Effect of tacrolimus on energy metabolism in human umbilical endothelial cells.

Background: Tacrolimus has a wide spectrum of adverse effects, including neurotoxic and vascular events. Vascular dysfunction due to interference of tacrolimus with mitochondrial function in endothelial cells may contribute to these adverse reactions.

Material/methods: We evaluated the impact of clinically relevant tacrolimus concentrations after 48 hours on energy metabolism in cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC): Global fatty acid oxidation (FAO), activities of respiratory chain complexes I-V (RC), citratesynthase (CS), glycolytic enzymes and energy rich phosphates were measured.