scholarly journals Glutamine transport by vesicles isolated from tumour-cell mitochondrial inner membrane

1995 ◽  
Vol 308 (2) ◽  
pp. 629-633 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Molina ◽  
J A Segura ◽  
J C Aledo ◽  
M A Medina ◽  
I Núnez de Castro ◽  
...  

Mitochondrial-inner-membrane vesicles, isolated from Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cells by titration with detergents, accumulated L-glutamine by a very efficient transport system. The vesicles lack any phosphate-activated glutaminase activity, allowing measurement of transport rates without interference by L-glutamine metabolism. The time course of the transport was linear for the first 60 s, reaching a steady state after 120 min. L-Glutamine transport showed co-operativity, with a Hill coefficient of 2.2; the kinetic parameters S0.5 and Vmax had values of 5 mM and 26 nmol/30 s per mg of protein respectively. The pH-dependence curve showed a bell shape, with a pH optimum about 8.0. The uptake of L-glutamine was not affected by the presence of a 50-fold molar excess of D-glutamine, L-cysteine, L-histidine, L-alanine, L-serine and L-leucine, whereas L-glutamate behaved as a poor inhibitor. The structural analogue L-glutamate gamma-hydroxamate (5mM) inhibited the net uptake by 68%; interestingly, other analogues (6-diazo-5-oxo-L-norleucine, acivicin and L-glutamate gamma-hydrazide) were ineffective. The impermeant thiol reagent p-chloromercuriphenylsulphonic acid (0.5mM) completely abolished the mitochondrial L-glutamine uptake; in contrast, other thiol reagents (mersalyl and N-ethylmaleimide) did not significantly affect the transport. These data confirm the existence of a specific transport system with high capacity for L-glutamine in the mitochondrial inner membrane, a step preceding the highly operative glutaminolysis in tumour cells.

1989 ◽  
Vol 257 (6) ◽  
pp. F1050-F1058 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Sastrasinh ◽  
M. Sastrasinh

Glutamine transport was studied in submitochondrial particles (SMP) to avoid interference from glutamine metabolism. Phosphate-dependent glutaminase activity in SMP was only 0.04% of that in intact mitochondria. The uptake of glutamine in SMP represented both the transport into vesicles and membrane binding (about one-third of total uptake). Sulfhydryl reagents inhibited glutamine uptake in SMP. The uptake of L-[3H]glutamine increased more than twofold in SMP preloaded with 1 mM L-glutamine, an effect that was not seen with 1 mM D-glutamine. The uptake of L-[3H]glutamine was inhibited in the presence of either L-glutamine or L-alanine in the incubation medium. Other amino acids did not inhibit glutamine uptake. Alanine was also shown to trans-stimulate glutamine transport in SMP and cis-inhibit glutamine transport in both SMP and intact mitochondria. Glutamine transport showed a positive cooperativity effect with a Hill coefficient of 1.45. Metabolic acidosis increased the affinity of the transporter for glutamine without any change in other kinetic parameters. These data indicated that mitochondrial glutamine transport occurs via a specific carrier with multiple binding sites and that the transport of glutamine into mitochondria has an important role in increased ammoniagenesis during metabolic acidosis.


2006 ◽  
Vol 188 (9) ◽  
pp. 3329-3336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shun'ichi Suzuki ◽  
Peter J. F. Henderson

ABSTRACT The gene hyuP from Microbacterium liquefaciens AJ 3912 with an added His6 tag was cloned into the expression plasmid pTTQ18 in an Escherichia coli host strain. The transformed E. coli showed transport of radioisotope-labeled 5-substituted hydantoins with apparent Km values in the micromolar range. This activity exhibited a pH optimum of 6.6 and was inhibited by dinitrophenol, indicating the requirement of energy for the transport system. 5-Indolyl methyl hydantoin and 5-benzyl hydantoin were the preferred substrates, with selectivity for a hydrophobic substituent in position 5 of hydantoin and for the l isomer over the d isomer. Hydantoins with less hydrophobic substituents, cytosine, thiamine, uracil, allantoin, adenine, and guanine, were not effective ligands. The His-tagged hydantoin transport protein was located in the inner membrane fraction, from which it was solubilized and purified and its identity was authenticated.


1989 ◽  
Vol 257 (2) ◽  
pp. C385-C396 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. E. Blank ◽  
F. Bode ◽  
K. Baumann ◽  
D. F. Diedrich

A novel, computer-assisted program was developed to analyze the time course of Na+-glucose cotransport by rat renal cortical brush-border membrane vesicles (BBMV). Transporter characteristics can be measured, which routine kinetic analyses fail to distinguish: cotransporter membrane density is derived from the picomoles of D-glucose bound per milligram of protein. Binding is stereospecific, blocked by phlorizin, and supported equally well by Na+ or K+ (but not Cs+). Quasi-first-order influx and efflux rate constants for the composite Na+-driven influx and the (presumed) Na+-independent efflux processes were highly dependent on glucose concentration. Either two Na+-glucose transporters exist in proximal tubules or a single mechanism abruptly changes rate when glucose falls to low levels. The major operation mode is slow, has a high capacity but low affinity, and may have a 2 Na+:2 glucose stoichiometry (Hill coefficient is unity). The minor system is a fast, smaller-capacity, higher-affinity operation with a 2 Na+:1 glucose stoichiometry that was not distinguishable when the same data were analyzed in conventional kinetic plots. Results with streptozocin-induced diabetic rats illustrate the method's utility. Low-glucose-affinity cotransporters were upregulated in hyperglycemic, but not in cachectic, ketoacidotic animals. Rate constants, especially for efflux, were decreased in diabetes.


2007 ◽  
Vol 130 (5) ◽  
pp. 465-478 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sudha Chakrapani ◽  
Julio F Cordero-Morales ◽  
Eduardo Perozo

The prokaryotic K+ channel KcsA is activated by intracellular protons and its gating is modulated by transmembrane voltage. Typically, KcsA functions have been studied under steady-state conditions, using macroscopic Rb+-flux experiments and single-channel current measurements. These studies have provided limited insights into the gating kinetics of KcsA due to its low open probability, uncertainties in the number of channels in the patch, and a very strong intrinsic kinetic variability. In this work, we have carried out a detailed analysis of KcsA gating under nonstationary conditions by examining the influence of pH and voltage on the activation, deactivation, and slow-inactivation gating events. We find that activation and deactivation gating of KcsA are predominantly modulated by pH without a significant effect of voltage. Activation gating showed sigmoidal pH dependence with a pKa of ∼4.2 and a Hill coefficient of ∼2. In the sustained presence of proton, KcsA undergoes a time-dependent decay of conductance. This inactivation process is pH independent but is modulated by voltage and the nature of permeant ion. Recovery from inactivation occurs via deactivation and also appears to be voltage dependent. We further find that inactivation in KcsA is not entirely a property of the open-conducting channel but can also occur from partially “activated” closed states. The time course of onset and recovery of the inactivation process from these pre-open closed states appears to be different from the open-state inactivation, suggesting the presence of multiple inactivated states with diverse kinetic pathways. This information has been analyzed together with a detailed study of KcsA single-channel behavior (in the accompanying paper) in the framework of a kinetic model. Taken together our data constitutes the first quantitative description of KcsA gating.


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