HEPATIC-METABOLISM AND DISTRIBUTION OF MIFEPRISTONE AND ITS METABOLITES IN RATS

The hepatic metabolism of mifepristone was studied in female Wistar rats following oral administration of 10 mg/kg. The extraction of mifepristone by the rat liver was effective, eliminating 80% of the mifepristone. During the absorption phase, the portal serum concentrations of mifepristone were over 10-fold higher than those measured in systemic serum. The serum concentrations of the monodemethylated, didemethylated and hydroxylated metabolites of mifepristone were lower in systemic serum, indicating that the metabolites were also effectively excreted by the rat liver. The distribution of mifepristone and its demethylated metabolites between serum, brain, muscle and adipose tissue was studied in lean and obese Zucker rats following repeated oral administration of 10 mg/kg. The individual serum concentrations of mifepristone varied considerably, from 24-482 ng/ml; the mean (+/- SE) serum concentrations for lean and obese rats were 167 (+/- 86) and 211 (+/- 62) ng/ml respectively. Mifepristone could be measured in brain in each animal, its concentrations being 28% of those measured in serum. Muscle tissue and serum contained approximately similar concentrations of mifepristone. Adipose tissue effectively concentrated mifepristone, and its concentrations were 40-fold higher in fat than in serum. The difference in the concentrations of mifepristone between the lean and obese animals was statistically significant only in brain tissue (P < 0.05). The serum concentrations and brain, muscle and adipose tissue concentrations of mifepristone were significantly correlated (P < 0.05). The distribution of the demethylated metabolites was roughly similar to that of mifepristone. However, their concentrations were significantly higher (P < 0.02) in the obese animals in each tissue type investigated. Also, the serum and tissue concentrations of the metabolites were significantly correlated (P < 0.001). The pharmacokinetics of mifepristone differ profoundly between rat and man, the most likely explanation being lack of high-affinity binding protein for mifepristone in rat serum. The low concentrations of mifepristone in the brain tissue suggest limited entry of mifepristone into central nervous tissue. This might also explain the dose-dependent nature of some centrally mediated effects of mifepristone in man.