Involvement of Renal Efflux Transporter MATE1 in Renal Excretion of Flecainide

Flecainide, an anti-arrhythmic drug, undergoes renal excretion through active renal tubular secretion in addition to passive glomerular filtration. The contribution of renal uptake and efflux transporters in active renal tubular secretion of flecainide remains unclear except that flecainide is a substrate of human multidrug resistance protein 1 (MDR1). To elucidate renal efflux and uptake transporters involved with active renal tubular secretion of flecainide, we conducted in vitro interaction studies of flecainide using organic cation transporter 2 (OCT2), multidrug and toxin extrusion (MATE) 1, and MATE2-K. Uptake transporter inhibition assays using hOCT2-Chinese hamster ovary (CHO), hMATE1-CHO, and hMATE2-K-Madin Darby canine kidney strain II (MDCKII) cells revealed that flecainide (2.5 µM) inhibited hMATE1-mediated transport by 40% with an IC₅₀ value of 6.7 µM; however, it showed no or weak inhibitory effects on hOCT2- and hMATE2-K-mediated transport. For investigating flecainide as a substrate of hMATE1, the accumulation of flecainide in hMATE1-CHO was compared with that in control cells. Uptake transporter substrate assay revealed that flecainide (1 µM) showed 1.11-fold accumulation though the hMATE1-related active transport was significantly decreased in the presence of quinidine (42.0 ± 23.9 vs. 11.8 ± 4.1 pmol/mg in transfected cells; p < 0.05). These results suggest that flecainide is a weak substrate of hMATE1, which is involved in the renal tubular secretion of cationic drugs, and hMATE1 may be less important in the pharmacokinetic drug-drug interaction for renal excretion of flecainide. However, in vivo drug-drug interaction studies of flecainide with substrates of hMATE1 may be needed because flecainide has the potential to inhibit hMATE1.