In Vitro Mechanistic Study of the Distribution of Lascufloxacin into Epithelial Lining Fluid

The present study aimed to clarify the mechanism underlying the high distribution of lascufloxacin in epithelial lining fluid (ELF). Involvement of transporters was examined by transcellular transport across Calu-3 and transporter-overexpressing cells; the binding of lascufloxacin to ELF components was examined by an organic solvent-water partitioning system that employed pulmonary surfactant and phospholipids. Transcellular transport across the transporter-overexpressing cells indicated lascufloxacin to be a substrate of both P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP); therefore, its transport across Calu-3 cells was inhibited by P-gp and BCRP inhibitors. However, permeability and efflux ratios of lascufloxacin were similar to those of the other quinolones with relatively low ELF distribution, indicating the existence of another mechanism for lascufloxacin distribution in ELF. Amongst pulmonary surfactants, which are a primary component of ELF, lascufloxacin preferentially bound to phosphatidylserine (PhS) from several phospholipids, and the binding was significantly greater than that for other quinolones. This binding was saturable with two apparent classes of binding sites and inhibited by some weakly basic drugs, indicating the presence of an ionic bond. In conclusion, the results of this study suggest that the binding of lascufloxacin to PhS in the pulmonary surfactant is the major mechanism of the high distribution of lascufloxacin in the ELF.