Taste of a pill: organic cation transporter-3 (OCT3) mediates metformin accumulation and secretion in salivary glands.

ABSTRACT: Drug-induced taste disturbance is a common adverse drug reaction often triggered by drug secretion into saliva. Very little is known regarding the molecular mechanisms underlying salivary gland transport of xenobiotics, and most drugs are assumed to enter saliva by passive diffusion. In this study, we demonstrate that salivary glands selectively and highly express OCT3 (organic cation transporter-3), a polyspecific drug transporter in the solute carrier 22 family. OCT3 protein is localized at both basolateral (blood-facing) and apical (saliva-facing) membranes of salivary gland acinar cells, suggesting a dual role of this transporter in mediating both epithelial uptake and efflux of organic cations in the secretory cells of salivary glands. Metformin, a widely used anti-diabetic drug known

SUBMITTER: Lee N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4175343 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature