LAT1 overexpression and function compensates downregulation of ASCT2 in an in vitro model of renal proximal tubule cell ageing

Leucine Transamination Is Lower in Middle-Aged Compared with Younger Adults

Background: Insulin and age affect leucine (and protein) kinetics in vivo. However, to our knowledge, leucine transamination and the effects of insulin have not been studied in participants of different ages.Objective: The aims of the study were to measure whole-body leucine deamination to α-ketoisocaproate (KIC) and KIC reamination to leucine in middle-aged and younger healthy adults, both in the postabsorptive state and after hyperinsulinemia.Methods: Younger (mean ± SE age: 26 ± 2 y) and middle-aged (54 ± 3 y) healthy men and women were enrolled. Isotope dilution methods with 2 independent leucine and KIC tracers, a dual isotope model and the euglycemic, hyperinsulinemic clamp technique, were used.Results: Leucine deamination [expressed as μmol/(kg × min)] was consistently greater than KIC reamination. In middle-aged adults, postabsorptive leucine deamination (0.77 ± 0.05), reamination (0.49 ± 0.04), and net deamination (0.28 ± 0.04) were ∼30% lower than in the younger group (deamination: 1.12 ± 0.07; reamination: 0.70 ± 0.09; net deamination: 0.42 ± 0.04) (P < 0.002, P < 0.05, and P < 0.015, respectively). After the hyperinsulinemic clamp, plasma leucine and KIC concentrations were reduced by ∼50% in both groups. Deamination and reamination also were suppressed by ∼40-50% in both groups (P < 0.001); however, they remained lower [-35% (P = 0.02) and -25% (P = 0.036), respectively] in the middle-aged than in the younger participants. The leucine rate of appearance and its suppression by insulin were similar in the middle-aged and in the younger subjects. By using both the basal and the clamp data, deamination was directly correlated with the plasma leucine concentration (r = 0.61, P < 0.0025) and reamination to that of plasma KIC (r = 0.79, P < 0.00002). Expressing the data relative to lean body mass did not substantially alter the results.Conclusions: Leucine deamination and reamination are lower in middle-aged than in younger adults, both in the postabsorptive and in the insulin-stimulated state. In middle age, a decreased net leucine transamination may represent a mechanism to spare this essential amino acid.

α2C-Adrenoceptors modulate L-DOPA uptake in opossum kidney cells and in the mouse kidney

Targeted deletion or selective pharmacological inhibition of α(2C)-adrenoceptors in mice results in increased brain tissue levels of dopamine and its precursor l-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (l-DOPA), without significant changes in l-DOPA synthesis. l-DOPA uptake is considered the rate-limiting step in dopamine synthesis in the kidney. Since α(2C)-adrenoceptors may influence the transport of l-DOPA, we investigated the effect of α(2C)-adrenoceptor activation on l-DOPA uptake in a kidney cell line (opossum kidney cells). l-DOPA and dopamine kidney tissue levels in α(2C)-adrenoceptor knockout (α(2C)KO) mice and in mice treated with the selective α(2C)-adrenoceptor antagonist JP-1302 were also evaluated. The α(2)-adrenoceptor agonist medetomidine (0.1-1,000 nM) produced a concentration-dependent decrease in l-DOPA uptake in opossum kidney cells (IC(50): 2.5 ± 0.5 nM and maximal effect: 28 ± 5% of inhibition). This effect was abolished by a preincubation with JP-1302 (300 nM). Furthermore, the effect of medetomidine (100 nM) was abolished by a preincubation with U-0126 (10 μM), a MEK1/2 inhibitor. Kidney tissue levels of l-DOPA were significantly higher in α(2C)KO mice compared with wild-type mice (wild-type mice: 58 ± 2 pmol/g tissue and α(2C)KO mice: 81 ± 15 pmol/g tissue, P < 0.05) and in mice treated with JP-1302 (3 μmol/kg body wt) compared with control mice (control mice: 62 ± 2 pmol/g tissue and JP-1302-treated mice: 75 ± 1 pmol/g tissue, P < 0.05), both without significant changes in dopamine kidney tissue levels. However, mice treated with JP-1302 on a high-salt diet presented significantly higher dopamine levels in the kidney and urine compared with control animals on a high-salt diet. In conclusion, in a kidney cell line, α(2C)-adrenoceptor activation inhibits l-DOPA uptake, and in mice, deletion or blockade of α(2C)-adrenoceptors increases l-DOPA kidney tissue levels.