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The bile salt export pump (Bsep), a member of the ATP-binding cassette superfamily of transporters, mediates the ATP-dependent canalicular secretion of bile salts. We have cloned and expressed the mouse Bsep (mBsep) protein in Sf9 insect cells, and characterized its transport and ATPase properties. Because its deduced amino acid sequence predicts multiple phosphorylation sites for protein kinase A, protein kinase C (PKC) and Ca(2+)-calmodulin dependent kinase II, we have also tested whether mBsep undergoes phosphorylation. MBsep transports both glycine and taurine conjugated bile salts. Sf9 cell membranes that express mBsep exhibit higher basal ATPase activity than control membranes, and this is further stimulated by bile salts and inhibited by vanadate. Taurochenodeoxycholate is transported with the highest affinity and is the most potent inducer of ATPase activity. Cyclosporin A, glibenclamide and rifamycin SV, all competitive inhibitors of Bsep transport, also reduced the bile salt-stimulated ATPase activity. MBsep exists as a phospho-protein when expressed in Sf9 cells and the immunoprecipitated mBsep complex is a substrate for the catalytic subunit of PKC. When mBsep and the alpha-isoform of mouse PKC are co-expressed in Sf9 cells, a ninefold stimulation of phosphorylation occurs. This is further increased to 18-fold after activation by phorbol ester. Given that bile salts activate selected PKC isoforms in hepatocytes, including the alpha isoform, the phosphorylation of mBsep by PKCalpha may represent a point of regulation for this transporter that is mediated by its own substrate.

The placenta serves, in part, as a barrier to exclude noxious substances from the fetus. In humans, a single-layered syncytium of polarized trophoblast cells and the fetal capillary endothelium separate the maternal and fetal circulations. P-glycoprotein is present in the syncytiotrophoblast throughout gestation, consistent with a protective role that limits exposure of the fetus to hydrophobic and cationic xenobiotics. We have examined whether members of the multidrug resistance protein (MRP) family are expressed in term placenta. After screening a placenta cDNA library, partial clones of MRP1, MRP2, and MRP3 were identified. Immunofluorescence and immunoblotting studies demonstrated that MRP2 was localized to the apical syncytiotrophoblast membrane. MRP1 and MRP3 were predominantly expressed in blood vessel endothelia with some evidence for expression in the apical syncytiotrophoblast. ATP-dependent transport of the anionic substrates dinitrophenyl-glutathione and estradiol-17-beta-glucuronide was also demonstrated in apical syncytiotrophoblast membranes. Given the cellular distribution of these transporters, we hypothesize that MRP isoforms serve to protect fetal blood from entry of organic anions and to promote the excretion of glutathione/glucuronide metabolites in the maternal circulation.

ATP-dependent transport of bile acids is a key determinant of bile flow in mammalian liver and is associated with cholesterol excretion, gallstone formation, and numerous inherited and acquired hepatobiliary diseases. Secretory vesicles and a vacuole enriched fraction purified from Saccharomyces cerevisiae also exhibit ATP-dependent bile acid transport. ATP-dependent transport of bile acids by the vacuolar fraction was independent of the vacuolar proton ATPase, responded to changes in the osmotically sensitive intravesicular space, and was saturable, exhibiting a Km of 63 microM for taurocholate. The BAT1 (bile acid transporter) gene was isolated from yeast DNA by polymerase chain reaction amplification using degenerate oligonucleotides hybridizing to conserved regions of ABC-type proteins. ATP-dependent bile acid transport was abolished when the BAT1 coding region was deleted from the genome and restored upon reintroduction of the gene. The deduced amino acid sequence predicts that Bat1p is an ABC-type protein 1661 amino acids in length, similar to mammalian cMOAT/cMRP1 and MRP1 transporters, yeast Ycf1p, and two yeast proteins of unknown function. Information obtained from the yeast BAT1 gene may aid identification of the gene encoding the mammalian bile acid transporter.