In vitro studies of transporter activity often require the addition of organic solvents such as dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), methanol, and ethanol, to dissolve substrates and/or inhibitors. Although this may attenuate the transport activity, the influence of different types of organic solvents on transporter activity has not been elucidated. This study aimed to quantitatively assess the impact of organic solvents on the transport activity of organic anion transporting polypeptide (OATP) 1B1, 1A2, and 2B1.

The concentration-dependent influence of DMSO, methanol, and ethanol on the uptake of [3H]estrone 3-sulfate mediated by OATP1A2, OATP2B1 or 2′,7′-dichlorofluorescein (DCF) mediated by OATP1B1 was assessed using HEK293 cells expressed the respective OATP protein and the concentration that reduced the uptake by 20 % (IC20) was calculated.

The uptake activities of OATPs were reduced by methanol and ethanol in a concentration-dependent manner, with IC20 values of 2.4–3.4 % and 0.51–3.8 % respectively. In contrast, DMSO did not affect the OATP2B1-mediated uptake at the maximum concentration (10 %) of DMSO whereas it exhibited concentration-dependent inhibition for OATP1B1 and 1A2 with IC20 values of approximately 3 % and 0.7 %, respectively. This study provides useful information regarding experimental conditions for evaluating OATPs activity in vitro.