Targeting OCT3 attenuates doxorubicin-induced cardiac injury

Doxorubicin is a commonly used anticancer agent that can cause debilitating and irreversible cardiac injury. The initiating mechanisms contributing to this side effect remain unknown, and current preventative strategies only offer modest protection. Using stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes from patients receiving doxorubicin, we probed the transcriptomic landscape of solute carriers and identified OCT3 (SLC22A3) as a critical transporter regulating the cardiac accumulation of doxorubicin. Functional validation studies in mice revealed that targeting OCT3 can attenuate cardiac dysfunction without compromising the anticancer properties of doxorubicin. These findings provide a rationale for the development of targeted approaches to mitigate this debilitating toxicity Overall design: Evaluating cardiac mRNA expression in untreated or doxorubicin-treated FVB wild-type or OCT3-knockout mice