent vs. 63 percent, P<0.001) and fewer than 50 copies per milliliter (67 percent vs. 52 percent, P<0.001). The time to the loss of virologic response was greater in the lopinavir-ritonavir group than in the nelfinavir group (hazard ratio, 2.0; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.5 to 2.7; P<0.001). The estimated proportion of patients with a persistent virologic response through week 48 was 84 percent for patients receiving lopinavir-ritonavir and 66 percent for those receiving nelfinavir. Both regimens were well tolerated, with the rate of discontinuation related to the study drugs at 3.4 percent among patients receiving lopinavir-ritonavir and 3.7 percent among patients receiving nelfinavir. Among patients with more than 400 copies of HIV RNA per milliliter at some point from week 24 through week 48, resistance mutations in HIV protease were demonstrated in viral isolates from 25 of 76 nelfinavir-treated patients (33 percent) and none of 37 patients treated with lopinavir-ritonavir (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: For the initial treatment of HIV-infected adults, a combination regimen that includes lopinavir-ritonavir is well tolerated and has antiviral activity superior to that of a nelfinavir-containing regimen.  (+info)

Serious bradyarrhythmia that was possibly induced by lopinavir-ritonavir in 2 patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. (8/326)

We describe 2 patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome who had potentially fatal bradyarrhythmia that occurred shortly after commencement of antiretroviral therapy. Lopinavir-ritonavir was the only drug that both patients were using.  (+info)