Douglas H. Sweet, Ph.D
	Title: Assistant Professor  Department: Pharmaceutical Sciences  Office: QE 218 PO Box: 250140 Office Phone: 843-792-2348 Lab: QF207 Lab Phone: 843-792-2389 Research Area  Drug Transport, Toxicology E-mail: sweetd@musc.edu CV

Description of Research Program
Organisms encounter a diverse array of potentially hazardous substances on a daily basis, including medications, plant and animal toxins, and products of cellular metabolism.  An individual’s ability to survive these exposures greatly depends upon the efficiency of the excretory and detoxifying organs of the body (e.g., liver, kidney, choroid plexus).  Our research focus is on the proteins responsible for the transport of organic solutes in renal proximal tubule, choroid plexus, and brain capillary endothelium.  Understanding the mechanisms these transporters utilize to protect the body and brain from fluctuations in the composition of the blood and cerebrospinal fluid will provide unique insight into toxicity, drug-drug interaction, and human disease states.  We use Xenopus oocyte, cell culture, intact tissue, and knockout mouse model systems to: (1) determine the energetics and specificity of the transporters, (2) define the roles of transporters in drug interactions and disease, and (3) identify the mechanisms involved in the modulation of transporter function and expression.

Selected Publications:
Sweet, D. H., Miller, D. S., Pritchard, J. B., Fujiwara, Y., Beier, D. R., and Nigam, S. K. (2002).  Impaired organic anion transport in kidney and choroid plexus of organic anion transporter 3 (Oat3 [Slc22a8]) knockout mice.  J. Biol. Chem. 277(30): 26934-26943.

Sweet, D. H., Miller, D. S., and Pritchard, J. B. (2001).  Ventricular choline transport: a role for organic cation transporter 2 expressed in choroid plexus.  J. Biol. Chem. 276(45): 41611-41619.

Sweet, D. H., Miller, D. S., and Pritchard, J. B. (2000).  Basolateral localization of organic cation transporter 2 in intact renal proximal tubules.  Am. J. Physiol. Renal Physiol. 279: F826-F834.

Pritchard, J. B., Sweet, D. H., Miller, D. S., and Walden, R. (1999).  Mechanism of organic anion transport across the apical membrane of choroid plexus.  J. Biol. Chem. 274(47): 33382-33387.

Sweet, D. H. and Pritchard, J. B. (1999).  rOCT2 is a basolateral potential-driven carrier, not an organic cation/proton exchanger.  Am. J. Physiol. Renal Physiol. 277: F890-F898.

Cihlar, T., Lin, D., Pritchard, J. B., Fuller, M. D., Mendel, D. B., and Sweet, D. H. (1999).  The antiviral nucleoside phosphonates cidofovir and adefovir are novel substrates for human and rat renal organic anion transporter 1.  Mol. Pharm. 56: 570-580.

Last updated on 9/22/03 by Kathy Chessman