Methotrexate accumulation in target intestinal mucosa and white blood cells differs from non-target red blood cells of patients with Crohn's disease

Maartje M van de Meeberg*, Janani Sundaresan, Marry Lin, Gerrit Jansen, Eduard A Struys, Herma H Fidder, Bas Oldenburg, Wout G N Mares, Nofel Mahmmod, Dirk P van Asseldonk, Svend T Rietdijk, Loes H C Nissen, Nanne K H de Boer, Gerd Bouma, Maja Bulatović Ćalasan, Robert de Jonge,

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Intracellular methotrexate polyglutamates (MTX-PGs) concentrations are measurable in red blood cells (RBCs) during MTX treatment. MTX-PG 3 concentrations correlate with efficacy in patients with Crohn's disease (CD). Since RBCs are not involved in pathogenesis of CD and lack extended MTX metabolism, we determined MTX-PGs accumulation in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs: effector cells) and intestinal mucosa (target cells) and compared those with RBCs as a potential more precise biomarker.

METHODS: In a multicentre prospective cohort study, blood samples of patients with CD were collected during the first year of MTX therapy. Mucosal biopsies were obtained from non-inflamed rectum and/or inflamed intestine. MTX-PGs concentrations in mucosa, PBMCs and RBCs were measured by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

RESULTS: From 80 patients with CD, a total of 27 mucosal biopsies, 9 PBMC and 212 RBC samples were collected. From 12 weeks of MTX therapy onwards, MTX-PG 3 was the most predominant species (33%) in RBCs. In PBMCs, the distribution was skewed towards MTX-PG 1 (48%), which accounted for an 18 times higher concentration than in RBCs. Long-chain MTX-PGs were highly present in mucosa: 21% of MTX-PG total was MTX-PG 5. MTX-PG 6 was measurable in all biopsies.

CONCLUSIONS: MTX-PG patterns differ between mucosa, PBMCs and RBCs of patients with CD.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)308-320
Number of pages13
JournalBasic & Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology
Volume135
Issue number3
Early online date8 Jul 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2024

Keywords

  • Crohn's disease
  • methotrexate
  • pharmacokinetics
  • therapeutic drug monitoring

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