Functional Characteristics of a Novel Transporter Specifically Expressed in the Endoplasmic Reticulum in Dendritic Cells and its Role in Immune System

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Functional characteristics of human vesicular organic anion transporter 1 (VOAT1) were examined by assessing the cellular uptake (accumulation in the endoplasmic reticulum) of 5-aminofluorescein (5-AF) as a fluorescent probe substrate, based on the observation of fluorescent microscopic images. 5-AF uptake was found to be specifically inhibited by several anti-allergic drugs, anti-inflammatory drugs, and endogenous fatty acids, including their oxidative products. These findings suggest that VOAT1 might be involved in the transport of lipid mediators and, thereby, play a role in inflammatoric and immunologic processes. It might also be involved in the pharmacologic action of anti-inflammatory drugs. Thus, we could obtain valuable information about the functional characteristics of VOAT1, although it needs to be further validated by quantitative assessments.