Abstract

This study addresses the transport mechanism of riboflavin (vitamin B₂) across intestinal epithelium in the presence and absence of pharmacologically active compounds. A polarized transport process with a 6-fold higher basolateral (BL)-to-apical (AP) flux was observed in both a human intestinal cell model (Caco-2) and rat intestinal tissue. Riboflavin-specific translocation systems on both the AP and BL cell surfaces were saturable with affinity values close to most receptors (K_m: 9.72 ± 0.85 and 4.06 ± 0.03 nM, respectively). Pharmacological agents known to alter intracellular endocytic events were used to examine the potential involvement of receptor-mediated events. Nocodazole significantly inhibited AP uptake (58.4%), BL-to-AP riboflavin (56.7%) and fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled transferrin (FITC-Tf) (31.8%) transport without affecting mannitol or cholic acid transport, whereas AP-to-BL riboflavin (252.8%) and FITC-Tf (145.1%) transport was increased. Brefeldin A significantly enhanced AP-to-BL riboflavin (37.1%) and bidirectional FITC-Tf transport (AP-to-BL: 13-fold; BL-to-AP: 5-fold). without affecting BL-to-AP riboflavin transport. Combined, these data suggest an essential role of microtubule-dependent movement and vesicular sorting component(s) in the bidirectional transport of riboflavin. Dissociation of riboflavin from the cell surface was pH-dependent with significantly higher substrate release at acidic pH, indicating the presence of riboflavin-specific cell surface receptors. In summary, our studies provide biochemical evidence of the involvement of a receptor-mediated mechanism in the cellular translocation of riboflavin.