We developed a pravastatin derivative, sodium (3R,5R)-3,5-dihydroxy-7-((1S,2S,6S,8S)-6-hydroxy-2-methyl-8-((1-[ 11 C]-(E)-2-methyl-but-2-enoyl)oxy)-1,2,6,7,8,8a-hexahydronaphthalen-1-yl)heptanoate ([ 11 C]DPV), as a positron emission tomography (PET) probe for noninvasive measurement of hepatobiliary transport, and conducted pharmacokinetic analysis in rats as a feasibility study for future clinical study. Transport activities of DPV in freshly isolated rat hepatocytes and rodent multidrug resistance-associated protein 2 (rMrp2; human, MRP2)-expressing membrane vesicles were similar to those of pravastatin. Rifampicin diminished the uptake of DPV and pravastatin by the hepatocytes, with similar inhibition potency. [11 C]DPV underwent biotransformation to produce at least two metabolites in rat, but metabolism of [ 11 C]DPV occurred negligibly in human hepatocytes during a 90-minute incubation. After intravenous injection, [11 C]DPV was mainly distributed to the liver and kidneys, where the tissue uptake clearances (CL uptake,liver and CL uptake,kidney ) were blood-flow-limited (73.6 6 4.8 and 24.6 6 0.6 ml/min per kilogram, respectively). Systemic elimination of [ 11 C]DPV was delayed in rifampicin-treated rat and an Mrp2-deficient mutant rat, Eisai hyperbilirubinemic mutant rat (EHBR). Rifampicin treatment decreased both CL uptake,liver and CL uptake,kidney of [ 11 C]DPV by 30% (P , 0.05), whereas these parameters were unchanged in EHBR. Meanwhile, the canalicular efflux clearance (CL int,bile ) of [ 11 C]DPV, which was 12.2 6 1.5 ml/min per kilogram in the control rat, decreased by 60% and 89% in rifampicin-treated rat and EHBR (P , 0.05), respectively. These results indicate that [