PharmGKB very important pharmacogene: SLCO1B1.

The solute carrier organic anion transporter family member 1B1 (SLCO1B1) gene encodes for a membrane-bound sodium-independent organic anion transporter protein (OATP1B1) that is involved in active cellular influx of many endogenous and xenobiotic compounds. SLCO1B1, formerly known by several other names including organic anion transporter 2 (OATP2), OATPC, liver-specific transporter 1 (LST1), and SLC21A6, is located on chromosome 12 and encodes a 691 amino acid protein with 12 transmembrane helices [1,2]. The gene is a member of the family of SLC21 (human: OATP, rodent: Oatp) transporters [3,4]. OATP1B1 is expressed predominantly on the basolateral membrane of hepatocytes [5,6], where it mediates active intracellular hepatic transport of various anionic compounds [5,6].