Several organic anions, including the glutathione- and glucuronide-conjugates, are excreted into the bile via a canalicular multispecific organic anion transporter (cMOAT), which is hereditarily defective in mutant rats such as Eisai hyperbilirubinemic rat (EHBR). In the present study, we cloned cMOAT from the SD rat liver cDNA library using the ATP-binding cassette region as a probe which was amplified by PCR with the degenerated primers for human multidrug resistance associated protein (hMRP). cMOAT was encoded by 4623 by cDNA with a homology of 53.0 % and 46.3 % with hMRP at the cDNA and deduced amino acid level, respectively. By screening the library, three kinds of cDNA species for cMOAT with the same open reading frame and different 3′-untranslated region lengths were isolated. The Northern blot analysis of poly A+ RNA from the liver with the entire open reading frame of cMOAT as a probe revealed that the expression of plural bands (approximately 5, 6 and 8 kb) was defective in EHBR and this may be due to the presence of these cDNA species. RT-PCR and subsequent sequence analysis were performed using RNA specimens from EHBR liver. The analysis revealed that one base pair replacement within the open reading frame resulted in the introduction of the premature stop codon. The impaired expression of this particular protein is related to the pathogenesis of hyperbilirubinemia in the mutant rats. Although the expression of cMOAT is defective in EHBR, our recent kinetic studies suggested the presence of ATP-dependent organic anion transporters other than cMOAT in EHBR. Using the degenerated PCR primers described previously, we could amplify two kinds of PCR product (MRP like protein (MLP-1 and MLP-2)) from EHBR liver. The nucleotide homology of ABC region between MLP-1, 2, MRP and cMOAT was approximately 60-70%. Northern blot analysis indicated that MLP-1 hybridized with a single 6 kb transcript in the liver of SD rats and EHBR. In contrast, MLP-2 hybridized to a single 5 kb transcript in the liver and the expression was rather induced in EHBR. These results may suggest the possibility that MLP-1 and MLP-2 are novel transporters for organic anions.
