Sphingolipid signaling reduces basal P-glycoprotein activity in renal proximal tubule

P-glycoprotein is an ATP-driven xenobiotic export pump that is highly expressed in barrier and excretory tissues, where it greatly influences drug pharmacokinetics. Recent studies in the blood-brain and spinal cord barriers identified a sphingolipid-based signaling pathway that regulates basal activity of P-glycoprotein. Here we use an established comparative renal model that permits direct measurement of P-glycoprotein activity to determine whether such signaling occurs in another tissue, killifish renal proximal tubule. Isolated killifish tubules exposed to 0.01-1.0 μM sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) exhibited a profound decrease in P-glycoprotein transport activity, measured as specific accumulation of a fluorescent cyclosporine A derivative in the tubule lumen. Loss of activity had a rapid onset and was fully reversible when the S1P was removed. Transport mediated by multidrug resistance-associated protein 2 (Mrp2) or a teleost fish organic anion transporter (Oat) was not affected. S1P effects were blocked by a specific S1P receptor 1 (S1PR1) antagonist and mimicked by a S1PR agonist. Sphingosine also reduced P-glycoprotein transport activity and those effects were blocked by an inhibitor of sphingosine kinase and by the S1PR1 antagonist. These results for a comparative renal model suggest that sphingolipid signaling to P-glycoprotein is not just restricted to the blood-brain and blood-spinal cord barriers, but occurs in other excretory and barrier tissues.