Induction of Cardiac Cytochrome P450 in Cocaine-Treated Mice

Abstract

Cytochrome P450 (P450) is a ubiquitous family of enzymes responsible for the metabolism of a wide variety of drugs and their metabolites, including cocaine. To investigate the effects of cocaine on myocardial injuries and cardiac P450 expression, BALB/c mice were injected daily intraperitoneally with cocaine (30 mg/kg) or cocaine plus pretreatment of P450 inhibitors for 14 days. Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) content and creatine phosphokinase (CPK) activity in mice hearts and serums were significantly increased after long-term treatment with cocaine. Pretreatment with the P450 inhibitor, cimetidine (Cime, 50 mg/kg) or metyrapone (Mety, 40 mg/kg) abolished or significantly attenuated the effects of cocaine on TNF-α and CPK activity. Western blot analysis shows that mouse cardiac tissues express the P450 isoforms CYP1A1, CYP1A2, and CYP2J2. The protein levels normalized with cyclophilin A were 1.20 ± 0.07, 0.67 ± 0.03, and 1.48 ± 0.01 for CYP1A1, CYP1A2, and CYP 2J2, respectively. After cocaine administration, CYP2J2 increased by 43.6% and CYP1A1 increased by 108.5%, but CYP1A2 was not significantly altered. However, the cytochrome P450 inhibitors Cime and Mety suppressed the cocaine-induced increase in CYP1A1 and CYP2J2 expression. Moreover, application of Cime or Mety alone did not alter the level of cardiac TNF-α or the expression of P450. Our results demonstrate that long-term exposure to cocaine causes an increase in cardiac CYP1A1 and CYP2J2 concentration. We speculate that induction of P450 isoforms may cause cardiac injury due to cocaine metabolites locally catalyzed by P450 or the increase in P450 expression itself.