The blood-brain barrier (BBB) impedes the influx of intravascular compounds from the blood to the brain. Few blood-borne macromolecules are transferred into the brain because vesicular transcytosis in the endothelial cells is considerably limited and the tight junction is located between the endothelial cells. At the first line of the BBB, the endothelial glycocalyx which is a negatively charge...

Plasma membrane monoamine transporter (PMAT) is a major uptake-2 monoamine transporter that shares extensive substrate and inhibitor overlap with organic cation transporters 1–3 (OCT1–3). Currently, there are no PMAT-specific inhibitors available that can be used in in vitro and in vivo studies to differentiate between PMAT and OCT activities. In this study, we showed that IDT307 (4-(4(dimethyl...

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and interleukin (IL)-6 are proinflammatory cytokines known to alter expression of drug transporters in rodent liver. However, their effects toward human hepatic transporters remain poorly characterized. Therefore, this study was designed to analyze the effects of these cytokines on drug transporter expression in primary human hepatocytes. Exposure to 100 ng/ml ...

Patients with chronic renal failure often have hypertension, but the cause of hypertension, other than an excess of body fluid, is not well known. We hypothesized that the bulbospinal neurons in the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) are stimulated by uremic toxins in patients with chronic renal failure. To investigate whether RVLM neurons are sensitive to uremic toxins, such as uric acid, in...

The HepaRG cell line is a well-differentiated human hepatoma cell line proposed as a surrogate for human hepatocytes, especially for hepatic detoxification studies. Polarized status of drug transporters, i.e., their coordinated location at sinusoidal or canalicular membranes, which represents a key hallmark of hepato-biliary drug transport, remains however incompletely documented in HepaRG cell...

Unlike many plants reported in the literature, lupins do not excrete OH(-) in amounts equivalent to the net excess of inorganic anion uptake over inorganic cation uptake. To investigate the mechanisms involved in the maintenance of charge balance, nutrient uptake and organic anion accumulation of lupins and peas supplied with a range of NO(3)(-) concentrations, were compared. Lupins absorbed le...

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an inflammatory condition that affects the gastrointestinal tract. The solute carrier (SLC) superfamily of transporters comprise proteins involved in the uptake of drugs, hormones, and other biologically active compounds. The purpose of this study was to determine the mRNA expression levels of 15 solute carrier transporters in two regions of the intestine in ...