The organic cation transporter 1 (OCT1, SLC22A1) is strongly expressed in the human liver and facilitates the hepatic uptake of drugs such as morphine, metformin, tropisetron, sumatriptan and fenoterol and of endogenous substances such as thiamine. OCT1 expression is inter-individually highly variable. Here, we analyzed SNPs in the OCT1 promoter concerning their potential contribution to the variability in OCT1 expression. Using electrophoretic mobility shift and luciferase reporter gene assays in HepG2, Hep3B, and Huh7 cell lines, we identified the SNPs -1795G>A (rs6935207) and -201C>G (rs58812592) as having effects on transcription factor binding and/or promoter activity. The A-allele of the -1795G>A SNP showed allele-specific binding of the transcription factor NF-Y leading to 2.5-fold increased enhancer activity of the artificial SV40 promoter. However, the -1795G>A SNP showed no significant effects on the native OCT1 promoter activity. Furthermore, the -1795G>A SNP was not associated with the pharmacokinetics of metformin, fenoterol, sumatriptan and proguanil in healthy individuals or tropisetron efficacy in patients undergoing chemotherapy. Allele-dependent differences in USF1/2 binding and nearly total loss in OCT1 promoter activity were detected for the G-allele of -201C>G, but the SNP is apparently very rare. In conclusion, common OCT1 promoter SNPs have only minor effects on OCT1 expression.
Keywords: EMSA; NF-Y; OCT1; SNP; expression; luciferase reporter gene assay; promoter.