Fluorescent organic cations for human OCT2 transporters screening: uptake in CHO cells stably expressing hOCT2

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the suitability of amiloride, rhodamine 6G and rhodamine 123 as non-radioactive substrates for characterizing hOCT2 using CHO cells. The uptake characteristics of these compounds were compared in wild-type (WT) and human organic cation transporter 2 (hOCT2)-stably transfected Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells. All the compounds were accumulated by the CHO-hOCT2 cells. Intracellular uptake of the compounds was higher in CHO cells stably-expressing hOCT2 compared to the WT. The uptake was concentration–dependent and saturable (except for rhodamine 123). The affinities of the compounds for the hOCT2 (in descending order) were: amiloride (K_m = 72.63 ± 12.02 µM) > rhodamine 6 G (K_m = 82.47 ± 29.15 µM). Uptake of amiloride in transfected cells was pH -dependent and significantly inhibited by hOCT2 inhibitors (quinine, verapamil and quinidine). Based on our kinetic data and other considerations, we recommend the use of amiloride for characterizing hOCT2 transporters.