Control of A-system amino acid transport by a second regulatory gene R2 in Chinese hamster ovary cells CHO-K1 and the possible connection of this gene with insulin activity

Amino acid transport system A resembles system N in sequence but differs in mechanism

Classical amino acid transport System A accounts for most of the Na(+)-dependent neutral amino acid uptake by mammalian cells. System A has also provided a paradigm for short- and long-term regulation by physiological stimuli. We now report the isolation of a cDNA encoding System A that shows close similarity to the recently identified System N transporter (SN1). The System A transporter (SA1) and SN1 share many functional characteristics, including a marked sensitivity to low pH, but, unlike SN1, SA1 does not mediate proton exchange. Transport mediated by SA1 is also electrogenic. Amino acid transport Systems A and N thus appear closely related in function as well as structure, but exhibit important differences in ionic coupling.

Regulation of system A amino acid transport in 3T3-L1 adipocytes by insulin

The insulin-stimulated uptake of 2-(methylamino)isobutyric acid (MeAIB), a nonmetabolizable substrate for system A, in 3T3-L1 adipocytes was investigated. As cells took on a more adipogenic phenotype, the insulin-stimulated versus the saturable basal MeAIB uptake increased by 5-fold. The induced transport activity showed properties characteristic of system A, with a Km value of 190 microM. The half-life of the induced system A activity was independent of de novo mRNA and protein synthesis and was not accelerated by ambient amino acids, therefore, it was mechanistically distinct from the previously described adaptive and hormonal regulation of system A. Inhibition of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase by PD98059, Ras farnesylation by PD152440 and B581, p70(S6K) by rapamycin, and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI 3'-K) by wortmannin and LY294002 revealed that only wortmannin and LY294002 inhibited the insulin-induced MeAIB uptake with IC50 values close to that previously reported for inhibition of PI 3'-K. These results suggest that the Ras/mitogen-activated protein kinase and pp70(S6K) insulin signaling pathways are neither required nor sufficient for insulin stimulation of MeAIB uptake, and activation of PI 3'-K or a wortmannin/LY294002-sensitive pathway may play an important role in regulation of system A transport by insulin in 3T3-L1 cells.

Effect of protein malnutrition on neutral amino acid transport by rat hepatocytes during development

Hepatocytes from suckling rats whose mothers were fed a low-protein diet (9% protein) showed a lower capacity for Na(+)-dependent L-alanine uptake [due to a decrease in maximal uptake rate (Vmax) of a low-affinity component of transport] and were not able to respond to insulin or glucagon, whereas those from suckling pups whose mothers were fed the control diet (17% protein) had already developed the ability to upregulate L-alanine transport after hormone treatment. When animals from low-protein-fed mothers were weaned onto a hypoprotein diet, the overall capacity for Na(+)-dependent L-alanine uptake (apparent Vmax) and its responsiveness to pancreatic hormones were restored. Hepatocytes from these animals showed a lower response to glucocorticoid treatment. Amino acid availability was dramatically decreased in suckling and weanling rats fed a low-protein diet. These results support the hypothesis that nutrient supply is an important factor in the proper development of hepatic transport functions during the suckling-weaning transition.

Evidence for a regulatory protein involved in the increased activity of system A for neutral amino acid transport in osmotically stressed mammalian cells

System A for neutral amino acid transport is increased by hypertonic shock in NBL-1 cells previously induced to express system A activity by amino acid starvation. The hypertonicity-mediated effect can be blocked by cycloheximide but is insensitive to tunicamycin. The activity induced may be inactivated irreversibly by the addition of system A substrates, by a rapid mechanism insensitive to cycloheximide. In CHO-K1 cells, hypertonicity increases system A activity, as has been shown in NBL-1 cells. This effect is additive to the activity produced by derepression of system A by amino acid starvation and is insensitive to tunicamycin. Furthermore, the alanine-resistant mutant CHO-K1 alar4, which bears a mutation affecting the regulatory gene R1, involved in the derepression of system A activity after amino acid starvation, is still able to respond to the hypertonic shock by increasing system A activity to a level similar to that described in hypertonicity-induced derepressed CHO-K1 (wild type) cells. These results suggest (i) that the hypertonicity-mediated increase of system A activity occurs through a mechanism other than that involved in system A derepression and (ii) that a regulatory protein coded by an osmotically sensitive gene is responsible for further activation of preexisting A carriers.

Evidence for coordinate regulation of the A system for amino acid transport and the mRNA for the alpha 1 subunit of the Na+,K(+)-ATPase gene in Chinese hamster ovary cells

Previous work suggested that the structural gene for the A system transporter and the mRNA for the alpha subunit of the Na+,K(+)-ATPase in Chinese hamster ovary cells CHO-K1 [wild type (WT)] are coordinately controlled by regulatory gene R1. This conclusion was based on analysis of a mutant for the A system, alar4. This mutant had a constitutive level of A system transport activity equal to the level found in derepressed WT cells and a 4 times increase in abundance of the alpha 1 subunit of Na+,K(+)-ATPase mRNA over that found in repressed WT. The level of Na+ per cell in alar4 was not significantly greater than that found in the WT. To further characterize the likely coregulation of both genes, we have studied the A system activity and Na+,K(+)-ATPase mRNA alpha 1-subunit levels in cells grown under various conditions that result in repression or derepression of the A system in the WT. System A activity increased up to 2-3 times the basal transport rate (repressed state) and Na+,K(+)-ATPase mRNA alpha 1-subunit levels showed a 3-fold increase after amino acid starvation (derepressed state). These changes occurred along with a decrease in intracellular Na+ levels. N-Methyl-alpha-aminoisobutyric acid and beta-alanine, previously shown to be corepressors for the A system, prevented to a similar extent A system derepression and Na+,K(+)-ATPase mRNA alpha 1-subunit accumulation. On the other hand, phenylalanine and lysine, amino acids that are not corepressors of the A system, failed to significantly prevent derepression of both genes. Hybrids between the WT and alar4 have the phenotype of the WT when grown under repressed conditions. These results give further support to the proposition that both the A system transporter and mRNA for the alpha 1 subunit of the Na+,K(+)-ATPase are coordinately controlled by regulatory gene R1 and elevated Na+ concentrations are not involved. No Na+,K(+)-ATPase activity was detected in derepressed cells. Activity was restored by the addition of monensin. However, this activity was no greater than that obtained in repressed cells. Indications are that the reduced Na+ content in derepressed cells inhibits Na+,K(+)-ATPase activity and that conditions that favored derepression do not allow for de novo synthesis of the Na+,K(+)-ATPase.

alar4, a constitutive mutant of the A system for amino acid transport, has increased abundance of the Na+,K+-ATPase and mRNA for alpha 1 subunit of this enzyme

A constitutive mutant, alar4, for the A system of amino acid transport, has increased activity and amount of the A system. This is accompanied by increased sensitivity to ouabain, as measured by efficiency of plating, and increased activity and abundance of the Na+,K+-ATPase that is present in the parental cell line, CHO-K1 (wild type). The latter was shown by increases in (i) ouabain-inhibitable 86Rb uptake in intact cells, (ii) ouabain-inhibitable ATPase activity in mixed membrane vesicles, and (iii) number of ouabain-binding sites and by similar Kd values for ouabain binding and K1/2 for ouabain inhibition of Na+,K+-ATPase as compared to the wild type. The increase in abundance of the Na+ pump is associated with a 4-fold increase in abundance of the mRNA for the alpha 1 subunit of the Na+,K+-ATPase. We could not detect mRNA for alpha 2 or alpha 3 or for the beta subunits. The increase in abundance of the A system and Na+,K+-ATPase is associated with a negligible increase in intracellular Na+ concentration. We propose that the increase in the abundance of the A system and the Na+,K+-ATPase is the result of a mutation in regulatory gene R1 that controls the A system and the Na+,K+-ATPase and is not due to a primary effect of a possible initial increase in Na+ concentration.

Two membrane-bound proteins associated with alanine resistance and increased A-system amino acid transport in mutants of CHO-K1

Growth of CHO-K1, a proline auxotroph, is inhibited by amino acids that prevent proline transport. From a hydroxyurea-treated, alanine-resistant, constitutive mutant, alar4, we isolated, in a stepwise fashion, mutants, resistant to higher concentrations of alanine, that have increased velocity of amino acid transport through the A system. Two such mutants, alar4-H2.1 and alar4-H3.9, isolated as resistant to 50 mM and 125 mM alanine, respectively, showed increases in Vmax of proline transport through the A system that are directly proportional to their resistance to alanine. Alar4-H3.9, as compared to alar4 and CHO-K1, has six and 29 times the Vmax of proline transport through the A system and two and five times the velocity of transport through the combined ASC and P systems, respectively, and no change in system L. No double-minute or homologous staining regions were detectable in alar4-H3.9. A-system activity of alar4-H2.1 and alar4-H3.9, when grown under nonselective conditions, was stable for 20 generations and then declined. The phenotype of alar4-H3.9 is codominant with that of alar4 and partially recessive to that of CHO-K1. Membrane vesicles prepared from alar4-H3.9 show increases mainly in A-system transport. In sodium dodecylsulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis of A-system active membrane vesicles and endoplasmic reticulum, two bands of molecular weight of approximately 62-66 kd and 29 kd are present in higher concentrations in alar4-H3.9 than in CHO-K1. These results are compatible with the hypothesis that the phenotype of alar4-H3.9 is the result of gene amplification of an A-system transporter structural gene and that the two bands may represent this transporter.