Abstract

In the hepatic uptake of organic anions, organic anion transporting polypeptide (OATP) 1B1 is believed to be mainly involved. We have constructed a set of double-transfected cells coexpressing OATP1B1 and hepatic efflux transporters and characterized the transcellular transport of several anions. Recent reports have also suggested the importance of OATP1B3 in the hepatic uptake of some compounds. However, there is little information about OATP1B3-selective substrate and no good tool for the evaluation of efflux transporters of OATP1B3 substrates. In the present study, we found an OATP1B3-selective substrate and established a novel set of double transfectants expressing OATP1B3. Telmisartan acylglucuronide (tel-glu) is a main metabolite of telmisartan, an angiotensin II receptor antagonist. Tel-glu is recognized by hepatobiliary transport systems and efficiently distributed to liver. Several studies using rat and human hepatocytes and transporter-expressing cells revealed that OATP1B3 was responsible for the hepatic uptake of tel-glu in humans. By using double transfectants expressing OATP1B3, we investigated the transcellular transport of tel-glu as well as estradiol 17β-d-glucuronide (E₂17βG) and cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK-8) to identify the responsible efflux transporters in their biliary excretion. Vectorial basal-to-apical transport of tel-glu was observed in all kinds of double transfectants expressing OATP1B3. In contrast, basal-to-apical transport of E₂17βG and CCK-8 was seen only in the OATP1B3/MRP2 double transfectant compared with OATP1B3-expressing cells. Therefore, the newly established set of double transfectants expressing OATP1B3 combined with OATP1B1-expressing double transfectants can be used as a powerful tool for the rapid identification of hepatic uptake and efflux transporters of organic anions.