Effect of a New Hepatoprotective Agent, YH-439, on the Hepatobiliary Transport of Organic Cations (OCs): Selective Inhibition of Sinusoidal OCs Uptake without Influencing Glucose Uptake and Canalicular OCs Excretion

The effect of a new hepatoprotective agent, YH-439, on the hepatobiliary transport of a model organic cation (OC), TBuMA (tributylmethylammonium), was investigated. The area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC) from time zero to 4 h following iv administration of TBuMA (6.6 $\mu$mol/kg) was increased significantly when YH-439 in corn oil (300 mg/kg) was orally administered to rats 24 h prior to the experiment. Nevertheless, the cumulative biliary excretion of TBuMA remained unchanged. As a consequence, the apparent biliary clearance ($CL_b$) of TBuMA was decreased significantly as a result of YH-439 pretreatment, consistent with the fact that the in vivo excretion clearance of TBuMA across the canalicular membrane ($CL_{exc}$) was not changed by the pretreatment. The in vitro uptake of TBuMA into isolated hepatocytes was decreased by one half by the pretreatment, owing to a decrease in the apparent V$_{max}$ and $CL_{linear}$, but the $K_m$ for the process remained constant. Most interestingly, however, the sinusoidal uptake of glucose, a nutrient, into hepatocytes was not influenced by the pretreatment, suggesting the YH-439 pretreatment specifically impaired the sinusoidal uptake of OCs. Thus, the OC-specific inhibition of hepatic uptake, without influencing the uptake of glucose, a nutrient, appeared to be associated with the hepatoprotective activity of YH-439.