Abstract
Knowledge of time sequence of localization of drugs in cells and tissues of animals may help in developing a better understanding of the actual overall pharmacokinetics of the drugs. We produced monoclonal antibody (mAb) against alogliptin (AG), a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor, conjugated to BSA with N-(γ-maleimidobutyryloxy)-succinimide. The mAb was specific for AG and did not cross-react with sitagliptin, vancomycin or amoxicillin. The mAb enabled us to develop an immunohistochemical method for detecting the localization of AG in the rat small intestine. One hour after a single oral administration of AG, immunohistochemistry revealed that the immunoreactivity of AG was observed in almost all of cells and tissues of the duodenum. The microvilli of the absorptive epithelial cells were moderately stained. The staining pattern of AG at jejunum and ilium was almost the same as that of duodenum, but the staining intensity, especially at absorptive epithelial cells and intestinal gland epithelial cells, became stronger towards the distal part of the small intestine. These results suggested that AG may be more actively absorbed from the lower part of the small intestine than in the upper part. It may affect the function of cells with membrane-bound DPP-4 because it was reported that membrane-bound form of DPP-4 exists in the microvilli of the absorptive epithelial cells.