Transport of L-ascorbic acid and dehydro-L-ascorbic acid across renal cortical basolateral membrane vesicles

Regulation of vitamin C homeostasis during deficiency

Large cross-sectional population studies confirm that vitamin C deficiency is common in humans, affecting 5%–10% of adults in the industrialized world. Moreover, significant associations between poor vitamin C status and increased morbidity and mortality have consistently been observed. However, the absorption, distribution and elimination kinetics of vitamin C in vivo are highly complex, due to dose-dependent non-linearity, and the specific regulatory mechanisms are not fully understood. Particularly, little is known about how adaptive mechanisms during states of deficiency affect the overall regulation of vitamin C transport in the body. This review discusses mechanisms of vitamin C transport and potential means of regulation with special emphasis on capacity and functional properties, such as differences in the K_m of vitamin C transporters in different target tissues, in some instances demonstrating a tissue-specific distribution.

Dynamic expression of the sodium-vitamin C co-transporters, SVCT1 and SVCT2, during perinatal kidney development

Isoform 1 of the sodium-vitamin C co-transporter (SVCT1) is expressed in the apical membrane of proximal tubule epithelial cells in adult human and mouse kidneys. This study is aimed at analyzing the expression and function of SVCTs during kidney development. RT-PCR and immunohistochemical analyses revealed that SVCT1 expression is increased progressively during postnatal kidney development. However, SVCT1 transcripts were barely detected, if not absent, in the embryonic kidney. Instead, the high-affinity transporter, isoform 2 (SVCT2), was strongly expressed in the developing kidney from E15; its expression decreased at postnatal stages. Immunohistochemical analyses showed a dynamic distribution of SVCT2 in epithelial cells during kidney development. In renal cortex tubular epithelial cells, intracellular distribution of SVCT2 was observed at E19 with distribution in the basolateral membrane at P1. In contrast, SVCT2 was localized to the apical and basolateral membranes between E17 and E19 in medullary kidney tubular cells but was distributed intracellularly at P1. In agreement with these findings, functional expression of SVCT2, but not SVCT1 was detected in human embryonic kidney-derived (HEK293) cells. In addition, kinetic analysis suggested that an ascorbate-dependent mechanism accounts for targeted SVCT2 expression in the developing kidney during medullary epithelial cell differentiation. However, during cortical tubular differentiation, SVCT1 was induced and localized to the apical membrane of tubular epithelial cells. SVCT2 showed a basolateral polarization only for the first days of postnatal life. These studies suggest that the uptake of vitamin C mediated by different SVCTs plays differential roles during the ontogeny of kidney tubular epithelial cells.

Ascorbic Acid and gene expression: another example of regulation of gene expression by small molecules?

Ascorbic acid (vitamin C, AA) has long been considered a food supplement necessary for life and for preventing scurvy. However, it has been reported that other small molecules such as retinoic acid (vitamin A) and different forms of calciferol (vitamin D) are directly involved in regulating the expression of numerous genes. These molecules bind to receptors that are differentially expressed in the embryo and are therefore crucial signalling molecules in vertebrate development. The question is: is ascorbic acid also a signalling molecule that regulates gene expression?

We therefore present and discuss recent publications that demonstrate that AA regulates the expression of a battery of genes. We offer a clue to understanding the biochemical mechanism by which AA regulates gene expression. Finally we will discuss the question of a receptor for AA and its potential involvement in embryonic development and cell differentiation.

Carrier mediated uptake of dehydroascorbate into higher plant plasma membrane vesicles shows trans-stimulation

The activity of the ascorbate (Asc) carrier of purified Phaseolus plasma membranes is demonstrated to be highly stimulated when membrane vesicles are preloaded with Asc. Asc transport is inhibited by DTT but is not affected by glutathione or ferricyanide, indicating that dehydroascorbate (DHA) is the preferred species for uptake. Asc transport in the loaded vesicles showed saturable kinetics with an apparent affinity constant of 24 microM and maximal uptake rate of 94 pmol/mg/min. Addition of DHA stimulated the efflux of Asc molecules from the loaded vesicles. Together these results suggest the presence of an Asc/DHA exchange mechanism in higher plant plasma membranes.

Resolution of the facilitated transport of dehydroascorbic acid from its intracellular accumulation as ascorbic acid

We performed a detailed kinetic analysis of the uptake of dehydroascorbic acid by HL-60 cells under experimental conditions that enabled the differentiation of dehydroascorbic acid transport from the intracellular reduction/accumulation of ascorbic acid. Immunoblotting and immunolocalization experiments identified GLUT1 as the main glucose transporter expressed in the HL-60 cells. Kinetic analysis allowed the identification of a single functional activity involved in the transport of dehydroascorbic acid in the HL-60 cells. Transport was inhibited in a competitive manner by both 3-O-methyl-D-glucose and 2-deoxy-D-glucose. In turn, dehydroascorbic acid competitively inhibited the transport of both sugars. A second functional component identified in experiments measuring the accumulation of ascorbic acid appears to be associated with the intracellular reduction of dehydroascorbic acid to ascorbic acid and is not directly involved in the transport of dehydroascorbic acid via GLUT1. Transport of dehydroascorbic acid by HL-60 cells was independent of the presence of external Na+, whereas the intracellular accumulation of ascorbic acid was found to be a Na(+)-sensitive process. Thus, the transport of dehydroascorbic acid via glucose transporters is a Na(+)-independent process which is kinetically and biologically separable from the reduction of dehydroascorbic acid to ascorbic acid and its subsequent intracellular accumulation.

Transport of vitamin C in animal and human cells

The transport systems of animal and human tissues for vitamin C are reviewed with respect to their properties. It emerges that pure diffusion plays only a very minor role while a variety of more or less specific transporters is found on cellular membranes. Although most tissues prefer the reduced ascorbate over the oxidized dehydroascorbic acid and have high-affinity transporters for it, there are several examples for the reversed situation. Special attention is given to similarity or identity with glucose transporters, especially the GLUT-1 and the sodium-dependent intestinal and renal transporters, and to the very widespread dependence of ascorbate transport on sodium ions. The significance of ascorbate transport for vitamin C-requiring and nonrequiring species as well as alterations in states of disease can be seen from ample experimental evidence.

Expression of a rabbit renal ascorbic acid transporter in Xenopus laevis oocytes

We examined the expression of renal ascorbic acid transporter(s) in Xenopus laevis oocytes after microinjection of cells with poly(A)+ RNA extracted from rabbit kidney cortex. Concomitant expression of the Na+-glucose cotransporter served as a control in these studies. Injection of poly(A)+ RNA into oocytes produced over a fivefold increase in the uptake of [14C]ascorbic acid (570 microM) compared with water-injected cells. Size fractionation of the kidney cortex mRNA by sucrose gradient revealed that the mRNA species that induced ascorbic acid transporter expression in oocytes was present in a fraction centered around 2.0 kilobases (kb) and had a size range of 1.8-3.1 kb. Injection of the active fraction into oocytes produced a > 40-fold increase in ascorbic acid uptake compared with water-injected controls. Expression of ascorbic acid transporter(s) was noticeable as early as 2 days after injection and was maximal after 7 days; it was also dependent on the amount of mRNA injected into oocytes. The induced uptake of [14C]ascorbic acid after injection of mRNA into oocytes was 1) Na+ dependent, as indicated by the almost complete lack of transport on removal of Na+ from the incubation medium; 2) significantly inhibited by unlabeled ascorbic acid and its structural analogue isoascorbic acid but not by D-glucose; and 3) saturable as a function of increasing the substrate concentration in the incubation medium (100-1,000 microM), with an apparent Km of 258 +/- 72.5 microM and a maximum velocity of 29.6 +/- 2.8 pmol.oocyte-1.2 h-1. These data demonstrate that X. laevis oocytes are a suitable system to functionally express the mammalian renal ascorbic acid transporter.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Isolation and characterization of a blue fluorophore from human eye lens crystallins: in vitro formation from Maillard reaction with ascorbate and ribose

A blue fluorophore, named LM-1 was isolated from human eye lens crystallins. The fluorescence property of LM-1 (excitation/emission, 366/440 nm) is similar to the fluorescence originating during non-enzymatic glycation (Maillard reaction) of proteins with the reducing sugars. LM-1 accumulates linearly with age in highly cross-linked water insoluble crystallins and is present at higher levels in cataractous lenses. The fluorophore could be synthesized by incubation of bovine serum albumin (BSA) with ribose, but not with glucose or fructose. Incubation of bovine lens crystallins with ascorbic acid (ASA) and its oxidative products, dehydroascorbic acid (DHA) and 2,3-diketogulonic acid (DKG) in presence of oxygen resulted in LM-1 formation. When oxygen was removed from the system, only DHA and DKG could synthesize LM-1, but not ASA, suggesting that ASA oxidation is obligatory for LM-1 synthesis. Modification of lysine residues on BSA prior to incubation with ribose resulted in corresponding decrease in LM-1 formation. Since ASA concentration is unusually high in lens and has been found to be a powerful glycating agent of crystallins and since LM-1 does not form with hexoses, it is likely that ASA is the major precursor of LM-1.

Ocular ascorbate transport and metabolism

1. The concept is reviewed that the eye is subject to photo-oxidative damage through chemical free radical species that interact with sensitive tissue components. 2. The role of ascorbic acid may be to protect the eye by scavenging free radicals. 3. Ascorbic acid is present at a high concentration in various ocular compartments of diurnal animals, regardless of whether the animal synthesizes the compound or extracts it from the diet. 4. Ascorbic acid accumulates in the eye by active transport through the iris-ciliary body into aqueous humor, and subsequent transport into the lens and cornea. 5. Conservation of ascorbic acid occurs by reduction of dehydro-L-ascorbic acid and the ascorbate free radical through processes that appear to be enzymatic.

Electrogenic Na+-ascorbate cotransport in cultured bovine pigmented ciliary epithelial cells

The high level of ascorbic acid (AA) in the aqueous humor of many mammals suggests an active transport of AA across the double-layered ciliary epithelium from blood to aqueous humor. We used [14C]AA to study AA uptake in bovine pigmented ciliary epithelial cells in tissue culture. We observed a 40-fold intracellular accumulation of AA, which was dependent on extracellular Na+. With labeled dehydroascorbate (DHA, the oxidized form of the vitamin) in the medium, there was a 20-fold intracellular accumulation of the label. However, the time course of DHA uptake was different compared with AA uptake and was not Na+ dependent, suggesting different transport systems for AA and DHA. AA uptake was inhibited by 1 mM phloretin and in the presence of isoascorbate. Furthermore, AA uptake was markedly reduced when intracellular Na+ was elevated by preincubation with ouabain or amphotericin B. With increasing AA concentration, Na+-dependent AA uptake exhibited first-order saturation kinetics with half-maximal uptake at 76 microM AA. Na+ dependence of AA uptake revealed a sigmoidal curve of Na+-dependent AA uptake vs. Na+ concentration with a half-maximal AA uptake at 45.4 mM Na+. The slope of the Hill plot from these data was 1.94, suggesting a transport system translocating two or more Na+ for one AA. This stoichiometry implies electrogenicity of the transporter. We, therefore, measured membrane potentials using conventional microelectrodes. Addition of 200 microM AA resulted in a depolarization of the membrane voltage by 4.9 +/- 0.5 mV (n = 22), which was absent in Na+ free medium and was markedly reduced by phloretin.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Solubility properties of reduced and oxidized ascorbate as determinants of membrane permeation

The oil/water distribution coefficients of ascorbic acid and dehydro-L-ascorbic acid have been determined and compared with values for mannitol and lauric acid. In general, the relative degrees of hydrophobicity of the compounds evaluated are lauric acid much greater than mannitol approximately equal to dehydro-L-ascorbic acid greater than ascorbic acid. These findings and recent reports from transport studies do not support the concept that dehydro-L-ascorbic acid is very hydrophobic and crosses cell membranes rapidly by simple diffusion.

Characteristics of the transport of ascorbic acid into leucocytes

The degree and the mode of association of [14C]-ascorbic acid with leucocytes are examined. The degree of association of ascorbic acid with polymorphonuclear leucocytes (1-3%) is dependent on cell type, extracellular concentration of ascorbic acid, incubation temperature, intactness of the cells and the extracellular pH. All experiments are performed according to strict protocols as these compounds are labile in aqueous solutions. Further it is noticed that in all experiments an outward gradient of leucocyte endogenic ascorbic acid exists. The results suggest that the association process comprises at least one saturable pathway. The activation of polymorphonuclear leucocytes by phorbol myristate acetate increases the accumulation of ascorbic acid threefold.

Effective use of renal cortical slices in transport and metabolic studies

The uptake and metabolism of two water-soluble vitamins were measured in rat renal cortical slices, isolated tubules, and vesicles of the brush-border and basolateral cell membranes to determine (a) whether it is possible to produce slices that have open tubules and, (b) whether slices and tubules metabolize vitamins similarly. Transport of ascorbic acid is sodium-dependent in slices and in brush-border vesicles but is sodium-independent in basolateral vesicles, suggesting that the brush-border membrane of slices is accessible to components of the bathing solution. Nicotinic acid was metabolized similarly (97-98%) in both slices and isolated tubules. Oxygen consumption by slices maintained in a closed chamber was constant as pO2 decreased from 88% to 58%. Slices are concluded to be a suitable model for transport and metabolic studies providing that care is taken in their preparation and use.