Passive ion permeability of the er erythrocyte membrane

Cell Physiology and Molecular Mechanism of Anion Transport by Erythrocyte Band 3/AE1

The major transmembrane protein of the red blood cell, known as band 3, AE1, and SLC4A1, has two main functions: 1) catalysis of Cl^-/HCO₃^- exchange, one of the steps in CO₂ excretion; 2) anchoring the membrane skeleton. This review summarizes the 150 year history of research on red cell anion transport and band 3 as an experimental system for studying membrane protein structure and ion transport mechanisms. Important early findings were that red cell Cl^- transport is a tightly coupled 1:1 exchange and band 3 is labeled by stilbenesulfonate derivatives that inhibit anion transport. Biochemical studies showed that the protein is dimeric or tetrameric (paired dimers) and that there is one stilbenedisulfonate binding site per subunit of the dimer. Transport kinetics and inhibitor characteristics supported the idea that the transporter acts by an alternating access mechanism with intrinsic asymmetry. The sequence of band 3 cDNA provided a framework for detailed study of protein topology and amino acid residues important for transport. The identification of genetic variants produced insights into the roles of band 3 in red cell abnormalities and distal renal tubular acidosis. The publication of the membrane domain crystal structure made it possible to propose concrete molecular models of transport. Future research directions include improving our understanding of the transport mechanism at the molecular level and of the integrative relationships among band 3, hemoglobin, carbonic anhydrase, and gradients (both transmembrane and subcellular) of HCO₃^-, Cl^-, O₂, CO₂, pH, and NO metabolites during pulmonary and systemic capillary gas exchange.

Permeability of the human red blood cell tomeso-erythritol

Using(14)C-erythritol, we measured net as well as unidirectional erythritol fluxes. Up to near saturation, net and unidirectional fluxes were virtually identical and linearly related to the erythritol concentration in the medium (isotonic saline). No saturation of the transfer system was observed. At 20°C, a maximum of 60 to 70% of the erythritol flux could be inhibited by glucose, phlorizin, or a combination of both substances. Dinitrofluorobenzene and HgCl2 also reduce erythritol permeability. These findings confirm the earlier conclusion of F. Bowyer and W. F. Widdas that the glucose transport system is involved in erythritol permeation. Glycerol partially inhibits the glucose-phlorizin-sensitive component of erythritol flux, but not the glucose-phlorizin-insensitive component. Apparently glycerol has a slight affinity to that portion of the glucose transport system which is involved in erythritol transfer, whereas the glucosephlorizin-insensitive fraction of erythritol movements is not identical with the glycerol system. This latter inference is supported by the observation that, in contrast to glycerol permeability, erythritol permeability is insensitive to variations of pH or to the addition of copper. The apparent activation energy of the glucose-phlorizin-sensitive and-insensitive fractions of erythritol permeation are 22.2 and 20.7 kcal/mole, respectively. These values are not significantly different from one another.

Effect of pCMBS on anion transport in human red cell membranes

The kinetics of binding of the mercurial sulfhydryl reagent, pCMBS (p-chloromercuribenzene sulfonate), to the extracellular site(s) at which pCMBS inhibits water and urea transport across the human red cell membrane, have previously been characterized. To determine whether pCMBS binding alters Cl- transport, we measured Cl-/NO3- exchange by fluorescence enhancement, using the dye SPQ (6-methoxy-N-(3-sulfopropyl)quinolinium). An essentially instantaneous extracellular phase of pCMBS inhibition is followed by a much slower intracellular phase, correlated with pCMBS permeation. We attribute the instantaneous phase to competitive inhibition of Cl- binding to band 3 by the pCMBS anion. The ID50 of 2.0 +/- 0.1 mM agrees with other organic sulfonates, but is very much greater than that of pCMBS inhibition of urea and water transport, showing that pCMBS reaction with water and urea transport inhibition sites has no effect on anion exchange. The intracellular inhibition by 1 mM pCMBS (1 h) is apparently non-competitive with Ki = 5.5 +/- 6.3 mM, presumably an allosteric effect of pCMBS binding to an intracellular band 3-related sulfhydryl group. After N-ethylmaleimide (NEM) treatment to block these band 3 sulfhydryl groups, there is apparent non-competitive inhibition with Ki = 2.1 +/- 1.2 mM, which suggests that pCMBS reacts with one of the NEM-insensitive sulfhydryl groups on a protein that links band 3 to the cytoskeleton, perhaps ankyrin or bands 4.1 and 4.2.

Role of influenza B virus in hepatic steatosis and mitochondrial abnormalities in a mouse model of Reye syndrome

The hepatic steatosis observed in the influenza B virus mouse model of Reye syndrome has been attributed to infectious virus or, alternately, to decreased food intake in the virus-treated mice or impurities in the virus preparation. To resolve this issue, 4- to 6-wk-old male Balb C mice were given, by intravenous injection, 12,800 hemagglutination units of influenza B Lee/40 virus in phosphate buffered saline/1% bovine serum albumin using virus prepared by ultra-centrifugation from infected allantoic fluid, by sucrose density-gradient purification of virus prepared by ultracentrifugation from infected allantoic fluid or by irradiation of virus prepared by ultracentrifugation from infected allantoic fluid to inactivate virus. The infectivity titer of virus prepared by ultracentrifugation from infected allantoic fluid was much higher than that of sucrose density-gradient purified virus prepared from infected allantoic fluid: 50% egg infectious dose for virus prepared by ultracentrifugation from infected allantoic fluid was 3.9 x 10(4)/hemagglutination unit vs. 8.7 50% egg infectious dose/hemagglutination unit for sucrose density-gradient purified virus prepared from infected allantoic fluid. Control mice received phosphate-buffered saline/1% bovine serum albumin or uninfected allantoic fluid diluted in phosphate-buffered saline/1% bovine serum albumin. Mice were fasted to eliminate dietary variation, and livers were obtained 36 hr after virus administration. Of the above treatments, only virus prepared by ultracentrifugation from infected allantoic fluid caused clinical illness and increased hepatic triglycerides (p less than 0.02) compared with controls. Hepatic triglycerides in virus prepared by ultracentrifugation from infected allantoic fluid correlated with histopathological vacuolization scores (r = 0.5773; p less than 0.03).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

pH-dependent electrical properties and buffer permeability of the Necturus renal proximal tubule cell

Necturus kidneys were perfused with Tris-buffered solutions at three different pH values, i.e. 7.5, 6.0 and 9.0. A significant drop in fluid absorption occurred at pH 6.0, whereas pH 9.0 did not increase volume flow significantly. When acute unilateral, i.e. either in the lumen or the peritubular capillaries, and bilateral pH changes were elicited in both directions from 7.5 to 9.0 at a constant Tris-butyrate buffer concentration, both peritubular membrane potential difference V1 and transepithelial potential difference V3 hyperpolarized, independently of the side where the change in pH was brought about. Acid perfusions at pH 6.0 caused a similar response but of opposite sign. Analysis of the potential changes shows that pH influences not only the electromotive force and resistance of the homolateral membrane, but also the electrical properties of the paracellular path. Interference of pH with Na, Cl or K conductance was assessed. Any appreciable role for sodium or chloride was excluded, whereas the potassium transference number (tK) of the peritubular membrane increased 16% in alkaline pH. However, this increase accounts only for 19 to 36% of the observed hyperpolarization. Since changes in Tris-butyrate buffer concentration at constant pH do not affect V1 or V3 considerably, the hyperpolarization in pH 9 cannot be explained by an elevation in internal pH only, or by a Tris-H+ ion diffusion potential only. The role of the permeability of the buffers: bicarbonate, butyrate and phosphate, in determining electrical membrane parameters was evaluated. Transport numbers of the buffer anions ranked as follows: tHCO3 greater than tbutyrate greater than tphosphate. It is concluded that modulation of membrane potential by extracellular pH is mediated primarily by a change in peritubular cell membrane tK and additionally by membrane currents carried by buffer anions.

The temperature dependence of passive potassium permeability in mammalian erythrocytes

The effect of temperature on the "passive" permeability of mammalian plasma membranes to K+, measured as the residual flux in the presence of ouabain and bumetanide, was investigated in erythrocytes of several species. Without Ca2+ in the medium, only human red cells demonstrated the "paradoxical" rise in passive flux at low temperature (i.e., below 12 degrees C) seen by other workers. In the other species no such effect was apparent; K+ influx decreased progressively with cooling down to 0 degree C. Below 18.5 degrees C the apparent energy of activation (Ea) was very low--close to that for free diffusion in water--for red cells of all species except human. Above 18.5 degrees C the Ea was much greater and was also more variable amongst the red cells of the species chosen. Neither the inhibitors used nor cell volume changes during incubation accounted for the absence of the paradoxical effect in the species studied here. A rise in permeation of K+ with cooling can, however, be produced by the addition of Ca2+ to the medium, probably by activation of the Ca2+-sensitive K+ channel. This effect would account for previous reports of a paradoxical effect in dog and rat erythrocytes.

Characterization of the Band 3 substrate site in human red cell ghosts by NDS-TEMPO, a disulfonatostilbene spin probe: the function of protons in NDS-TEMPO and substrate-anion binding in relation to anion transport

NDS-TEMPO is a specific disulfonatostilbene spin label for the Band 3 substrate site (K.F. Schnell, W. Elbe, J. Käsbauer & E. Kaufmann, Biochim. Biophys. Acta 732:266-275, 1983). The pH dependence of NDS-TEMPO binding and of chloride and sulfate binding was studied in resealed human erythrocyte ghosts. pH was varied from 6.0 to 9.0. The ESR spectra from NDS-TEMPO-labeled red cell ghosts exhibited a strong immobilization of membrane-bound NDS-TEMPO. Changes of pH had no effect upon the mobility of membrane-bound NDS-TEMPO. A mutual competition between NDS-TEMPO binding and the binding of the substrate-anions, chloride and sulfate, was observed throughout the entire pH range. The maximal number of NDS-TEMPO binding sites per cell was in the range of 9.0 X 10(5) to 1.10 X 10(6) and was found to be insusceptible to changes of pH. The NDS-TEMPO/substrate-site and the chloride/substrate-site dissociation constants amounted to 1.25 microM and to 17 mM and were independent of pH from pH 6.0 to 8.0, while the sulfate/substrate-site dissociation constant displayed a strong pH dependency with a maximum of approximately 50 mM at about pH 7.0. The NDS-TEMPO inhibition constants from the chloride and the sulfate flux experiments were 0.5 microM (0 degree C) and 1.8 microM (25 degrees C), respectively, and are in close accordance with the NDS-TEMPO/substrate-site dissociation constants. Our studies provide strong evidence for the assumption that NDS-TEMPO binds in fact to the substrate site of Band 3. They show that the strong pH dependence of the chloride and of the sulfate transport cannot result from the pH dependency of substrate-anion binding, but point to the participation of ionizable regulator sites in transport catalysis. These regulator sites seem to be positioned outside the substrate site of the Band 3 transport domain.

Interactions of the chelating agent 2,3-dimercaptopropane-1-sulfonate with red blood cells in vitro. I. Evidence for carrier mediated transport

Uptake of the water soluble 1,2-dimercaptopropanol (BAL) derivative 2,3-dimercapto-1-sulfonate (DMPS) into human red blood cells was found in vitro and the mode of penetration studied in detail. The compound entered erythrocytes in a concentration dependent manner. In contrast to sealed ghosts where inside and outside concentrations reached the same value, DMPS accumulated in intact erythrocytes. Since no binding of DMPS could be detected, the reason for accumulation was assumed to be a conversion of DMPS into chelates or metabolites which penetrated the membrane in a slower rate. A facilitated transport of DMPS mediated by the anion carrier protein was concluded on the basis of the following similarities with the anion transport: inhibition of [14C]DMPS-uptake by N-ethylmaleimide (NEM), tetrathionate (90%), sulfate (50%), 5,5'-dithio bis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB) (25%); inhibition of uptake and efflux by 4,4'-diisothiocyano-2,2'-stilbene disulfonate (DIDS) (80%), dipyridamole (55%); temperature dependency (activation energy 24 Kcal/mol); pH-dependency (pH optimum about 6.9); counter-transport; activation of uptake by preincubation with DMPS (transmembrane effect).

Transport of benzenesulfonic acid derivatives through the rat erythrocyte membrane

Transport of benzenesulfonic acid derivatives through the rat erythrocyte membrane was studied. The transport properties, such as pH-dependence and effects of reagents reacting with amino-groups, were similar to those to anions like Cl- through the human erythrocyte membrane. The rate of transport of anions through rat erythrocyte membranes is higher than through those of other mammals, such as guinea pig and bovine erythrocyte membranes. This relatively high rate of transport makes the rat erythrocyte membrane suitable for use in comparative studies on the transport of slowly penetrating substances, such as organic anions. The transport velocities of benezenesulfonic acid derivatives were compared with their physico-chemical properties. It was shown that the hydrophobicity has no effect on the transport, but the electronic property has a significant effect: the transport rate is mainly dependent on the e- donor capacities. This feature is the inverse to the well-known inhibitory effect of these derivatives on other anion transport: the inhibition is mainly dependent on the e- acceptor capacities. It is suggested that the transport is regulated by the binding capacity of anions to the transport site.

The kinetics of anion equilibrium exchange across the red blood cell membrane as measured by means of 35S thiocyanate

Up to a SCN- concentration of about 110 mM, the concentration dependence of SCN- equilibrium exchange in human red cell ghosts can be represented by the superimposition of two flux components. One component shows saturation kinetics, the other does not. The saturable component has an activation enthalpy of 105 kJ/mole, exhibits a trans acceleration by Cl- and can be inhibited by H2DIDS. The nonsaturable component has a much lower activation enthalpy of 33 kJ/mole, is slightly reduced in trans acceleration experiments with Cl- and insensitive to H2DIDS but susceptible to inhibition by phloretin. At SCN- concentrations exceeding 110 mM, the saturable component undergoes irreversible self inhibition while the nonsaturable component remains unaltered. The half saturation concentration of the saturable flux component increases with decreasing pH from 3.0 mM at pH 7.4 to 13.3 mM at pH 6.0. Over this pH range, the maximal flux is only slightly increased from 19 x 10(-12) to 22 x 10(-12) moles x cm-2 x sec-1. The nonsaturable flux component also increases slightly. In accordance with previous observations of Wieth (J. Physiol. (London) 207:563-580, 1970), we find that SCN- increases K+ and Na+ permeability. The induced cation-permeability is considerably smaller than the SCN- exchange and the latter does not show the paradoxical temperature dependence that is known to pertain to the former.

A spin label study of erythrocyte membranes during simulation of freezing

Human erythrocytes were labeled with stearic acid spin labels, and no change was detected in membrane fluidity under hyperosmotic stress, going from isotonicity to about 3000 mOsm. Intact erythrocytes labeled with an androstane spin label and submitted to simulation of freezing show the onset of irreversible structural breakdown occurring in a saline solution at 2,000 mOsm. Ghosts labeled with maleimide spin label (4-maleimide-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidinooxyl) when submitted to solutions of increasing osmolalities (pH 7.4), exhibit protein conformational changes that are irreversible after a simulated freeze-thaw cycle. After sonication of maleimide spin-labeled ghosts, membrane buried sulfhydryl groups become exposed. Such preparations showed behavior similar to the unsonicated when in saline hyperosmolal medium (pH 7.4). Such results suggest the ionic strength of the medium as the determining factor of the detected conformational changes. Maleimide spin-labeled ghosts in 300 mOsm saline solution (pH 7.4) were treated with ascorbic acid (spin destruction of nitroxides), and the kinetic analysis indicates that 65% of the labeled sites are located at the external interface of the membrane or in hydrophilic channels. Deformation and rearrangements of membrane components in solutions of increasing osmolalities apparently are related to protein conformational changes, on the outside surface of erythrocyte membranes, with a significant amount being structurally dissociated of lipids.

Urate transport in human red blood cells. Activation by ATP

Urate transport in human erythrocytes were measured and compared to previous observations by other authors regarding inorganic anions, especially chloride. Conclusions wwere as follows: 1. Urate influx as a function of increasing concentrations showed saturation kinetics. 2. The effects of pH and of several passive anion transport inhibitors such as dinitrofluorobenzene, sodium salicylate, sodium benzoate and phenylbutazone suggest that urate and chloride are transported by different mechanisms. 3. Urate influx seems to depend on intracellular glycolysis. The results obtained on red blood cells after glycolysis inhibition agree with those obtained on ghosts where metabolism does not take place. 4. The large drop in urate influxes into erythrocytes in the presence of a glycolysis inhibitor and of a passive ion transport inhibitor seems to argue in favour of a dual urate transport mechanism, one for passive diffusion and the other connected with glycolysis. 5. The drop in the urate influx into ghosts in the absence of ATP suggests that the latter might intervene in urate transport by human red cell membranes.

Anion transport in red blood cells. III. Sites and sidedness of inhibition by high-affinity reversible binding probes

Studies of binding of the reversible inhibitor DNDS (for abbreviations, see Nomenclature) and red blood cell membranes revealed 8.6 +/- 0.7 x 10(5) high-affinity binding sites per cell (KD = 0.8 +/- 0.4 muM). Under conditions of "mutual depletion," inhibition studies of anion exchange revealed 8.0 +/- 0.7 x 10(5) DNDS inhibitory sites per cell (KD = 0.87 +/- 0.04 muM). Binding and kinetics studies with DNDS indicate that there are 0.8 -- 0.9 x 10(6) functional anion transport sites per blood cell. The transport of DNDS displayed high temperature and concentration dependencies, chemical specificity, susceptibility to inhibition by DIDS, and differences between egress and ingress properties. Under conditions of no DNDS penetration (e.g., 0 degrees C), inhibition of anion exchange by DNDS showed marked sidedness from the outside inhibitions and were demonstrable at micromolar concentrations, whereas from the inside no inhibition occurred even at millimolar concentrations. The asymmetry of DNDS transport properties and the sidedness of binding and inhibition suggest that anion transport sites have a very low affinity for or are inaccessible to DNDS at the inner membrane face. The site of DNDS permeation, although susceptible to DIDS, is apparently not the site of anion exchange.

The effects of anion transport inhibitors on structural transitions in erythrocyte membranes

Red blood cell membranes have been labeled with several covalent and noncovalent inhibitors of anion transport and their heat capacity profiles determined as a function of temperature. Covalent inhibitors include the amino reactive agents 4,4'-diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid, 4-acetamido-4'-isothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid, pyridoxal phosphate and 1-fluoro-2,4-dinitro benzene. The non-covalent inhibitors include several well known local anesthetics. The study was underataken in order to identify regions of the membrane involved in anion transport. Covalent modification in all case resulted in a large upward shift of the C transition, which is beleived to involve a localized phospholipid region. Evidence is presented which indicates that Band III protein and this phospholipid region are in close physical proximity on the membrane. Addition of non-covalent inhibitors affects the membrane in either or both of two ways. In some cases, a lowering and broadening of the C transition occurs; in others the B1 and B2 transitions are altered. These latter transitions are beleived to involve both phospholipid and protein, including Band III. These results may indicate that the non-covalent inhibitors produce their inhibitory effect on anion transport at least in part by interacting with membrane phospholipid.

Effect of exogenous ATP on sodium transport in mammalian red cells

The effect of exogenous adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and other nucleotides on the transport of Na in various mammalian red cells has been studied. While they have no effect on the transport of Na in human and cat red cells, in dog red cells adenosine and its mono-, di- and triphosphorylated forms were found to increase Na-influx. Of these, ATP has the most striking effect, causing a more than 8-fold increase at a concentration of 0.6 mM and exerting this effect at a dose range of 10(-5) to 10(-3) M. The effect of ATP is rapid (less than 5 minutes) and can be reversed by washing or the addition of calcium or magnesium. In contrast to the adenosine series other phosphorylated nucleotides (GTP, CTP, UDP, GDP and cAMP) have no effect. The well known volume dependent Na-transport in these cells is reversed in the presence of 0.6 mM ATP. It is suggested that ATP acts on passive cation movements either by chelation of membrane charge or by a direct interaction with membrane proteins and may be involved in the volume regulation of cation transport in the dog erythrocyte.

Chemical modification of membrane proteins in relation to inhibition of anion exchange in human red blood cells

Mono-, di-, and trisulfonic acids, including 4,4'-diacetamido stilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid (DAS) and 2-(4'-amino phenyl)-6-methylbenzene thiazol-3',7-disulfonic acid (APMB) produce a reversible inhibition of sulfate equilibrium exchange in human red cells. A study of the sidedness of the action of a number of these sulfonic acids in red cell ghosts revealed that some, like DAS, inhibit only at the outer membrane surface while others, like APMB, inhibit at either surface. This finding suggests that at least two different types of membrane sites are involved in the control of anion permeability. The nature of the anion permeability controlling sites in the outer cell surface was investigated by studying the effects of DAS on the inhibition by dinitrofluorobenzene (DNFB) of anion equilibrium exchange and on the binding of DNFB to the proteins of the red blood cell membrane. After exposure to DNFB in the presence of DAS for a certain period of time, there was a reduction of both the inhibitory effect of DNFB on sulfate exchange and the binding of DNFB to the protein in band 3 of SDS polyacrylamide gel electropherograms (nomenclature of Steck, J. Cell. Biol., 62: 1, '74). Since binding to other membrane proteins was not affected, this observation supports the assumption that the protein in band 3 plays some role in anion transport. In accordance with the absence of an inhibitory effect at the inner membrane surface, internal DAS does not affect DNFB binding to the protein in band 3. DAS protected the anion exchange system not only against inhibition by DNFB but also by m-isothiocyanato benzene sulfonic acid. In contrast to DAS, the equally inhibitory phlorizin does not reduce the rate of dinitrophenylation of the protein in band 3. This suggests that either not all inhibitors of anion exchange exert their action by a combination with sites on the protein in band 3 or that in spite of the described evidence this protein is not involved in the control of anion movements.

Asymmetric membrane expansion and modification of active and passive cation permeability of human red cells by the fluorescent probe 1-anilino-8-napththalene sulfonate

1. The membrane perturbations induced by the interaction of the fluorescent probe 1-anilino-8-naphthalene sulfonate (ANS) with human red blood cells were studied. 2. ANS below 0.5 mM inhibits partially (20% maximum) the ouabain-insensitive Na+ and K+ influx and efflux. Above 0.5 mM ANS increases both Na+ and K+ leak fluxes. The increased cation leaks are larger for Na+ than K+. 3. The (Na+ +K+)-ATPase and ouabain-sensitive Na+ and K+ fluxes are inhibited by ANS. Ouabain-insensitive, Mg2+-dependent ATPase activity of ghosts is stimulated by [ANS] less than 0.3 mM and inhibited by [ANS] greater than 0.3 mM. 4. ANS also inhibits the Na+-dependent, ouabain-insensitive K+ influx that is inhibited by ethacrynic acid and furosemide. 5. Red cells become crenated with [ANS] less than 1 mM and sphere at [ANS] greater than 1 mM. In the former conditions hypotonic hemolysis is decreased whereas the latter increase osmotic fragility. 6. It is suggested that ANS expands the membrane asymmetrically by binding preferentially to the external membrane surface. 7. It is concluded that ANS is a general inhibitor of ion transport, particularly of those processes thought to involve facilitated-diffusion mechanisms. The increased cation leaks observed at high ANS concentrations may be related to prehemolytic membrane disruption. 8. The membrane perturbations caused by ANS are compared to those caused by other reversible inhibitors of anion exchange in red blood cells. Their possible modes of action are discussed.

[The pH-dependence of the uptake of H2PO 4 (-), SO 4 (=), Na (+) and K (+) by Ankistrodesmus braunii and their ionic interactions]

Ion uptake was studied using (32)P, (35)S, (22)Na and (42)K as tracers in synchronized cells of Ankistrodesmus, which were slightly starved with respect to the ions to be investigated. In the light and in the dark, phosphate uptake is maximal between pH 5.5 and 6.5. Whereas Na(+) in comparison to K(+) enhances phosphate uptake in the light (8 to 9-fold) and in the dark, Ca(++) exerts only a slightly stimulatory effect. The stimulation of phosphate binding by Na(+) occurs rapidly, even after less than 5 sec of incubation, and also in the presence of an equimolar concentration of K(+).The pH-dependence of Na(+)-uptake in the light and in the dark is comparable to a dissociation curve: Na(+)-uptake increases with decreasing extracellular H(+)-concentration and is inversely proportional to phosphate uptake in the absence of Na(+). The light:dark ratio of Na(+)-uptake at pH 8 amounts to 7:1. Mere adsorption of Na(+) is similarly dependent on the pH. K(+) strongly competes with Na(+)-uptake, even at pH 8. K(+)-uptake proceeds in a quite different manner from Na(+)-uptake and has an optimum at pH 7.Sulfate is taken up linearly in a biphasic process as a function of time; the pH-optimum lies between pH 7.5 and 8. K(+) but not Na(+) slightly enhances sulfate uptake.The Na(+)-enhancement of phosphate uptake can be related neither to a sodium-potassium exchange pump nor to a photosynthesis-dependent ion-exchange reaction.The results suggest that the uptake of phosphate, Na(+) and K(+), and the influence of alkali cations on phosphate uptake, but not sulfate uptake, are strongly dependent on fixed charges of the plasmalemma or even of the cell wall. These fixed charges may even prevent an active ion uptake.