In silico prediction of biliary excretion of drugs in rats based on physicochemical properties

Drug Metab Dispos. 2010 Mar;38(3):422-30. doi: 10.1124/dmd.108.026260. Epub 2009 Dec 7.

Abstract

Evaluating biliary excretion, a major elimination pathway for many compounds, is important in drug discovery. The bile duct-cannulated (BDC) rat model is commonly used to determine the percentage of dose excreted as intact parent into bile. However, a study using BDC rats is time-consuming and cost-ineffective. The present report describes a computational model that has been established to predict biliary excretion of intact parent in rats as a percentage of dose. The model was based on biliary excretion data of 50 Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. compounds with diverse chemical structures. The compounds were given intravenously at <10 mg/kg to BDC rats, and bile was collected for at least 8 h after dosing. Recoveries of intact parents in bile were determined by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. Biliary excretion was found to have a fairly good correlation with polar surface area (r = 0.76) and with free energy of aqueous solvation (DeltaG(solv aq)) (r = -0.67). In addition, biliary excretion was also highly corrected with the presence of a carboxylic acid moiety in the test compounds (r = 0.87). An equation to calculate biliary excretion in rats was then established based on physiochemical properties via a multiple linear regression. This model successfully predicted rat biliary excretion for 50 BMS compounds (r = 0.94) and for 25 previously reported compounds (r = 0.86) whose structures are markedly different from those of the 50 BMS compounds. Additional calculations were conducted to verify the reliability of this computation model.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Bile / chemistry
  • Bile / metabolism*
  • Bile Ducts
  • Carboxylic Acids / analysis
  • Carboxylic Acids / chemistry
  • Carboxylic Acids / pharmacokinetics
  • Catheters, Indwelling
  • Chemical Phenomena
  • Computational Biology
  • Drugs, Investigational / analysis
  • Drugs, Investigational / chemistry*
  • Drugs, Investigational / pharmacokinetics*
  • Expert Systems*
  • Least-Squares Analysis
  • Male
  • Models, Biological
  • Rats
  • Rats, Sprague-Dawley
  • Solubility
  • Surface Properties

Substances

  • Carboxylic Acids
  • Drugs, Investigational