On the uptake of inositol by rat brain synaptosomes

Identification of a novel Na+/myo-inositol cotransporter

rkST1, an orphan cDNA of the SLC5 family (43% identical in sequence to the sodium myo-inositol cotransporter SMIT), was expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes that were subsequently voltage-clamped and exposed to likely substrates. Whereas superfusion with glucose and other sugars produced a small inward current, the largest current was observed with myo-inositol. The expressed protein, which we have named SMIT2, cotransports myo-inositol with a K(m) of 120 microm and displays a current-voltage relationship similar to that seen with SMIT (now called SMIT1). The transport is Na(+)-dependent, with a K(m) of 13 mm. SMIT2 exhibits phlorizin-inhibitable presteady-state currents and substrate-independent "Na(+) leak" currents similar to those of related cotransporters. The steady-state cotransport current is also phlorizin-inhibitable with a K(i) of 76 microm. SMIT2 exhibits stereospecific cotransport of both d-glucose and d-xylose but does not transport fucose. In addition, SMIT2 (but not SMIT1) transports d-chiro-inositol. Based on previous publications, the tissue distribution of SMIT2 is different from that of SMIT1, and the existence of this second cotransporter may explain much of the heterogeneity that has been reported for inositol transport.

Alternate splicing in human Na+-MI cotransporter gene yields differentially regulated transport isoforms

myo-Inositol is a ubiquitous intracellular organic osmolyte and phosphoinositide precursor maintained at millimolar intracellular concentrations through the action of membrane-associated Na+-myo-inositol cotransporters (SMIT). Functional cloning and expression of a canine SMIT cDNA, which conferred SMIT activity in Xenopus oocytes, predicted a 718-amino acid peptide homologous to the Na+-glucose cotransporter with a potential protein kinase A phosphorylation site and multiple protein kinase C phosphorylation sites. A consistent approximately 1.0- to 13.5-kb array of transcripts hybridizing with this cDNA are osmotically induced in a variety of mammalian cells and species, yet SMIT activity appears to vary among different tissues and species. An open reading frame on human chromosome 21 (SLC5A3) homologous to that of the canine cDNA (96.5%) is thought to comprise an intronless human SMIT gene. Recently, this laboratory ascribed multiply sized, osmotically induced SMIT transcripts in human retinal pigment epithelial cells to the alternate utilization of several 3'-untranslated SMIT exons. This article describes an alternate splice donor site within the coding region that extends the open reading frame into the otherwise untranslated 3' exons, potentially generating novel SMIT isoforms. In these isoforms, the last putative transmembrane domain is replaced with intracellular carboxy termini containing a novel potential protein kinase A phosphorylation site and multiple protein kinase C phosphorylation sites, and this could explain the heterogeneity in the regulation and structure of the SMIT.

Effect of osmolality and myo-inositol deprivation on the transport properties of myo-inositol in primary astrocyte cultures

myo-Inositol uptake measured in primary astrocyte cultures was saturable in the presence of Na+ with a Km of 13-18 microM and a Vmax of 9.4 nmoles/mg protein/hour in myo-inositol-fed cells, indicating a high affinity transport system. In myo-inositol-deprived cells, Km was about 53 microM with a Vmax of 13.2 nmoles/mg protein/hour. Decreasing osmolality decreased the Vmax to about 1.9 nmoles/mg protein/hour whereas increasing osmolality increased Vmax about 5-fold, while Kms were essentially unchanged in myo-inositol fed cells. In cells deprived of myo-inositol, Vmax decreased in hypotonic medium and increased in hypertonic medium almost 10-fold, but with more than a doubling of the Km regardless of the osmolality. Glucose (25 mM) inhibited myo-inositol uptake 51% whereas the other hexoses used inhibited uptake much less. Our findings indicate that myo-inositol uptake in astrocytes occurs through an efficient carrier-mediated Na(+)-dependent co-transport system that is different from that of glucose and its kinetic properties are affected by myo-inositol availability and osmotic stress.

Osmotic regulation of myo-inositol uptake in primary astrocyte cultures

Uptake of myo-inositol by astrocytes in hypertonic medium (440 mosm/kg H2O) was increased near 3-fold after incubation for 24 hours, which continued for 72 hours, as compared with the uptake by cells cultured in isotonic medium (38 nmoles/mg protein). myo-Inositol uptake by astrocytes cultured in hypotonic medium (180 mosm/kg H2O) for periods up to 72 hours was reduced by 74% to 8 to 10 nmoles/mg protein. Astrocytes incubated in either hypotonic or hypertonic medium for 24 hours and then placed in isotonic medium reversed the initial down- or up-regulation of uptake. Activation of chronic RVD and RVI correlates with regulation of myo-inositol uptake. A 30 to 40 mosm/kg H2O deviation from physiological osmolality can influence myo-inositol homeostasis. The intracellular content of myo-inositol in astrocytes in isotonic medium was 25.6 +/- 1.3 micrograms/mg protein (28 mM). This level of myo-inositol is sufficient for this compound to function as an osmoregulator in primary astrocytes and it is likely to contribute to the maintenance of brain volume.

TCDD decreases brain inositol concentrations in the rat

A single dose of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) reduced significantly brain regional inositol levels in both the most TCDD-susceptible (Long-Evans; LD50 9.8 micrograms/kg) and the most TCDD-resistant (Han/Wistar; LD50 > 7200 micrograms/kg) rat strain. The decrease emerged earlier in Long-Evans rats but was similar in magnitude at 8 days in both strains. There were some inconsistent and largely dose-independent changes in inositol-1- and inositol-4-monophosphate concentrations at 2 days. On day 8, a tendency towards reduced levels was seen especially in H/W rats. We conclude that TCDD reduces brain inositol levels presumably by inhibiting its synthesis by way of substrate deficit (hypoglycemia), but this effect does not appear to be causally related to the lethal action of TCDD.

Kinetic evidence for compartmentalization of myo-inositol in hepatocytes

myo-Inositol uptake and conversion to phosphatidylinositol (PI) was studied in isolated rat hepatocytes. Uptake of myo-[2-3H]-inositol into the trichloroacetic acid (TCA)-soluble fraction showed no evidence of saturation, while incorporation into lipid had an apparent Km of 0.28 mmol/L for external myo-inositol. With 50 mumol/L myo-[2-3H]-inositol, approximately half of the radiolabel was found in lipid at 30 minutes. Glucose and galactose were weak inhibitors, while phlorizin at 1 mmol/L reduced uptake by 50%. Metabolic inhibitors reduced incorporation of myo-[2-3H]-inositol into lipid, but had no effect on uptake. Hepatocytes maintained myo-inositol levels of 0.4 mmol/L for 60 minutes when incubated with 50 mumol/L myo-inositol, but levels increased when incubated with 1 mmol/L myo-inositol. Efflux of label was studied in hepatocytes prelabeled for 20 minutes with myo-[2-3H]-inositol. Loss of label was initially rapid, but had slowed by 20 minutes, with much of the label remaining in the cells. Phlorizin inhibited the loss of myo-[2-3H]-inositol, while increasing myo-inositol concentration in the medium enhanced efflux. The effects of these agents on the rate of efflux was found in lipid rather than in the TCA-soluble myo-inositol fraction. These findings suggest that myo-inositol is compartmentalized within hepatocytes, with a bulk metabolically inert pool and a smaller active pool that equilibrates with extracellular myo-inositol via an energy-independent carrier-mediated mechanism, and is preferentially available for efflux or for synthesis of phosphoinositides.

High-affinity [3H]inositol uptake by dissociated brain cells and cultured fibroblasts from fetal mice

The accumulation of [3H]inositol by mechanically dissociated brain cells and cultured skin fibroblasts from fetal mice was examined. Uptake by both tissues was strongly dependent on temperature and the presence of sodium ions. Brain and fibroblast uptake also responded similarly to inhibition by inositol isomers and phloridzin. At lower concentrations of inositol, both tissues exhibited high-affinity uptake kinetics with apparent Km values near 30 microM, similar to values observed previously in human fibroblasts and other cultured cells. The activity of brain high-affinity uptake was nearly an order of magnitude lower than that of fibroblasts, however, and was in part confounded by the presence of a low-affinity or simple diffusion system operating at inositol concentrations above 100 microM. Brain preparation from adult mice also showed evidence of high-affinity, Na+ dependent uptake, but its activity was significantly diminished relative to that of fetal brain preparations. Our results demonstrate that a high-affinity inositol transport system closely resembling that found in cultured cells is expressed in the developing mouse brain.

myo-inositol transport in mouse astroglia-rich primary cultures

Uptake of radiolabeled myo-inositol was studied in astroglia-rich primary cultures derived from neonatal mouse brains. The uptake was saturable in the presence of Na+ with a Km of 25 microM and a Vmax of 60 pmol.min-1.(mg protein)-1, suggesting a high-affinity transport system for myo-inositol in astroglial cells. In addition, a Na(+)-independent, nonsaturable component was found. Carrier-mediated uptake was not inhibited by cytochalasin B (50 microM), but was reduced by depolarizing concentrations of K+ and, to different extents, in the presence of phloretin, ouabain, or amiloride (1 mM each). scyllo-Inositol, glucose, and galactose also reduced myo-inositol uptake; inhibition by the two hexoses was not reversed in the presence of 0.4 mM sorbinil. On the other hand, uptake of 2-deoxyglucose was not inhibited by high concentrations of myo-inositol. Preincubation of the cells with glucose-free or inositol-free medium stimulated uptake of myo-inositol and preincubation with 25 mM glucose in the presence of 0.4 mM sorbinil had no effect on the rate of uptake. The results suggest that myo-inositol is taken up into the astroglial cells by a transport mechanism that is distinct from that of glucose and probably is an active one. Sorbitol pathway activity does not interfere with myo-inositol uptake.

Inositol metabolism during neuroblastoma B50 cell differentiation: effects of differentiating agents on inositol uptake

Inositol uptake was studied in the rat CNS neuroblastoma B50 cell line. Eadie-Hofstee analysis of the uptake pattern reveals two defined modes of inositol entry into the cell. The high-affinity uptake component requires the presence of extracellular sodium and is inhibited by phloridzin. Analysis of the uptake velocities of the high-affinity uptake component provided the following apparent kinetic parameters: Km = 13.7 microM and Vmax = 14.7 pmol/mg of protein/min (without correcting for residual diffusion) and Km = 12.9 microM and Vmax = 12.3 pmol/mg of protein/min (with correction). At physiological concentrations, the high-affinity transport process contributes approximately 70% to total uptake; the remainder is due to a low-affinity diffusion-like process. Uptake inhibition studies reveal that the uptake process is sensitive to ouabain, amiloride, and dichlorobenzamil inhibition but relatively insensitive to cytochalasin B or phloretin. When neuroblastoma B50 cells are induced to differentiate morphologically with high extracellular calcium or with dibutyryl cyclic AMP, a significant decrease in inositol uptake is observed. The dibutyryl cyclic AMP-mediated inhibition of uptake affects only the high-affinity uptake component and is noncompetitive in nature. The high extracellular calcium-mediated inhibition is less specific; it involves "disappearance" of the high-affinity process, some inhibition of the low-affinity process, and an increase of inositol efflux. The significance of these observations is discussed in the context of neuroblastoma B50 cell differentiation.

Inositol uptake in rat aorta

The purpose of this study was to investigate the mechanism of inositol uptake into rat thoracic aorta. 3H-inositol uptake into deendothelialized aorta was linear for at least 2 h and was composed of both a saturable, Na(+)-dependent, and a nonsaturable, Na(+)-independent component. The Na(+)-dependent component of inositol uptake had a Km of 50 microM and a Vmax of 289 pmol/mg prot/h. Exposure to LiCl, ouabain, or Ca2(+)-free Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate solution inhibited uptake. Metabolic poisoning with dinitrophenol, as well as incubation with phloretin, an inhibitor of carrier-mediated hexose transport, also inhibited uptake. Exposure to norepinephrine decreased inositol uptake, while phorbol myristate acetate was without effect. Isobutylmethylxanthine significantly increased inositol uptake, while the increased uptake due to dibutyryl cyclic AMP and forskolin were not statistically significant. Sodium nitroprusside, an activator of guanylate cyclase, and 8-bromo cyclic GMP, were without effect on uptake, as was methylene blue, an inhibitor of guanylate cyclase. Inositol uptake into the aorta was increased when the endothelium was allowed to remain intact, although this effect was likely due to uptake into both the endothelial and smooth muscle cells. These results suggest that the uptake of inositol into vascular smooth muscle is: (1) dependent upon an inward Na(+)-gradient; (2) carrier mediated, and (3) inhibited by alpha 1 adrenoceptor agonists.

Studies on avian erythrocyte metabolism. XVII. Kinetics and transport properties of myo-inositol in chicken reticulocytes

The uptake of myo-inositol was determined in a reticulocyte-enriched fraction prepared from chicken blood and compared with uptake in mature erythrocytes. While reticulocytes accumulated inositol at levels more than threefold that of the plasma concentration, erythrocyte levels were only slightly higher than that of the plasma concentration. The rate of uptake in reticulocytes was approximately 66 mumol/ml rbc/h compared to 5 mumol/ml rbc/h in mature erythrocytes when measured at an inositol medium concentration of 250 microM. The kinetic analysis of inositol influx by reticulocytes reveals a two component system: saturable and nonsaturable. The saturable component, which has a Km for inositol of approximately 222 microM, is Na-dependent. This Na-dependent saturable component, which presumably reflects active transport of inositol, accounts for 30-35% of the transport process. The saturable component is completely inhibited by amiloride but to a lesser extent by ouabain and bumetanide. Moreover, in the course of reticulocyte maturation, the saturable component is lost concomitantly with the completion of the synthesis of myo-inositol pentakisphosphate and the drastic decrease in the membrane permeability to inositol. In addition, phloretin and cytochalasin B, which bind to hexose carriers and inhibit hexose sugar transport, also inhibited inositol transport. The uptake of inositol was not affected by excesses of 3-O-methylglucose (100 mM) or by physiological concentrations of D-glucose. Thus, the transport mechanism of myo-inositol appears distinct from that of D-glucose.

[3H]-myo-inositol uptake in rat cortical slices. Identification of Na+-dependent and Na+-independent systems

[3H]-myo-Inositol (MI) uptake was measured in vitro using chopped rat cerebral cortical tissue. The uptake and accumulation of MI were linearly proportional to the amount of protein (0.1 to 4.0 mg) in the incubation medium. The uptake was also linear vs time for the first 20 min of incubation. When the uptake was observed at various substrate concentrations, it was found to be unsaturable up to a concentration of 0.78 M. Decreasing the concentration of NaCl or increasing the concentration of KCl in the incubation medium resulted in inhibition of the uptake and accumulation of MI. Inhibition of MI uptake was also produced by veratrine, ouabain and A23187 which alter the ionic gradients across the neuronal membranes. Inhibition of oxidative metabolism with dinitrophenol did not alter MI uptake. Sodium-independent uptake appeared to be the same as that which occurred at 0 degree. Sodium-independent uptake was still present in water-lysed homogenates and was inhibited by relatively high concentrations of ethanol. Thus, it appears that approximately one-half of the [3H]inositol uptake and accumulation in chopped rat cerebral cortex occurs by a sodium-dependent mechanism that can be altered by drugs which change the sodium gradient and the remaining occurs by a sodium-independent mechanism that can be altered by ethanol which is known to change membrane fluidity of neuronal membranes.

Effect of acute and chronic hypernatremia on myoinositol and sorbitol concentration in rat brain and kidney

In animal models of hypernatremia, increases in brain electrolyte content account for the entire increase in osmolality in acute but not chronic hypernatremia, suggesting that there is generation of additional intracellular solutes ("idiogenic osmoles") in chronic hypernatremic states. In the present study, the concentration of the polyols myoinositol and sorbitol and water content were determined in the brain and kidneys of rats made acutely (2 hours) and chronically (72 hours) hypernatremic by intraperitoneal injection of NaCl and water restriction. Both the brain and the kidney responded to chronic hypernatremia with increased levels of myoinositol. Sorbitol levels increased in the kidney in response to both acute and chronic hypernatremia. Water content dropped in acute hypernatremia, but remained unchanged during chronic hyperosmolar challenge. We conclude that the polyols, myoinositol and sorbitol, may play a significant role in cellular osmoregulation in brain and kidney during chronic hypernatremia in the rat.

Phosphatidylinositol:myo-inositol exchange activity in intact nerve endings: substrate and cofactor dependence, nucleotide specificity, and effect on synaptosomal handling of myo-inositol

Micromolar concentrations of CMP produced a large increase in Mn2+-dependent phosphatidylinositol:myo-inositol exchange activity in isolated nerve endings or synaptosomes. The apparent Km for CMP was 2 microM, and that for myo-inositol was 38 microM. Only cytidine nucleotides were capable of enhancing activity, and this effect is probably specific for CMP, because the synaptosomal preparation rapidly converted CTP or CDP to CMP. Manganese did not affect the uptake of myo-inositol into the synaptosomal cytosolic fraction or myo-inositol levels. Determinations of myo-inositol specific activity showed that the Mn2+-enhanced labeling of phosphatidylinositol was not accompanied by a decrease of label content in free myo-inositol. This lack of an effect on intrasynaptosomal myo-inositol and the dependence of exchange on cytidine nucleotides whereas cytidine itself was previously found to be without effect show that for the bulk of Mn2+-dependent exchange activity, it is the myo-inositol in the incubation medium that is being directly incorporated into membrane-bound phosphatidyl-inositol. Because CMP dependence is the hallmark of exchange catalyzed by CDP-diacylglycerol:inositol phosphatidyl transferase, this enzyme is likely to be responsible for most of the exchange activity in synaptosomes. The strong affinity of this exchange system for CMP suggests that endogenous levels of this nucleotide might support Mn2+-dependent exchange in the absence of added nucleotide.

The 5-hydroxyl of myo-inositol is essential for uptake into HSDM1C1 mouse fibrosarcoma cells

We attempted to replace the myo-inositol in cellular inositol phosphatides with 5-deoxy-myo-inositol to evaluate the role of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate as a second messenger. This analog, lacking a 5-hydroxyl, might be incorporated into 5-deoxyphosphatidylinositol and converted to the corresponding phosphatidylcyclitol 4-phosphate but could not be converted to phosphatidylinositol 4,5-diphosphate, the precursor of the second messenger molecule inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate. We synthesized 5-deoxy-myo-inositol and found that this analog does not replace myo-inositol as an essential growth factor for essential fatty acid deficient HSDM1C1 mouse fibrosarcoma cells. Furthermore, [5-3H]-5-deoxy-myo-inositol was neither incorporated into the phospholipids nor accumulated in the cytoplasm of these cells. It appears that this cell line has a specific myo-inositol uptake system that excludes a potentially harmful analog of inositol.

Inositol uptake by cultured isolated rat Schwann cells

The uptake of radiolabeled myo-inositol by Schwann cells isolated from the sciatic nerve of 2-4 day old rats was found to occur by a saturable, sodium-dependent phlorizin-inhibited mechanism with an estimated Km of 30 microM. The system was inhibited by galactose and glucose but not by galactitol. At high concentrations of myo-inositol, a diffusion-like process appeared to be functional. The characteristics of the saturable system are very similar to those of myo-inositol uptake by the endoneural fascicle preparation of sciatic nerve.

The effect of long-term lithium treatment on the incorporation and distribution of 32P-orthosphosphate into the phospholipids from rat synaptosomes

Rats were treated with lithium added to their diet for five weeks (40 mmol LiCl/kg diet). Mean plasma concentration was 0.45 mmol Li+/plasma. The investigation was divided into two sections. I) In an in vivo experiment in which the rats were injected with 32P-orthosphosphate for 20 hours, and with carbamoylcholine for 20 min. prior to their death, the distribution of 32P in the synaptosomal phospholipids, phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylserine (PS), phosphatidylinositol (PI), and phosphatidylcholine (PC), was investigated. II) An in vitro experiment which was carried out in order to establish the effect of carbamoylcholine on the incorporation of 32P into total phospholipids from extracted synaptosomes. In I) the incorporation of 32P-orthosphosphate into PI from carbamoylcholine-stimulated rats was significantly lower than from unstimulated rats, whereas there was no difference between the incorporation of 32P into PI from synaptosomes from control animals and lithium-treated animals. In II) the incorporation of 32P-orthosphosphate was significantly lower in unstimulated synaptosomes from lithium-treated rats than from control rats, while the increase in the 32P-incorporation after stimulation followed the same pattern with regard to synaptosomes from control rats and lithium-treated rats. The results support the idea of lithium exerting an effect on basal synaptosomal activity but not on stimulated synaptosomal activity.

Transport of myo-inositol into endoneurial preparations of sciatic nerve from normal and streptozotocin-diabetic rats

myo-Inositol transport by a viable rat sciatic-nerve preparation is described. Such 'endoneurial' nerve preparations accumulated myo-inositol by an energy-dependent saturable system. Streptozotocin-diabetes reduced myo-inositol transport into sciatic nerve by approx. 40%. Elevated medium glucose concentration reduced myo-inositol transport into control nerves to a similar extent. Fructose and sorbitol did not inhibit myo-inositol transport. Inclusion of an aldose reductase inhibitor in the medium counteracted the reduced myo-inositol transport caused by elevated glucose concentration. The importance of these results to the problem of diabetic neuropathy is discussed.

The nutritional significance, metabolism, and function of myo-inositol and phosphatidylinositol in health and disease

Recent advances in nutritional and biochemical research have substantiated the importance of inositol as a dietary and cellular constituent. The processes involved in the metabolism of inositol and its derivatives in mammalian tissues have been characterized both in vivo and at the enzyme level. Biochemical functions elucidated for phosphatidylinositol in biological membranes include the mediation of cellular responses to external stimuli, nerve transmission, and the regulation of enzyme activity through specific interactions with various proteins. Inositol deficiency in animals has been shown to produce an accumulation of triglyceride in liver, intestinal lipodystrophy, and other abnormalities. The metabolic mechanisms giving rise to these latter phenomena have been extensively studied as a function of dietary inositol. Altered metabolism of inositol has been documented in patients with diabetes mellitus, chronic renal failure, galactosemia, and multiple sclerosis. A moderate increase in plasma and nerve inositol levels by dietary supplementation has been suggested as a means of treating diabetic neuropathy, although excessively high levels, such as are found in uremic patients, may be neurotoxic. A thorough consideration of the biochemical functions of inositol and a further characterization of various diseases with the aid of appropriate animal models may suggest a possible role for inositol and other dietary components in their prevention and treatment

Experimental galactose toxicity: effects on synaptosomal phosphatidylinositol metabolism

Experimental galactose toxicity was induced by weaning rats onto an isocaloric 40% galactose diet. Synaptosomes were prepared from cerebra of rats at 2-9 weeks post-weaning and incubated with [33P][i and myo-[2-3H]inositol in the presence or absence of 0.2 mM-acetylcholine. The acetylcholine-stimulated [33P]Pi labeling of phosphatidylinositol and the changes in amounts of phosphatidylinositol were similar in the normal and galactose-toxic rats; however, acetylcholine-stimulated myo-[2-3H]inositol labeling of phosphatidylinositol was markedly decreased in the galactose-toxic rats. The impairment of acetylcholine-stimulated myo-[2-3H]inositol incorporation into phosphatidylinositol observed after 2 weeks on the diet did not vary after more prolonged exposure to galactose.

Myo-inositol turnover in the intact rat brain: increased production after d-amphetamine

Apparent turnover of myo-inositol in the brain of urethane-anesthetized rats was estimated in vivo from the rate of appearance of endogenous myo-inositol in the cerebroventricular compartment. Ventricular-cisternal perfusion technique combined with isotope dilution of [14C]myo-inositol was used to determine the rate of appearance of brain-produced myo-inositol and its modification by d-amphetamine. A mean value of 0.75 nmol/min was obtained for the rate of appearance in the cerebroventricular system. A dose-dependent increase in this rate was seen after the administration of d-amphetamine. The endogenous removal of myo-inositol from the perfusate was also studied and found to be mediated in part by a saturable transport system that was not influenced by d-amphetamine. The rate of entry of myo-inositol from blood to the cerebroventricular system was very low and accounted for only 2% of the total rate of appearance, indicating that the majority of myo-inositol in the rat cerebroventricular fluid originates in the brain.

Concentration of myo-inositol in skeletal muscle of the rat occurs without active transport

The cellular uptake of nonphosphorylated myo-inositol (MI) and its incorporation into phosphoinositide in the rat epitrochlearis muscle was measured. Cellular uptake of [2-(3)H]MI was determined by the difference between total uptake and [2-(3)H]MI present in the extracellular fluid determined with [1-(14)C]mannitol. Cellular uptake was parabolic and directly proportional to medium MI concentrations between 25 and 3,200 muM. Saturation of a MI carrier was not evident. Moreover, uptake was not inhibited by 2 mM ouabain, 0.3 mM 2,4-dinitrophenol, or 22 mM glucose. Insulin, 100 mU/ml, was without effect on either cellular uptake of [2-(3)H]MI or its incorporation into phosphoinositides. In muscles that were preloaded with [2-(3)H]MI and then incubated in media that contained a constant amount of MI but no [2-(3)H]MI, 44.3% of the [2-(3)H]MI was released after 10 min increasing to 62.5% by 120 min. Cellular MI concentrations were 0.18 mumol/g wet tissue (four times plasma levels) in rapidly isolated and frozen epitrochlearis muscle. When muscle was incubated without MI, 48% of endogenous MI was lost rapidly. Restoration of cellular MI in 50 muM MI media occurred in two phases, a rapid uptake phase lasting 10 min and a subsequent slow phase of MI uptake. It is concluded that MI enters and leaves skeletal muscle cells freely by a process that does not involve active transport. Neither insulin nor hyperglycemia affected MI transport nor its incorporation into phosphoinositides. The intracellular to medium concentration gradient may be dependent on reversible binding to tubulin and possibly to other intracellular components.