Project description:Primary bile acid malabsorption is associated with congenital diarrhea, steatorrhea, and a block in the intestinal return of bile acids in the enterohepatic circulation. Mutations in the ileal apical sodium-dependent bile acid transporter (ASBT; SLC10A2) can cause primary bile acid malabsorption but do not appear to account for most familial cases. Another major transporter involved in the intestinal reclamation of bile acids is the heteromeric organic solute transporter alpha-beta (OSTα-OSTβ; SLC51A-SLC51B), which exports bile acid across the basolateral membrane. Here we report the first patients with OSTβ deficiency, clinically characterized by chronic diarrhea, severe fat soluble vitamin deficiency, and features of cholestatic liver disease including elevated serum gamma-glutamyltransferase activity. Whole exome sequencing revealed a homozygous single nucleotide deletion in codon 27 of SLC51B, resulting in a frameshift and premature termination at codon 50. Functional studies in transfected cells showed that the SLC51B mutation resulted in markedly reduced taurocholic acid uptake activity and reduced expression of the OSTα partner protein.ConclusionThe findings identify OSTβ deficiency as a cause of congenital chronic diarrhea with features of cholestatic liver disease. These studies underscore OSTα-OSTβ's key role in the enterohepatic circulation of bile acids in humans. (Hepatology 2017).
Project description:UnlabelledOrganic solute transporter alpha-beta (Ostalpha-Ostbeta) is a heteromeric bile acid and sterol transporter that facilitates the enterohepatic and renal-hepatic circulation of bile acids. Hepatic expression of this basolateral membrane protein is increased in cholestasis, presumably to facilitate removal of toxic bile acids from the liver. In this study, we show that the cholestatic phenotype induced by common bile duct ligation (BDL) is reduced in mice genetically deficient in Ostalpha. Although Ostalpha(-/-) mice have a smaller bile acid pool size, which could explain lower serum and hepatic levels of bile acids after BDL, gallbladder bilirubin and urinary bile acid concentrations were significantly greater in Ostalpha(-/-) BDL mice, suggesting additional alternative adaptive responses. Livers of Ostalpha(-/-) mice had higher messenger RNA levels of constitutive androstane receptor (Car) than wild-type BDL mice and increased expression of Phase I enzymes (Cyp7a1, Cyp2b10, Cyp3a11), Phase II enzymes (Sult2a1, Ugt1a1), and Phase III transporters (Mrp2, Mrp3). Following BDL, the bile acid pool size increased in Ostalpha(-/-) mice and protein levels for the hepatic basolateral membrane export transporters, multidrug resistance-associated protein 3 (Mrp3) and Mrp4, and for the apical bilirubin transporter, Mrp2, were all increased. In the kidney of Ostalpha(-/-) mice after BDL, the apical bile acid uptake transporter Asbt is further reduced, whereas the apical export transporters Mrp2 and Mrp4 are increased, resulting in a significant increase in urinary bile acid excretion.ConclusionThese findings indicate that loss of Ostalpha provides protection from liver injury in obstructive cholestasis through adaptive responses in both the kidney and liver that enhance clearance of bile acids into urine and through detoxification pathways most likely mediated by the nuclear receptor Car.
Project description:Blocking intestinal bile acid (BA) absorption by inhibiting or inactivating the apical sodium-dependent BA transporter (Asbt) classically induces hepatic BA synthesis. In contrast, blocking intestinal BA absorption by inactivating the basolateral BA transporter, organic solute transporter alpha-beta (Ost?-Ost?) is associated with an altered homeostatic response and decreased hepatic BA synthesis. The aim of this study was to determine the mechanisms underlying this phenotype, including the role of the farnesoid X receptor (FXR) and fibroblast growth factor 15 (FGF15).BA and cholesterol metabolism, intestinal phenotype, expression of genes important for BA metabolism, and intestinal FGF15 expression were examined in wild type, Ost?(-/-), Fxr(-/-), and Ost?(-/-)Fxr(-/-) mice.Inactivation of Ost? was associated with decreases in hepatic cholesterol 7?-hydroxylase (Cyp7a1) expression, BA pool size, and intestinal cholesterol absorption. Ost?(-/-) mice exhibited significant small intestinal changes, including altered ileal villus morphology, and increases in intestinal length and mass. Total ileal FGF15 expression was elevated almost 20-fold in Ost?(-/-) mice as a result of increased villus epithelial cell number and ileocyte FGF15 protein expression. Ost?(-/-)Fxr(-/-) mice exhibited decreased ileal FGF15 expression, restoration of intestinal cholesterol absorption, and increases in hepatic Cyp7a1 expression, fecal BA excretion, and BA pool size. FXR deficiency did not reverse the intestinal morphological changes or compensatory decrease for ileal Asbt expression in Ost?(-/-) mice.These results indicate that signaling via FXR is required for the paradoxical repression of hepatic BA synthesis but not the complex intestinal adaptive changes in Ost?(-/-) mice.
Project description:Background & aimsBile acid transporters maintain bile acid homeostasis. Little is known about the functions of some transporters in cholestasis or their regulatory mechanism. We investigated the hepatic expression of solute carrier organic anion transporter family member 3A1 (SLCO3A1, also called OATP3A1) and assessed its functions during development of cholestasis.MethodsWe measured levels of OATP3A1 protein and messenger RNA and localized the protein in liver tissues from 22 patients with cholestasis and 21 patients without cholestasis, using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, immunoblot, and immunofluorescence analyses. We performed experiments with Slco3a1-knockout and C57BL/6J (control) mice. Mice and Sprague-Dawley rats underwent bile duct ligation (BDL) or a sham operation. Some mice were placed on a 1% cholic acid (CA) diet to induce cholestasis or on a control diet. Serum and liver tissues were collected and analyzed; hepatic levels of bile acids and 7-α-C4 were measured using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. Human primary hepatocytes and hepatoma (PLC/PRF/5) cell lines were used to study mechanisms that regulate OATP3A1 expression and transport.ResultsHepatic levels of OATP3A1 messenger RNA and protein were significantly increased in liver tissues from patients with cholestasis and from rodents with BDL or 1% CA diet-induced cholestasis. Levels of fibroblast growth factor 19 (FGF19, FGF15 in rodents) were also increased in liver tissues from patients and rodents with cholestasis. FGF19 signaling activated the Sp1 transcription factor and nuclear factor κB to increase expression of OATP3A1 in hepatocytes; we found binding sites for these factors in the SLCO3A1 promoter. Slco3a1-knockout mice had shorter survival times and increased hepatic levels of bile acid, and they developed more liver injury after the 1% CA diet or BDL than control mice. In hepatoma cell lines, we found OATP3A1 to take prostaglandin E2 and thyroxine into cells and efflux bile acids.ConclusionsWe found levels of OATP3A1 to be increased in cholestatic liver tissues from patients and rodents compared with healthy liver tissues. We show that OATP3A1 functions as a bile acid efflux transporter that is up-regulated as an adaptive response to cholestasis.
Project description:Drug interactions with the organic solute transporter alpha/beta (OSTα/β) are understudied even though OSTα/β is an important transporter that is expressed in multiple human tissues including the intestine, kidneys, and liver. In this study, an in vitro method to identify novel OSTα/β inhibitors was first developed using OSTα/β-overexpressing Flp-In 293 cells. Incubation conditions were optimized using previously reported OSTα/β inhibitors. A method including a 10 min preincubation step with the test compound was used to screen for OSTα/β inhibition by 77 structurally diverse compounds and fixed-dose combinations. Seven compounds and one fixed-dose combination (100 μM final concentration) inhibited OSTα/β-mediated dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) uptake by >25%. Concentration-dependent OSTα/β inhibition was evaluated for all putative inhibitors (atorvastatin, ethinylestradiol, fidaxomicin, glycochenodeoxycholate, norgestimate, troglitazone, and troglitazone sulfate). Ethinylestradiol, fidaxomicin, and troglitazone sulfate yielded a clear concentration-inhibition response with IC50 values <200 μM. Among all tested compounds, there was no clear association between physicochemical properties, the severity of hepatotoxicity, and the degree of OSTα/β inhibition. This study utilized a novel in vitro method to identify OSTα/β inhibitors and, for the first time, provided IC50 values for OSTα/β inhibition. These data provide evidence that several drugs, some of which are associated with cholestatic drug-induced liver injury, may impair the function of the OSTα/β transporter.
Project description:Organic solute transporter (OST) α/β is a key bile acid transporter expressed in various organs, including the liver under cholestatic conditions. However, little is known about the involvement of OSTα/β in bile acid-mediated drug-induced liver injury (DILI), a major safety concern in drug development. This study investigated whether OSTα/β preferentially transports more hepatotoxic, conjugated, primary bile acids and to what extent xenobiotics inhibit this transport. Kinetic studies with OSTα/β-overexpressing cells revealed that OSTα/β preferentially transported bile acids in the following order: taurochenodeoxycholate > glycochenodeoxycholate > taurocholate > glycocholate. The apparent half-maximal inhibitory concentrations for OSTα/β-mediated bile acid (5 µM) transport inhibition by fidaxomicin, troglitazone sulfate, and ethinyl estradiol were: 210, 334, and 1050 µM, respectively, for taurochenodeoxycholate; 97.6, 333, and 337 µM, respectively, for glycochenodeoxycholate; 140, 265, and 527 µM, respectively, for taurocholate; 59.8, 102, and 117 µM, respectively, for glycocholate. The potential role of OSTα/β in hepatocellular glycine-conjugated bile acid accumulation and cholestatic DILI was evaluated using sandwich-cultured human hepatocytes (SCHH). Treatment of SCHH with the farnesoid X receptor agonist chenodeoxycholate (100 µM) resulted in substantial OSTα/β induction, among other proteomic alterations, reducing glycochenodeoxycholate and glycocholate accumulation in cells+bile 4.0- and 4.5-fold, respectively. Treatment of SCHH with troglitazone and fidaxomicin together under cholestatic conditions resulted in increased hepatocellular toxicity compared with either compound alone, suggesting that OSTα/β inhibition may accentuate DILI. In conclusion, this study provides insights into the role of OSTα/β in preferential disposition of bile acids associated with hepatotoxicity, the impact of xenobiotics on OSTα/β-mediated bile acid transport, and the role of this transporter in SCHH and cholestatic DILI.
Project description:A variety of steroids, including pregnenolone sulfate (PREGS) and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) are synthesized by specific brain cells, and are then delivered to their target sites, where they exert potent effects on neuronal excitability. The present results demonstrate that [(3)H]DHEAS and [(3)H]PREGS are relatively high affinity substrates for the organic solute transporter, OSTα-OSTβ, and that the two proteins that constitute this transporter are selectively localized to steroidogenic cells in the cerebellum and hippocampus, namely the Purkinje cells and cells in the cornu ammonis region in both mouse and human brain. Analysis of Ostα and Ostβ mRNA levels in mouse Purkinje and hippocampal cells isolated via laser capture microdissection supported these findings. In addition, Ostα-deficient mice exhibited changes in serum DHEA and DHEAS levels, and in tissue distribution of administered [(3)H]DHEAS. OSTα and OSTβ proteins were also localized to the zona reticularis of human adrenal gland, the major region for DHEAS production in the periphery. These results demonstrate that OSTα-OSTβ is localized to steroidogenic cells of the brain and adrenal gland, and that it modulates DHEA/DHEAS homeostasis, suggesting that it may contribute to neurosteroid action.
Project description:Organic solute transporter alpha/beta (OSTα/β) is a heteromeric solute carrier protein that transports bile acids, steroid metabolites and drugs into and out of cells. OSTα/β protein is expressed in various tissues, but its expression is highest in the gastrointestinal tract where it facilitates the recirculation of bile acids from the gut to the liver. Previous studies established that OSTα/β is upregulated in liver tissue of patients with extrahepatic cholestasis, obstructive cholestasis, and primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), conditions that are characterized by elevated bile acid concentrations in the liver and/or systemic circulation. The discovery that OSTα/β is highly upregulated in the liver of patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) further highlights the clinical relevance of this transporter because the incidence of NASH is increasing at an alarming rate with the obesity epidemic. Since OSTα/β is closely linked to the homeostasis of bile acids, and tightly regulated by the nuclear receptor farnesoid X receptor, OSTα/β is a potential drug target for treatment of cholestatic liver disease, and other bile acid-related metabolic disorders such as obesity and diabetes. Obeticholic acid, a semi-synthetic bile acid used to treat PBC, under review for the treatment of NASH, and in development for the treatment of other metabolic disorders, induces OSTα/β. Some drugs associated with hepatotoxicity inhibit OSTα/β, suggesting a possible role for OSTα/β in drug-induced liver injury (DILI). Furthermore, clinical cases of homozygous genetic defects in both OSTα/β subunits resulting in diarrhea and features of cholestasis have been reported. This review article has been compiled to comprehensively summarize the recent data emerging on OSTα/β, recapitulating the available literature on the structure-function and expression-function relationships of OSTα/β, the regulation of this important transporter, the interaction of drugs and other compounds with OSTα/β, and the comparison of OSTα/β with other solute carrier transporters as well as adenosine triphosphate-binding cassette transporters. Findings from basic to more clinically focused research efforts are described and discussed.
Project description:The apical sodium-dependent bile acid transporter (Asbt) is responsible for transport across the intestinal brush border membrane; however, the carrier(s) responsible for basolateral bile acid export into the portal circulation remains to be determined. Although the heteromeric organic solute transporter Ostalpha-Ostbeta exhibits many properties predicted for a candidate intestinal basolateral bile acid transporter, the in vivo functions of Ostalpha-Ostbeta have not been investigated. To determine the role of Ostalpha-Ostbeta in intestinal bile acid absorption, the Ostalpha gene was disrupted by homologous recombination in mice. Ostalpha(-/-) mice were physically indistinguishable from wild-type mice. In everted gut sac experiments, transileal transport of taurocholate was reduced by >80% in Ostalpha(-/-) vs. wild-type mice; the residual taurocholate transport was further reduced to near-background levels in gut sacs prepared from Ostalpha(-/-)Mrp3(-/-) mice. The bile acid pool size was significantly reduced (>65%) in Ostalpha(-/-) mice, but fecal bile acid excretion was not elevated. The decreased pool size in Ostalpha(-/-) mice resulted from reduced hepatic Cyp7a1 expression that was inversely correlated with ileal expression of fibroblast growth factor 15 (FGF15). These data indicate that Ostalpha-Ostbeta is essential for intestinal bile acid transport in mice. Unlike a block in intestinal apical bile acid uptake, genetic ablation of basolateral bile acid export disrupts the classical homeostatic control of hepatic bile acid biosynthesis.
Project description:BackgroundThe organic solute transporter (OSTalpha-OSTbeta) is a heteromeric transporter that is expressed on the basolateral membrane of epithelium in intestine, kidney, liver, testis and adrenal gland and facilitates efflux of bile acids and other steroid solutes. Both subunits are required for plasma membrane localization of the functional transporter but it is unclear how and where the subunits interact and whether glycosylation is required for functional activity. We sought to examine these questions for the human OSTalpha-OSTbeta transporter using the human hepatoma cell line, HepG2, and COS7 cells transfected with constructs of human OSTalpha-FLAG and OSTbeta-Myc.ResultsTunicamycin treatment demonstrated that human OSTalpha is glycosylated. In COS7 cells Western blotting identified the unglycosylated form (approximately 31 kD), the core precursor form (approximately 35 kD), and the mature, complex glycoprotein (approximately 40 kD). Immunofluorescence of both cells indicated that, in the presence of OSTbeta, the alpha subunit could still be expressed on the plasma membrane after tunicamycin treatment. Furthermore, the functional uptake of 3H-estrone sulfate was unchanged in the absence of N-glycosylation. Co-immunoprecipitation indicates that the immature form of OSTalpha interact with OSTbeta. However, immunoprecipitation of OSTbeta using an anti-Myc antibody did not co-precipitate the mature, complex glycosylated form of OSTalpha, suggesting that the primary interaction occurs early in the biosynthetic pathway and may be transient.ConclusionIn conclusion, human OSTalpha is a glycoprotein that requires interaction with OSTbeta to reach the plasma membrane. However, glycosylation of OSTalpha is not necessary for interaction with the beta subunit or for membrane localization or function of the heteromeric transporter.