Ibogaine is a psychoactive
alkaloid that possesses potential as an agent to treat
opiate and
cocaine addiction. The primary metabolite arises via O-demethylation at the 12-position to yield
12-hydroxyibogamine. In this report, evidence is presented that the O-demethylation of
ibogaine observed in human hepatic microsomes is catalyzed primarily by the polymorphically expressed
cytochrome P-4502D6 (
CYP2D6). An
enzyme kinetic examination of
ibogaine O-demethylase activity in pooled human liver microsomes suggested that two (or more)
enzymes are involved in this reaction: one with a low KMapp (1.1 microM) and the other with a high KMapp (>200 microM). The low KMapp activity comprised >95% of total intrinsic clearance. Human liver microsomes from three individual donors demonstrated similar
enzyme kinetic parameters (mean KMapp = 0.55 +/- 0.09 microM and 310 +/- 10 microM for low and high KM activities, respectively). However, a fourth human microsome sample that appeared to be a phenotypic
CYP2D6 poor metabolizer possessed only the high KMapp activity. In hepatic microsomes from a panel of human donors, the low KMapp
ibogaine O-demethylase activity correlated with CYP2D6-catalyzed
bufuralol 1'-hydroxylase activity but not with other P450
isoform-specific activities.
Quinidine, a CYP2D6-specific inhibitor, inhibited
ibogaine O-demethylase (IC50 = 0.2 microM), whereas other P450
isoform-specific inhibitors did not inhibit this activity. Also, of a battery of recombinant heterologously expressed human P450
isoforms, only rCYP2D6 possessed significant
ibogaine O-demethylase activity. Thus, it is concluded that
ibogaine O-demethylase is catalyzed by
CYP2D6 and that this
isoform is the predominant
enzyme of
ibogaine O-demethylation in humans. The potential pharmacological implications of these findings are discussed.