AsianScientist (Oct. 28, 2015) – In a study published in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, researchers have found results which suggest that mothers taking new anti-hepatitis C and/or anti-HIV drugs along with anti-hypertensives or non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) could face an increased risk of birth defects or stunted fetal growth, respectively.
In earlier animal studies, various investigators had shown that NSAIDs can cause birth defects, and that anti-hypertensives retard fetal growth. Despite the importance of understanding how drugs cross the placenta, studies in pregnant woman are often rare and inadequate, said Tomo Nabekura, a professor at School of Pharmacy, Aichi Gakuin University.
In this new study, Nabekura and colleagues have showed that antiviral drugs such as boceprevir, telaprevir, elvitegravir, and maraviroc could inhibit the transport of two fluorescent ‘surrogate’ drugs across human placental BeWo cells. Surrogate drugs are compounds that interact with the trans-placental transporter proteins in the same manner as the drugs of interest, but which are not used as drugs.
Competitive inhibition arises due to the fact that surrogate drugs and the antiviral drugs have the same mechanism for binding to the transporter proteins, Nabekura explained. The functional amino acids in the transporter are positively charged, while the antivirals (as well as the NSAIDs and anti-hypertensives) are negatively charged.
This research raises the possibility that in pregnant women taking both antivirals and NSAIDs and/or anti-hypertensives, the accumulation of NSAIDs or anti-hypertensives in the fetal circulation could damage the fetus. In contrast, the antivirals themselves have not been shown to harm a fetus.
“The new research shows that a more detailed knowledge of placental drug transport is badly needed,” said Nabekura. “Investigators need to conduct in vivo pharmacokinetic studies of drug transfer in the developing placenta, and pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in the fetuses.”
The article can be found at: Nabekura et al. (2015) Effects of Antiviral Drugs on Organic Anion Transport in Human Placental BeWo cells.
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Source: American Society for Microbiology; Photo: Shutterstock.
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