Novel CYP3A4 intron 6 single nucleotide polymorphism is associated with simvastatin-mediated cholesterol reduction in The Rotterdam Study

OBJECTIVESCYP3A4 is involved in the oxidative metabolism of many drugs and xenobiotics including the HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor simvastatin. The objective of this study was to investigate whether a new CYP3A4 functional single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in intron 6 (CYP3A4*22) modifies the effect of simvastatin on total cholesterol (TOTc) or LDL cholesterol (LDLc) reduction in a population-based cohort study. METHODSIn a total of 80 incident simvastatin users, the association between the CYP3A4 intron 6 C>T SNP (rs35599367) and reduction in cholesterol levels was analyzed using linear regression analysis and adjusting for potential confounding factors. RESULTSThe CYP3A4*22 allele was associated with a trend towards a stronger simvastatin lipid-lowering response, as reflected by the greater reduction in both TOTc and LDLc levels when compared with homozygous wild type. We observed that the CYP3A4*22 allele carriers had an increased reduction in TOTc and LDLc−0.25 mmol/l (95% confidence interval [CI95%]=[−0.52; 0.01], P=0.058) and −0.29 mmol/l (CI95%=[−0.58; 0.01], P=0.054) when compared with homozygous CC. When we adjusted the model for potential confounding factors, the corresponding reduction in TOTc was −0.31 mmol/l (CI95%=[−0.59;−0.04], P=0.028) and for LDLc −0.34 mmol/l (CI95%=[−0.66; −0.02], P=0.034) greater for CYP3A4*22 allele carriers when compared with homozygotes wild type. CONCLUSIONThe CYP3A4*22 intron 6 SNP T-variant allele was associated with reduced CYP3A4 activity, resulting in a better lipid lowering response to simvastatin, when data were adjusted for confounding factors. This observation is a step towards the clarification of the reasons of interindividual variability in statins response and may potentially lead to improved tailoring of simvastatin therapy.