Renal transport of gossypol in the rabbit.

The present work was carried out to investigate the transport characteristics of gossypol, a toxic weak organic acid (pK = 7.2) contained in cottonseed, into the rabbit renal cortical slice. The uptake of gossypol increased linearly during a 2-hr incubation after which it leveled off with the average slice-to-medium concentration ratio (S/M) slightly above 20. In the presence of metabolic inhibitors, the S/M gossypol leveled off at about 9, suggesting an extensive binding of gossypol to tissue proteins. The uptake of gossypol was significantly inhibited by p-aminohippurate (PAH), probenecid, ouabain, and DIDS, all of which are known inhibitors of renal organic anion transport. However, the gossypol uptake was not affected by tetraethylammonium (TEA), a prototypical organic cation. Kinetic studies indicated that the apparent Km for gossypol transport is 0.28 mM, and also that probenecid inhibits gossypol transport in a competitive manner. It is concluded that gossypol is transported by the renal tubule through the classic organic anion system.