4. Discussion
Pharmacogenomics is proving to be a useful tool in the delivery of safe and efficacious medications in many populations [
1] but its application in the African clinical setting is still in its infancy. To translate evidence from the laboratory into the clinical setting we set out to identify the main pharmacogenes and their variants that may be used in everyday clinical practice in Southern Africa. Using clinical data from patients in our study cohorts comprising individuals from Malawi, South Africa, and Zimbabwe; we identified the most prescribed drugs and their respective pharmacogenes and variants of interest in the Southern African setting. Using the cohorts at our disposal we report on the main disorders or diseases and provide a preliminary list of pharmacogenetic variants for consideration in translation to clinical utility in these populations. The list of variants in important pharmacogenes will continue to be updated as more information becomes available from ongoing studies.
The collision of disease burden between infectious and non-communicable diseases is seen through the cohorts we evaluated. The top ten causes of death in South Africa [
13] are HIV/AIDS, ischemic heart disease, stroke, lower respiratory infections, diabetes, TB, road injuries, interpersonal violence, neonatal disorders and diarrheal disease. Zimbabwe has a similar picture to that of South Africa, with HIV/AIDS being the biggest threat among its approximately 16 million people [
14] followed by lower respiratory infections, TB, ischaemic heart disorders and neonatal disorders completing the top five causes of death. In Malawi, with a population of 18.6 million, maternal and neonatal disorders, HIV/AIDS, lower respiratory infections and TB, and malaria are the top five causes of death [
15]. Despite the inherent preponderance of cardiovascular disease of our study population, our study cohort represents the general ailments plaguing patients in Southern Africa; and therefore, provides a satisfactory basis to identify pharmacogenomic patterns in this population.
The epidemiological transition associated with progressive urbanisation has led to an increase in cardiovascular risk factors like hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia and obesity [
16]. These developments have resulted in an epidemiological shift that favours the rise of NCDs in Africa. NCDs accounted for 37% of deaths in Africa in 2019, up from 24% in 2000 [
16]. Hypertension is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease, contributing to the [
17,
18] development of heart failure, atrial fibrillation, coronary artery disease, left ventricular hypertrophy, stroke, kidney failure and dementia. At least 58% of our study participants were hypertensive, with 30% of participants outside the hypertension cohort reporting hypertension as a comorbidity. Amlodipine was the most prescribed antihypertensive taken by approximately 90% of people with hypertension. Amlodipine therefore should be a top consideration for initiating pharmacogenomic testing in Southern Africa. Other antihypertensives of importance as evidenced by our cohort are enalapril, HCT, atenolol and furosemide.
Dyslipidemia, as measured by elevated cholesterol, is estimated to have a prevalence of 25.5% in African populations [
19]. In our cohort, dyslipidemia was reported in 31.5% of the patients whilst statins, in particular atorvastatin, were the lipid-lowering drugs of choice. The pharmacogenes involved in statin therapy should therefore be amongst the variants considered in clinical utility of pharmacogenetics in Southern Africa. Similarly, the pharmacogenetics of the oral hypoglycaemic metformin should also be considered in pharmacogenetic translation amongst African populations. There were 24 million people living with diabetes in Africa in 2021 [
16,
20], up from 19 million in 2019 [
16]. The number of people living with diabetes in Africa is estimated to be 47 million in 2045 [
16]. Diabetes therefore will require effective therapy aided by pharmacogenetic testing in clinical settings.
Although only 20.3% of the people in our study were reported to have HIV, HIV/AIDS remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Southern African countries [
13,
14,
15]. As this study included data from multiple cohorts selected for specific indications, the prevalence of HIV reported here is not representative of the true prevalence of HIV in the population. Efavirenz was the most prescribed ARV drug in South Africa whilst lamivudine and stavudine were the most prescribed in Malawi. However, both cohorts were enrolled before the 2019 WHO recommendation [
13] to prescribe DTG in combination with a nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor, as preferred first line therapy for PLWH instead of efavirenz. Zimbabwe [
22], Malawi and South Africa [
23] have all begun the process of changing over from efavirenz to dolutegravir as an important component of first line therapy. Pharmacogenomic testing in HIV patients will therefore need to focus on DTG pharmacogenomics. DTG is provided in all three countries as a single pill combination containing DTG, lamivudine and tenofovir [
23]. Thus, the pharmacogenetics of all three of these drugs should be considered when selecting pharmacogenes of clinical importance in Southern Africa.
The drug transporter Organic cationic transporter 1 (OCT1), which is encoded by the gene
SLC22A1, potentially affects disposition of at least 30% of the prescribed drugs in our cohort, including metformin and tramadol. The main polymorphisms implicated in the pharmacogenomics of OCT1, are rs12208357, rs34130495, rs72552763, rs628031 and rs34059508 [
24,
25], mostly resulting in increased area under the curve for metformin.
SLC22A1 SNP rs628031 is associated with occurrence of adverse reactions to metformin [
26] and together with rs72552763 are the only common enough to be considered priority variants in Southern Africa.
SLC22A2 encodes OCT2 which is the main facilitator of metformin uptake in the kidney [
24]. OTC2 is also involved in the uptake of DTG. The most common
SLC22A2 variant is rs316019 (c.808G>T) which is linked to lactic acidosis [
27], a potentially fatal reaction to metformin [
24]. This variant occurs in at least 10% of all major global populations and can therefore be considered a priority variant for metformin pharmacogenomics.
Organic anion transporter protein B1 (OATPB1) which is encoded by
SLCO1B1 is responsible for the hepatic uptake of statins and is a major pharmacogene in statin therapy. As expected, it is a pharmacogene of interest in atorvastatin and simvastatin therapy.
SLCO1B1 variant rs4149056 (c.521T>C, p. Val174Ala) is implicated in statin induced myopathy [
28]. This variant results in reduced transporter activity that raises statin levels, including simvastatin [
29,
30], to plasma concentrations that result in myopathy. CPIC guidelines recommend testing for
SLCO1B1 c.521T>C when considering statin therapy [
29]. Although this
SLCO1B1 variant is rare in African populations [
11,
32,
33,
34], it remains a priority variant in the multiracial Southern African population, particularly among the Mixed Ancestry population. Similarly, efflux transporter
ABCG2 is also implicated in statin metabolism and is a CPIC recommended pharmacogene of interest in statin therapy [
31].
ABCG2 rs2231142 (c.421C>A) results in reduced activity of the efflux transporter and thus increased statin plasma levels and increased risk of statin induced myopathy [
35].
ABCG2 c.421A is also listed as an important variant in statin therapy by CPIC [
31]. However, even though c.421A allele is virtually absent from African populations [
11,
33,
36], it remains a priority variant among the admixtured population groups. Some African specific variants in
SLCO1B1 and
ABCG2 although occurring at high frequencies, lack enough evidence on their functional significance to warrant consideration in the pharmacogenetics of lipid-lowering therapy, thus, call for more studies in individuals of African descent.
ABCB1 encodes the efflux transporter Multi Drug Resistance Protein 1/P-glycoprotein which is involved in disposition of several drugs taken by patients in our combined cohort including amlodipine, simvastatin, atorvastatin, efavirenz, nevirapine, tramadol, warfarin and DTG. Despite its broad spectrum of substrates only
ABCB1 variant rs1045642 (c.3435C>T) has accumulated evidence of pharmacogenetic effect in disease management. The
ABCB1 c.3435T allele has been implicated in treatment outcomes of antimalarials artemether and lumefantrine [
37], warfarin stable dose frequency [
38] and breast cancer chemotherapy [
39]. However, the c.3435T allele has varying frequencies in different populations being low among Africans (0.19) and much higher among the Mixed ancestry (0.40) [
11]. Despite this,
ABCB1 c.3435C>T remains a priority variant in clinical translation of pharmacogenetics in Southern African populations; supported by the broad spectrum of important therapeutic agents that the transporter effluxes.
CYP3A4 metabolises at least 20% of the most prescribed drugs mentioned in our study cohort, including amlodipine, which was taken by 90% of the hypertensive patients. CYP3A4 is also responsible for DTG disposition. CYP3A4 and CYP3A5 share a high degree of sequence homology and considerable substrate overlap [
40]; together they are involved in the disposition of 50-60% of drug substrates [
10] and based on this evidence
CYP3A4 is marked a “very important pharmacogene” by PharmGKB [
10]. There is substantial evidence of the involvement of CYP3A4*1B and CYP3A5*3, *6 and *7 in the pharmacogenomics of their substrates. CYP3A4*1B occurs in 82% of African individuals [
38] and may therefore be an important variant in the clinical translation of pharmacogenetics in Southern Africa.
CYP3A5*3/*3 genotype is associated with complete absence of CYP3A5 activity [
42]. CYP3A5*3 occurs at a frequency of 80-90% in individuals of European descent [
43] and 66-96% in Asian populations; therefore, CYP3A5 activity is rare in these individuals. CYP3A5*3 is less frequent in individuals of African descent [
11] and showed marked variation in frequency between Black Africans (0.19) when compared to Mixed Ancestry South Africans (0.58) and therefore may be a priority variant in clinical translation of pharmacogenetics in Southern Africa. Similarly, CYP3A5*6 and *7, which are predominantly African variants [
42] and almost absent in other populations, thus, should be prioritized in pharmacogenetic testing in the Southern African clinical settings.
CYP2B6 is an important drug metabolizing enzyme involved in the disposition of both efavirenz and tamoxifen [
44]. EFV was the backbone of first line ART prior to the introduction of DTG. High plasma levels of EFV are linked to central nervous system toxicity.
CYP2B6 c.516T/T genotype has been linked to increased EFV plasma levels [
3,
45,
46] and consequently, neurological toxicity. As the switch from EFV to DTG is still ongoing in most of Africa,
CYP2B6 c.516G>T (rs3745274) remains a variant of interest in African populations. This variant occurs in less than 30%, and 20%, respectively, among Europeans and Asians, but has been reported at frequencies of at least 40% in Africans [
45,
46]. CYP2B6 is also involved in the disposition of tamoxifen, thus, remains important regardless of the withdrawal of efavirenz [
44]. CYP2D6 metabolises up to 30% of drugs commonly used in clinical practice and metabolises tamoxifen and tramadol, which are both frequently used in the management of breast cancer in Southern Africa. Of interest is
CYP2D6*17 (rs28371706, c.1023C>T), which occurs in at least 30% of individuals of African descent [
47] and lowers the activity of the enzyme. This variant should be considered in clinical utility of pharmacogenomics especially in breast cancer patients.
CYP2C9 is an important enzyme in the pharmacogenomics of cardiovascular diseases and therefore a potential priority pharmacogene in Africans in Southern Africa, where cardiovascular disorders are a growing burden. CYP2C9 is critical in warfarin therapy and simvastatin disposition [
10]. Both simvastatin and warfarin were among the top 20 prescribed drugs in the four cohorts. CYP2C9 is also involved in metabolism of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) like ibuprofen, and aspirin both commonly used in pain management in our cohort. The CPIC issued pharmacogenetic based dose guidelines for both NSAIDS [
48] and warfarin [
2]. The most common polymorphisms in
CYP2C9 are *2 (R144C; rs1799853) and *3 (I359L; p rs1057910) which are both used in pharmacogenetic based dosing guidelines for NSAIDS(51) and warfarin [
2] However, in African populations CYP2C9*5, *6, *8 and *11 are more common [
11] and therefore, should be considered in the pharmacogenomics of CYP2C9 therapeutic substrates. CYP2C19 is mildly involved in the disposition of warfarin and tamoxifen. Loss of function variants *2 and *3 are implicated in reduced enzyme activity. Homozygotes *2/*2 and *3/*3 are classified as poor metabolisers [
49]. Due to the minimal involvement of CYP2C19 as the primary metabolising enzyme, this pharmacogene may not be top priority for clinical application and can therefore be genotyped upon request.
Uridine diphosphate glucuronosyltransferases (UGT) proteins are a super family of enzymes responsible for glucuronidation of target substrates like lipophilic drugs. UGT1A1 is involved in the disposition of DTG and paracetamol, a common analgesic as reported from data on our combined cohort. The most common genetic variant affecting UGT1A1 function is the dinucleotide Tan repeat polymorphism (rs3064744) located in a TATAA consensus element [
50]. Genotyping rs3064744 allows for the detection of four main variations of this polymorphism, namely
UGT1A1*1 (TA6 reference genotype),
UGT1A1*28 (TA7 reference genotype),
UGT1A1*36 (TA5 reference genotype) and
UGT1A1*37 (TA8).
UGT1A1*28 and
*37 both result in reduced enzyme activity whilst *36 increases enzyme activity. A second
UGT1A1 polymorphism, *6 (rs4148323, c.211G>A; p.Gly71Arg) is also indicated in drug response.
UGT1A1 polymorphisms *28 and *6 result in reduced enzyme activity and thus affect metabolism of the enzyme’s drug substrates [
51]. Consequently, the FDA has issued a warning of increased risk of the anticancer drug irinotecan induced neutropenia in individuals homozygous for the *28/*28 genotype [
52]. UGT1A1*6 is rare in African populations and therefore may not be a priority polymorphism in our settings. However, *36 and *37 are exclusively African variants, thus UGT1A1 rs3064744 may be a potentially important variant in pharmacogenetic clinical utility in Southern Africa.
A major limitation of this study is the exclusive use of records from our biorepository and the limited spread of data we obtained in relation to disease in Southern Africa. The pharmacogenomics research in our group has largely been driven by cardiovascular disease and HIV thus the data analysed have a preponderance towards HIV and cardiovascular disorders. TB, malaria and mental health disorders play a significant role in disease burden of Southern Africa and should also be considered in clinical utility of pharmacogenomics in these populations.