Caco-2 models for xenobiotic metabolism and transportation

Abstract

The intestine plays an important role in the absorption, metabolism, and transportation of xenobiotics including drugs and foods. Therefore, an in vitro intestinal model for predicting bioavailability of xenobiotics is important for the drug and food industries. Caco-2 is a human colon carcinoma cell line widely employed as a model to represent xenobiotic absorption, transportation, and metabolism in the human intestinal tract. However, Caco-2 has limitations as an intestinal model due to the low expression of metabolizing enzymes and the long time period required for cell differentiation. Hence, several modified Caco2 models have been developed to overcome these limitations and to establish Caco-2 models that correlate well with human intestine. These include xenobiotic-induced cytochrome P450 and transporter expression models, nuclear receptor gene-modified Caco-2 cells, and a novel Caco-2 culturing method that mimics the physiological characteristics of the human intestine and accelerates the growth rate of Caco-2

Keywords

• colon carcinoma cell
• caco-2
• cytochrome p450
• transporter
• intestinal model