• Toxicological Research
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.9-15
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• 1989

The effect of butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and its major metabolite, 3, 5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxybenzoic acid (BHT-acid) on the uptake of taurocholate into hepatocytes was studied using the primary culture of rat hepatocytes. Hepatocyte were isolated by an in situ collagenase perfusion technique and maintained as a monolayer in serum-free meadia for 24 hours before use. The uptake of taurocholate was saturable with an apparent Km of 12.8+2.8 MuM and Vmax of 0.18+0.01 nmol/mg/min. Both BHT and BHT-acid inhibited the hepatocellular uptake of taurocholate when they were added to the culture.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.984-988
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• 2002

The issue of whether or not the presence NOx (NO and oxidized metabolites) in the hepatocytes at pathological levels affects the functional activity of transport systems within the sinusoidal membrane was investigated. For this purpose, the effect of the pretreatment of isolated hepatocytes with sodium nitroprusside (SNP), a spontaneous NO donor, on the sinusoidal uptake of tributylmethylammonium (TBuMA) and triethylmethyl ammonium (TEMA), representative substrates of the organic cation transporter (OCT), and taurocholate, a representative substrate of the $Na^+$/taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide (NTCP), was measured. The uptake of TBuMA and TEMA was not affected by the pretreatment, as demonstrated by the nearly identical kinetic parameters for the uptake ($i.e., V_{max}, K_{m} and CL_{linear}$). The uptake of mannitol into hepatocytes was not affected, demonstrating that the membrane integrity remained constant, irregardless of the SNP prutreatment. On the contrary, the uptake of taurocholate was significantly inhibited by the pretreatment, resulting in a significant decrease in V_{max}$, thus providing a clear demonstration that NOx preferentially affects the function of NTCP rather than OCT on the sinusoidal membrane. A direct interaction between NOx and NTCP or a decrease in $Na^+/K^+$ ATPase activity as the result of SNP pretreatment might be responsible for this selective effect of NOx.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.13-19
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• 1999

Canalicular liver plasma membrane vesicles (cLPM) were prepared according to two different methods (Inoue method and Meier method), and were evaluated for their protein yield, enzyme activity and transport characteristics. No difference was found between the methods in the protein yield (i.e., $0.14{\pm}0.031$ and $0.15{\pm}0.050$ mglg liver for Inoue method and Meier method, respectively). The activity of alkaline phosphatase, a marker enzyme of canalicular membrane, was significantly (P<0.05) higher in the vesicles of Meier method $(3.52{\pm}0.91\;mmol/mg/hr)$than in the vesicles of Inoue method ($2.28{\pm}0.94$ mmol/mg/hr) indicating that more purified cLPM were obtained from Meier method compared with Inoue method. ATP-dependent vesicular uptake of taurocholate and tributylmethylammonium (TBuMA) was observed for vesicles of both methods, and the kinetic parameters responsible for the transport were similar between the vesicles of both methods (for example, $V_{max}:$ 9.72 nmol/mg protein/30sec and $K_m:$ 0.63 mM for Inoue method; $V_{max}:$ 10.1 nmol/mg protein/30sec and $K_m:$ 0.70 mM for Meier method). A pH gradient dependent counter transport of TBuMA was also observed for both vesicles with similar kinetic characteristics. Either the uptake of taurocholate in the absence of ATP or that of TBuMA in the absence of pH gradient, which may represent passive diffusion of respective compound into the vesicles, was more rapid for the vesicles of Meier method than for the vesicles of Inoue method. For example, passive diffusion rate constants $(K_d)$ for TBuMA uptake into the vesicles were 0.00030 and 0.00052\;{\mu}l/mg$ protein/min for the vesicles of Inoue method and Meier method, respectively. It may indicate that more leaky vesicles are obtained form the Meier method compared with the Inoue method. These aspects together with the time necessary to prepare the vesicles (i.e., 8 hr for Inoue method and 23 hr for Meier method) should be considered before selecting an appropriate method for the preparation of cLPM.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.61 no.4
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• pp.428-438
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• 2023

Clonorchis sinensis is commonly found in East Asian countries. Clonorchiasis is prevalent in these countries and can lead to various clinical symptoms. In this study, we used overlap extension polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and the Xenopus laevis oocyte expression system to isolate a cDNA encoding the choline transporter of C. sinensis (CsChT). We subsequently characterized recombinant CsChT. Expression of CsChT in X. laevis oocytes enabled efficient transport of radiolabeled choline, with no detectable uptake of arginine, α-ketoglutarate, p-aminohippurate, taurocholate, and estrone sulfate. Influx and efflux experiments showed that CsChT-mediated choline uptake was time- and sodium-dependent, with no exchange properties. Concentration-dependent analyses of revealed saturable kinetics consistent with the Michaelis-Menten equation, while nonlinear regression analyses revealed a Km value of 8.3 µM and a Vmax of 61.0 pmol/oocyte/h. These findings contribute to widen our understanding of CsChT transport properties and the cascade of choline metabolisms within C. sinensis.