Basolateral dipeptide transport by the intestine of the teleost Oreochromis mossambicus

M. Thamotharan, V. Zonno, C. Storelli and G. A. Ahearn Department of Physiology, University of Hawaii, Honolulu 96822, USA. Transport characteristics of [14C]glycylsarcosine ([14C]Gly-Sar) were measured in herbivorous tilapi (Oreochromis mossambicus) intestinal basolateral membrane vesicles (BLMV) purified with Percoll gradient centrifugation. Specific activity of the vesicle Na(+)-K(+)-adenosinetriphos- phatase was increased 12-fold, whereas specific activity of the brush-border enzyme alkaline phosphatase was enriched only by 0.8-fold. [14C]Gly-Sar uptake was stimulated by increasing concentrations of extravesicular protons rather than by a transmembrane proton gradient. A transmembrane K+ diffusion potential (inside negative) did not stimulate [14C]Gly-Sar uptake above that observed with short-circuited vesicles. An inwardly directed Na+ gradient had no effect on peptide uptake. Kinetic analysis of basolateral transport rate revealed that the transport occurred by a saturable process conforming to Michaelis-Menten kinetics [Kt [concentration of [14C]Gly-Sar that yielded one-half of maximal influx (Jmax)] = 13.27 +/- 3.80 mM, Jmax = 15,155 +/- 3,096 pmol.mg protein-1.6 s-1]. The basolateral transporter was insensitive to diethylpyrocarbonate (DEP), a specific inhibitor of proton-coupled peptide transport systems. [14C]Gly-Sar influx into tilapia BLMV showed cis-inhibition by several other dipeptides, suggesting that the [14C]Gly-Sar transporter was shared by other peptides too. These observations strongly suggest that the basolateral intestinal dipeptide transporter in herbivorous fishes is distinctly different from either the high- or low-affinity brush-border transporter. It is proton dependent, electroneutral, sodium independent and accepts a wide variety of dipeptides.