Pharmacogenetics may Influence Tacrolimus Daily Dose, but not Urinary Tubular Damage Markers in the Long-Term Period after Renal Transplantation

BACKGROUND: The primary goal of this study was to evaluate the influence of cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A5 (6986A>G) and ABCB1 (3435C>T) polymorphisms on tacrolimus (TAC) dosage regimen and exposure. Second, we evaluated the influence of TAC dosage regimen and the tested polymorphisms on renal oxidative injury, as well as the urinary activities of tubular ectoenzymes in a long-term period after transplantation. Also, we aimed to determine the association between renal oxidative stress and tubular damage markers in the renal transplant patients. METHODS: The study included 72 patients who were on TAC based immunosuppression. Allele-specific PCR was used for polymorphism determination. We measured the urinary thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and reactive carbonyl derivates (RCD) in order to evaluate oxidative injury, as well as the urinary activities of ectoenzymes (N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase, aminopeptidase N and dipeptidyl peptidase IV) to evaluate tubular damage. RESULTS: The carriers of CYP 3A5*1 allele required statistically higher daily doses of TAC than CYP *3/*3 carriers, as well as the carriers of C allele of ABCB1 gene compared to those with TT genotype. Also, there were no differences in TBARS, RCD and the activities of ectoenzymes between the patients’ genotypes. Our results showed significant correlations between urinary TBARS and RCD and the ectoenzymes’ activities. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that CYP 3A5 and ABCB1 3435 polymorphism may affect TAC daily doses, but not the drug’s tubular toxicity. Furthermore, tubular damage may be associated with increased renal oxidative stress.