• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
• /
• v.5 no.2
• /
• pp.107-122
• /
• 2001

A function of the kidney is elimination of a variety of xenobiotics ingested and wasted endogenous compounds from the body. Organic anion and cation transport systems play important roles to protect the body from harmful substances. The renal proximal tubule is the primary site of carrier-mediated transport from blood into urine. During the last decade, molecular cloning has identified several families of multispecific organic anion and cation transporters, such as organic anion transporter (OAT), organic cation transporter (OCT), and organic anion-transporting polypeptide (oatp). Additional findings also suggested ATP-dependent organic ion transporters such as MDR1/P-glycoprotein and the multidrug resistance-associated protein (MRP) as efflux pump. The substrate specificity of these transporters is multispecific. These transporters also play an important role as drug transporters. Studies on their functional properties and localization provide information in renal handling of drugs. This review summarizes the latest knowledge on molecular properties and pharmacological significance of renal organic ion transporters.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
• /
• v.21 no.6
• /
• pp.677-682
• /
• 1998

The present study was designed to examine the metabolism of 1-anilino-8-naphthalene sulfonate (ANS), an anionic compound which is transported into liver via "multispecific organ ic anion transporter", with rat hepatic microsomes. TLC analysis indicated that the fluorescent metabolites were not produced to a measurable extent, which made it possible to assess the ANS metabolism by measuring the fluorescence disappearance. The metabolism of ANS was remarkably inhibited by the presence of SKF-525A as well as by the substitution of 02 by CO gas. ANS metabolism by microsomes also required NADPH as a cofactor. These results indicated that the microsomal monooxygenase system might be mainly responsible for the ANS metabolism. The maximum velocity ($V_{max}$) and Michaelis constant ($K_m$) were calculated to be $4.3{\pm}0.2$ nmol/min/mg protein and $42.1{\pm}2.0\;{\mu}M$, respectively. Assuming that 1g of liver contains 32mg of microsomal protein, the $V_{max}$ value was extrapolated to that per g of liver ($V_{max}^I$). The intrinsic metabolic clearance ($CL_{int}$) under linear conditions calculated from this in vitro metabolic study was 3.3ml/min/g liver, being comparable with that (3.0ml/min/g liver) calculated by analyzing the in vivo plasma disappearance curve in a previous study. Furthermore, the effects of other organic anions on the metabolism of ANS were examined. Bromophenolblue (BPB) and rose bengal (RB) competitively inhibited the metabolism of ANS, while BSP inhibited it only slightly. The inhibition constant ($K_i$) of BPB ($6\;{\mu}M$) was much smaller than that of RB ($200\;{\mu}M$). In conclusion, the microsomal monooxygenase system plays a major role in the metabolism of ANS, and other unmetabolizable organic anions (BPB and RB) compete for this metabolism.