Clinical data | |
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Other names | BW 306U; 6-Hydroxybupropion |
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Pharmacokinetic data | |
Elimination half-life | 15–25 hours |
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Chemical and physical data | |
Formula | C13H18ClNO2 |
Molar mass | 255.74 g·mol−1 |
3D model (JSmol) | |
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Hydroxybupropion (code name BW 306U), or 6-hydroxybupropion, is the major active metabolite of the antidepressant and smoking cessation drug bupropion. [1] It is formed from bupropion by the liver enzyme CYP2B6 during first-pass metabolism. [1] With oral bupropion treatment, hydroxybupropion is present in plasma at area under the curve concentrations that are as many as 16 to 20 times greater than those of bupropion itself, [1] [2] demonstrating extensive conversion of bupropion into hydroxybupropion in humans. [1] As such, hydroxybupropion is likely to play a very important role in the effects of oral bupropion, which could accurately be thought of as functioning largely as a prodrug to hydroxybupropion. [1]
Hydroxybupropion has two chiral centers and is a mixture of four possible enantiomers. [3] [4] [5] In humans however, presumably due to steric hindrance, only (2R,3R)-hydroxybupropion and (2S,3S)-hydroxybupropion are formed. [3] [4] [5]
Other metabolites of bupropion besides hydroxybupropion include threohydrobupropion and erythrohydrobupropion. [6] [7]
Bupropion | R,R- Hydroxy bupropion | S,S- Hydroxy bupropion | Threo- hydro bupropion | Erythro- hydro bupropion | |
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Exposure and half-life | |||||
AUC relative to bupropion [8] [9] | 1 | 23.8 | 0.6 | 11.2 | 2.5 |
Half-life [10] | 1.04 h | 19 h | 15 h | 31 h | 22 h |
Inhibition IC50 (μM) in human cells, unless noted otherwise | |||||
DAT, uptake [11] | 0.66 | inactive | 0.63 | 47 (rat) [12] | no data |
NET, uptake [11] | 1.85 | 9.9 | 0.24 | 16 (rat) [12] | no data |
SERT, uptake [11] | inactive | inactive | inactive | 67 (rat) [12] | no data |
α3β4 nicotinic [11] | 1.8 | 6.5 | 11 | 14 (rat) [13] | no data |
α4β2 nicotinic [14] | 12 | 31 | 3.3 | no data | no data |
α1β1γδ nicotinic [14] | 7.9 | 7.6 | 28 | no data | no data |
Compared to bupropion, hydroxybupropion is similar in its potency as a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (IC50 = 1.7 μM), but is substantially weaker as a dopamine reuptake inhibitor (IC50 = >10 μM). [14] Like bupropion, hydroxybupropion is also a non-competitive antagonist of nACh receptors, such as α4β2 and α3β4, but is even more potent in comparison. [1] [14] [15] [16] [17]
Bupropion is extensively and rapidly absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract but experiences extensive first pass metabolism rendering its systemic bioavailability limited. Exact bioavailability has yet to be determined given an intravenous form does not exist. Absorption is suggested to be between 80 and 90%. [18] [19] Its distribution half-life is between 3–4 hours and exhibits moderate human plasma protein binding (between 82 and 88%) with the parent compound and hydroxybupropion displaying the highest affinity. [20] [7] Bupropion is a racemic mixture and is metabolized hepatically primarily via oxidative cleavage of its side chains by CYP2B6. Hydroxybupropion is the most potent of the metabolites. It is formed via the "hydroxylation of the tert-butyl group" by CYP2B6 and is excreted renally. [20] Cmax values of hydroxybupropion are 4–7 times that of bupropion, while the exposure to hydroxybupropion is "10 fold" that of bupropion. Hydroxybupropion's elimination half-life is roughly 20 hours, give or take 5 hours and will reach steady state concentrations within 8 days. [20] [7]
Hydroxybupropion is a racemic mixture of (R,R)-hydroxybupropion and (S,S)-hydroxybupropion.
Although there are patents proposing uses and formulations of this compound, hydroxybupropion is not currently marketed as a drug in and of itself and is only available for use in non-clinical research. Hydroxybupropion is not a scheduled drug or a controlled substance. [21] One can access GLP (Good Lab Practice) documents detailing assays/techniques to further research and isolate this drug. [22] [23] Otherwise, there is little regulatory data available for hydroxybupropion at this time. Moreover, there is little information to suggest hydroxybupropion has an abuse potential. However, it has been studied as a possible therapeutic for alcohol and nicotine use as a codrug. [24]
There are few clinical trials or toxicology studies assessing hydroxybupropion alone at this time. There are clinical studies which assess hydroxybupropion in conjunction with bupropion suggesting hydroxybupropion to be the primary form of the compound responsible for its clinical efficacy. [25] [15] Also, transdermal delivery of bupropion and hydroxybupropion has been assessed finding bupropion to be the superior candidate given its elevated diffusion rate through skin samples. [26] There are few toxicology studies assessing hydroxybupropion alone at this time. However, there are some studies which assess this compound in conjunction with others or its parent compound.
Sertraline, sold under the brand name Zoloft among others, is an antidepressant of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class. The effectiveness of sertraline for depression is similar to that of other antidepressants, and the differences are mostly confined to side effects. Sertraline is better tolerated than the older tricyclic antidepressants. Sertraline is effective for panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). Although approved for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), findings have shown sertraline leads to only modest improvements in symptoms. Sertraline also alleviates the symptoms of premenstrual dysphoric disorder and can be used in sub-therapeutic doses or intermittently for its treatment.
Tramadol, sold under the brand name Ultram among others, is an opioid pain medication and a serotonin–norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) used to treat moderately severe pain. When taken by mouth in an immediate-release formulation, the onset of pain relief usually begins within an hour. It is also available by injection. It is available in combination with paracetamol (acetaminophen).
Bupropion, formerly called amfebutamone, and sold under the brand name Wellbutrin among others, is an atypical antidepressant primarily used to treat major depressive disorder, seasonal affective disorder and to support smoking cessation. It is also popular as an add-on medication in the cases of "incomplete response" to the first-line selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant. Bupropion has several features that distinguish it from other antidepressants: it does not usually cause sexual dysfunction, it is not associated with weight gain and sleepiness, and it is more effective than SSRIs at improving symptoms of hypersomnia and fatigue. Bupropion, particularly the immediate release formulation, carries a higher risk of seizure than many other antidepressants, hence caution is recommended in patients with a history of seizure disorder. The medication is taken by mouth.
Anticholinergics are substances that block the action of the acetylcholine (ACh) neurotransmitter at synapses in the central and peripheral nervous system.
Buspirone, sold under the brand name Buspar, among others, is an anxiolytic, a medication primarily used to treat anxiety disorders, particularly generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). It is a serotonin 5-HT1A receptor partial agonist, increasing action at serotonin receptors in the brain. It is taken orally, and takes two to six weeks to be fully effective.
Cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the CYP2D6 gene. CYP2D6 is primarily expressed in the liver. It is also highly expressed in areas of the central nervous system, including the substantia nigra.
Cytochrome P450 2C19 is an enzyme protein. It is a member of the CYP2C subfamily of the cytochrome P450 mixed-function oxidase system. This subfamily includes enzymes that catalyze metabolism of xenobiotics, including some proton pump inhibitors and antiepileptic drugs. In humans, it is the CYP2C19 gene that encodes the CYP2C19 protein. CYP2C19 is a liver enzyme that acts on at least 10% of drugs in current clinical use, most notably the antiplatelet treatment clopidogrel (Plavix), drugs that treat pain associated with ulcers, such as omeprazole, antiseizure drugs such as mephenytoin, the antimalarial proguanil, and the anxiolytic diazepam.
Radafaxine (developmental code GW-353,162; also known as (2S,3S)-hydroxybupropion or (S,S)-hydroxybupropion) is a norepinephrine–dopamine reuptake inhibitor (NDRI) which was under development by GlaxoSmithKline in the 2000s for a variety of different indications but was never marketed. These uses included treatment of restless legs syndrome, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, neuropathic pain, fibromyalgia, and obesity. Regulatory filing was planned for 2007, but development was discontinued in 2006 due to "poor test results".
Cytochrome P450 2B6 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the CYP2B6 gene. CYP2B6 is a member of the cytochrome P450 group of enzymes. Along with CYP2A6, it is involved with metabolizing nicotine, along with many other substances.
A monoamine releasing agent (MRA), or simply monoamine releaser, is a drug that induces the release of one or more monoamine neurotransmitters from the presynaptic neuron into the synapse, leading to an increase in the extracellular concentrations of the neurotransmitters and hence enhanced signaling by those neurotransmitters. The monoamine neurotransmitters include serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine; monoamine releasing agents can induce the release of one or more of these neurotransmitters.
Promegestone, sold under the brand name Surgestone, is a progestin medication which is used in menopausal hormone therapy and in the treatment of gynecological disorders. It is taken by mouth.
The eudysmic ratio represents the difference in pharmacologic activity between the two enantiomers of a drug. In most cases where a chiral compound is biologically active, one enantiomer is more active than the other. The eudysmic ratio is the ratio of activity between the two. A eudysmic ratio significantly differing from 1 means that they are statistically different in activity. Eudisimic ratio (ER) reflects the degree of enantioselectivity of the biological systems. For example, (S)-propranolol meaning that (S)-propranolol is 130 times more active than its (R)-enantiomer.
A serotonin–dopamine reuptake inhibitor (SDRI) is a type of drug which acts as a reuptake inhibitor of the monoamine neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine by blocking the actions of the serotonin transporter (SERT) and dopamine transporter (DAT), respectively. This in turn leads to increased extracellular concentrations of serotonin and dopamine, and, therefore, an increase in serotonergic and dopaminergic neurotransmission.
HA-966 or (±)-3-amino-1-hydroxy-pyrrolidin-2-one is a molecule used in scientific research as a glycine receptor and NMDA receptor antagonist / low efficacy partial agonist. It has neuroprotective and anticonvulsant, anxiolytic, antinociceptive and sedative / hypnotic effects in animal models. Pilot human clinical trials in the early 1960s showed that HA-966 appeared to benefit patients with tremors of extrapyramidal origin.
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Chiral inversion is the process of conversion of one enantiomer of a chiral molecule to its mirror-image version with no other change in the molecule.
Erythrohydrobupropion is a substituted amphetamine derivative—specifically a β-hydroxyamphetamine—and a minor active metabolite of the antidepressant drug bupropion (Wellbutrin). Bupropion is a norepinephrine–dopamine reuptake inhibitor and nicotinic acetylcholine receptor negative allosteric modulator, with its metabolites contributing substantially to its activities. Erythrohydrobupropion exists as a racemic mixture of two stereoisomers, (1R,2S)-erythrohydrobupropion and (1S,2R)-erythrohydrobupropion. Other metabolites of bupropion include hydroxybupropion and threohydrobupropion.
Threohydrobupropion is a substituted amphetamine derivative—specifically a β-hydroxyamphetamine—and a major active metabolite of the antidepressant drug bupropion (Wellbutrin). Bupropion is a norepinephrine–dopamine reuptake inhibitor and nicotinic acetylcholine receptor negative allosteric modulator, with its metabolites contributing substantially to its activities.
(2R,3R)-Hydroxybupropion, or simply (R,R)-hydroxybupropion, is the major metabolite of the antidepressant, smoking cessation, and appetite suppressant medication bupropion. It is the (2R,3R)-enantiomer of hydroxybupropion, which in humans occurs as a mixture of (2R,3R)-hydroxybupropion and (2S,3S)-hydroxybupropion (radafaxine). Hydroxybupropion is formed from bupropion mainly by the cytochrome P450 enzyme CYP2B6. Levels of (2R,3R)-hydroxybupropion are dramatically higher than those of bupropion and its other metabolites during bupropion therapy.
The hydroxylation of bupropion to form hydroxybupropion occurs by cytochrome P450 2B6 (CYP2B6) oxidation (Faucette et al., 2000; Faucette, Hawke, Shord, Lecluyse, & Lindley, 2001; Hesse et al., 2000), and the subsequent cyclization results in the creation of a second chiral center with the potential for the generation of two diastereomers (Suckow, Zhang, & Cooper, 1997). Interestingly, only the trans-diastereomers, (2S,3S)- and (2R,3R)-hydroxybupropion (2a and 2b, respectively), have been found in plasma in humans and when synthesized de novo (Fang et al., 2000), indicating that they are the thermodynamically more stable isomers. Steric hindrance greatly reduces cyclization to the cis-diastereomers, (2R,3S)- and (2S,3R)-hydroxybupropion (Suckow et al., 1997). The chirality of the second stereocenters is determined by the configuration of the existing stereocenter alpha to the ketone derived from either (S)- or (R)- bupropion.
As hydroxybupropion has two chiral centers, there are four possible enantiomers. However, only (R,R)-hydroxybupropion and (S,S)-hydroxybupropion are found in human plasma [62].
Bupropion is chiral and CYP2B6 stereoselective metabolism is observed with (S)-bupropion being metabolised at more than three times the rate of (R)-bupropion (Coles and Kharasch 2008). Because hydroxybupropion has two chiral centres, four enantiomers should be observed: however, only (R,R)-hydroxybupropion and (S,S)- hydroxybupropion are found (Coles and Kharasch 2008).