title: Increases in transepithelial vectorial Na+ transport facilitates Na+-dependent L-DOPA transport in renal OK cells.
abstract: The present study evaluated the hypothesis of whether increases in vectorial Na+ transport translate into facilitation of Na+-dependent L-DOPA uptake in cultured renal epithelial tubular cells. Increases in vectorial Na+ transport were obtained in opossum kidney (OK) cells engineered to overexpress Na+-K+-ATPase after transfection of wild type OK cells with the rodent Na+-K+-ATPase alpha1 subunit. The most impressive differences between wild type and transfected OK cells are that the latter overexpressed Na+-K+-ATPase accompanied by an increased activity of the transporter. Non-linear analysis of the saturation curve for l-DOPA uptake revealed a Vmax value (in nmol mg protein/6 min) of 62 and 80 in wild type and transfected cells, respectively. The uptake of a non-saturating concentration (0.25 microM) of [14C]-L-DOPA in OK-WT cells was not affected by Na+ removal, whereas in OK-alpha1 cells accumulation of [14C]-L-DOPA was clearly dependent on the presence of extracellular Na+. When Na+ was replaced by choline, the inhibitory profile of neutral l-amino acids, but not of basic and acidic amino acids, upon [14C]-L-DOPA uptake in both cell types, was significantly greater than that observed in the presence of extracellular Na+. It is concluded that enhanced ability of OK cells overexpressing Na+-K+-ATPase to translocate Na+ from the apical to the basal cell side correlates positively with their ability to accumulate L-DOPA, which is in agreement with the role of Na+ in taking up the precursor of renal dopamine.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine 4200-319 Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gomes
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Soares-da-Silva
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport; D002460:Cell Line; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D017136:Ion Transport; D007668:Kidney / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D007684:Kidney Tubules / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D007980:Levodopa / Q000378:metabolism*; D009893:Opossums; D051381:Rats; D012964:Sodium / Q000378:metabolism*; D000254:Sodium-Potassium-Exchanging ATPase / Q000378:metabolism*; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: D007980:Levodopa; D012964:Sodium; D000254:Sodium-Potassium-Exchanging ATPase