Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 9, 2026

Methods to Study Epithelial Transport Protein Function and Expression in Native Intestine and Caco-2 Cells Grown in 3D
Published on: March 16, 2017
Tanshinone IIA increases mRNA expression of efflux transporters in cultured human intestinal cell
Ying Yin1, Min Yang, Yanhui Wang
1Shanghai Research Center for Modernization of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China.
Abstract:
Tanshinone IIA (TSNIIA) is the major active component of Salvia miltorrhiza, which is used in treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases traditionally in China. However, the low bioavailability of TSNIIA limits its clinical usage. To reveal the mechanism relating the absorption of TSNIIA, we detected the expression of efflux transporters in Caco-2 cells under the stimulation of TSNIIA. TSNIIA was purified and above 98% purity was confirmed by high-performance liquid chromatography. The expression of nine efflux transporters including BCRP, hPepT1, MCT and MRP1-6 in Caco-2 were verified by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, and the up-regulation of TSNIIA on the expression of these transporters was found by reverse transcription real-time polymerase chain reaction. These results indicate that the low bioavailability of TSNIIA is partially due to its up-regulation on efflux transporters.
Related Concept Videos
Carrier-Mediated Transport
Active transport involves two types of membrane-spanning transporters: uptake and efflux. Uptake transporters are expressed in the small...
Transcellular Transport of Solutes
Pharmacogenetics of Phase II Enzymes: N-acetyltransferase, Thiopurine S-methyltransferase, UDP-glucuronosyltransferase
Pharmacogenetics of Drug Targets: β₂-Adrenergic Receptors, Apo E, Thymidylate Synthase
The Significance of Membrane Transport
Transporters facilitate either an active or passive movement of solutes. They can allow a single-molecule transport down its...