Evaluation of the selectivity of several OATP1B biomarkers using relative activity factor method.

Abstract

In recent years, some endogenous substrates of organic anion transporting polypeptide 1B (OATP1B) have been identified and characterized as potential biomarkers to assess OATP1B-mediated clinical drug-drug interactions (DDIs). However, quantitative determination of their selectivity to OATP1B are still limited. In this study, we developed a relative activity factor (RAF) method to determine the relative contribution of hepatic uptake transporters OATP1B1, OATP1B3, OATP2B1, and sodium-taurocholate co-transporting polypeptide (NTCP) on hepatic uptake of several OATP1B biomarkers, including coproporphyrins I (CPI), CPIII, sulfate conjugates of bile acids: glycochenodeoxycholic acid sulfate (GCDCA-S), glycodeoxycholic acid sulfate (GDCA-S), and taurochenodeoxycholic acid sulfate (TCDCA-S). RAF values for OATP1B1, OATP1B3, OATP2B1, and NTCP were determined in cryopreserved human hepatocytes and transporter transfected cells using pitavastatin, cholecystokinin, resveratrol-3-O-β-D-glucuronide, and taurocholic acid (TCA) as reference compounds, respectively. OATP1B1-specific pitavastatin uptake in hepatocytes was measured in the absence and presence of 1 µM estropipate, while NTCP-specific TCA uptake was measured in the presence of 10 µM rifampin. Our studies suggested that CPI was a more selective biomarker for OATP1B1 than CPIII, while GCDCA-S and TCDCA-S were more selective to OATP1B3. OATP1B1 and OATP1B3 equally contributed to hepatic uptake of GDCA-S. The mechanistic static model, incorporating the fraction transported (ft) of CPI/III estimated by RAF and in vivo elimination data, predicted several perpetrator interactions with CPI/III. Overall, RAF method combined with pharmacogenomic and DDI studies is a useful tool to determine the selectivity of transporter biomarkers and facilitate the selection of appropriate biomarkers for DDI evaluation. Significance Statement We developed a new RAF method to quantitatively determine the contribution of hepatic uptake transporters OATP1B1, OATP1B3, OATP2B1, and NTCP on several OATP1B biomarkers (CPI, CPIII, GCDCA-S, GDCA-S, and TCDCA-S) and evaluated their predictivity on perpetrator-biomarker interactions. Our studies suggest that RAF method is a useful tool to determine the selectivity of transporter biomarkers. This method combined with pharmacogenomic and DDI studies will facilitate mechanistic interpretation and modeling of biomarker data and the selection of appropriate biomarkers for DDI evaluation.