Transport of L-cystine by rat renal brush border membrane vesicles.

Brush border membranes were isolated from rat renal cortex by a divalent cation precipitation method. L-35S-cystine uptake into the vesicles was measured by a rapid filtration method. Covalent incorporation of tracer into membrane proteins was observed after prolonged incubations. At short incubation periods (1 min) binding was small and allowed an analysis of transmembrane transport. To guarantee transport of L-cystine, the experiments were performed in the presence of the oxidant diamide. Sodium stimulated L-cystine uptake specifically. A potassium/valinomycin induced inside negative diffusion potential stimulated sodium dependent L-cystine transport. Thus, transport is potential sensitive in the presence of sodium. At low substrate and inhibitor concentrations, L-cystine transport was inhibited by L-lysine, L-ornithine and L-arginine but not by D-lysine in the presence and absence of sodium. At higher inhibitor concentration, the neutral amino acids L-phenylalanine and L-leucine also inhibited L-cystine uptake, but only the sodium dependent uptake. These inhibition experiments suggest that L-cystine is transported by the brush border membrane by a transport system for basic amino acids not necessarily requiring sodium. In addition, transport of L-cystine can also proceed via sodium dependent transport pathways for neutral amino acids. In the concentration range tested (up to 0.225 mmoles/l), no saturation of L-cystine transport was observed in the presence and absence of sodium.