Involvement of γ-aminobutyric acid transporter 2 in the hepatic uptake of taurine in rats

2012 ◽  
Vol 303 (3) ◽  
pp. G291-G297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saori Ikeda ◽  
Masanori Tachikawa ◽  
Shin-ichi Akanuma ◽  
Jun Fujinawa ◽  
Ken-ichi Hosoya

Taurine is essential for the hepatic synthesis of bile salts and, although taurine is synthesized mainly in pericentral hepatocytes, taurine and taurine-conjugated bile acids are abundant in periportal hepatocytes. One possible explanation for this discrepancy is that the active supply of taurine to hepatocytes from the blood stream is a key regulatory factor. The purpose of the present study is to investigate and identify the transporter responsible for taurine uptake by periportal hepatocytes. An in vivo bolus injection of [3H]taurine into the rat portal vein demonstrated that 25% of the injected [3H]taurine was taken up by the liver on a single pass. The in vivo uptake was significantly inhibited by GABA, taurine, β-alanine, and nipecotic acid, a GABA transporter (GAT) inhibitor, each at a concentration of 10 mM. The characteristics of Na+- and Cl−-dependent [3H]taurine uptake by freshly isolated rat hepatocytes were consistent with those of GAT2 (solute carrier SLC6A13). Indeed, the Km value of the saturable uptake (594 μM) was close to that of mouse SLC6A13-mediated taurine transport. Although GABA, taurine, and β-alanine inhibited the [3H]taurine uptake by > 50%, each at a concentration of 10 mM, GABA caused a marked inhibition with an IC50 value of 95 μM. The [3H]taurine uptake exhibited a significant reduction when the GAT2 gene was silenced. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that GAT2 was localized on the sinusoidal membrane of the hepatocytes predominantly in the periportal region. These results suggest that GAT2 is responsible for taurine transport from the circulating blood to hepatocytes predominantly in the periportal region.

1997 ◽  
Vol 41 (11) ◽  
pp. 2502-2510 ◽  
Author(s):  
X R Pan-Zhou ◽  
E Cretton-Scott ◽  
X J Zhou ◽  
M Y Xie ◽  
R Rahmani ◽  
...  

AZT-P-ddI is an antiviral heterodimer composed of one molecule of 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine (AZT) and one molecule of 2',3'-dideoxyinosine (ddI) linked through their 5' positions by a phosphate bond. The metabolic fate of the dimer was studied with isolated rat, monkey, and human hepatocytes and was compared with that of its component monomers AZT and ddI. Upon incubation of double-labeled [14C]AZT-P-[3H]ddI in freshly isolated rat hepatocytes in suspension at a final concentration of 10 microM, the dimer was taken up intact by cells and then rapidly cleaved to AZT, AZT monophosphate, ddI, and ddI monophosphate. AZT and ddI so formed were then subject to their respective catabolisms. High-performance liquid chromatography analyses of the extracellular medium and cell extracts revealed the presence of unchanged dimer, AZT, 3'-azido-3'-deoxy-5'-beta-D-glucopyranosylthymidine (GAZT), 3'-amino-3'-deoxythymidine (AMT), ddI, and a previously unrecognized derivative of the dideoxyribose moiety of ddI, designated ddI-M. Trace extracellular but substantial intracellular levels of the glucuronide derivative of AMT (3'-amino-3'-deoxy-5'-beta-D-glucopyranosylthymidine [GAMT]) were also detected. Moreover, the extent of the formation of AMT, GAZT, and ddI-M from the dimer was markedly lower than that with AZT and ddI alone by the hepatocytes. With hepatocytes in primary culture obtained from rat, monkey, and human, large interspecies variations in the metabolism of AZT-P-ddI were observed. While GAZT and ddI-M, metabolites of AZT and ddI, respectively, as well as AZT 5'-monophosphate (MP) and ddI-MP were detected in the extracellular media of all species, AMT and GAMT were produced only by rat and monkey hepatocytes. No such metabolites were formed by human hepatocytes. The metabolic fate of the dimer by human hepatocytes was consistent with in vivo data recently obtained from human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients.


2001 ◽  
Vol 281 (6) ◽  
pp. G1423-G1431 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederic Moulin ◽  
Bryan L. Copple ◽  
Patricia E. Ganey ◽  
Robert A. Roth

Bacterial endotoxin [lipopolysaccharide (LPS)] causes liver injury in vivo that is dependent on platelets, neutrophils [polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs)], and several inflammatory mediators, including thrombin. We tested the hypothesis that thrombin contributes to LPS-induced hepatocellular injury through direct interactions with platelets and/or PMNs in vitro. Perfusion of isolated livers from LPS-treated rats with buffer containing thrombin resulted in a significant increase in alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity in the perfusion medium, indicating hepatocellular damage. This effect was completely abolished by prior depletion of PMNs from the LPS-treated donor rats but not by depletion of platelets, suggesting interaction between thrombin and PMNs in the pathogenesis. Thrombin did not, however, enhance degranulation of rat PMNs in vitro, and it was not directly toxic to isolated rat hepatocytes in the presence of PMNs even after LPS exposure, suggesting that hepatocellular killing by the PMN-thrombin combination requires the intervention of an additional factor(s) within the liver. In livers from naive donors perfused with buffer containing PMNs and LPS, no injury occurred in the absence of thrombin. Addition of thrombin (10 nM) to the medium caused pronounced ALT release. These results indicate that thrombin and PMNs are sufficient extrahepatic requirements for LPS-induced hepatocellular damage in intact liver.


1997 ◽  
Vol 272 (5) ◽  
pp. G954-G961 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Y. Chatton ◽  
H. Liu ◽  
J. W. Stucki

Single isolated rat hepatocytes were used to investigate the influence of intracellular pH (pHi) on hormone-induced cytosolic Ca2+ oscillations, using videofluorescence microscopy. Although pHi did not vary after alpha-adrenergic stimulation, manipulations of pHi induced pronounced alterations in the frequency of oscillations. Increasing the resting pHi with ammonium chloride (5-20 mM), trimethylammonium (2-10 mM), or triethylammonium (1.2-8 mM) reduced the frequency of oscillations. A change in pHi of > 0.25 was sufficient to reversibly inhibit oscillations. This effect could be overcome by increasing the agonist concentration or by adding 8-bromoadenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate, an agent known to potentiate the alpha-adrenergic response. Cellular acidification, obtained by the ammonium prepulse method as well as by application of acetate or the ionophore nigericin, in the continuous presence of agonist was accompanied by a modest frequency increase of the oscillations, leading in some cases to an overstimulated state. This study indicates that pHi, within a range of values expected to occur in vivo (0.1-0.2 pH units), exerts a chronotropic effect on phenylephrine-induced Ca2+ oscillations. In contrast, oscillations induced by ADP or vasopressin were pHi invariant.


1991 ◽  
Vol 260 (5) ◽  
pp. R879-R888 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Benyajati ◽  
J. L. Johnson

We examined characteristics of taurine transport across renal brush-border membranes (BBM) of the garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis), a species that demonstrates both net reabsorption and secretion of taurine in vivo. Transport was examined by a rapid filtration technique at 25 degrees C. Inwardly directed Na+ gradient specifically stimulated taurine uptake. Under initial taurine equilibrium condition, a small overshoot of taurine uptake driven by an inwardly directed NaCl gradient could be observed. No stimulation of taurine uptake was observed under Na+ equilibrium or K+, Li+, or choline gradients conditions. Reptilian renal BBM taurine transport also displayed specific Cl- requirement: replacement of NaCl by NaSCN or Na(+)-gluconate gradients inhibited taurine uptake. The uptake was stimulated under Cl- gradient compared with Cl- equilibrium conditions. Taurine transport was not stimulated by H+ gradient in either direction, although it was inhibited by acidic pH (less than 7.0). Amiloride and furosemide had no effects. The transport was electrogenic, stimulated by an inside negative membrane potential, and inhibited by other beta-amino acids. Overall, the reptilian BBM transport system for taurine resembles those observed in both mammalian and fish renal BBM.


Nephron ◽  
1985 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 470-475 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sohji Nagase ◽  
Kazumasa Aoyagi ◽  
Mitsuharu Narita ◽  
Shizuo Tojo

1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (6) ◽  
pp. 657-662 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Gariepy ◽  
Daphna Fenyves ◽  
Jean-Luc Petit ◽  
Ginette Raymond ◽  
Jean-Pierre Villeneuve

Several recent reports have shown that the hepatic uptake and subsequent elimination of some substrates is faster in the presence of albumin than in its absence, as if some of the substrate bound to albumin was also available for uptake. In the present study, we examined the effect of albumin on the clearance of propranolol by isolated rat hepatocyte suspensions. The clearance of total drug decreased progressively as albumin concentration increased. There was also a progressive decrease in the free fraction of propranolol and the net result was an increase in the clearance of unbound drug (+50% at 40 g/L albumin). This increase was not due to an oncotic pressure effect of albumin, nor to the presence of fatty acids bound to albumin. The clearance of propranolol by isolated hepatocytes from cirrhotic rats was decreased compared with controls (−50%), and albumin also increased propranolol free clearance, albeit to a lesser extent than in control animals. Our results indicate that albumin facilitates the elimination of propranolol by hepatocytes, possibly because of surface-mediated catalysis of the albumin–propranolol complexes.Key words: propranolol clearance, albumin, isolated rat hepatocytes, cirrhosis.


1979 ◽  
Vol 236 (1) ◽  
pp. C9-C14 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Iga ◽  
D. L. Eaton ◽  
C. D. Klaassen

The mechanism responsible for the hepatic uptake of unconjugated bilirubin was examined in isolated rat hepatocytes from control and phenobartital-pretreated rats. The uptake was extremely rapid and the equilibrium between cell and medium was attained within 60 s with a 100-fold higher concentration in the cell than the medium. The initial velocity of uptake (Vo) exhibited a linear relationship to the bilirubin concentration in the medium. Pretreatment of cells with various metabolic inhibitors had no effect on the uptake of unconjugated bilirubin. Ouabain did significantly decrease Vo, but replacement of sodium ion with choline or lithium had no effect on bilirubin uptake. The organic acids sulfobromophthalein (112 muM) and taurocholic acid (50 (muM) and two steroidal compounds, diethylstilbestrol (50 muM) and spironolactone (50 muM), had no effect on the uptake of bilirubin. It is suggested that bilirubin gains access to the hepatocyte interior by passive diffusion into and through the lipid membrane and that intracellular binding may explain the high degree of bilirubin accumulation associated with the isolated hepatocytes.


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