Cited by 99Methemoglobinemia and Tumor Lysis SyndromeHemoglobin structure and functionPoisoning and overdose treatments

Pharmacokinetics of sodium nitrite-induced methemoglobinemia in the rat

Kohn, Michael C., Melnick, Ronald L., Ye, Frank, Portier, Christopher J.·2002·Drug Metabolism and Disposition

Abstract

A biologically based mathematical model was created to characterize time and dose-dependent relationships between exposure to nitrite and induction of methemoglobinemia. The model includes mass action equations for processes known to occur: oral absorption of nitrite, elimination from the plasma, partitioning between plasma and erythrocytes, binding of nitrite to hemoglobin and methemoglobin, and the free radical chain reaction for hemoglobin oxidation. The model also includes Michaelis-Menten kinetics for methemoglobin reductase-catalyzed regeneration of hemoglobin. Body weight-scaled rate constants for absorption (k(a)) and elimination (k(e)), the effective erythrocyte/plasma partition coefficient (P), and the apparent K(m) for methemoglobin reductase were the only parameters estimated by formal optimization to reproduce the observed time course data. Time courses of plasma nitrite concentrations and blood levels of hemoglobin and methemoglobin in male and female rats that had received single intravenous or oral doses of sodium nitrite were measured. Peak plasma levels of nitrite were achieved in both sexes approximately 30 min after oral exposure, and peak methemoglobin levels were achieved after 100 min. The model predicts that 10% of the hemoglobin is oxidized to the ferric form after oral doses of 15.9 mg/kg in male rats and 11.0 mg/kg in female rats and after intravenous doses of 8.9 and 7.1 mg/kg in male and female rats, respectively. The t(1/2) for recovery from methemoglobinemia was 60 to 120 min depending on dose and route of administration. A sensitivity analysis of the model was performed to identify to which parameters the predictions of the model were most sensitive and guide attempts to simplify the model. Replacement of the V(max) of methemoglobin reductase with a value representative of humans predicted a 10% methemoglobinemia following an intravenous dose of 5.8 mg/kg, in close agreement with an observed value of 5.7 mg/kg for humans.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1124/dmd.30.6.676

Cites

25 of 25 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Kohn, M. C., Melnick, R. L., Ye, F., & Portier, C. J.
Affiliations
National Institutes of Health (US)
Venue
Drug Metabolism and Disposition
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2002-06
Volume
30
Issue
6
Pages
676-683
ISSN
0090-9556 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2118746293
Cited by
98
References
24
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 7
FWCI
2.46
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Drug Metabolism and Disposition (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine › Methemoglobinemia and Tumor Lysis Syndrome
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Hemoglobin structure and function
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Emergency Medicine › Poisoning and overdose treatments
Keywords
sodium nitrite, methemoglobinemia, pharmacokinetics, mathematical model, hemoglobin oxidation, methemoglobin reductase, Michaelis-Menten kinetics, free radical chain reaction, oral absorption, dose-response relationship, sex differences, recovery time, rats
MeSH terms
Animals, Female, Hemoglobins, Male, Methemoglobin, Methemoglobinemia, Models, Biological, Rats, Inbred F344, Sodium Nitrite, Rats

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review