J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 261, Issue 26, 12042-12046, 09, 1986
Hydroxyl/bile acid exchange. A new mechanism for the uphill transport of cholate by basolateral liver plasma membrane vesicles
BL Blitzer, C Terzakis and KA Scott
In order to characterize the driving forces for the concentrative uptake of
unconjugated bile acids by the hepatocyte, the effects of pH gradients on
the uptake of [3H]cholate by rat basolateral liver plasma membrane vesicles
were studied. In the presence of an outwardly directed hydroxyl gradient
(pH 6.0 outside and pH 7.5 inside the vesicle), cholate uptake was markedly
stimulated and the bile acid was transiently accumulated at a concentration
1.5- to 2-fold higher than at equilibrium ("overshoot"). In the absence of
a pH gradient (pH 6.0 or 7.5 both inside and outside the vesicle), uptake
was relatively slower and no overshoot was seen. Reductions in the
magnitude of the transmembrane pH gradient were associated with slower
initial uptake rates and smaller overshoots. Cholate uptake under pH
gradient conditions was inhibited by furosemide and bumetanide but not by
4, 4'- diisothiocyano-2,2'-disulfonic stilbene (SITS), 4-acetamido-4'-
isothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid (DIDS), or probenecid. In the
absence of a pH gradient, an inside-positive valinomycin-induced K+
diffusion potential caused a slight increase in cholate uptake which was
insensitive to furosemide. Moreover, in the presence of an outwardly
directed hydroxyl gradient, uphill cholate transport was observed even
under voltage clamped conditions. These findings suggest that pH
gradient-driven cholate uptake was not due to associated electrical
potentials. Despite an identical pKa to that of cholate, an outwardly
directed hydroxyl gradient did not drive uphill transport of three other
unconjugated bile acids (deoxycholate, chenodeoxycholate,
ursodeoxycholate), suggesting that a non-ionic diffusion mechanism cannot
account for uphill cholate transport. In canalicular vesicles, although
cholate uptake was relatively faster in the presence of a pH gradient than
in the absence of a gradient, peak uptake was only slightly above that
found at equilibrium under voltage clamped conditions. These findings
suggest a specific carrier on the basolateral membrane of the hepatocyte
which mediates hydroxyl/cholate exchange (or H+-cholate co-transport). A
model for uphill cholate transport is discussed in which the Na+ pump would
ultimately drive Na+/H+ exchange which in turn would drive hydroxyl/cholate
exchange.