Inhibitory effects of p-aminohippurate and probenecid on the renal clearance of adefovir and benzylpenicillin as probe drugs for organic anion transporter (OAT) 1 and OAT3 in humans.

Probe substrates for, and inhibitors of, specific transporters are desired to evaluate quantitatively the in vivo functions of transporters in humans. Based on published data, adefovir and benzylpenicillin were selected as organic anion transporter (OAT) 1- and OAT3-selective probe substrates, respectively. In human kidney slices, probenecid potently inhibited the uptake of both adefovir and benzylpenicillin with inhibition constant (Ki) values of 18.6±5.1 and 12.6±4.2μM, respectively, whereas p-aminohippurate (PAH) preferentially inhibited adefovir uptake. A clinical drug-interaction study involving healthy subjects was performed to investigate the dose-dependent inhibition potencies of probenecid and PAH on the renal clearance of the probe substrates. Adefovir or benzylpenicillin was coadministered with different oral doses of probenecid (500, 750, or 1500mg) or intravenous PAH infusion rates (70, 120, or 210mg/min/person) to the same subject using a crossover design.