O'Neill DUniversity of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 1C9, Canada.
Plain AUniversity of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 1C9, Canada.
Greasley PJCardiovascular and Metabolic Disease (CVMD) Translational Medicine Unit, Early Clinical Development, Innovative Medicines and Early Development (IMED) Biotech Unit, AstraZeneca Gothenburg, 431 50 Mölndal, Sweden.
Knöpfel TInstitute of Physiology, University of Zurich and National Center of Competence in Research Kidney Control of Homeostasis, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
Pastor Arroyo EMInstitute of Physiology, University of Zurich and National Center of Competence in Research Kidney Control of Homeostasis, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
Hernando NInstitute of Physiology, University of Zurich and National Center of Competence in Research Kidney Control of Homeostasis, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
Marks JDepartment of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London, Royal Free Campus, London NW3 2PF, UK.
Donowitz MJohns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
Wagner CAInstitute of Physiology, University of Zurich and National Center of Competence in Research Kidney Control of Homeostasis, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
Alexander RTUniversity of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 1C9, Canada.
English
Hyperphosphatemia is common in patients with chronic kidney disease and is increasingly associated with poor clinical outcomes. Current management of hyperphosphatemia with dietary restriction and oral phosphate binders often proves inadequate. Tenapanor, a minimally absorbed, small-molecule inhibitor of the sodium/hydrogen exchanger isoform 3 (NHE3), acts locally in the gastrointestinal tract to inhibit sodium absorption. Because tenapanor also reduces intestinal phosphate absorption, it may have potential as a therapy for hyperphosphatemia. We investigated the mechanism by which tenapanor reduces gastrointestinal phosphate uptake, using in vivo studies in rodents and translational experiments on human small intestinal stem cell-derived enteroid monolayers to model ion transport physiology. We found that tenapanor produces its effect by modulating tight junctions, which increases transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) and reduces permeability to phosphate, reducing paracellular phosphate absorption. NHE3-deficient monolayers mimicked the phosphate phenotype of tenapanor treatment, and tenapanor did not affect TEER or phosphate flux in the absence of NHE3. Tenapanor also prevents active transcellular phosphate absorption compensation by decreasing the expression of NaPi2b, the major active intestinal phosphate transporter. In healthy human volunteers, tenapanor (15 mg, given twice daily for 4 days) increased stool phosphorus and decreased urinary phosphorus excretion. We determined that tenapanor reduces intestinal phosphate absorption predominantly through reduction of passive paracellular phosphate flux, an effect mediated exclusively via on-target NHE3 inhibition.