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

2012 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 23659085
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Medical pharmacy
• Research Institution: Nagoya City University
• Principal Investigator: YUASA Hiroaki 名古屋市立大学, 大学院・薬学研究科, 教授 (20191471)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): INOUE Katsuhisa 名古屋市立大学, 大学院・薬学研究科, 准教授 (50315892) ; OHTA Kinya 名古屋市立大学, 大学院・薬学研究科, 助教 (90448704)
• Project Period (FY): 2011 – 2012
• Keywords: トランスポーター / 樹状細胞 / 小胞体 / 免疫 / 抗アレルギー薬 / 創薬標的

Research Abstract

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.