Abstract
Chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) is one of the most common neurological
disorders. In recent years, atorvastatin (ATV) combined with
dexamethasone (DXM) has been proved to be a more efficacious therapy in
treating patients with CSDH than ATV monotherapy. Our recent study found
that ATV in hematoma fluid was higher in patients receiving ATV combined
with DXM, as compared to those receiving ATV monotherapy. However, the
underlying mechanism of how DXM improves the level of ATV is not yet
clear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of DXM
on pharmacokinetics of ATV and the expression of organic anion transport
polypeptides 1B1 (OATP1B1) and upstream nuclear receptors liver X
receptor α (LXRα) in rat liver and HepG2 cells were evaluated. The
results showed that when DXM was combined with ATV, the area under curve
(AUC(0~∞)) of ATV, o- ATV andp- ATV was increased by 1.550, 1.420, 1.676 times, respectively.
In HepG2 cells, DXM inhibited the uptake of ATV by 59.24%. Also, DXM
decreased the expression of OATP1B1 and LXRα both in the rat liver and
HepG2 cells. Dual-luciferase reporter assay indicated that DXM had an
inhibitory effect on the LXRα-OATP1B1 pathway. In conclusion, DXM
downregulated the protein expression of OATP1B1 by inhibiting the
LXRα-OATP1B1 pathway, thus, decreasing hepatic drug uptake and
increasing plasma concentration of ATV and its active metabolites.
Keywords: atorvastatin, dexamethasone, disposition, LXRα,
OATP1B1