Bile duct ligation differently regulates protein expressions of organic cation transporters in intestine,liver and kidney of rats through activation of farnesoid X receptor by cholate and bilirubin

Body is equipped with organic cation transporters(OCTs).These OCTs mediate drug transport and are also involved in some disease process.We aimed to investigate whether liver failure alters intestinal,hepatic and renal Oct expressions using bile duct ligation(BDL)rats.Pharmacokinetic analysis demonstrates that BDL decreases plasma metformin exposure,associated with decreased intestinal absorption and increased urinary excretion.Western blot shows that BDL significantly downregulates intestinal Oct2 and hepatic Oct1 but upregulates renal and hepatic Oct2.In vitro cell experiments show that chenodeoxycholic acid(CDCA),bilirubin and farnesoid X receptor(FXR)agonist GW4064 increase OCT2/Oct2 but decrease OCT1/Oct1,which are remarkably attenuated by glycine-β-muricholic acid and silencing FXR.Significantly lowered intestinal CDCA and increased plasma bilirubin levels contribute to different Octs regulation by BDL,which are confirmed using CDCA-treated and bilirubin-treated rats.A disease-based physiologically based pharmacokinetic model characterizing intestinal,hepatic and renal Octs was successfully developed to predict metformin pharmacokinetics in rats.In conclusion,BDL remarkably downregulates expressions of intestinal Oct2 and hepatic Oct1 protein while upregulates expressions of renal and hepatic Oct2 protein in rats,finally,decreasing plasma exposure and impairing hypoglycemic effects of metformin.BDL differently regulates Oct expressions via Fxr activation by CDCA and bilirubin.

Inhibitory effects of apigenin and kaempferol on the essential solute carrier transporters

AIM： To evaluate the inhibitory effects of apigenin and kaempferol on the uptake of several important solute carrier （SLC） transporters.METHODS： Various SLC transporters including the essential human organic anion transporter 1 （OAT1）, OAT2, OAT3 and OAT4 as well as the important organic cation transporter 1 （OCTN1） and OCTN2, were over-expressed in human embryonic kidney （HEK）-293 cells, a well-established cell model of transporter studies. Transport uptake assay was performed 24 h after the transfection. The transport activity was assessed with the uptake of previously determined transporter model substrates and the inhibitory effect of apigenin and kaempferol was evaluated with the substrate uptake in the presence of 10 μmol/L of each compound. Uptake measurements with varying concentrations of inhibitors （ranged from 0.0001 to 50 μmol/L） were performed to further characterize the inhibitory potency of apigenin and kaempferol. The IC50 value （the concentration that inhibits 50% of the transporter function） of each com-pound was then calculated by the nonlinear regression model of Graphpad Prism 6.0 software.RESULTS： Our data indicated that apigenin could potently inhibit the uptake of estrone-3-sulfate （ES） mediated by the HEK-293 cells expressing OAT2, OAT3 and OAT4 as well as the L-ergothioneine uptake via OCTN1-expressing HEK-293 cells. Among these trans-porters, the most prominent inhibition of apigenin was observed in the case of OAT3. Kaempferol showed sig-nifcant inhibitory effects on the uptake of ES mediated through OAT2 and OAT3. Impaired L-ergothioneine uptake due to the presence of kaempferol was also ob-served in OCTN1-expressing HEK-293 cells. Similar to apigenin, kaempferol showed the most potent inhibito-ry effect on OAT3 as well. To further assess the inhibi-tory potencies of these two compounds on the uptake of ES mediated by OAT3-expressing HEK-293 cells, their IC50 values were then determined. Both chemicals showed pronounced inhibitory potencies on OAT3 with the IC50 values of 1.7 ± 0.1 and 1.0 ± 0.1 μmol/L （P 〈 0.01） for apigenin and kaempferol, respectively.CONCLUSION： Both apigenin and kaempferol are po-tent inhibitors of OAT3; precautions will be necessary when co-administrating them with drugs that are sub-strates of OAT3.

OCTN and CARD15 gene polymorphism in Chinese patients with inflammatory bowel disease

AIM： To investigate the single nucleotide polymorphism （SNPs） distribution of NOD2/CARD15 （R702W, G908R）, OCTN1 1672CFT and OCTN2-207G/C in Chinese patients with inflammatory bowel disease （IBD）. METHODS： A total of 61 patients with Crohn＇s disease （CD）, 151 patients with ulcerative colitis （UC）, and 200 unrelated healthy controls were genotyped. Genotyping was performed by sequence specific primer polymerase chain reaction （PCR-SSP） or by restriction fragment length polymorphism （PCR-RFLP） analysis. RESULTS： Among the subjects in our study groups, including patients with CD, UC and healthy controls, none had OCTN and CARD15 variants and very rare IBD family history was found in our patients with the percentage of 0 （0/61 with CD） and 1.3% （2/151 with UC）. CONCLUSION： Our results indicate that although OCTN or CARD15 variation is associated with susceptibility to IBD in Western populations, these might be rare and may not be associated with susceptibility to IBD in Chinese patients.

Role of CARD15,DLG5 and OCTN genes polymorphisms in children with inflammatory bowel diseases

AIM: To investigate the contribution of variants of CARD15, OCTN1/2 and DLG5 genes in disease predispo- sition and phenotypes in a large Italian cohort of pediatric patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). METHODS: Two hundred patients with Crohn’s disease (CD), 186 ulcerative colitis (UC) patients, 434 par- ents (217 trios), and 347 healthy controls (HC) were studied. Polymorphisms of the three major variants of CARD15, 1672C/T and -207G/C SNPs for OCTN genes, IGR2096a_1 and IGR2198a_1 SNPs for the IBD5 locus, and 113G/A variant of the DLG5 gene were evaluated. Potential correlations with clinical sub-phenotypes were investigated. RESULTS: Polymorphisms of CARD15 were significantly associated with CD, and at least one variant was found in 38% of patients (15% in HC, OR = 2.7, P < 0.001). Homozygosis for both OCTN1/2 variants was more com- mon in CD patients (1672TT 24%, -207CC 29%) than in HC (16% and 21%, respectively; P = 0.03), with an in- creased frequency of the TC haplotype (44.8% vs 38.3% in HC, P = 0.04). No association with the DLG5 variant was found. CD carriers of OCTN1/2 and DLG5 variants more frequently had penetrating disease (P = 0.04 and P = 0.01), while carriers of CARD15 more frequently had ileal localization (P = 0.03). No gene-gene interaction was found. In UC patients, the TC haplotype was morefrequent (45.4%, P = 0.03), but no genotype/phenotype correlation was observed. CONCLUSION: Polymorphisms of CARD15 and OCTN genes, but not DLG5 are associated with pediatric on- set of CD. Polymorphisms of CARD15, OCTN, and DLG5 genes exert a weak influence on CD phenotype.

Hepatocellular transport proteins and their role in liver disease

MOLECULAR PHYSIOLLGY OF HEPATOCELLULAR TRANSPORT PROTEINS Basolaferal transport systems Na+-dependent bile salt uptake Uptake of bile salts into the liver was first isolated perfused rat liver[1],isolated hepatocyte cultures and basolateral plasma membrane vesicles [2,4].

Preparation and characterization of intestinal transporter-targeted polymeric micelles

The intestinal epithelium is the main barrier to the oral delivery of poorly water-soluble drugs. Based on the specific transporters expressed on the apical membrane of the intestinal epithelium, novel polymer micelles targeting to the organic cation transporter 2（OCTN2） were constructed by combining carnitine conjugated poly（2-ethyl-2-oxazoline）-poly（D,L-lactide）（Car-PEOz-PLA） with monomethoxy poly（ethylene glycol）-poly（D,L-lactide）（mP EG-PLA）. The structure of the synthesized Car-PEOz-PLA was confirmed by -1H NMR, TLC and ammonium reineckate precipitation reaction, and the number-average molecular weight determined by GPC was 7260 g/mol with a low PDI of 1.44. Coumarin 6-loaded carnitine modified polymeric micelles prepared by film hydration method were characterized to have a nano-scaled size of about 31 nm in diameter, uniform spherical morphology, high drug loading content of 0.098%±0.03% and encapsulation efficiency of 92.67%±2.80%. Moreover, the carnitine-modified micelles exhibited the similar in vitro release behavior in SGF and SIF, and evidently enhanced intestinal absorption of poorly water-soluble agent. Therefore, the designed OCTN2-targeted micelles might have a promising potential for oral delivery of poorly water-soluble drugs.