Protein Abundance of Drug Metabolizing Enzymes in Human Hepatitis C Livers

Hepatic drug metabolizing enzymes (DMEs), whose activity may be affected by liver diseases, are major determinants of drug pharmacokinetics. Hepatitis C liver samples in different functional states, i.e., the Child–Pugh class A (n = 30), B (n = 21) and C (n = 7) were analyzed for protein abundances (LC-MS/MS) and mRNA levels (qRT-PCR) of 9 CYPs and 4 UGTs enzymes. The protein levels of CYP1A1, CYP2B6, CYP2C8, CYP2C9, and CYP2D6 were not affected by the disease. In the Child–Pugh class A livers, a significant up-regulation of UGT1A1 (to 163% of the controls) was observed. The Child–Pugh class B was associated with down-regulation of the protein abundance of CYP2C19 (to 38% of the controls), CYP2E1 (to 54%), CYP3A4 (to 33%), UGT1A3 (to 69%), and UGT2B7 (to 56%). In the Child–Pugh class C livers, CYP1A2 was found to be reduced (to 52%). A significant trend in down-regulation of the protein abundance was documented for CYP1A2, CYP2C9, CYP3A4, CYP2E1, UGT2B7, and UGT2B15. The results of the study demonstrate that DMEs protein abundances in the liver are affected by hepatitis C virus infection and depend on the severity of the disease.