On the nature of the "non-saturable" migration of amino acids into Ehrlich cells and into rat jejunum

Amino acid nutrition: a two-step absorptive process

A linkage between intestinal and tissue absorption of amino acids was perceived by Donald D. Van Slyke and Gustave M. Meyer in 1913, but soon overlooked by later authors. Today, on the 110th anniversary of Van Slyke's birth and the 80th anniversary of publication of their now-classic paper in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, the observation gains in nutritional significance and tells us, incidentally, why we should not dose ourselves with an isolated amino acid.

Regulation of taurine transport in Ehrlich ascites tumor cells

Taurine influx is inhibited and taurine efflux accelerated when the cell membrane of Ehrlich ascites tumor cells is depolarized. Taurine influx is inhibited at acid pH partly due to the concomitant depolarization of the cell membrane partly due to a reduced availability of negatively charged free carrier. These results are in agreement with a 2Na,1C1,1taurine cotransport system which is sensitive to the membrane potential due to a negatively charged empty carrier. Taurine efflux from Ehrlich cells is stimulated by addition of LTD4 and by swelling in hypotonic medium. Cell swelling in hypotonic medium is known to result in stimulation of the leukotriene synthesis and depolarization of the cell membrane. The taurine efflux, activated by cell swelling, is dramatically reduced when the phospholipase A2 is inhibited indirectly by addition of the anti-calmodulin drug pimozide, or directly by addition of RO 31-4639. The inhibition is in both cases lifted by addition of LTD4. The swelling-induced taurine efflux is also inhibited by addition of the 5-lipoxygenase inhibitors ETH 615-139 and NDGA. It is concluded that the swelling-induced activation of the taurine leak pathway involves a release of arachidonic acid from the membrane phospholipids and an increased oxidation of arachidonic acid into leukotrienes via the 5-lipoxygenase pathway. LTD4 seems to act as a second messenger for the swelling induced activation of the taurine leak pathway either directly or indirectly via its activation of the Cl- channels, i.e., via a depolarization of the cell membrane.

Measurements of amino acid transport in internally dialyzed giant axons

It is shown that the axoplasmic composition of acidic and neutral amino acids can be controlled effectively by the method of internal dialysis. Direct assay for specific binding and measurement of diffusion coefficients in axoplasm show that there is no significant binding or compartmentalization of amino acids. The dependence of amino acid efflux on substrate concentration can be measured under well-defined, true steady-state conditions. The taurine efflux-concentration relation in the Myxicola giant axon conforms to a second-order Hill equation. This fact is consistent with either a cooperative process or a mechanism in which membrane translocation is not the rate-controlling step. The effluxes of taurine and glycine from squid axon are an order of magnitude smaller than in Myxicola. The efflux-concentration relations are essentially linear up to 200 mM substrate concentration. This result may be produced by specific transporters which have very high asymmetry, or by simple diffusive leak in the absence of specific transporters.

Taurine transport associated with cell volume regulation in flounder erythrocytes under anisosmotic conditions

The taurine transport of flounder erythrocytes is associated with a cell volume regulation in anisosmotic media. An osmolality reduction leads to a cell volume increase, which is followed by a volume readajustment towards the original level. A 75 mosM reduction is accompanied by a 33 mumol g dry wt.-1 reduction in the cellular taurine content. The reduction in osmolality activates the taurine release mechanism by transiently increasing the rate coefficient for taurine efflux. The rate coefficient for taurine influx is similarly stimulated. This influx is mediated by a Na+-independent transport system. The concomitant activation of influx and efflux suggests a coupling between these two systems. Higher taurine efflux and influx rate coefficients which decayed more slowly with time were measured in cells suspended in Na+-free (choline replacement) media than in the presence of Na+. This suggests that Na+ may play a role in the taurine release mechanism. Noradrenaline induced a cellular swelling at normal osmolality (330 mosM), but had only a minor effect on the taurine efflux and influx and the cellular taurine content. Urea-induced cellular swelling at normal osmolality initiated a volume regulatory process and activated the taurine release mechanism, similarly to an osmolality reduction. These results show that osmolality reduction and cellular swelling are no prerequisites for the activation of the taurine release mechanism and the cell volume readajustment. It is suggested that the dimension of an intracellular solute compartment determines the activation level of this mechanism.

Characteristics of taurine transport in rat hepatocytes in primary culture

Characteristics of taurine transport in rat hepatocytes maintained in primary culture for 24 h (cultured hepatocytes) have been investigated. The uptake of [3H] taurine by cultured hepatocytes at 2 degrees C was unsaturable, whereas that at 37 degrees C consisted of unsaturable and saturable processes. The saturable transport system was sodium-dependent and consisted of two processes with low and with high affinities. The latter process (Km, 76.9 microM; Vmax, 0.256 nmole/mg protein/min; activation energy (EA), 37.8 kcal mol-1) was competitively inhibited by 2,4-dinitrophenol and ouabain, as well as by taurine analogues such as hypotaurine and guanidinoethyl sulphonate. The Vmax and EA values found in cultured hepatocytes at 37 degrees C were 6.0 and 6.8 times higher than those found in freshly isolated hepatocytes. These results indicate that taurine transport in hepatocytes in primary culture consisted of unsaturable, and saturable, sodium and energy-dependent carrier-mediated transport processes, respectively. The facilitation of the latter transport system by primary culture of hepatocytes is also suggested.

Characteristics of cholic acid uptake in primary cultured hepatocytes

The characteristics of cholic acid uptake by primary cultured hepatocytes was studied. The cholic acid uptake below 10 degrees C was unsaturable, while that determined at 20 degrees and 37 degrees C showed a biphasic type, which suggested the presence of a saturable process. This saturable process was a temperature-dependent and carrier-mediated transport process with an activation energy of 36.1 Kcal/mol. The apparent Km and Vmax values at 37 degrees C were 57.1 microM and 0.566 nmoles/mg protein/min, respectively. The saturable process was inhibited by 2,4-dinitrophenol and ouabain, and reduced significantly in the absence of sodium, suggesting that this process is energy- and sodium-dependent. The cholic acid uptake mediated by the saturable process in the absence of sodium was, however, significantly larger than that mediated by the unsaturable process. These results suggest that the transport of cholic acid in primary cultured hepatocytes may consist of three different types: unsaturable, sodium and energy-dependent carrier-mediated, and sodium-independent and energy-dependent processes, respectively. The presence of a common transport carrier for cholic acid and its conjugates with taurine and glycine in primary cultured hepatocytes was also suggested.

Taurine transport by rat hepatocytes in primary culture

Hepatic taurine concentration is 30--100 times that of plasma, suggesting an efficient taurine uptake mechanism in the hepatocyte. The characteristics of hepatic taurine transport were studied in primary cultures of adult rat hepatocytes. Taurine uptake was concentrative and linear for over 4 h. At taurine concentrations 2.5--100 microM, uptake was saturable with constants Km = 44 microM, V = 0.28 nmol/mg protein per min and EA = 13.2 kcal/mol. Uptake was inhibited 41% by incubation under N2 and was competitively inhibited by beta-alanine (Ki = 94 microM) and hypotaurine (Ki = 14 microM). Uptake was linearly dependent upon Na+ concentration from 0 to 140 mM. A second nonsaturable uptake process was identifiable only at taurine concentrations greater than 1 mM. This process was presumed to represent passive diffusion. At taurine concentrations existing in plasma, taurine enters the hepatocyte primarily by a single, Na+-dependent, carrier-mediated, oxygen-requiring transport process.

Characteristics of proline transport into R3230AC mammary tumor cells

Cells separated by enzyme treatment of the R3230AC mammary carcinoma were used to characterize the entry of proline. These cells showed minimal changes in cell viability and intracellular volume and were found to be suitable for transport studies, since the vi of proline was maintained for at least 4 h when cells were stored at 37 or 4 degrees C, or when transport was measured in the presence or absence of Na+. Proline was acitvely transported by these tumor cells, reaching a distribution ratio ([proline] intracellular/[proline] extracellular) of 20 after 2 h. Proline entry consisted of two processes, one saturable (carrier mediated) and the other, non-saturable. The carrier-mediated entry, Km - 0.83 mM and V = 151.10(-5) mumol/min per 5.10(6) cells, was Na+-dependent, sensitive to pH and metabolic inhibitors, and completely inhibited by alpha-(methylamino)-isobutyric acid (Ki = 0.34 mM). Proline entry in the absence of Na+ was 20% that in the presence of Na+ and was found to be due to a non-saturable process, since (a) vi of proline uptake in the absence of Na+ increases linearly with increasing proline concentration and (b) was not suppressed by either 20 mM alpha-(methyl-amino)-isobutyric acid, 50 mM glycine +20 mM phenylalanine, or 50 mM serine +20 mM phenylalanine when proline uptake was measured in the presence or absence of Na+. Therefore, under the conditions studied, we conclude that proline transport appears to be restricted to the A (alanine-preferring) system. Furthermore, these cells should provide a suitable model to study the effect of hormonal manipulations on the amino acid transport process.

Does the non-saturable cell entry apply to the charge-free form of amino acids?

The slow cellular entry shown by neutral alpha-amino acids at very high concentrations appears not to arise from diffusion of the totally uncharged species through the plasma membrane of the Ehrlich cell, judging from a similarity of the rates observed for the two conformational isomers of 1-amino-2-hydroxy-cyclohexane-carboxylic acid. One of these isomers provides in neutral solution 4 times as large a proportion of the charge-free species as the other, and 5 times the proportion calculated for alanine.

The computation of saturable and linear components of intestinal and other transport kinetics

1. Published data for absorption kinetics have been fitted by non-linear regression to (i) a single Michaelis-Menten function, (ii) a Michaelis-Menten function plus a linear term and (iii) a sum of two Michaelis-Menten functions. A series of criteria have been drawn up to establish the goodness of fit in each case. 2. In 17 out of 35 cases the Michaelis-Menten function was the "best fit". In nine cases the "best-fit" model also included a linear term, but never was the sum of two Michaelis-Menten functions accepted to be the "best-fit" model. 3. Linearity of a Lineweaver-Burk plot was of unreliable diagnostic value in assessing goodness of fit. 4. Since the fit of a Michaelis-Menten function was often poor, simulated data sets with error were used to study the influence of experimental design etc. on Michaelis-Menten parameter estimation. 5. Precision of estimation of Km is increased by increasing the number of data points, reducing their variance, increasing the data range and by straddling Km in the observations. For a given constant number of observations there is no advantage in using replicate observations at few concentrations or single values at relatively many concentrations, or in using single values rather than means. 6. The caution necessary in interpretation of kinetic models is emphasized.

Heterogeneity of histidine transport in the Ehrlich cell

We have reexamined the heterogeneity shown by histidine in its uptake by the Ehrlich ascites tumor cell, in the face of a contradiction of our earlier interpretation. We again find the fraction of histidine uptake at neutral pH inhibitable by the model substrate for System A, 2-(methylamino)-isobutyric acid, to be fully dependent on the presence of Na+ or Li+. The small Na+ -independent component not attributable to System L can be identified with System Ly+ through its inhibitability by homoarginine. This component increases as the pH is lowered with an apparent pK' a of 6.1. The simultaneous decrease in the uptake by the neutral systems could be identified, for System L, with the same titration of histidine to its cationic form, but for System A the sharp decrease is identified with the protonation of a structure on the membrane rather than one on the substrate. The action of H+ in the latter case proved approximately non-competitive with Na+ when tested with ordinary substrates.

A comparison of the rate equations, kinetic parameters, and activation energies for the initial uptake of L-lysine, L-valine, gamma-aminobutyric acid, and alpha-aminoisobutyric acid by mouse brain slices

At substrate concentrations, in medium, of 0.2 to 20 mM and at temperatures of 25 and 37 degrees C, the initial concentrative influx of the amino acids L-lysine (30 and 37 degrees C), L-valine, and gamma-aminobutyric acid into incubated mouse-cerebrum slices follows the rate equation for the initial influx of alpha-aminoisobutyric acid (Cohen, J. Physiol. 228:105, 1973), v equals Vmax/(1+Kt/S)+kuS. Kinetic constants at 37 degrees C are: Vmax equals 0.089 mumoles/g final wet wt of slices, min, Kt equals 0.69 mM, ku equals 0.037 mumoles/g final wet wt, mM-substrate, min for L-lysine; Vmax equals 0.60, Kt equals 1.30, ku equals 0.067 for L-valine; and Vmax equals 1.71, Kt equals 1.58, ku equals 0.094 for gamma-aminobutyric acid. The linear term, kuS, is due to an unsaturable process of concentrative uptake, not diffusion. Comparison of temperature coefficients reveals a "reference" pattern for typical low affinity transport of amino acids into brain slices. Its characteristics are: Activation energies associated with Vmax and ku are in range 14 to 20 kcal/mole; K, varies only slightly with temperature, L-Lysine and alpha-aminoisobutyric acid fit this pattern; L-valine and gamma-aminobutyric acid deviate in part. The Akedo-Christensen plot (J. Biol. Chem. 237:118, 1962) does not distinguish between the rateequation v equals Vmax/(1+Kt/S)+kuS for saturable uptake plus first-order unsaturable concentrative uptake, and the rate equation v equals Vmax/(1 + Kt/S)+kd(S minus Si) for saturable uptake plus first-order nonconcentrative "passive diffusion".

Transport and metabolism of galactose in rat kidney cortex

1. Analysis of transport of d-galactose was complicated by metabolism of the compound but appeared to have two components: a substrate-saturable component and a diffusion component. At low substrate concentration (<1mm) active transport was observed. Accumulation of galactose was largely independent of Na(+) concentration. The apparent K(m) for this component was 0.2mm. At substrate concentrations above 1mm the active transport system appeared saturated and further increases in substrate concentration resulted in a linear increase in the rate of galactose accumulation, but no concentration gradient was formed. 2. d-[1-(14)C]Galactose (2mm) was metabolized to (14)CO(2) by rat kidney-cortex slices incubated at 37 degrees C, at the rate of 68nmol/h per 100mg of tissue. 3. Intracellular components from such incubations were separated into a neutral fraction, the only major labelled component being galactose, and a phosphorylated fraction. 4. Phosphorylated metabolites found in galactose-incubated slices increased with increasing substrate concentration and achieved a limiting value of 0.42mm after 60min of incubation. 5. Galactose uptake was inhibited by anaerobiosis, dinitrophenol and phlorrhizin. 6. Methyl alpha-d-glucoside and d-glucose partially inhibited galactose uptake only at ratios of 100:1. 7. The presence of pyruvate did not decrease galactose metabolism although it did decrease production of (14)CO(2) from [1-(14)C]galactose. Gluconeogenesis occurred in the presence of pyruvate and (14)C from galactose was found in glucose. 8. Rat kidney-cortex slices metabolized 2mm-[1-(14)C]galactonate to (14)CO(2) at a rate of 20nmol/h per 100mg of tissue.

Amino acid uptake in the developing chick embryo heart. The effect of insulin on alpha-aminoisobutyric acid accumulation

1. The uptake of (14)C-labelled alpha-aminoisobutyric acid by 5-day-old chick embryo hearts was investigated in vitro, together with the effect of insulin thereon. 2. At equilibrium the distribution ratio of this amino acid analogue between intracellular and extracellular water attained values greater than unity. Insulin enhanced the rate of alpha-aminoisobutyric acid accumulation and increased the value of its final concentration in the cell water. 3. The rate of alpha-aminoisobutyric acid accumulation and the effect of insulin on it were independent of the presence of glucose in the incubation medium. Bovine and chicken insulin were equally effective, and the action of the hormone was specifically prevented by an anti-insulin serum but not by puromycin. 4. A linear relationship was observed between the intracellular accumulation of the analogue and the logarithm of the insulin concentration in the range 50muunits-100m-units/ml. of incubation medium. 5. Evidence was obtained for the occurrence of two different transport processes for alpha-aminoisobutyric acid in the chick embryo heart: one subject to saturation and one that was not saturated by reasonable concentrations of the analogue. Insulin increased the effectiveness of the saturable component, increasing the maximal velocity of transport without altering the concentration for half-maximal velocity of transport, and decreased the contribution of the non-saturable component.