CEREBRAL AMINO ACID TRANSPORT IN VITRO?II REGIONAL DIFFERENCES IN AMINO ACID UPTAKE BY SLICES FROM THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM OF THE RAT

1965 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 639-648 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Levi ◽  
A. Lajtha
1977 ◽  
Vol 55 (11) ◽  
pp. 1773-1781 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. A. Rutherford ◽  
J. M. Webster ◽  
J. S. Barlow

The physiology of glucose and amino acid uptake by the parasitic larval stages of the entomophilic nematode Mermis nigrescens was investigated in vitro using radioisotope-labelled substrates. Both glucose and amino acid uptake are transcuticular processes that are saturable with increasing substrate concentration but are not coupled to co-transport of sodium ions and are not energy requiring. Amino acid transport is a stereospecific membrane transport system probably located in the cuticle of the nematode. The sites for glucose transport, however, are believed to be beneath the cuticle as glucose transport is only saturable in the thin-cuticled 14-day-old larvae whereas it is not in the thick-cuticled 21-day-old larvae. Glucose transported by M. nigrescens is not converted to trehalose, a common pathway in other invertebrates, nor is trehalose found within the nematode's tissues or body fluids.


1975 ◽  
Vol 152 (3) ◽  
pp. 713-715 ◽  
Author(s):  
J D Young ◽  
J C Ellory ◽  
P C Wright

The GSH concentration of rabbit erythrocytes was monitored under conditions of large net transport of alanine, phenylalane and lysine in the absence of glucose. In no case was there an appreciable alteration in GSH concentration during amino acid uptake. It is suggested that the γ-glutamyltransferase-γ-glutamylcyclotransferase pathway does not participate in amino acid transport by these cells.


1991 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 355 ◽  
Author(s):  
BV Sastry

There are increasing numbers of reports on the tobacco smoking and ingestion of abused drugs (e.g. morphine, cocaine) by pregnant women and the effects of the substances on the developing fetus and newborn infant. The passage of drugs and chemicals from the mother to the fetus is influenced by the placental transport and metabolism of the substances. Further, these drugs and chemicals affect the nutrient transport systems in the placenta. The three major drugs of abuse-nicotine, morphine and cocaine-depress both active amino-acid uptake by human placental villi and transplacental amino-acid transport by reason of the drugs' influence on placental cholinergic and opiate systems. Part of this depression (10-16%) is not reversible. Nicotine blocks the cholinergic receptor and thus blocks acetylcholine (ACh)-facilitated amino-acid transport. Morphine stimulates opiate kappa receptors and depresses ACh release. Cocaine blocks Ca2+ influx and thus blocks ACh release. ACh causes dilation of blood vessels and maintains placental blood flow by the activation of endothelial muscarinic receptors. By interfering with ACh release and placental blood flow, the three drugs of abuse may depress the diffusion of amino acids and other nutrients from the trophoblast into the placental circulation. Three regulatory systems are delineated for amino-acid uptake by the placenta: placental ACh, phospholipid N-methyltransferase, and the gammaglutamyl cycle. These systems operate in concert with one another and are dependent on cellular formation of adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP). Placental hypoxia induced by carbon monoxide and other tobacco gases depresses the energy-dependent processes and thus the ATP levels of placental cells. Maternal tobacco smoking and drug abuse cause placental insufficiencies for amino-acid transport, which may partially explain the fetal intrauterine growth retardation caused by these substances. Part of the amino-acid deficits may be compensated for by the induction of new amino-acid transport systems. Specific receptors or drug-binding proteins for the three drugs of abuse are present in the placenta. A DNA adduct selective for maternal smoking has been demonstrated in the placenta. DNA adducts selective for cocaine, morphine and other environmental chemicals have yet to be demonstrated ins the placenta.


1972 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 167-172
Author(s):  
SIGNE NEDERGAARD

1. The α-aminoisobutyric acid flux from lumen to blood of the isolated Cecropia midgut is around 17 µmole/h, while the amino acid flux in the opposite direction is on average 0.3 µmole/h. 2. The amino acid uptake is inhibited by lack of oxygen. It is suggested that the amino acid transport from lumen to blood is an active process. 3. The amino acid uptake is inhibited by short-circuiting the midgut potential, indicating that there is no direct correlation between the active transport of potassium and the uptake of the amino acid by the midgut.


1994 ◽  
Vol 267 (6) ◽  
pp. F1015-F1020 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Boon ◽  
P. J. Blommaart ◽  
A. J. Meijer ◽  
W. H. Lamers ◽  
A. C. Schoolwerth

To examine further the role of the liver in acid-base homeostasis, we studied hepatic amino acid uptake and urea synthesis in rats in vivo during acute acidosis and alkalosis, induced by infusion of 1.8 mmol of HCl or NaHCO3 over 3 h. Amino acids and NH4+ were measured in portal vein, hepatic vein, and aortic plasma, and arteriovenous differences of amino acids and urinary urea and NH4+ excretion were measured. In acidosis, urinary urea excretion was reduced 36% (P < 0.01), whereas urinary NH4+ excretion increased ninefold (P < 0.01), but the sum of urea and NH4+ excretion was unchanged. Total hepatic amino acid uptake, as determined from arteriovenous differences, was decreased by 63% (P < 0.01) in acidosis, with the major effect being noted with alanine and glycine. Only glutamine was released in both acidosis and alkalosis but was not significantly different in the two conditions. Since intracellular concentrations of readily transportable amino acids were not different at low pH despite accelerated protein degradation, these results indicate that hepatic amino acid transport was inhibited markedly and sufficiently to explain the observed decrease in urea synthesis. Total hepatic vein amino acid content was greater in acidosis than alkalosis (P < 0.01). Directly or indirectly, by conversion to glutamine elsewhere, these increased amino acids were degraded in kidney and accounted for the ninefold increase in urinary NH4+ excretion.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


1990 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 727-739 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Koeppe ◽  
Thomas Mangner ◽  
A. Lorris Betz ◽  
Barry L. Shulkin ◽  
Richard Allen ◽  
...  

A quantitative positron emission tomographic (PET) method to measure amino acid blood–brain barrier (BBB) transport rate and tissue distribution volume (DV) has been developed using 11C-labeled aminocyclohexanecarboxylate (ACHC), a nonmetabolized amino acid analogue. Dynamic PET data were acquired as a series of 15 scans covering a total of 60 min and analyzed by means of a two-compartment, two-parameter model. Functional images were calculated for the amino acid transport rate constants across the BBB and the amino acid DV in the brain. Results show [11C]ACHC to have an influx rate constant in gray matter of ∼0.03–0.04 ml g−1 min−1, indicating a single-pass extraction fraction of ∼5–7%. The intersubject coefficient of variation was ∼15% while intrasubject variability of repeat scans was only slightly greater than 5%. Studies were performed in 15 young normal volunteer control subjects, 5 elderly controls, 7 patients with probable Alzheimer's disease, and one patient with phenylketonuria. Results indicate that [11C]-ACHC will serve as the basis of a method for measuring amino acid transport rate and DV in the normal and pathological human brain.


2004 ◽  
Vol 287 (1) ◽  
pp. E136-E141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon Miller ◽  
David Chinkes ◽  
David A. MacLean ◽  
Dennis Gore ◽  
Robert R. Wolfe

We have tested the hypothesis that transit through the interstitial fluid, rather than across cell membranes, is rate limiting for amino acid uptake from blood into muscle in human subjects. To quantify muscle transmembrane transport of naturally occurring amino acids, we developed a novel 4-pool model that distinguishes between the interstitial and intracellular fluid compartments. Transport kinetics of phenylalanine, leucine, lysine, and alanine were quantified using tracers labeled with stable isotopes. The results indicate that interstitial fluid is a functional compartment insofar as amino acid kinetics are concerned. In the case of leucine and alanine, transit between blood and interstitial fluid was potentially rate limiting for muscle amino acid uptake and release in the postabsorptive state. For example, in the case of leucine, the rate of transport between blood and interstitial fluid compared with the corresponding rate between interstitial fluid and muscle was 247 ± 36 vs. 610 ± 95 nmol·min−1·100 ml leg−1, respectively ( P < 0.05). Our results are consistent with the process of diffusion governing transit from blood to interstitial fluid without selectivity, and of specific amino acid transport systems with varying degrees of efficiency governing transit from interstitial fluid to muscle. These results imply that changes in factors that affect the transit of amino acids from blood through interstitial fluid, such as muscle blood flow or edema, could play a major role in controlling the rate of muscle amino acid uptake.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document