Bilirubin, the end product of heme catabolism, is taken up from the blood circulation into the
liver. This work identifies a high-affinity transport protein mediating the uptake of bilirubin
and its conjugates into human hepatocytes. Human embryonic kidney cells (HEK293)
permanently expressing the recombinant organic anion-transporting polypeptide 2 (human
OATP2, also known as LST-1 or OATP-C; symbol SLC21A6) showed uptake of [3 H]
monoglucuronosyl bilirubin,[3 H] bisglucuronosyl bilirubin, and [3 H] sulfobromophthalein …