Niemann–Pick C1-Like 1 (NPC1L1) mediates cholesterol absorption, and ezetimibe is a potent NPC1L1 inhibitor applicable for medication of hypercholesterolemia. Epidemiological studies demonstrated that consumption of polyphenols correlates with a decreased risk for atherosclerosis due to their antioxidant effect. This activity can hardly be attributable to the antioxidant activity only, and we hypothesized that polyphenols inhibit intestinal transport of cholesterol. We elucidated the kinetic parameters of intestinal cholesterol absorption, screened several polyphenols for their ability to specifically inhibit intestinal cholesterol absorption, and determined the inhibitory effects of selected flavonoids in vitro and in vivo. The concentration-dependent uptake of cholesterol by Caco-2 cells obeyed a monophasic saturation process. This indicates the involvement of an active-passive transport, i.e., NPC1L1. Parameters of cholesterol uptake by Caco-2 cells were as follows: J max, K t, and K d were 6.89±2.96 19.03±11.58 µM, and 0.11±0.02 pmol/min/mg protein, respectively. Luteolin and quercetin inhibited cholesterol absorption by Caco-2 cells and human embryonic kidney 293T cells expressing NPC1L1. When preincubated Caco-2 cells with luteolin and quercetin before the assay, cholesterol uptake significantly decreased. The inhibitory effects of these flavonoids were maintained for up to 120 min. The level of inhibition and irreversible effects were similar to that of ezetimibe. Serum cholesterol levels significantly decreased more in rats fed both cholesterol and luteolin (or quercetin), than in those observed in the cholesterol feeding group. As quercetin induced a significant decrease in the levels of NPC1L1 mRNA in Caco-2 cells, the in vivo inhibitory effect may be due to the expression of NPC1L1. These results suggest that luteolin and quercetin reduce high blood cholesterol levels by specifically inhibiting intestinal cholesterol absorption mediated by NPC1L1.

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To examine the role of the choroid plexus in eliminating organic anions from the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), a kinetic study was performed both in in vivo and in vitro experiments using [3H]benzylpenicillin (PCG) as a model compound. In vivo, after intracerebroventricular administration, [3H]PCG was eliminated from the CSF much more rapidly than [14C]mannitol. Analysis of the elimination clearance from the CSF revealed that 12 and 24% of the disappearance of [3H]PCG can be accounted for by convective loss at a rate equivalent to CSF turnover, and by diffusional loss across the ependymal surface into the brain extracellular space, respectively. Approximately two-thirds of [3H]PCG elimination was due to a saturable process [Michaelis constant (Km) = 43.0 +/- 17.8 microM, maximum velocity (Vmax) = 619 +/- 286 pmol.min-1 x rat-1]. These kinetic parameters obtained in vivo were comparable to those determined previously in vitro, i.e., [3H]PCG was accumulated by the isolated rat choroid plexus via an active transport mechanism (Km = 58 microM, Vmax = 504 pmol.min-1 x rat-1; H. Suzuki, Y. Sawada, Y. Sugiyama, T. Iga, and H. Hanano, J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 242: 660-665, 1987). Furthermore, other organic anions (probenecid, ampicillin, cefodizime, cefotaxime, and ceftriaxone) reduced the transport of [3H]PCG in a dose-dependent manner both in vivo and in vitro. A good correlation was observed between the log inhibition constant (Ki) values obtained for these ligands in vivo and in vitro (r = 0.94, P < 0.01).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

During the past decade, considerable efforts and resources have been devoted to elucidating the multiple genetic and environmental determinants responsible for hypertension and its associated cardiovascular diseases. The success of positional cloning, fine mapping, and linkage analysis based on whole-genome screening, however, has been limited in identifying multiple genetic determinants affecting diseases, suggesting that new research strategies for genome-wide typing may be helpful. Disease association (case-control) studies using microsatellite markers, distributed every 150 kb across the human genome, may have some advantages over linkage, candidate, and single nucleotide polymorphism typing methods in terms of statistical power and linkage disequilibrium for finding genomic regions harboring candidate disease genes, although it is not proven. We have carried out genome-wide mapping using 18,977 microsatellite markers in a Japanese population composed of 385 hypertensive patients and 385 normotensive control subjects. Pooled sample analysis was conducted in a 3-stage genomic screen of 3 independent case-control populations, and 54 markers were extracted from the original 18,977 microsatellite markers. As a final step, each single positive marker was confirmed by individual typing, and only 19 markers passed this test. We identified 19 allelic loci that were significantly different between the cases of essential hypertension and the controls.