Cellular Uptake of Psychostimulants – Are High- and Low-Affinity Organic Cation Transporters Drug Traffickers?

This study has shown that several psychostimulants and hallucinogens are substrates for OCTs. Given the extensive cellular uptake of mescaline by the genetically highly polymorphic OCT1, strong interindividual variation in the pharmacokinetics of mescaline might be possible, which could be a reason for highly variable adverse reactions. The involvement of the polymorphic OCT2 in the renal excretion of several psychostimulants could be one reason for individual differences in toxicity.
Source: Frontiers in Pharmacology - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: research