Transporter Systems (transporter + system)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Submitochondrial localization of 6- N -trimethyllysine dioxygenase , implications for carnitine biosynthesis

FEBS JOURNAL, Issue 22 2007
Naomi Van Vlies
The first enzyme of carnitine biosynthesis is the mitochondrial 6- N -trimethyllysine dioxygenase, which converts 6- N -trimethyllysine to 3-hydroxy-6- N -trimethyllysine. Using progressive membrane solubilization with digitonin and protease protection experiments, we show that this enzyme is localized in the mitochondrial matrix. Latency experiments with intact mitochondria showed that 3-hydroxy-6- N -trimethyllysine formation is limited by 6- N -trimethyllysine transport across the mitochondrial inner membrane. Because the subsequent carnitine biosynthesis enzymes are cytosolic, after production, 3-hydroxy-6- N -trimethyllysine must be transported out of the mitochondria by a putative mitochondrial 6- N -trimethyllysine/3-hydroxy-6- N -trimethyllysine transporter system. This transport system represents an additional step in carnitine biosynthesis that could have considerable implications for the regulation of carnitine biosynthesis. [source]


Transport of Peptidomimetic Drugs by the Intestinal Di/tri-peptide Transporter, PepT1

BASIC AND CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY & TOXICOLOGY, Issue 6 2002
Birger Brodin
The physiological function of the system is to transport small peptides resulting from digestion of dietary protein. Moreover, due to the broad substrate specificity of the system, it is also capable of transporting a number of orally administered peptidomimetic drugs. Absorbed peptides may be hydrolysed in the cells due to the high peptidase activity present in the cytosol. Peptidomimetic drugs may, if resistant to the cellular enzyme activity, pass the basolateral membrane via a basolateral peptide transport mechanism and enter the systemic circulation. As the number of new peptide and peptidomimetic drugs are rapidly increasing, the peptide transport system has gained increasing attention as a possible drug delivery system for small peptides and peptide-like compounds. In this paper we give an updated introduction to the transport system and discuss the substrate characteristics of the di/tri-peptide transporter system with special emphasis on chemically modified substrates and prodrugs. [source]


Crystallization and preliminary crystallographic studies of CorC, a magnesium-ion transporter

ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION F (ELECTRONIC), Issue 6 2010
Ning Zhang
CorC is a magnesium transporter that is involved in the Mg2+ -efflux function of the CorA transporter system, an Mg2+ channel, from Shigella flexneri. Native CorC was purified and crystallized in the native form and in a ligand-free form and diffraction data sets were collected to 2.9 and 3.4,Å resolution, respectively. The native CorC crystals belonged to space group P212121, with unit-cell parameters a = 64.31, b = 74.44, c = 132.78,Å. The ligand-free CorC crystals belonged to space group P3121/P3221, with unit-cell parameters a = b = 71.89, c = 125.96,Å. The CorC,ATP complex has also been crystallized and the crystals belonged to space group P2 or P21. [source]


Cultured CD4T cells and primary human lymphocytes express hOATPs: intracellular accumulation of saquinavir and lopinavir

BRITISH JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY, Issue 6 2008
O Janneh
Background and purpose: Drug efflux tranporters (P-glycoprotein (P-gp), multidrug resistance-associated protein (MRP)) limit the cellular uptake of human immunodeficiency virus protease inhibitors but the contribution of influx transporters in cells that (over)express P-gp or MRP is less clear. Here, we studied the expression of one influx transporter system, human organic anion-transporting polypeptide (hOATP), in some T-cell lines (CEM, CEMVBL, CEME1000) and in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and examined the effects of manipulation of influx/efflux transporters on the uptake of saquinavir and lopinavir. Experimental approach: The expression of hOATPs was studied by PCR. We used hOATP substrate or inhibitor (estrone-3-sulphate (E-3-S) or montelukast, respectively) and inhibitors of P-gp (XR9576) and MRP (MK571 and frusemide) to study functional interactions between influx and efflux transporters in the uptake of saquinavir and lopinavir. Lipophilicity of the drugs was measured by octanol/saline partition coefficient. Key results: CEM cells, their variants and PBMCs express various hOATP isoforms, with OATP3A1 detected in all of the cells. MK571, XR9576 and frusemide increased the uptake of saquinavir and lopinavir. E-3-S and montelukast reduced the uptake of saquinavir and lopinavir in some, but not all, of the cells. Pretreatment of the cells with MK571, XR9576 or frusemide, followed by E-3-S co-incubation reduced the cellular accumulation of saquinavir and lopinavir. Lopinavir is much more lipophilic than saquinavir. Conclusions and implications: Human OATPs, MRP, P-gp and lipophilicity determine the cellular uptake and retention of saquinavir and lopinavir. These data may have important implications for drug,drug interactions, drug safety and efficacy. British Journal of Pharmacology (2008) 155, 875,883; doi:10.1038/bjp.2008.320; published online 18 August 2008 [source]


Genetic features of circular bacteriocins produced by Gram-positive bacteria

FEMS MICROBIOLOGY REVIEWS, Issue 1 2008
Mercedes Maqueda
Abstract This review highlights the main genetic features of circular bacteriocins, which require the co-ordinated expression of several genetic determinants. In general terms, it has been demonstrated that the expression of such structural genes must be combined with the activity of proteins involved in maturation (cleavage/circularization) and secretion outside the cell via different transporter systems, as well as multifaceted immunity mechanisms essential to ensuring the bacteria's self-protection against such strong inhibitors. Several circular antibacterial peptides produced by Gram-positive bacteria have been described to date, including enterocin AS-48, from Enterococcus faecalis S-48 (the first one characterized), gassericin A, from Lactobacillus gasseri LA39, and a similar one, reutericin 6, from Lactobacillus reuteri LA6, butyrivibriocin AR10, from the ruminal anaerobe Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens AR10, uberolysin, from Streptococcus uberis, circularin A, from Clostridium beijerinckii ATCC 25752, and subtilosin A, from Bacillus subtilis. We summarize here the progress made in the understanding of their principal genetic features over the last few years, during which the functional roles of circular proteins with wide biological activity have become clearer. [source]


Expression of GFAT1 and OGT in podocytes: Transport of glucosamine and the implications for glucose uptake into these cells

JOURNAL OF CELLULAR PHYSIOLOGY, Issue 2 2010
Dorota Rogacka
Glutamine:fructose-6-phosphate amidotransferase (GFAT) and N -acetylglucosaminyltransferase (OGT) participate in glucosamine (GlcN) production and its utilization in O -glycosylation, one of key post-translational modifications of nuclear and cytoplasmic proteins. For this purpose, cells require a high rate of intracellular production of GlcN and/or significant GlcN delivery. We studied the expression of GFAT1 and OGT and measured uptake of glucose and GlcN in cultured rat podocytes, the main cellular component of glomerular filtration barrier. RT-PCR revealed the presence of both GFAT1 and OGT mRNA. Immunofluorescence of GFAT1 has shown staining signal diffused within the cytoplasm of the cell body and processes. However, OGT was distinctly visible around the nucleus and, in diffuse form, within the cytoplasm of cell bodies and processes. Glucose was transported (1.3,±,0.2,nmol/min/mg protein) mainly by facilitative transporter systems whilst GlcN uptake (1.1,±,0.2,nmol/min/mg protein) in a significant part, involved a sodium-dependent transporter. There was interplay between glucose and GlcN uptake. In the presence of GlcN (50,µM), the rate of glucose uptake decreased by about 50%. The rate of GlcN uptake decreased by 28% in the presence of 5.6,mM glucose. Our results suggest that cultured podocytes possess limited ability to synthesize GlcN internally and therefore may need to receive GlcN from the extracellular environment. J. Cell. Physiol. 225: 577,584, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


The effect of sevoflurane on glutamate release and uptake in rat cerebrocortical presynaptic terminals

ACTA ANAESTHESIOLOGICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 1 2002
M. L. Vinje
Background: Volatile anaesthetics exert their effect in the brain mainly by reducing synaptic excitability. Isoflurane abates excitation by reducing the release and increasing the uptake of transmitter glutamate into the presynaptic terminal. The exact molecular mechanisms exerting these effects, however, are not clear. Voltage-gated calcium channels have been proposed as the pharmacological target. The present study examines the effect of sevoflurane on synaptic glutamate release and free cytosolic calcium and the effect on high- and low-affinity uptake of L-glutamate using isolated presynaptic terminals prepared from rat cerebral cortex. Methods: Released glutamate was measured fluorometrically in a spectrophotometer as the fluorescence of NADPH and calcium as the fluorescence of fura-2. 4-aminopyridine was used to induce membrane depolarization. Glutamate uptake was measured in a series of different concentrations of L-glutamate corresponding to the high- and the low- affinity uptake systems adding a fixed concentration og radiolabelled glutamate. The labelling was measured by counting disintegrations per min in a ,-scintillation counter. Results: Sevoflurane reduced the calcium-dependent glutamate release in a dose-dependent manner as sevoflurane 1.5, 2.5 and 4.0% reduced the release by 58, 69 and 94%, respectively (P<0.05). Membrane depolarization induced an increase in free cytosolic calcium by 25%. Sevoflurane did not affect this increase. Neither the high- nor the low-affinity uptake transporter systems are affected by the anaesthetic. Conclusion: These results indicate that different volatile anaesthetics may act differently on the presynaptic terminal. The exact modes of action have to be further investigated. [source]


Involvement of ABC transporters in melanogenesis and the development of multidrug resistance of melanoma

PIGMENT CELL & MELANOMA RESEARCH, Issue 6 2009
Kevin G. Chen
Summary Because melanomas are intrinsically resistant to conventional radiotherapy and chemotherapy, many alternative treatment approaches have been developed such as biochemotherapy and immunotherapy. The most common cause of multidrug resistance (MDR) in human cancers is the expression and function of one or more ATP- binding cassette (ABC) transporters that efflux anticancer drugs from cells. Melanoma cells express a group of ABC transporters (such as ABCA9, ABCB1, ABCB5, ABCB8, ABCC1, ABCC2, and ABCD1) that may be associated with the resistance of melanoma cells to a broad range of anticancer drugs and/or of melanocytes to toxic melanin intermediates and metabolites. In this review, we propose a model (termed the ABC-M model) in which the intrinsic MDR of melanoma cells is at least in part because of the transporter systems that may also play a critical role in reducing the cytotoxicity of the melanogenic pathway in melanocytes. The ABC-M model suggests molecular strategies to reverse MDR function in the context of the melanogenic pathway, which could open therapeutic avenues towards the ultimate goal of circumventing clinical MDR in patients with melanoma. [source]


Preliminary X-ray crystallographic analysis of a soluble form of MntC, a periplasmic manganese-binding component of an ABC-type Mn transporter from Synechocystis sp.

ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION D, Issue 9 2002
PCC 680
Manganese is recruited in microorganisms by way of ABC-type transporter systems. Here, the expression, purification and preliminary crystallographic analysis of a soluble form of the MntC solute-binding protein component of the MntABC manganese-import system from the cyanobacterium Synechococystis sp. PCC 6803 is reported. The protein (321 amino-acid residues) was expressed exclusively in inclusion bodies, which required unfolding and refolding in the presence of manganese prior to purification. The purified protein was crystallized in the presence of PEG and zinc. The crystals belong to space group P6222, with unit-cell parameters a = b = 128.1, c = 90.0,Å and a single molecule in the asymmetric unit. The crystals diffract to 2.6,Å under cryoconditions using synchrotron radiation. [source]


Iron acquisition within host cells and the pathogenicity of Leishmania

CELLULAR MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 2 2008
Chau Huynh
Summary Iron is an essential cofactor for several enzymes and metabolic pathways, in both microbes and in their eukaryotic hosts. To avoid toxicity, iron acquisition is tightly regulated. This represents a particular challenge for pathogens that reside within the endocytic pathway of mammalian cells, because endosomes and lysosomes are gradually depleted in iron by host transporters. An important player in this process is Nramp1 (Slc11a1), a proton efflux pump that translocates Fe2+ and Mn2+ ions from macrophage lysosomes/phagolysosomes into the cytosol. Mutations in Nramp1 cause susceptibility to infection with the bacteria Salmonella and Mycobacteria and the protozoan Leishmania, indicating that an available pool of intraphagosomal iron is critical for the intracellular survival and replication of these pathogens. Salmonella and Mycobacteria are known to express iron transporter systems that effectively compete with host transporters for iron. Until recently, however, very little was known about the molecular strategy used by Leishmania for survival in the iron-poor environment of macrophage phagolysosomes. It is now clear that intracellular residence induces Leishmania amazonensis to express LIT1, a ZIP family membrane Fe2+ transporter that is required for intracellular growth and virulence. [source]


SALIVATION TRIGGERED BY PILOCARPINE INVOLVES AQUAPORIN-5 IN NORMAL RATS BUT NOT IN IRRADIATED RATS

CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL PHARMACOLOGY AND PHYSIOLOGY, Issue 5-6 2009
Tetsuya Asari
SUMMARY 1Using rats, we examined the muscarinic receptor subtype mediating pilocarpine-induced parotid salivary secretion and the contributions of ion transporter systems (effluxes of K+ and Cl - ) and aquaporin-5 (AQP5) translocation to this response in parotid glands in irradiated-induced xerostomia. 2Salivary secretion was significantly lower in irradiated compared with sham-irradiated (normal) rats. In xerostomia rats, 0.4 and 0.8 mg/kg pilocarpine significantly increased parotid salivary secretion, although the salivary volume was still significantly less than in normal rats after the same dose of pilocarpine. 3Pirenzepine (1 × 10,6 to 1 × 10,1 mol/L), AF-DX 116 (3 × 10,6 to 3 × 10,2 mol/L) and N -2-chloroethyl-4-piperidinyl diphenylacetate (4-DAMP; 1 × 10,8 to 1 × 10,2 mol/L) dose-dependently displaced radioligand binding to M1, M2 and M3 receptors, respectively, in parotid membranes from both normal and irradiated rats. In each group of rats, 4-DAMP had the highest binding affinity. Pretreatment with 4-DAMP or pirenzepine dose-dependently inhibited pilocarpine-induced parotid secretion in both normal and irradiated rats, with 4-DAMP being markedly more potent than pirenzepine. 4Normal and irradiated-rat parotid cells did not differ significantly in terms of pilocarpine-induced changes in [Ca2+]i, [K+]i and [Cl - ]i. Pilocarpine markedly increased the amount of AQP5 in the apical plasma membrane of parotid cells isolated from normal but not irradiated rats. 5Thus, pilocarpine induces parotid salivary secretion mainly via the M3 receptor subtype in both irradiated and normal rats. The reduction in this pilocarpine-induced secretion seen in irradiated rats is due not to disturbances of intracellular Ca2+ mobilization or ion transporter systems, but rather to a disturbance of AQP5 translocation, which may be involved in the pathogenesis of X-ray irradiation-induced xerostomia. [source]