Development and Validation of a Novel HPLC Method to Analyse Metabolic Reaction Products Catalysed by the CYP3A2 Isoform: In Vitro Inhibition of CYP3A2 Enzyme Activity by Aspirin (Drugs Often Used Together in COVID-19 Treatment)

Aspirin (also known as acetylsalicylic acid) is a drug intended to treat fever, pain, or inflammation. Treatment of moderate to severe cases of COVID-19 using aspirin along with dexamethasone has gained major attention globally in recent times. Thus, the purpose of this study was to use High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) to evaluate the in vitro inhibition of CYP3A2 enzyme activity using aspirin in rat liver microsomes (RLMs). In this study, an efficient and sensitive HPLC method was developed using a reversed phase C18 column (X Bridge 4.6 mm x 150 mm, 3.5 mu m) at 243 nm using acetonitrile and water (70:30 v/v). The linearity (r(2) > 0.999), precision (< 15%), accuracy and recovery (80-120%), limit of detection (5.60 mu M and 0.06 mu M), limit of quantification (16.98 mu M and 0.19 mu M), and stability of the newly developed method were validated for dexamethasone and 6 beta-hydroxydexamethasone, respectively, following International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) guidelines. This method was applied in vitro to measure CYP3A2 activity. The results showed that aspirin competitively inhibits 6 beta-hydroxylation (CYP3A2 activity) with an inhibition constant (Ki) = 95.46 mu M and the concentration of the inhibitor causing 50% inhibition of original enzyme activity (IC50) = 190.92 mu M. This indicated that there is a minimal risk of toxicity when dexamethasone and aspirin are co-administrated and a very low risk of toxicity and drug interaction with drugs that are a substrate for CYP3A2 in healthcare settings.

Automated summary

The combination therapy of aspirin and dexamethasone for COVID-19 has gained global attention. This study used HPLC to evaluate the in vitro inhibition of CYP3A2 enzyme activity by aspirin and validated an efficient HPLC method. The results showed that aspirin competitively inhibits CYP3A2 activity with minimal risk.