Absorption of angiotensin II antagonists in Ussing chambers, Caco-2, perfused jejunum loop and in vivo: importance of drug ionisation in the in vitro prediction of in vivo absorption.

The aims of this study were (i) to compare the absorption of three closely related inhibitors of angiotensin II, RU60018, RU60079 and HR720, in various in vitro and in vivo models, and (ii) to explain the differences in the results and to assess the importance of drug ionisation to predict absorption. Drug absorption was investigated in Ussing chambers, Caco-2 cell monolayers, perfused rat jejunum loops and in vivo after oral, intraduodenal or intravenous administration. In Ussing chambers, the analogues showed the same site-related absorption profile and a common mechanism involving the paracellular pathway. At pH 7.4 in Ussing chambers, perfused jejunum loop or Caco-2 transport studies, the three compounds exhibited low and comparable permeability values suggesting that a similar level of oral absorption may be expected for all three compounds. However, after oral or intraduodenal administration, only HR720 was significantly absorbed. The in vivo results can be explained by the ionic distribution profile which indicated that only HR720 possessed a significant amount of uncharged species at pH values close to that found in the upper part of intestinal tract. Hence, it is expected that in this part of the intestine, only HR720 absorption is favoured. This is supported by Caco-2 transport studies performed when the pH of the apical medium was lowered from 7.4 to 6.0, in which a dramatic increase in permeability was observed for HR720 compared to those of the other analogues. This study highlights the usefulness of different absorption models for drug screening and demonstrates that ionisation profiles must be carefully considered to avoid rejection of promising compounds.