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Mycophenolate mofetil
- indication:For the prophylaxis of organ rejection in patients receiving allogeneic renal, cardiac or hepatic transplants. Mycophenolate mofetil should be used concomitantly with cyclosporine and corticosteroids.
- pharmacologypharmacology:
- mechanism: Mycophenolate mofetil is hydrolyzed to form mycophenolic acid (MPA), which is the active metabolite. MPA is a potent, selective, uncompetitive, and reversible inhibitor of inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH), and therefore inhibits the de novo pathway of guanosine nucleotide synthesis without incorporation into DNA. Because T- and B-lymphocytes are critically dependent for their proliferation on de novo synthesis of purines, whereas other cell types can utilize salvage pathways, MPA has potent cytostatic effects on lymphocytes. MPA inhibits proliferative responses of T- and B-lymphocytes to both mitogenic and allospecific stimulation. Addition of guanosine or deoxyguanosine reverses the cytostatic effects of MPA on lymphocytes. MPA also suppresses antibody formation by B-lymphocytes. MPA prevents the glycosylation of lymphocyte and monocyte glycoproteins that are involved in intercellular adhesion to endothelial cells and may inhibit recruitment of leukocytes into sites of inflammation and graft rejection. Mycophenolate mofetil did not inhibit early events in the activation of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells, such as the production of interleukin-1 (IL-1) and interleukin-2 (IL-2), but did block the coupling of these events to DNA synthesis and proliferation.
- toxicity: Oral (LD50): Acute: 352 mg/kg [Rat], 1000 mg/kg [Mouse], and >6000 mg/kg [Rabbit]. Possible signs and symptoms of acute overdose could include the following: hematological abnormalities such as leukopenia and neutropenia, and gastrointestinal symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, and dyspepsia.
- absorprion: Rapidly absorbed following oral administration. In 12 healthy volunteers, the mean absolute bioavailability of oral mycophenolate mofetil relative to intravenous mycophenolate mofetil (based on MPA AUC) was 94%. Food (27 g fat, 650 calories) has no effect on the extent of absorption (MPA AUC) of mycophenolate mofetil.
- halflife: The mean elimination half-life for mycophenolic acid (the active metabolite) ranges from 8-16 hours, while that of the MPAG metabolite ranges from 13-17 hours.
- roouteelimination: Negligible amount of drug is excreted as MPA (< 1% of dose) in the urine. Most (about 87%) of the administered dose is excreted in the urine as MPAG.
- volumedistribution: * 3.6 ±1.5 L/kg [intravenous] * 4 ±1.2 L/kg [oral administration]
- clearance: * 193 +/- 48 mL/min [following oral administration]