Liver uptake of Biguanides in rats

Ontogeny of Hepatic Organic Cation Transporter-1 in Rat and Human

The organic cation transporter (OCT)-1 mediates hepatic uptake of cationic endogenous compounds and xenobiotics. To date, limited information exists on how Oct1/OCT1 functionally develops with age in rat and human livers and how this would affect the pharmacokinetics of OCT substrates in children or juvenile animals. The functional ontogeny of rOct/hOCT was profiled in suspended rat (2-57 days old) and human hepatocytes (pediatric liver tissue donors: age 2-12 months) by determining uptake clearance of 4-[4-(dimethylamino)styryl]-N-methylpyridinium iodide (ASP+) as a known rOct/hOCT probe substrate. mRNA expression was determined in rat liver tissue corresponding to rat ages used in the functional studies, while hOCT1 mRNA expressions were determined in the same hepatocyte batches as those used for uptake studies. Maturation of rOct/hOCT activity and expression were evaluated by comparing values obtained at the various ages to the adult values. Relative to adult values (at 8 weeks), ASP+ uptake clearance in suspended rat hepatocytes aged 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 weeks reached 26%, 29%, 33%, 37%, 72%, 63%, and 71%, respectively. Hepatic Oct1 mRNA expression was consistent with Oct activity (correlation coefficient of 0.92). In human hepatocytes, OCT1 activity was age dependent and also correlated with mRNA levels (correlation coefficient of 0.88). These data show that Oct1/OCT1 activities and expression mature gradually in rat/human liver, thereby mirroring the expression pattern of organic anion transporting polypeptide in rat. These high-resolution transporter ontogeny profiles will allow for more accurate prediction of the pharmacokinetics of OCT1/Oct1 substrates in pediatric populations and juvenile animals. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Organic cation transporter-1 (OCT1) represents a major drug uptake transporter in human liver. This study provides high-resolution data regarding the age-dependent function of OCT1 in the liver, based on in vitro experiments with rat and human hepatocytes obtained from donors between birth and adulthood. These ontogeny profiles will inform improved age-specific physiologically based pharmacokinetic models for OCT1 drug substrates in neonates, infants, children, and adults.

Isolation, Structural Characterization, and Hypoglycemic Activities In Vitro of Polysaccharides from Pleurotus eryngii

Pleurotus eryngii (PE) is an edible mushroom with high nutritional value. Pleurotus eryngii polysaccharides (PEPs) are one of the main active ingredients and manifest a great variety of biological activities. This study mainly focused on the chemical characterization and biological activities of PEPs, which were separated into two fractions (named WPS and P-1). WPS is mainly dominated by β-glycosidic bonds and contains α-glycosidic bonds, and P-1 only contains α-glycosidic bonds. The molecular weights of WPS and P-1 were 4.5 × 10⁵ Da and 2.2 × 10⁴ Da. The result of GC indicated that two the fractions were composed of rhamnose, arabinose, xylose, mannose, glucose, and galactose, with a ratio of 0.35:0.24:0.45:0.24:28.78:1.10 for WPS and 0.95:0.64:0.66:1.84:60.69:0.67 for P-1. The advanced structure studies indicated that the two fractions had no triple-helical structure, where WPS had a dense structure and P-1 had a loose structure. In addition, the antioxidant activity of WPS surpassed P-1, and the two fractions also exhibited a high hypoglycemic activity via inhibiting α-glycosidase activities and promoting the expression of PI3K-AKT signaling pathway based on in vitro assay and cell experiments.

The Mechanism of Action of Biguanides: New Answers to a Complex Question

Biguanides are a family of antidiabetic drugs with documented anticancer properties in preclinical and clinical settings. Despite intensive investigation, how they exert their therapeutic effects is still debated. Many studies support the hypothesis that biguanides inhibit mitochondrial complex I, inducing energy stress and activating compensatory responses mediated by energy sensors. However, a major concern related to this “complex” model is that the therapeutic concentrations of biguanides found in the blood and tissues are much lower than the doses required to inhibit complex I, suggesting the involvement of additional mechanisms. This comprehensive review illustrates the current knowledge of pharmacokinetics, receptors, sensors, intracellular alterations, and the mechanism of action of biguanides in diabetes and cancer. The conditions of usage and variables affecting the response to these drugs, the effect on the immune system and microbiota, as well as the results from the most relevant clinical trials in cancer are also discussed.

Inter-Subject Variability in OCT1 Activity in 27 Batches of Cryopreserved Human Hepatocytes and Association with OCT1 mRNA Expression and Genotype

PURPOSE

OCT1/3 (Organic Cation Transporter-1 and -3; SLC22A1/3) are transmembrane proteins localized at the basolateral membrane of hepatocytes. They mediate the uptake of cationic endogenous compounds and/or xenobiotics. The present study was set up to verify whether the previously observed variability in OCT activity in hepatocytes may be explained by inter-individual differences in OCT1/3 mRNA levels or OCT1 genotype.

METHODS

Twenty-seven batches of cryopreserved human hepatocytes (male and female, age 24-88 y) were characterized for OCT activity, normalized OCT1/3 mRNA expression, and OCT1 genetic mutation. ASP⁺ (4-[4-(dimethylamino)styryl]-N-methylpyridinium iodide) was used as probe substrate.

RESULTS

ASP⁺ uptake ranged between 75 ± 61 and 2531 ± 202 pmol/(min × million cells). The relative OCT1 and OCT3 mRNA expression ranged between 0.007-0.46 and 0.0002-0.005, respectively. The presence of one or two nonfunctional SLC22A1 alleles was observed in 13 batches and these exhibited significant (p = 0.04) association with OCT1 and OCT3 mRNA expression. However, direct association between genotype and OCT activity could not be established.

CONCLUSION

mRNA levels and genotype of OCT only partially explain inter-individual variability in OCT-mediated transport. Our findings illustrate the necessity of in vitro transporter activity profiling for better understanding of inter-individual drug disposition behavior.

Enhanced antioxidant activity, antibacterial activity and hypoglycemic effect of luteolin by complexation with manganese(ii) and its inhibition kinetics on xanthine oxidase

A coordination compound with enhanced biological activities was synthesized with luteolin and manganese(ii) cation. The inhibition effect assay found that the complex reversibly inhibited xanthine oxidase in a competitive manner.

Blockade of P-Glycoprotein Decreased the Disposition of Phenformin and Increased Plasma Lactate Level

This study aimed to investigate the in vivo relevance of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) in the pharmacokinetics and adverse effect of phenformin. To investigate the involvement of P-gp in the transport of phenformin, a bi-directional transport of phenformin was carried out in LLC-PK1 cells overexpressing P-gp, LLC-PK1-Pgp. Basal to apical transport of phenformin was 3.9-fold greater than apical to basal transport and became saturated with increasing phenformin concentration (2–75 μM) in LLC-PK1-Pgp, suggesting the involvement of P-gp in phenformin transport. Intrinsic clearance mediated by P-gp was 1.9 μL/min while passive diffusion clearance was 0.31 μL/min. Thus, P-gp contributed more to phenformin transport than passive diffusion. To investigate the contribution of P-gp on the pharmacokinetics and adverse effect of phenformin, the effects of verapamil, a P-gp inhibitor, on the pharmacokinetics of phenformin were also examined in rats. The plasma concentrations of phenformin were increased following oral administration of phenformin and intravenous verapamil infusion compared with those administerd phenformin alone. Pharmacokinetic parameters such as C_max and AUC of phenformin increased and CL/F and Vss/F decreased as a consequence of verapamil treatment. These results suggested that P-gp blockade by verapamil may decrease the phenformin disposition and increase plasma phenformin concentrations. P-gp inhibition by verapamil treatment also increased plasma lactate concentration, which is a crucial adverse event of phenformin. In conclusion, P-gp may play an important role in phenformin transport process and, therefore, contribute to the modulation of pharmacokinetics of phenformin and onset of plasma lactate level.

Transport of organic cationic drugs: effect of ion-pair formation with bile salts on the biliary excretion and pharmacokinetics

More than 40% of clinically used drugs are organic cations (OCs), which are positively charged at a physiologic pH, and recent reports have established that these drugs are substrates of membrane transporters. The transport of OCs via membrane transporters may play important roles in gastrointestinal absorption, distribution to target sites, and biliary and/or renal elimination of various OC drugs. Almost 40 years ago, a molecular weight (Mw) threshold of 200 was reported to exist in rats for monoquaternary ammonium (mono QA) compounds to be substantially (e.g., >10% of iv dose) excreted to bile. It is well known that some OCs interact with appropriate endogenous organic anions in the body (e.g., bile salts) to form lipophilic ion-pair complexes. The ion-pair formation may influence the affinity or binding of OCs to membrane transporters that are relevant to biliary excretion. In that sense, the association of the ion-pair formation with the existence of the Mw threshold appears to be worthy of examination. It assumes the ion-pair formation of high Mw mono QA compounds (i.e., >200) in the presence of bile salts in the liver, followed by accelerated transport of the ion-pair complexes via relevant bile canalicular transporter(s). In this article, therefore, the transport of OC drugs will be reviewed with a special focus on the ion-pair formation hypothesis. Such information will deepen the understanding of the pharmacokinetics of OC drugs as well as the physiological roles of endogenous bile salts in the detoxification or phase II metabolism of high Mw QA drugs.