Renal contraluminal transport systems for organic anions (paraaminohippurate, PAH) and organic cations (N1-methyl-nicotinamide, NMeN) do not see the degree of substrate ionization

Development of a physiologically-based pharmacokinetic model of the rat central nervous system

Central nervous system (CNS) drug disposition is dictated by a drug's physicochemical properties and its ability to permeate physiological barriers. The blood-brain barrier (BBB), blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier and centrally located drug transporter proteins influence drug disposition within the central nervous system. Attainment of adequate brain-to-plasma and cerebrospinal fluid-to-plasma partitioning is important in determining the efficacy of centrally acting therapeutics. We have developed a physiologically-based pharmacokinetic model of the rat CNS which incorporates brain interstitial fluid (ISF), choroidal epithelial and total cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) compartments and accurately predicts CNS pharmacokinetics. The model yielded reasonable predictions of unbound brain-to-plasma partition ratio (Kpuu,brain) and CSF:plasma ratio (CSF:Plasmau) using a series of in vitro permeability and unbound fraction parameters. When using in vitro permeability data obtained from L-mdr1a cells to estimate rat in vivo permeability, the model successfully predicted, to within 4-fold, Kpuu,brain and CSF:Plasmau for 81.5% of compounds simulated. The model presented allows for simultaneous simulation and analysis of both brain biophase and CSF to accurately predict CNS pharmacokinetics from preclinical drug parameters routinely available during discovery and development pathways.

A role for the organic anion transporter OAT3 in renal creatinine secretion in mice

Tubular secretion of the organic cation, creatinine, limits its value as a marker of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) but the molecular determinants of this pathway are unclear. The organic anion transporters, OAT1 and OAT3, are expressed on the basolateral membrane of the proximal tubule and transport organic anions but also neutral compounds and cations. Here, we demonstrate specific uptake of creatinine into mouse mOat1- and mOat3-microinjected Xenopus laevis oocytes at a concentration of 10 μM (i.e., similar to physiological plasma levels), which was inhibited by both probenecid and cimetidine, prototypical competitive inhibitors of organic anion and cation transporters, respectively. Renal creatinine clearance was consistently greater than inulin clearance (as a measure of GFR) in wild-type (WT) mice but not in mice lacking OAT1 (Oat1-/-) and OAT3 (Oat3-/-). WT mice presented renal creatinine net secretion (0.23 ± 0.03 μg/min) which represented 45 ± 6% of total renal creatinine excretion. Mean values for renal creatinine net secretion and renal creatinine secretion fraction were not different from zero in Oat1-/- (-0.03 ± 0.10 μg/min; -3 ± 18%) and Oat3-/- (0.01 ± 0.06 μg/min; -6 ± 19%), with greater variability in Oat1-/-. Expression of OAT3 protein in the renal membranes of Oat1-/- mice was reduced to ∼6% of WT levels, and that of OAT1 in Oat3-/- mice to ∼60%, possibly as a consequence of the genes for Oat1 and Oat3 having adjacent chromosomal locations. Plasma creatinine concentrations of Oat3-/- were elevated in clearance studies under anesthesia but not following brief isoflurane anesthesia, indicating that the former condition enhanced the quantitative contribution of OAT3 for renal creatinine secretion. The results are consistent with a contribution of OAT3 and possibly OAT1 to renal creatinine secretion in mice.

Major contribution of tubular secretion to creatinine clearance in mice

This study was performed to quantify the fraction of excreted creatinine not attributable to creatinine filtration for accurately determining the glomerular filtration rate in mice. To measure this we compared creatinine filtration with the simultaneous measurement of inulin clearance using both single-bolus fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-inulin elimination kinetics and standard FITC-inulin infusion. During anesthesia, creatinine filtration was found to be systematically higher than inulin clearance in both male and female C57BL/6J mice. The secretion fraction was significantly less in female mice. Administration of either cimetidine or para-aminohippuric acid, competitors of organic cation and anion transport respectively, significantly reduced the secretion fraction in male and female mice and both significantly increased the plasma creatinine level. Creatinine secretion in both genders was not mediated by the organic cation transporters OCT1 or OCT 2 since secretion fraction levels were identical in FVB wild-type and OCT1/2 knockout mice. Thus, secretion accounts for about 50 and 35% of excreted creatinine in male and female mice, respectively. Increasing plasma creatinine threefold by infusion further increased the secretion fraction. Renal organic anion transporter 1 mRNA expression was higher in male than in female mice, reflecting the gender difference in creatinine secretion. Hence we show that there is a major secretory contribution to creatinine excretion mediated through the organic anion transport system. This feature adds to problems associated with measuring endogenous creatinine filtration in mice.

Relative contribution of OAT and OCT transporters to organic electrolyte transport in rabbit proximal tubule

We compared the characteristics of several cloned rabbit organic electrolyte (OE) transporters expressed in cultured cells with their behavior in intact rabbit renal proximal tubules (RPT) to determine the contribution of each to basolateral uptake of the weak acid ochratoxin A (OTA) and the weak base cimetidine (CIM). The activity of organic anion transporters OAT1 and OAT3 proved to be distinguishable because OAT1 had a high affinity for PAH ( Ktof 20 μM) and did not support estrone sulfate (ES) transport, whereas OAT3 had a high affinity for ES ( Ktof 4.5 μM) and a weak interaction with PAH (IC50> 1 mM). In contrast, both transporters robustly accumulated OTA. Intact RPT also accumulated OTA, with OAT1 and OAT3 each responsible for ∼50%: ES and PAH each reduced uptake by ∼50%, and the combination of the two eliminated mediated OTA uptake. The weak base CIM was transported by OAT3 ( Ktof 80 μM) and OCT2 ( Ktof 2 μM); OCT1 had a comparatively low affinity for CIM, and CIM uptake by OAT1 was equivocal. Intact RPT accumulated CIM, with TEA and ES reducing CIM uptake by 20 and 75%, respectively, suggesting that OAT3 plays a quantitatively more significant role in CIM uptake in the early proximal tubule than OCT1/2. In single S2 segments of RPT, ES and TEA each blocked ∼50% of CIM uptake. Thus the fractional contribution of different OE transporters to renal secretion is influenced by their affinity for substrate and relative expression level in RPT.

Molecular and cellular physiology of renal organic cation and anion transport

Organic cations and anions (OCs and OAs, respectively) constitute an extraordinarily diverse array of compounds of physiological, pharmacological, and toxicological importance. Renal secretion of these compounds, which occurs principally along the proximal portion of the nephron, plays a critical role in regulating their plasma concentrations and in clearing the body of potentially toxic xenobiotics agents. The transepithelial transport involves separate entry and exit steps at the basolateral and luminal aspects of renal tubular cells. It is increasingly apparent that basolateral and luminal OC and OA transport reflects the concerted activity of a suite of separate transport processes arranged in parallel in each pole of proximal tubule cells. The cloning of multiple members of several distinct transport families, the subsequent characterization of their activity, and their subcellular localization within distinct regions of the kidney now allows the development of models describing the molecular basis of the renal secretion of OCs and OAs. This review examines recent work on this issue, with particular emphasis on attempts to integrate information concerning the activity of cloned transporters in heterologous expression systems to that observed in studies of physiologically intact renal systems.

The molecular and cellular physiology of basolateral organic anion transport in mammalian renal tubules

Basolateral transport of organic anions (OAs) into mammalian renal proximal tubule cells is a tertiary active transport process. The final step in this process involves movement of OA into the cells against its electrochemical gradient in exchange for alpha-ketoglutarate (alphaKG) moving down its electrochemical gradient. Two homologous transport proteins (OAT1 and OAT3) that function as basolateral OA/alphaKG exchangers have been cloned and sequenced. We are in the process of determining the functional distribution and regulation of OAT1 and OAT3 in renal tubules. We are using rabbit OAT1 (rbOAT1) and OAT3 (rbOAT3) expressed in heterologous cell systems to determine substrate specificity and putative regulatory steps and isolated rabbit proximal renal tubule segments to determine functional distribution and physiological regulation of these transporters within their native epithelium. Rabbit OAT1 and OAT3 differ distinctly in substrate specificity. For example, rbOAT1 has a high affinity for the classical renal OA transport substrate, p-aminohippurate (PAH), whereas rbOAT3 has no affinity for PAH. In contrast, rbOAT3 has a high affinity for estrone sulfate (ES), whereas rbOAT1 has only a very slight affinity for ES. Both rbOAT1 and rbOAT3 appear to have about the same affinity for fluorescein (FL). These differences and similarities in substrate affinities make it possible to functionally map transporters along the renal tubules. Initial data indicate that OAT1 predominates in S2 segments of the rabbit proximal tubules, but studies of other segments are just beginning. Transport of a given substrate in any tubule segment depends on both the affinity of each transporter which can accept that substrate as well as the level of expression of each of those processes in that particular tubule segment. Basolateral PAH transport (presumably OAT1 activity) appears to be down-regulated by activation of protein kinase C (PKC) and up-regulated via mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) through phospholipase A(2) (PLA(2)), prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)), cyclic AMP, and protein kinase A (PKA) activation.

Transport of cimetidine by flounder and human renal organic anion transporter 1

The H(2)-receptor antagonist cimetidine is efficiently excreted by the kidneys. In vivo studies indicated an interaction of cimetidine not only with transporters for basolateral uptake of organic cations but also with those involved in excretion of organic anions. We therefore tested cimetidine as a possible substrate of the organic anion transporters cloned from winter flounder (fROAT) and from human kidney (hOAT1). Uptake of [(3)H]cimetidine into fROAT-expressing Xenopus laevis oocytes exceeded uptake into control oocytes. At -60-mV clamp potential, 1 mM cimetidine induced an inward current, which was smaller than that elicited by 0.1 mM PAH. Cimetidine concentrations exceeding 0.1 mM decreased PAH-induced inward currents, indicating interaction with the same transporter. At pH 6.6, no current was seen with 0.1 mM cimetidine, whereas at pH 8.6 a current was readily detectable, suggesting preferential translocation of uncharged cimetidine by fROAT. Oocytes expressing hOAT1 also showed [(3)H]cimetidine uptake. These data reveal cimetidine as a substrate for fROAT/hOAT1 and suggest that organic anion transporters contribute to cimetidine excretion in proximal tubules.

Effects of organic anion, organic cation, and dipeptide transport inhibitors on cefdinir in the isolated perfused rat kidney

Cefdinir (Omnicef; Abbott Laboratories) is a cephalosporin antibiotic primarily eliminated by the kidney. Nonlinear renal elimination of cefdinir has been previously reported. Cefdinir renal transport mechanisms were studied in the erythrocyte-free isolated perfused rat kidney. Studies were performed with drug-free perfusate and perfusate containing cefdinir alone to establish the baseline physiology and investigate cefdinir renal elimination characteristics. To investigate cefdinir renal transport mechanisms, inhibition studies were conducted by coperfusing cefdinir with inhibitors of the renal organic anion (probenecid), organic cation (tetraethylammonium), or dipeptide (glycylsarcosine) transport system. Cefdinir concentrations in biological samples were determined using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. Differences between treatments and controls were evaluated using analysis of variance and Dunnett's test. The excretion ratio (ER; the renal clearance corrected for the fraction unbound and glomerular filtration rate) for cefdinir was 5.94, a value indicating net renal tubular secretion. Anionic, cationic, and dipeptide transport inhibitors all significantly affected the cefdinir ER. With probenecid, the ER was reduced to 0.59, clearly demonstrating a significant reabsorptive component to cefdinir renal disposition. This finding was confirmed by glycylsarcosine studies, in which the ER was elevated to 7.95, indicating that reabsorption was mediated, at least in part, by the dipeptide transporter system. The effects of the organic cation tetraethylammonium, in which the ER was elevated to 7.53, were likely secondary in nature. The anionic secretory pathway was found to be the predominant mechanism for cefdinir renal excretion.

The human organic cation transporter (hOCT2) recognizes the degree of substrate ionization

The organic cation transporter, OCT2, plays a role in renal secretion of a broad array of weak bases. To determine whether the degree of ionization of these compounds plays a role in their interaction with OCT2, we examined the influence of external pH values on the activity of the human ortholog of OCT2, as expressed in Chinese hamster ovary-K1 cells. Importantly, changing the pH value from 7.0 to 8.0 had no effect on the rate of transport of the fixed cations, tetraethylammonium and 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium, i.e. the pH value did not have an effect upon the transporter itself. Cimetidine (pK(a) 6.92), a competitive inhibitor of hOCT2, displayed a 3.5-fold increase in IC(50) as pH values increased from 7 to 8. hOCT2-mediated cimetidine transport decreased over this pH range, the consequence of an increase in K(t) and decrease in J(max) at the higher pH value. The weak bases trimethoprim and 4-phenylpyridine showed a similar pattern of pH-sensitive interaction with hOCT2. The non-ionizable sterol, corticosterone, also inhibited hOCT2 activity, although it was neither competitive in nature nor was it sensitive to pH in the manner observed with weak bases. We conclude that the degree of ionization plays a critical role in binding of substrate to organic cation transporters.

Molecular cloning and characterization of NKT, a gene product related to the organic cation transporter family that is almost exclusively expressed in the kidney

We have identified a gene product (NKT) encoding an apparently novel transcript that appears to be related to the organic ion transporter family and is expressed almost exclusively in the kidney. Analysis of the deduced 546-amino acid protein sequence indicates that NKT is a unique gene product which shares a similar transmembrane domain hydropathy profile as well as transporter-specific amino acid motifs with a variety of bacterial and mammalian nutrient transporters. Nevertheless, the overall homology of NKT to two recently cloned organic ion transport proteins (NLT and OCT-1) is significantly greater; together these three gene products may represent a new subgroup of transporters. The NKT was characterized further with respect to its tissue distribution and its expression during kidney development. A 2.5-kilobase transcript was found in kidney and at much lower levels in brain, but not in a number of other tissues. Studies on the embryonic kidney indicate that the NKT transcript is developmentally regulated with significant expression beginning at mouse gestational day 18 and rising just before birth, consistent with a role in differentiated kidney function. Moreover, in situ hybridization detected specific signals in mouse renal proximal tubules. NKT was mapped by linkage disequilibrium to mouse chromosome 19, the same site to which several mouse mutations localize, including that for osteochondrodystrophy (ocd). Although initial experiments in a Xenopus oocyte expression system failed to demonstrate transport of known substrates for OCT-1, the homology to OCT-1 and other transporters, along with the proximal tubule localization, raise the possibility that this gene may play a role in organic solute transport or drug elimination by the kidney.

Renal handling of drugs and amino acids after impairment of kidney or liver function--influences of maturity and protective treatment

Renal tubular cells are involved both in secretion and in reabsorption processes within the kidney. Normally, most xenobiotics are secreted into the urine at the basolateral membrane of the tubular cell, whereas amino acids are reabsorbed quantitatively at the luminal side. Under different pathological or experimental circumstances, these transport steps may be changed, e.g., they may be reduced by renal impairment (reduction of kidney mass, renal ischemia, administration of nephrotoxins) or they may be enhanced after stimulation of transport carriers. Furthermore, a distinct interrelationship exists between excretory functions of the kidney and the liver. That means liver injury can influence renal transport systems also (hepato-renal syndrome). In this review, the following aspects were included: based upon general information concerning different transport pathways for xenobiotics and amino acids within kidney cells and upon a brief characterization of methods for testing impairment of kidney function, the maturation of renal transport and its stimulation are described. Similarities and differences between the postnatal development of kidney function and the increase of renal transport capacity after suitable stimulatory treatment by, for example, various hormones or xenobiotics are reviewed. Especially, renal transport in acute renal failure is described for individuals of different ages. Depending upon the maturity of kidney function, age differences in susceptibility to kidney injury occur: if energy-requiring processes are involved in the transport of the respective substance, then adults, in general, are more susceptible to renal failure than young individuals, because in immature organisms, anaerobic energy production predominates within the kidney. On the other hand, adult animals can better compensate for the loss of renal tissue (partial nephrectomy). With respect to stimulation of renal transport capacity after repeated pretreatment with suitable substances, age differences also exist: most stimulatory schedules are more effective in young, developing individuals than in mature animals. Therefore, the consequences of the stimulation of renal transport can be different in animals of different ages and are discussed in detail. Furthermore, the extent of stimulation is different for the transporters located at the basolateral and at the luminal membranes: obviously the tubular secretion at the contraluminal membrane can be stimulated more effectively than reabsorption processes at the luminal side.

Structure and interaction of inhibitors with the TEA/H+ exchanger of rabbit renal brush border membranes

The renal secretion of organic cations (OCs) involves a carrier-mediated exchange of OC for H+ in the luminal membrane of proximal cells. To assess the influence of chemical structure on the interaction of potential substrates with this process we examined the effect of a series of quaternary ammonium compounds on the transport of the OC tetraethylammonium (TEA) in a preparation of isolated renal brush-border membrane vesicles. Apparent inhibitory potency varied over a factor of 10(4), as expressed in inhibitor coefficients (KiTEA) whose approximate values ranged from 0.5 microM to 5 mM. The poorest inhibitors of TEA/H+ exchange were those molecules with carboxyl or hydroxyl residues, whereas the addition of methylene groups to a parent molecule tended to increase inhibitory potency. A plot of apparent KiTEA versus calculated octanol:water partition coefficient (expressed in terms of a relative lipophilicity factor) showed a clear correlation between these two parameters, although there was considerable variability between apparent lipophilicity and KiTEA for molecules with very different parent structures. For select groups of molecules with similar parent structures (e.g., the n-tetraalkylammoniums or the 4-phenylpyridinium, 3-phenylpyridinium, and quinolinium compounds) the correlation between calculated lipophilicity and apparent KiTEA was more marked. However, even within these groups of closely related parent structures, there appeared to be subtle, but systematic, variations in inhibitory potency that may have been related to the influence of steric factors on the binding of inhibitors to the TEA/H+ exchanger. We conclude that the lipophilic nature of a quaternary ammonium compound represents the predominant factor in the binding to and subsequent inhibition of, luminal TEA/H+ exchange. Specific steric factors may influence the binding of substrate to the exchanger, but play a secondary role in this interaction.

Bisubstrates: substances that interact with renal contraluminal organic anion and organic cation transport systems. I. Amines, piperidines, piperazines, azepines, pyridines, quinolines, imidazoles, thiazoles, guanidines and hydrazines

In order to evaluate whether N-containing substrates interact with the organic "anion" (p-aminohippurate, PAH) or only with the organic "cation" (N1-methylnicotinamide, NMeN) transport system or with both, the stop-flow peritubular capillary microperfusion method was applied in the rat kidney in situ and the apparent Ki values of several classes or organic substrate against contraluminal NMeN and PAH transport were determined. Organic "anion" and organic "cation" transport are in inverted commas because neither transporter sees the degree of ionization in bulk solution, and they also accept nonionizable substrates [Ullrich KJ, Rumrich G (1992) Pflügers Arch 421:286-288]. Amines must be sufficiently hydrophobic (phenylethylamine, piperidine, piperazine) in order to interact with NMeN transport. Additional Cl, Br, NO2 or other electronegative groups render them inhibitory towards PAH transport also. Such bisubstrate amines were identified as follows: metoclopramide, bromopride, diphenhydramine, bromodiphenhydramine, verapamil, citalopram, ketamine, mefloquine, ipsapirone, buspirone, trazodone, H7 and trifluoperazine. Imidazole analogues interact with both transporters if they bear sufficiently hydrophobic alkyl or aryl groups or electronegative sidegroups. Bisubstrate imidazole analogues are tinidazole, pilocarpine, clonidine, azidoclonidine and cimetidine. Pyridines and thiazoles interact with the NMeN transporter if they have an additional ring-attached NH2 group. Again with an additional Cl, Br, or NO2 group the aminopyridines and aminothiazoles also become inhibitors for the PAH transporter. Amongst the guanidines only substances with several electronegative side-groups such as guanfacine, amiloride, benzylamiloride and ranitidine, interact with both transporters. Amongst the phenylhydrazines only 4-bromophenylhydrazine interacts with the NMeN transporter and 4-nitrophenylhydrazine with both transporters. Quinoline (isoquinoline) and its amino and hydroxy analogues interact with both transporters, their pKa values correlate directly with the affinity to the NMeN transporter and reciprocally with their affinity to the PAH transporter. In experiments with labelled substrates only the sufficiently hydrophilic cimetidine, amiloride and ranitidine show a saturable transport, which can be inhibited by probenecid (apalcillin) and tetraethylammonium in an additive manner. The highly hydrophobic substrates verapamil, citalopram, imipramine, diltiazem and clonidine enter the cell very fast in an unsaturable and uninhibitable manner, apparently in the undissociated form, since N-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium, which--disregarding its ionization--is similarly hydrophobic, shows a transport behaviour similar to that of tetraethylammonium [Ullrich et al. (1991) Pflügers Arch 419:84-92]. Ethidium bromide and dimidium bromide, which have a permanent cationic quaternary nitrogen and two sufficiently electronegative NH2 groups, also interact with both transporters.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Bisubstrates: substances that interact with both, renal contraluminal organic anion and organic cation transport systems. II. Zwitterionic substrates: dipeptides, cephalosporins, quinolone-carboxylate gyrase inhibitors and phosphamide thiazine carboxylates; nonionizable substrates: steroid hormones and cyclophosphamides

In order to test what chemical structure is required for a substrate to interact not only with the contraluminal organic anion (p-aminohippurate, PAH) transporter, but also with the organic cation (N1-methylnicotinamide, NMeN, or tetraethylammonium, TEA) transporter, the stop-flow peritubular capillary perfusion method was applied and app. Ki values were evaluated. Zwitterionic hydrophobic dipeptides not only interact with PAH but also with NMeN transport although with lower inhibitory potency (Ki,PAH = 0.2-1.4; Ki,NMeN 6-14 mmol/l). Amongst the zwitterionic cephalosporins, which all inhibit PAH transport, the amino cephalosporin analogue cefadroxil was identified to interact also with NMeN transport (Ki,PAH = 3.0, Ki,NMeN = 11.2 mmol/l). All zwitterionic naphthyridine and oxochinoline gyrase inhibitors tested inhibit NMeN transport with app. Ki,NMeN values between 1.2 mmol/l and 4.7 mmol/l; the naphthyridine analogues show a good inhibitory potency against PAH transport (Ki,PAH approximately 0.4 mmol/l), the piperazine-containing quinolone analogues have a moderate inhibitory potency (Ki,PAH = 1.1-2.5 mmol/l) and the piperazine-containing pipemidic acid did not inhibit PAH transport at all. Zwitterionic thiazolidine carboxylate phosphamides also interact with both transporters (app. Ki,PAH approximately 3.0; app. Ki,NMeN approximately 18.0 mmol/l). The nonionizable oxo- and hydroxy-group-containing corticosteroid hormones also interact with the two transporters. (a) An OH group in position 21 is necessary for interaction with the PAH transporter, but not for interaction with the TEA transporter. (b) Introduction of an OH group in position 17 alpha abolishes interaction with the TEA transporter, but has different effects with the PAH transporter. (c) Introduction of an OH group in position 6 abolishes interaction with both, the PAH and the TEA transporter. (d) A change of the side-group in position 11 of corticosterone from -OH to -H to = O enhances interaction with the PAH transporter but has no effect on the interaction with the TEA transporter. Nonionizable 4- or 5-androstene analogues inhibit both transporters with app. Ki between 0.16 mmol/l and 0.64 mmol/l, if the steroids are soluble in a concentration greater than 1 mmol/l. Nonionizable oxazaphosphorins with more than one chloroethyl group interact with the PAH transporter with app. Ki between 0.84 mmol/l and 4.9 mmol/l and with the NMeN transporter with app. Ki between 3.2 mmol/l and 18.7 mmol/l. Thus a substrate interacts with both transporters if it is sufficiently hydrophobic, possesses acidic and/or electron-attracting plus basic and/or electron-donating groups, or possesses several electron-attracting nonionizable groups (O, OH, Cl). A certain spatial arrangement of the interacting groups seems to be necessary.

Characterization of p-aminohippurate transport from rat kidney which is expressed after injection of size-selected mRNA into oocytes of Xenopus laevis

First, the existence of an endogenous p-aminohippurate (PAH) transporter in oocytes of Xenopus laevis was demonstrated. When, however, the oocytes were injected with mRNA from rat kidney cortex, an expressed p-aminohippuric acid (PAH) uptake was seen which differed from the endogenous transporter. Both transport systems are saturated at high PAH concentrations, exhibit trans-stimulation by PAH and are partially inhibited by probenecid. The endogenous transport has a rather low affinity for PAH (Km = 0.57 mM) and is about 50% inhibited by probenecid (one apparent inhibition site with half maximal inhibition at 0.5 mM). The expressed PAH transport has a high affinity for PAH (Km = 60 microM) and can be inhibited 80% by probenecid (two apparent inhibition sites with half maximal inhibitions at 1 microM and 2 mM). Expression experiments with fractionated mRNA revealed that the PAH transport expressed from rat kidney cortex is encoded by an mRNA of 1.8 to 2.5 kb.