Imidazoles, P450 inhibition

Imidazole antimycotics, ketoconazole, clotrimazole, and miconazole are potent inhibitors of various cytochrome P450-isoenzymes that also affect the metabolism of retinoids. They were fust shown to inhibit the metabolism of RA in F9 embryonal carcinoma cells. When tested in vitm liarazole, a potent CYP-inhibitor, suppressed neoplastic transformation and upregulated gap junctional communication in murine and human fibroblasts, which appeared to be due to the presence of retinoids in the serum component of the cell culture medium. Furthermore, liarazole magnified the cancer chemopreventive activity of RA and (3-carotene in these experiments by inhibiting RA-catabolism as demonstrated by absence of a decrease in RA-levels in the culture medium in the presence of liarazole over 48 h, whereas without liarazole 99% of RA was catabolized. In vivo, treatment with liarazole and ketoconazole reduced the accelerated catabolism of retinoids and increased the mean plasma all-irans-RA-concentration in patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia and other cancels. 

Because trimetrexate is metabolized by a P450 enzyme system, drugs that induce or inhibit this drug metabolizing enzyme system may elicit important drug interactions that may alter trimetrexate plasma concentrations, which include erythromycin, rifampin, rifabutin, ketoconazole, fluconazole, cimetidine, nitrogen substituted imidazole drugs (eg, clotrimazole, ketoconazole, miconazole). 

Interactions. Drugs that lower gastric acidity, e.g. antacids, histamine H2 receptor antagonists, impair the absorption of ketoconazole from the gastrointestinal tract. Like all imidazoles, ketoconazole binds strongly to several cytochrome P450 isoenzymes and thus inhibits the metabolism (and increases effects of) oral anticoagulants, phenytoin and cyclosporin, and increases the risk of cardiac arrhythmias with terfenadine. A disulfiram-like reaction occurs with alcohol. Concurrent use of rifampicin, by enzyme induction of CYP 3A, markedly reduces the plasma concentration of ketoconazole. 

Inhibition of cytochrome P450 mediated sterol hydroxylase is one of the most common mechanisms of antifungal compounds. However, within vertebrates inhibition as well as induction of CYP has been observed. Some compounds are converted to nonspecific CYP inhibitors (for review see ref. 39). The imidazole derivative clotrimazole was shown to inhibit benzo(a)pyrene elimination in shad (Dorosoma cepedianum) presumably through a noncompetitive inhibition of CYP1A which was observed in vitro within shad and trout liver microsomes52. In contrast,... 

For example, drugs containing an imidazole ring, such as cimetidine and many antifungal agents, inhibit many reactions mediated by cytochrome P450. Therefore, a new compound of this chemical class is likely to behave similarly, and evaluation of its potential interactions will be required. 

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