The Pharmacogenomics Journal - Pharmacogenomics of phase II metabolizing enzymes and drug transporters: clinical implications

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The Pharmacogenomics Journal - Pharmacogenomics of phase II metabolizing enzymes and drug transporters: clinical implications

Review

The Pharmacogenomics Journal (2013) 13, 105–109; doi:10.1038/tpj.2012.42; published online 9 October 2012

Pharmacogenomics of phase II metabolizing enzymes and drug transporters: clinical implications

E Ch Yiannakopoulou¹

¹Department of Basic Medical Lessons Faculty of Health and Caring Professions Technological Educational Institute of Athens, Athens, Greece

Correspondence: Dr E Ch Yiannakopoulou, Eleutheriou Benizelou 106 Kallithea, Athens 17676, Greece. E-mail: nyiannak@teiath.gr or egian@med.uoa.gr

Received 7 June 2012; Revised 26 July 2012; Accepted 20 August 2012
Advance online publication 9 October 2012

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Abstract

The clinical impact of pharmacogenomics remains a hot topic of current research efforts. Although pharmacogenomics of phase I metabolizing enzymes seems to have been well studied, knowledge on the clinical impact of genetic variability of phase II metabolizing enzymes and drug transporters is more limited. This paper reviews data on the pharmacogenomics of phase II metabolizing enzymes as well as of ATP binding cassette transporters and of solute carrier transporters focusing on clinical implications for drug efficacy and drug toxicity. The clinical impact of some of these polymorphisms has been well defined i.e. the association between polymorphisms of organic anion transporter polypeptides and statin induced myopathy. However, as the same drug may be substrate for different enzymes and different transporters, it is difficult to elucidate the impact of each polymorphism. Investigating the impact of multiple polymorphisms might be more clinically meaningful, although methodologically challenging.

Keywords:

pharmacogenomics; drug transporters; phase II metabolizing enzymes