Trantinterol, a novel β2-adrenoceptor agonist, noncompetitively inhibits P-glycoprotein function in vitro and in vivo.

P-glycoprotein (P-gp)-mediated drug-drug interactions are important factors causing adverse effects of drugs in clinical use. The aim of this study was to determine whether trantinterol (also known as SPFF), a novel β2-adrenoceptor agonist, was a P-gp inhibitor or substrate. The results showed that trantinterol was not a substrate of P-gp but increased rhodamine 123 (Rho 123) uptake by MDCK-MDR1 cells and decreased the efflux transport of both Rho 123 and cyclosporine A (CsA) in bidirectional transport studies across MDCK-MDR1 cell monolayers. This suggested that trantinterol was a P-gp inhibitor but not a P-gp substrate. The mechanism of inhibition was investigated in the P-gp-Glo assay system, where it was found that trantinterol inhibited P-gp ATPase activity in a dose-dependent manner. A subsequent study using the antibody binding assay with the conformation-sensitive P-gp-specific antibody UIC2 confirmed that trantinterol decreased UIC2 binding at 10 μM in contrast to the competitive inhibitor, verapamil. This suggested that trantinterol was a noncompetitive inhibitor of P-gp. Finally, a pharmacokinetic study in rat showed that trantinterol significantly increased the area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC) and maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) of digoxin and paclitaxel (PAC), and the Cmax of cyclosporine A (CsA). In summary, trantinterol is a potent noncompetitive P-gp inhibitor which may increase the bioavailability of other P-gp substrate drugs coadministered with it.