Steric hindrance of 2,6-disubstituted benzoic acid derivatives on the uptake via monocarboxylic acid transporters from the apical membranes of Caco-2 cells

•Benzoic acid is a typical substrate for monocarboxylic acid transporters (MCTs).•Uptake of 2,6-disubstituted benzoic acids was deeply lower than that of benzoic acid.•Co-incubation with these benzoic acids did not decrease the uptake of benzoic acid.•2,6-Disubstition of benzene ring may inhibit the uptake via MCTs by steric hindrance.

Benzoic acid is a typical substrate for monocarboxylic acid transporters (MCTs), and easily taken up from the apical membranes of Caco-2 cells by MCTs. However, some benzoic acid derivatives were sparingly taken up by Caco-2 cells. To elucidate the mechanism of lower uptake of the derivatives, we investigated the effect of substitution of benzene ring on the uptake by MCTs using Caco-2 cells. Among the benzoic acid derivatives tested, the uptake of 2,6-disubstituted benzoic acids was markedly lower than that of other benzoic acids. Co-incubation of the 2,6-disubstituted derivatives with benzoic acid did not decrease the uptake of benzoic acid, while co-incubation with other derivatives significantly decreased the uptake of benzoic acid. Kinetic analyses elucidated that the uptake of 2,6-dichlorobenzoic acid and 2,3,6-trichlorobenzoic acid did not involve the carrier-mediated process. The 2,6-disubstitution of benzoic acid may prevent the access of carboxylic acid group to MCTs expressed on the apical membranes of Caco-2 cells.

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