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Tryptophan is an essential amino acid in humans and an important serotonin and melatonin precursor. Monocarboxylate transporter MCT10 is a member of the SLC16A family proteins that mediates low-affinity tryptophan transport across basolateral membranes of kidney, small intestine, and liver epithelial cells, although the precise transport mechanism remains unclear. Here we developed a simple functional assay to analyze tryptophan transport by human MCT10 using a deletion mutant for the high-affinity tryptophan permease Tat2 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. tat2Δtrp1 cells are defective in growth in YPD medium because tyrosine present in the medium competes for the low-affinity tryptophan permease Tat1 with tryptophan. MCT10 appeared to allow growth of tat2Δtrp1 cells in YPD medium, and accumulate in cells deficient for Rsp5 ubiquitin ligase. These results suggest that MCT10 is functional in yeast, and is subject to ubiquitin-dependent quality control. Whereas growth of Tat2-expressing cells was significantly impaired by neutral pH, that of MCT10-expressing cells was nearly unaffected. This property is consistent with the transport mechanism of MCT10 via facilitated diffusion without a need for pH gradient across the plasma membrane. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are known to occur in the human MCT10 coding region. Among eight SNP amino acid changes in MCT10, the N81K mutation completely abrogated tryptophan import without any abnormalities in the expression or localization. In the MCT10 modeled structure, N81 appeared to protrude into the putative trajectory of tryptophan. Plasma membrane localization of MCT10 and the variant proteins was also verified in human embryonic kidney 293T cells.

Aim Serotonin is crucial for proper foetal development, and the placenta has been described as a 'donor' of serotonin for the embryo/foetus. However, in later stages of gestation the foetus produces its own serotonin from maternally-derived tryptophan and placental supply is no longer needed. We propose a novel model of serotonin homeostasis in the term placenta with special focus on the protective role of organic cation transporter 3 (OCT3/SLC22A3). Methods Dually perfused rat term placenta was employed to quantify serotonin/tryptophan transport and metabolism. Placental membrane vesicles isolated from human term placenta were used to characterize serotonin transporters on both sides of the syncytiotrophoblast. Results We obtained the first evidence that serotonin is massively taken up from the foetal circulation by OCT3. This uptake is concentration-dependent and inhibitable by OCT3 blockers of endogenous (glucocorticoids) or exogenous (pharmaceuticals) origin. Population analyses in rat placenta revealed that foetal sex influences placental extraction of serotonin from foetal circulation. Negligible foetal serotonin levels were detected in maternal-to-foetal serotonin/tryptophan transport and metabolic studies. Conclusion We demonstrate that OCT3, localized on the foetus-facing membrane of syncytiotrophoblast, is an essential component of foeto-placental homeostasis of serotonin. Together with serotonin degrading enzyme, monoamine oxidase-A, this offers a protective mechanism against local vasoconstriction effects of serotonin in the placenta. However, this system may be compromised by OCT3 inhibitory molecules, such as glucocorticoids or antidepressants. Our findings open new avenues to explore previously unsuspected/unexplained complications during pregnancy including prenatal glucocorticoid excess and pharmacotherapeutic risks of treating pregnant women with OCT3 inhibitors.

Mechanisms by which beneficial rhizobacteria promote plant growth include tryptophan-dependent indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) synthesis. The abundance of tryptophan in the rhizosphere, however, may influence the level of benefit provided by IAA-producing rhizobacteria. This study examined the cucumber-Bacillus amyloliquefaciens SQR9 system and found that SQR9, a bacterium previously shown to enhance the growth of cucumber, increased root secretion of tryptophan by three- to fourfold. Using a split-root system, SQR9 colonization of roots in one chamber not only increased tryptophan secretion from the noninoculated roots but also increased the expression of the cucumber tryptophan transport gene but not the anthranilate synthesis gene in those roots. The increased tryptophan in isolated rhizosphere exudates was sufficient to support increased IAA production by SQR9. Moreover, SQR9 colonization of roots in one chamber in the split-root system resulted in sufficient tryptophan production by the other roots to upregulate SQR9 IAA biosynthesis genes, including a 27-fold increase in the indole-3-acetonitrilase gene yhcX during subsequent colonization of those roots. Deletion of yhcX eliminated SQR9-mediated increases in root surface area, likely by reducing IAA-stimulated lateral root growth. This study demonstrates a chemical dialogue between B. amyloliquefaciens and cucumber in which this communication contributes to bacteria-mediated plant-growth enhancement.

Vitamin B-6 deficiency is associated with impaired tryptophan metabolism because of the coenzyme role of pyridoxal 5′-phosphate (PLP) for kynureninase and kynurenine aminotransferase. To investigate the underlying mechanism, we developed a mathematical model of tryptophan metabolism via the kynurenine pathway. The model includes mammalian data on enzyme kinetics and tryptophan transport from the intestinal lumen to liver, muscle, and brain. Regulatory mechanisms and inhibition of relevant enzymes were included. We simulated the effects of graded reduction in cellular PLP concentration, tryptophan loads and induction of tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase (TDO) on metabolite profiles and urinary excretion. The model predictions matched experimental data and provided clarification of the response of metabolites in various extents of vitamin B-6 deficiency. We found that moderate deficiency yielded increased 3-hydroxykynurenine and a decrease in kynurenic acid and anthranilic acid. More severe deficiency also yielded an increase in kynurenine and xanthurenic acid and more pronounced effects on the other metabolites. Tryptophan load simulations with and without vitamin B-6 deficiency showed altered metabolite concentrations consistent with published data. Induction of TDO caused an increase in all metabolites, and TDO induction together with a simulated vitamin B-6 deficiency, as has been reported in oral contraceptive users, yielded increases in kynurenine, 3-hydroxykynurenine, and xanthurenic acid and decreases in kynurenic acid and anthranilic acid. These results show that the model successfully simulated tryptophan metabolism via the kynurenine pathway and can be used to complement experimental investigations.

Exercise raises brain serotonin release and is postulated to cause fatigue in athletes; ingestion of branched-chain amino acids (BCAA), by competitively inhibiting tryptophan transport into brain, lowers brain tryptophan uptake and serotonin synthesis and release in rats, and reputedly in humans prevents exercise-induced increases in serotonin and fatigue. This latter effect in humans is disputed. But BCAA also competitively inhibit tyrosine uptake into brain, and thus catecholamine synthesis and release. Since increasing brain catecholamines enhances physical performance, BCAA ingestion could lower catecholamines, reduce performance and thus negate any serotonin-linked benefit. We therefore examined in rats whether BCAA would reduce both brain tryptophan and tyrosine concentrations and serotonin and catecholamine synthesis. Sedentary and exercising rats received BCAA or vehicle orally; tryptophan and tyrosine concentrations and serotonin and catecholamine synthesis rates were measured 1 h later in brain. BCAA reduced brain tryptophan and tyrosine concentrations, and serotonin and catecholamine synthesis. These reductions in tyrosine concentrations and catecholamine synthesis, but not tryptophan or serotonin synthesis, could be prevented by co-administering tyrosine with BCAA. Complete essential amino acid mixtures, used to maintain or build muscle mass, were also studied, and produced different effects on brain tryptophan and tyrosine concentrations and serotonin and catecholamine synthesis. Since pharmacologically increasing brain catecholamine function improves physical performance, the finding that BCAA reduce catecholamine synthesis may explain why this treatment does not enhance physical performance in humans, despite reducing serotonin synthesis. If so, adding tyrosine to BCAA supplements might allow a positive action on performance to emerge.

[EN] Cold is one of the most important abiotic stresses, severely affects the growth and development of plants, and limits their geographical distribution. Given that cold, salinity and drought stresses overlap some of their molecular mechanisms of response, a cDNA library of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris), generated from leaves of plants subjected to saline stress, was used to try to identify genes for tolerance to cold stress by its overexpression in yeast. In this way it was identified, among others, the CRIO4 gene whose characterization has been the work of this thesis. CRIO4 encodes a SEC14-like protein, and it is ortholog to PATL family of Arabidopsis thaliana and it shares a conserved domain with SEC14 and SFH family of yeast. CRIO4 overexpression confers to the yeast cells the ability to grow at low temperatures and tolerance to tunicamycin (an inhibitor of protein glycosylation). The in silico analysis of the CRIO4 sequence confirms several motifs and domains conserved in the protein that seem to direct its function toward the vesicular trafficking, and it reveals multiple potential phosphorylation sites in CRIO4 suggesting a possible role in signaling. Sec14 domain is a phospholipid binding and transfer domain, and the obtained results indicate that CRIO4 binds to phosphatidylinositol and phosphatidylethanolamine. CRIO4 does not complement the function of Sec14p of yeast, and this could be due to the lack of phosphatidylcholine affinity by CRIO4. Tryptophan transport is the greatest limiting factor for growth at low temperatures in yeast. The results of the yeast coexpression assay of CRIO4 and TAT2 (a high-affinity tryptophan permease) displayed in this thesis, seem to indicate stimulation of Tat2p transport to the plasma membrane by CRIO4, which could develop into an enhanced tryptophan absorption, thereby explaining the greater cold tolerance conferred by overexpression of CRIO4 in yeast.The subcellular localization study has shown that CRIO4 is associated with the plasma membrane and intracellular membranes, being part of vesicles, which seems to confirm the role of CRIO4 in intracellular trafficking, function that it would share with its orthologous genes. The expression pattern of CRIO4 in sugar beet has shown that CRIO4 is expressed in all analyzed tissues, focusing its highest expression in leaf and root. It has also been shown that CRIO4 expression increases after shorter exposure to cold stress and heat stress.Phenotypic studies of several mutant lines of PATLs genes from Arabidopsis thaliana have been carried out and high variability in results was obtained, this could be due to functional redundancy among the members of this multigenic family. Phenotypic studies of transgenic lines of Arabidopsis thaliana overexpressing the CRIO4 gene have also been performed. These lines show an improvement in their growth and development at low temperatures, thereby increasing their tolerance to cold stress. Furthermore, expression of CRIO4, in A. thaliana transgenic lines, increases considerably after cold stress and heat shock. Moreover, accumulation points of CRIO4 were observed along the whole cell, after heat shock.Intracellular recycling of PIN2, a gravitropic response indicator, is affected by decreasing temperature. The results obtained in this thesis suggest that overexpression of CRIO4 reactivates intracellular transport of PIN2 under cold stress, which would imply that its phenotype is related to auxin traffic., [ES] El frío es uno de los estreses abióticos más importantes, afecta severamente al crecimiento y desarrollo de las plantas, y limita su distribución geográfica. Puesto que el estrés por frío, por salinidad y por sequía solapan algunos de sus mecanismos moleculares de respuesta, se usó una biblioteca de ADNc de remolacha (Beta vulgaris) generada con hojas de plantas sometidas a estrés salino, para tratar de identificar genes de tolerancia a estrés por frío mediante su sobreexpresión en levadura. De este modo se identificó, entre otros, el gen CRIO4 cuya caracterización ha sido el trabajo de esta tesis. CRIO4 codifica una proteína tipo Sec14, y es ortólogo a la familia PATL de Arabidopsis thaliana y tiene un dominio conservado con SEC14 y la familia SFH de levadura. La sobreexpresión de CRIO4 confiere a las células de levadura la capacidad de crecer a temperaturas bajas y tolerancia a tunicamicina (inhibidor de la glicosilación de proteínas). El análisis in silico de la secuencia de CRIO4 confirma diversos motivos y dominios conservados en la proteína que parecen dirigir su función hacia el tráfico vesicular, y revela múltiples potenciales sitios de fosforilación en CRIO4 sugiriendo una posible función en señalización. El dominio Sec14 es un dominio de unión y transferencia de fosfolípidos, y los resultados obtenidos indican que CRIO4 establece unión con fosfatidiolinositol y fosfatidiletanolamina. CRIO4 no complementa la función de Sec14p de levadura, y esto podría ser debido a la falta de afinidad de CRIO4 por fosfatidilcolina. En levadura, el transporte de triptófano es el mayor factor limitante para el crecimiento a temperaturas bajas. Los resultados del ensayo de coexpresión de CRIO4 con TAT2 (una permeasa de alta afinidad para triptófano) en levadura mostrados en esta tesis, parecen indicar una estimulación del transporte de Tat2p hacia la membrana plasmática por parte de CRIO4, que podría devenir en una absorción de triptófano mejorada, explicando así la mayor tolerancia a frío conferida por la sobreexpresión de CRIO4 en levadura.El estudio de localización subcelular ha mostrado que CRIO4 está asociada a la membrana plasmática y en membranas intracelulares, formando parte de vesículas, lo que parece confirmar el papel de CRIO4 en el tráfico intracelular, función que compartiría con sus ortólogos. El patrón de expresión de CRIO4 en remolacha ha mostrado que CRIO4 se expresa en todos los tejidos analizados, concentrándose su mayor expresión en hoja y raíz. También se ha mostrado que la expresión de CRIO4 aumenta tras tiempos cortos de exposición a estrés por frío y estrés por calor.Se han realizado estudios fenotípicos de diferentes líneas mutantes en genes PATLs de Arabidopsis thaliana, obteniéndose una gran variabilidad en los resultados que podría ser debida a la redundancia funcional entre los miembros de esta familia multigénica. También se han realizado estudios fenotípicos de líneas transgénicas de Arabidopsis thaliana que sobreexpresan el gen CRIO4. Estas líneas muestran una mejoría en su crecimiento y desarrollo a temperaturas bajas, aumentando por tanto su tolerancia al estrés por frío. Además, la expresión de CRIO4, en las líneas transgénicas de A. thaliana, aumenta considerablemente tras el estrés por frío y tras un choque térmico, observándose en este último caso, acúmulos de CRIO4 a lo largo de toda la célula.El reciclaje intracelular de PIN2, indicador de la respuesta gravitrópica, se ve afectado por la disminución de la temperatura. Los resultados obtenidos en esta tesis parecen indicar que la sobreexpresión de CRIO4 reactiva el transporte intracelular de PIN2 bajo estrés por frío, lo que implicaría que su fenotipo está relacionado con el tráfico de auxinas., [CAT] El fred és un dels estressos abiòtics més importants, afecta severament al creixement i desenvolupament de les plantes, i limita la seua distribució geogràfica. Ja que l'estrès per fred, per salinitat i per sequera solapen alguns dels seus mecanismes moleculars de resposta, es va usar una biblioteca d'ADNc de remolatxa (Beta vulgaris) generada amb fulles de plantes sotmeses a estrès salí, per tractar d'identificar gens de tolerància a estrès per fred mitjançant la seua sobreexpressió en llevat. D'aquesta manera es va identificar, entre d'altres, el gen CRIO4 la caracterització del qual ha estat el treball d'aquesta tesi. CRIO4 codifica una proteïna tipus Sec14, i és ortòleg a la família PATL d'Arabidopsis thaliana i té un domini conservat amb SEC14 i la família SFH de llevat. La sobreexpressió de CRIO4 confereix a les cèl·lules de llevat la capacitat de créixer a temperatures baixes i tolerància a tunicamicina (inhibidor de la glicosilació de proteïnes). L'anàlisi in silico de la seqüència de CRIO4 confirma diversos motius i dominis conservats en la proteïna que semblen dirigir la seua funció cap al tràfic vesicular, i revelen múltiples potencials llocs de fosforilació en CRIO4 suggerint una possible funció en senyalització. El domini Sec14 és un domini d'unió i transferència de fosfolípids i els resultats obtinguts indiquen que CRIO4 estableix unió amb fosfatidiolinositol i fosfatidiletanolamina. CRIO4 no complementa la funció de Sec14p de llevat, i això podria ser a causa de la falta d'afinitat de CRIO4 per fosfatidilcolina. En llevat, el transport de triptòfan és el major factor limitant per al creixement a temperatures baixes. Els resultats de l'assaig de coexpressió de CRIO4 amb TAT2 (una permeasa d'alta afinitat per triptòfan) en llevat mostrats en aquesta tesi, semblen indicar una estimulació del transport de Tat2p cap a la membrana plasmàtica per part de CRIO4, que podria esdevindre en una absorció de triptòfan millorada, explicant així la major tolerància a fred conferida per la sobreexpressió de CRIO4 en llevat.L'estudi de localització subcel·lular ha mostrat que CRIO4 està associada a la membrana plasmàtica i en membranes intracel·lulars, formant part de vesícules, la qual cosa sembla confirmar el paper de CRIO4 en el tràfic intracel·lular, funció que compartiria amb els seus homòlegs. El patró d'expressió de CRIO4 en remolatxa ha mostrat que CRIO4 s'expressa en tots els teixits analitzats, concentrant-se la seua major expressió en fulla i arrel. També s'ha mostrat que l'expressió de CRIO4 augmenta després de temps curts d'exposició a estrès per fred i estrès per calor.S'han realitzat estudis fenotípics de diferents línies mutants en gens PATLs d'Arabidopsis thaliana, obtenint-se una gran variabilitat en els resultats que podria ser deguda a la redundància funcional entre els membres d'aquesta família multigènica. També s'han realitzat estudis fenotípics de línies transgèniques d'Arabidopsis thaliana que sobreexpressen el gen CRIO4. Aquestes línies mostren una millora en el seu creixement i desenvolupament a temperatures baixes, augmentant per tant la seua tolerància a l'estrès per fred. A més, l'expressió de CRIO4, en les línies transgèniques d'A. thaliana, augmenta considerablement després de l'estrès per fred i després d'un xoc tèrmic, observant-se en aquest últim cas, cúmuls de CRIO4 al llarg de tota la cèl·lula.El reciclatge intracel·lular de PIN2, indicador de la resposta gravitrópica, es veu afectat per la disminució de la temperatura. Els resultats obtinguts en aquesta tesi semblen indicar que la sobreexpressió de CRIO4 reactiva el transport intracel·lular de PIN2 sota estrès per fred, la qual cosa implicaria que el seu fenotip està relacionat amb el tràfic d'auxines., Izquierdo García, AC. (2016). Caracterización del gen CRIO4 y su implicación en tolerancia a estrés por frío [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. doi:10.4995/Thesis/10251/62826., TESIS

Tryptophan oxidation via the kynurenine pathway is an important mechanism of tumoral immunoresistance. Increased tryptophan metabolism via the serotonin pathway has been linked to malignant progression in breast cancer. In this study, we combined quantitative positron emission tomography (PET) with tumor immunohistochemistry to analyze tryptophan transport and metabolism in breast cancer.Dynamic α-[(11)C]methyl-l-tryptophan (AMT) PET was performed in nine women with stage II-IV breast cancer. PET tracer kinetic modeling was performed in all tumors. Expression of L-type amino acid transporter 1 (LAT1), indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO; the initial and rate-limiting enzyme of the kynurenine pathway) and tryptophan hydroxylase 1 (TPH1; the initial enzyme of the serotonin pathway) was assessed by immunostaining of resected tumor specimens.Tumor AMT uptake peaked at 5-20 min postinjection in seven tumors; the other two cases showed protracted tracer accumulation. Tumor standardized uptake values (SUVs) varied widely (2.6-9.8) and showed a strong positive correlation with volume of distribution values derived from kinetic analysis (P.01). Invasive ductal carcinomas (n=6) showed particularly high AMT SUVs (range, 4.7-9.8). Moderate to strong immunostaining for LAT1, IDO and TPH1 was detected in most tumor cells.Breast cancers show differential tryptophan kinetics on dynamic PET. SUVs measured 5-20 min postinjection reflect reasonably the tracer's volume of distribution. Further studies are warranted to determine if in vivo AMT accumulation in these tumors is related to tryptophan metabolism via the kynurenine and serotonin pathways.

Dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumors (DNTs) are typically hypometabolic but can show increased amino acid uptake on positron emission tomography (PET). To better understand mechanisms of amino acid accumulation in epileptogenic DNTs, we combined quantitative α-[(11)C]methyl-L: -tryptophan (AMT) PET with tumor immunohistochemistry. Standardized uptake values (SUVs) of AMT and glucose were measured in 11 children with temporal lobe DNT. Additional quantification for AMT transport and metabolism was performed in 9 DNTs. Tumor specimens were immunostained for the L: -type amino acid transporter 1 (LAT1) and indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), a key enzyme of the immunomodulatory kynurenine pathway. All 11 tumors showed glucose hypometabolism, while mean AMT SUVs were higher than normal cortex in eight DNTs. Further quantification showed increased AMT transport in seven and high AMT metabolic rates in three DNTs. Two patients showing extratumoral cortical increases of AMT SUV had persistent seizures despite complete tumor resection. Resected DNTs showed moderate to strong LAT1 and mild to moderate IDO immunoreactivity, with the strongest expression in tumor vessels. These results indicate that accumulation of tryptophan in DNTs is driven by high amino acid transport, mediated by LAT1, which can provide the substrate for tumoral tryptophan metabolism through the kynurenine pathway, that can produce epileptogenic metabolites. Increased AMT uptake can extend to extratumoral cortex, and presence of such cortical regions may increase the likelihood of recurrent seizures following surgical excision of DNTs.

Quinine is a major drug of choice for the treatment of malaria. However, the primary mode of quinine action is unclear, and its efficacy is marred by adverse reactions among patients. To help address these issues, a genome-wide screen for quinine sensitivity was carried out using the yeast deletion strain collection. Quinine-sensitive mutants identified in the screen included several that were defective for tryptophan biosynthesis (trp strains). This sensitivity was confirmed in independent assays and was suppressible with exogenous Trp, suggesting that quinine caused Trp starvation. Accordingly, quinine was found to inhibit [(3)H]Trp uptake by cells, and the quinine sensitivity of a trp1Delta mutant could be rescued by overexpression of Trp permeases, encoded by TAT1 and TAT2. The site of quinine action was identified specifically as the high affinity Trp/Tyr permease, Tat2p, with which quinine associated in a Trp-suppressible manner. A resultant action also on Tyr levels was reflected by the Tyr-suppressible quinine hypersensitivity of an aro7Delta deletion strain, which is auxotrophic for Tyr (and Phe). The present genome-wide dataset provides an important resource for discovering modes of quinine toxicity. That potential was validated with our demonstration that Trp and Tyr uptake via Tat2p is a major target of cellular quinine toxicity. The results also suggest that dietary tryptophan supplements could help to avert the toxic effects of quinine.

Expression of the Bacillus subtilis tryptophan biosynthetic genes ( trpEDCFBA and pabA [ trpG ]) is regulated in response to tryptophan by TRAP, the trp RNA-binding attenuation protein. TRAP-mediated regulation of the tryptophan biosynthetic genes includes a transcription attenuation and two distinct translation control mechanisms. TRAP also regulates translation of trpP ( yhaG ), a single-gene operon that encodes a putative tryptophan transporter. Its translation initiation region contains triplet repeats typical of TRAP-regulated mRNAs. We found that regulation of trpP and pabA is unaltered in a rho mutant strain. Results from filter binding and gel mobility shift assays demonstrated that TRAP binds specifically to a segment of the trpP transcript that includes the untranslated leader and translation initiation region. While the affinities of TRAP for the trpP and pabA transcripts are similar, TRAP-mediated translation control of trpP is much more extensive than for pabA . RNA footprinting revealed that the trpP TRAP binding site consists of nine triplet repeats (five GAG, three UAG, and one AAG) that surround and overlap the trpP Shine-Dalgarno (S-D) sequence and translation start codon. Results from toeprint and RNA-directed cell-free translation experiments indicated that tryptophan-activated TRAP inhibits TrpP synthesis by preventing binding of a 30S ribosomal subunit. Taken together, our results establish that TRAP regulates translation of trpP by blocking ribosome binding. Thus, TRAP coordinately regulates tryptophan synthesis and transport by three distinct mechanisms: attenuation transcription of the trpEDCFBA operon, promoting formation of the trpE S-D blocking hairpin, and blocking ribosome binding to the pabA and trpP transcripts.

The Antarctic bacterial isolate Sphingomonas sp. strain Ant 17 utilized a wide range of L-isomer amino acids as the sole carbon and energy source for growth. The pH and temperature optima for growth on amino acids were pH 7.0 and 15°C, respectively. Growth on serine and tryptophan was inhibited by uncouplers and inhibitors of oxidative phosphorylation, but not by monensin, a Na+/H+ antiporter, suggesting that sodium gradients were not specifically required for growth on these amino acids. Serine transport was via a high-affinity (apparent Km of 8 μM) permease specific for both the L- and D-isomer. Tryptophan transport exhibited biphasic kinetics with both high-affinity (apparent Km of 2.5 μM) and low-affinity (non-saturable) uptake systems detected. The high-affinity system was specific for L-tryptophan, L-tyrosine, and L-phenylalanine whereas the low-affinity permease was specific for L-tryptophan and L-phenylalanine, but not L-tyrosine. Neither orthovanadate nor sodium arsenate, inhibitors of ATP-dependent permeases, had any significant inhibitory effect on the rate of serine and tryptophan transport. The protonophore carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone completely abolished serine and tryptophan transport; maximum rates of solute uptake were observed at acidic pH values (pH 4.0–5.0) for both amino acids. These results suggest that an electrochemical potential of protons is the driving force for serine and tryptophan transport by Ant 17. These high-affinity proton-driven permeases function over environmental extremes (e.g. broad temperature and pH range) that are likely to prevail in the natural habitat of this bacterium.

The availability of amino acids in the brain is regulated by the blood-brain barrier (BBB) large neutral amino acid transporter type 1 (LAT1) isoform, which is characterized by a high affinity (low Km) for substrate large neutral amino acids. The hypothesis that brain amino acid transport activity can be altered with single nucleotide polymorphisms was tested in the present studies with site-directed mutagenesis of the BBB LAT1. The rabbit has a high Km LAT1 large neutral amino acid transporter, as compared to the low Km neutral amino acid transporter at the human or rat BBB. The rabbit LAT1 was cloned from a rabbit brain capillary cDNA library. Alignment of the amino acid sequences of rabbit, human, and rat LAT1 revealed two radical amino acid residues that differ in the rabbit relative to the rat or human LAT1. The G219D mutation had a modest effect on the Km and Vmax of tryptophan transport via cloned rabbit LAT1 in frog oocytes, but the W234L variant reduced the Km by 64% and the Vmax by 96%. Conversely, LAT1 transport of either tryptophan or phenylalanine was nearly normalized when the double mutation W234L/G219D variant was produced. These studies show that marked changes in the affinity and capacity of the LAT1 are caused by single nucleotide polymorphisms and that phenotype can be restored with a double mutation.

Most proteins of Bacillus subtilis contain the three aromatic amino acids--phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan--all of which are synthesized from a common precursor, chorismate. The known and putative B. subtilis genes of aromatic amino acid metabolism, their location and presumed organization in operons, and their likely enzyme products or function are summarized in this chapter. Important distinctions between B. subtilis and Escherichia coli with regard to aromatic amino acid metabolism are the existence of a multifunctional aromatic supraoperon in B. subtilis and this organism's use of cross-pathway regulation of gene expression. Trp RNA-binding attenuation protein (TRAP) activation is reduced when the hydrogen bond between Tht52 and the catboxyl group of tryptophan is prevented. The affinity of TRAP for tryptophan increases in the presence of bound RNA. In B. subtilis, the biosynthetic pathways for folate and tryptophan are highly interconnected. First, both pathways use chorismate and glutamine to synthesize the p-aminobenzoic acid and o-aminobenzoic acid precursors of folate and tryptophan, respectively. Next, the TrpG polypeptide functions as the glutamine amidotransferase component of two enzyme complexes. Further, the mtrAB operon encodes TRAP (mtrB) and GTP cyclohydrolase I (mrrA). Finally, TRAP negatively regulates both biosynthetic pathways in response to tryptophan. The chapter talks about tRNA trp regulation of trp gene expression, a gene coding for a putative tryptophan transport protein, and homologous polypeptides in some other bacterial species.

In vivo recombination has been used to make a series of AroP-PheP chimeric proteins. Analysis of their respective substrate profiles and activities has identified a small region within span III of AroP which can confer on a predominantly PheP protein the ability to transport tryptophan. Site-directed mutagenesis of the AroP-PheP chimera, PheP, and AroP has established that a key residue involved in tryptophan transport is tyrosine at position 103 in AroP. Phenylalanine is the residue at the corresponding position in PheP. The use of PheP-specific antisera has shown that the inability of certain chimeras to transport any of the aromatic amino acids is not a result of instability or a failure to be inserted into the membrane. Site-directed mutagenesis has identified two significant AroP-specific residues, alanine 107 and valine 114, which are the direct cause of loss of transport activity in chimeras such as A152P. These residues replace a glycine and an alanine in PheP and flank a highly conserved glutamate at position 110. Some suggestions are made as to the possible functions of these residues in the tertiary structure of the proteins.

Objective. To analyze the genotypes of the promoter region of the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTT) in patients with fibromyalgia (FM). Methods. Genomic DNA from 62 patients meeting the American College of Rheumatology 1990 criteria for FM and 110 healthy controls was analyzed by polymerase chain reaction. Additionally, the psychopathologic state of 52 of the FM patients was evaluated using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R). Results. The 5-HTTLPR genotypes in FM patients versus controls were distributed as follows: L/L 27% versus 34%, L/S 42% versus 50%, and S/S 31% versus 16%. FM patients with the S/S genotype had higher mean scores on the BDI and the SCL-90-R compared with those in the L/L and L/S groups. Conclusion. A higher frequency of the S/S genotype of 5-HTT was found in FM patients compared with healthy controls. The S/S subgroup exhibited higher mean levels of depression and psychological distress. These results support the notion of altered serotonin metabolism in at least a subgroup of patients with FM. Fibromyalgia (FM) is a syndrome of unknown etiology characterized by chronic widespread pain, increased tenderness on palpation, and additional symptoms such as disturbed sleep, stiffness, fatigue, and psychological distress (1). The pathophysiologic mechanisms underlying FM have been hypothetically linked to disturbances in serotonin (5-HT) metabolism and transmission (2). This hypothesis is based on several recent findings. Studies have shown that levels of tryptophan (the precursor of serotonin) and other amino acids are decreased in sera of FM patients (3), that FM patients have an abnormal serum tryptophan transport ratio (4), and that 5-HT serum levels in FM patients are lower compared with controls (2,5). Similar abnormalities regarding 5-HT metabolism have been found in the cerebrospinal fluid of FM patients (6,7).

The human glucose transporter GLUT1 is abundant in red blood cells, the blood-brain barrier and epithelial cells, where it mediates the transport of the energy metabolite, glucose. In the present work some properties of GLUT1, including affinity binding of both substrates and inhibitors, transport rates as well as permeabilities of aromatic amino acids and drug-membrane interactions were analyzed by chromatographic methods.Reconstitution by size-exclusion chromatography on Superdex 75 from a detergent with a low CMC that provides monomeric GLUT1 was examined regarding D-glucose- and CB binding as well as D-glucose transport. Upon steric immobilization in Superdex 200 gel beads, residual detergent could be washed away and dissociation constants in the same range as reported for binding to GLUT1 reconstituted from other detergents were obtained. The transport rate into the GLUT1 proteoliposomes was low, probably due to residual detergent. Binding to GLUT1 at different pH was analyzed and the affinity of glucose and GLUT1 inhibitors was found to decrease with increasing pH (5–8.7). The average number of cytochalasin B-binding sites per GLUT1 monomers was, in most cases, approximately 0.4. GLUT1 may work as a functional monomer, dimer or oligomer. To determine whether GLUT1 was responsible for the transport of the aromatic amino acids tyrosine and tryptophan, uptake values and permeabilities of these amino acids into liposomes and GLUT1 proteoliposomes were compared to the permeabilities of D- and L- glucose in the same systems. Dihydrocytochalasin B was identified to be a new inhibitor of tyrosine and tryptophan transport into red blood cells. Ethanol turned out to inhibit the specific binding between CB and GLUT1 and also to decrease the partitioning of CB and drugs into lipid bilayers. A capacity factor for drug partitioning into membranes that allows comparison between columns with different amount of immobilized lipids was validated, and turned out to be independent of flow rate, amount of lipids and drug concentration in the ranges tested.

The signalling molecule indole occurs in significant amounts in the mammalian intestinal tract and regulates diverse microbial processes, including bacterial motility, biofilm formation, antibiotic resistance and host cell invasion. In Escherichia coli, the enzyme tryptophanase (TnaA) produces indole from tryptophan, but it is not clear what determines how much indole E. coli can produce and excrete, making it difficult to interpret experiments that investigate the biological effects of indole at high concentrations. Here, we report that the final yield of indole depends directly, and perhaps solely, on the amount of exogenous tryptophan. When supplied with a range of tryptophan concentrations, E. coli converted this amino acid into an equal amount of indole, up to almost 5 mM, an amount well within the range of the highest concentrations so far examined for their physiological effects. Indole production relied heavily on the tryptophan-specific transporter TnaB, even though the alternative transporters AroP and Mtr could import sufficient tryptophan to induce tnaA expression. This TnaB requirement proceeded via tryptophan transport and was not caused by activation of TnaA itself. Bacterial growth was unaffected by the presence of TnaA in the absence of exogenous tryptophan, suggesting that the enzyme does not hydrolyse significant quantities of the internal anabolic amino acid pool. The results imply that E. coli synthesizes TnaA and TnaB mainly, or solely, for the purpose of converting exogenous tryptophan into indole, under conditions and for signalling purposes that remain to be fully elucidated.

The white, brown, and scarlet genes of Drosophila melanogaster encode three proteins that belong to the Traffic ATPase superfamily of transmembrane permeases and are involved in the transport of guanine and tryptophan (precursors of the red and brown eye pigments). We have determined the nucleotide sequences of two mutant white alleles (wco2 and wBwx) that cause reduced red pigmentation but have no effect on brown pigmentation. In wco2 the effect is only observed when interacting with the bw6 allele or a newly isolated allele (bwT50). These alleles of the brown gene were cloned and sequenced. In wco2 the codon for glycine 588 is changed to encode serine; in wBwx the triplet ATC encoding isoleucine 581 is deleted; asparagine 638 is changed to threonine in bw6, and glycine 578 is changed to aspartate in bwT50. No other relevant changes to the gene structures were detected. P-element-mediated germline transduction was used to construct a fly strain containing a white gene with a mutation of the nucleotide binding domain. Such flies had white eyes, indicating that the mutated white gene was unable to support either guanine or tryptophan transport. The implications of these mutations are discussed in terms of a model of the Drosophila pigment precursor transport system.

The production of L-tryptophan through chemical synthesis, direct fermentation, bioconversion and enzymatic conversion has been reported. However, the role of transport system for aromatic amino acids in L-tryptophan producing strains has not been fully explored. In this study, the fact was revealed that L-tryptophan production and cell growth were affected by the modification of transport systems based on YddG functioning as aromatic amino acid excretion and AroP functioning as general aromatic amino acid permease. Through comparing glucose conversion rates of recombinant strains such as Escherichia coli TRTH ΔaroP, E. coli TRTH-Y, and E. coli TRTH ΔaroP-Y, the moderate modification of transport system resulted in the metabolic flux redistribution of L-tryptophan biosynthesis pathway. In the fed-batch fermentation by E. coli TRTH and E. coli TRTH-Y in 30-liter fermentor, the final production of L-tryptophan fermented by E. coli TRTH-Y was 36.3 g/L, which was 12.6% higher than fermentation by E. coli TRTH.

There are indications that serotonergic neurotransmission is disturbed in several psychiatric disorders. One explanation may be disturbed transport of tryptophan (precursor for serotonin synthesis) across cell membranes. Human fibroblast cells offer an advantageous model to study the transport of amino acids across cell membranes, since they are easy to propagate and the environmental factors can be controlled. The aim of this study was to functionally characterize tryptophan transport and to identify the main transporters of tryptophan in fibroblast cell lines from healthy controls.Tryptophan kinetic parameters ( Vmaxand Km) at low and high concentrations were measured in fibroblasts using the cluster tray method. Uptake of3H (5)-L-tryptophan at different concentrations in the presence and absence of excess concentrations of inhibitors or combinations of inhibitors of amino acid transporters were also measured. Tryptophan transport at high concentration (0.5 mM) had low affinity and high Vmaxand the LAT1 isoform of system-L was responsible for approximately 40% of the total uptake of tryptophan. In comparison, tryptophan transport at low concentration (50 nM) had higher affinity, lower Vmaxand approximately 80% of tryptophan uptake was transported by system-L with LAT1 as the major isoform. The uptake of tryptophan at the low concentration was mainly sodium (Na+) dependent, while uptake at high substrate concentration was mainly Na+independent. A series of different transporter inhibitors had varying inhibitory effects on tryptophan uptake.This study indicates that tryptophan is transported by multiple transporters that are active at different substrate concentrations in human fibroblast cells. The tryptophan transport trough system-L was mainly facilitated by the LAT1 isoform, at both low and high substrate concentrations of tryptophan.

Expression of the tryptophanase (tna) operon in Escherichia coli is regulated by catabolite repression and transcription attenuation. Expression is induced by the presence of elevated levels of tryptophan in a growth medium devoid of a catabolite-repressing carbon source. Induction requires the translation of a 24-residue coding region, tnaC, located in the 319-nucleotide transcribed leader region preceding tnaA, the structural gene for tryptophanase. Multicopy plasmids carrying the tnaC leader region were found to inhibit induction of the chromosomal tna operon. Mutational studies established that this inhibition was not due to inhibited transcription initiation, translation initiation, tryptophan transport, or enzyme activity. Rather, multicopy tnaC plasmids inhibited induction by preventing tryptophan-induced transcription antitermination in the leader region of the tna operon. Translation of the single Trp codon in tnaC of the multicopy plasmids was shown to be essential for this inhibition. We hypothesize that translation of the Trp codon of the leader peptide titrates out a trans-acting factor that is essential for tryptophan-induced antitermination in the chromosomal tna operon. We postulate that this factor is an altered form of tRNATrp.

Sterols are major lipids in eukaryotes and differ in their specific structure between species. Both cholesterol and ergosterol can form liquid ordered domains in artificial membranes. We reasoned that substituting the main sterol ergosterol by cholesterol in yeast should permit domain formation and discriminate between physical and sterol structure-dependent functions. Using a cholesterol-producing yeast strain, we show that solute transporters for tryptophan and arginine are functional, whereas the export of weak organic acids via Pdr12p, a multi-drug resistance family member, is not. The latter reveals a sterol function that is probably dependent upon a precise sterol structure. We present a series of novel yeast strains with different sterol compositions as valuable tools to characterize sterol function and use them to refine the sterol requirements for Pdr12p. These strains will also be improved hosts for heterologous expression of sterol-dependent proteins and safe sources to obtain pure cholesterol and other sterols.

Ceramide is produced by the condensation of a long chain base with a very long chain fatty acid. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, one of the two major long chain bases is called phytosphingosine (PHS). PHS has been shown to cause toxicity in tryptophan auxotrophic strains of yeast because this bioactive ceramide precursor causes diversion of the high affinity tryptophan permease Tat2 to the vacuole rather than the plasma membrane. Loss of the integral membrane protein Rsb1 increased PHS sensitivity, which was suggested to be due to this protein acting as an ATP-dependent long chain base efflux protein. More recent experiments demonstrated that loss of the genes encoding the ATP-binding cassette transporter proteins Pdr5 and Yor1 elevated PHS tolerance. This increased resistance was suggested to be due to increased expression of RSB1. Here, we provide an alternative view of PHS resistance influenced by Rsb1 and Pdr5/Yor1. Rsb1 has a seven-transmembrane domain topology more consistent with that of a regulatory protein like a G-protein-coupled receptor rather than a transporter. Importantly, an rsb1Δ cell does not exhibit higher internal levels of PHS compared with isogenic wild-type cells. However, tryptophan transport is increased in pdr5Δ yor1 strains and reduced in rsb1Δ cells. Localization and vacuolar degradation of Tat2 are affected in these genetic backgrounds. Finally, internalization of FM4-64 dye suggests that loss of Pdr5 and Yor1 slows normal endocytic rates. Together, these data argue that Rsb1, Pdr5, and Yor1 regulate the endocytosis of Tat2 and likely other membrane transporter proteins.

The tryptophan operon (trp operon), paradigm for repressible operons, is regulated by three different negative-feedback mechanisms of repression, transcription attenuation and enzyme inhibition. Initiation of transcription is controlled by the interaction of the tryptophan repressor with its target site on the operator. Moreover, the interaction among the regulator genes, the operator genes and the structure genes and excretion of tryptophan play an important factor according to previous works. In this study, an expended mathematical model for the tryptophan operon regulation on the effects of repression, feedback enzyme inhibition, attenuation, interaction among genes and excretion of tryptophan is presented. The new model is first translated into the corresponding S-system version. The robustness of this model is then discussed by using the S-system model and the sensitivity analysis shows that the model is robust enough. The influences of cell growth rate on the biosynthesis of tryptophan, stability and dynamic behavior of the trp operon are also well investigated. The transportation of tryptophan through cytoplasmic membranes, especially the inhibition of tryptophan transport can influence the level of intracellular tryptophan significantly. The theoretical analysis indicates that an increase of inhibition constant of tryptophan transport is favorable for the biosynthesis of tryptophan. Furthermore, a steady-state optimization model is established based on trp operon models. The optimization results indicate that it is possible to attain a stable and robust steady state with a rate of tryptophan production increased more than 4.8 times in which the growth rate is kept as 0.00624h-1 and some key parameters is modulated.

The binding of L-triiodothyronine (T3) to rat erythrocyte membranes (ghosts and peripheral protein-depleted vesicles) was studied under equilibrium conditions. Ghosts contained high-affinity T3 binding sites whose dissociation constant (21 nM) was similar to the equilibrium-exchange Michaelis constant of T3 transport measured in ghosts. Each ghost contained about 8.10(3) high-affinity binding sites. The high-affinity T3 binding was stereospecific and was inhibited by L-tryptophan (Trp) but not by L-leucine. The iodothyronine and amino acid specificity of binding is therefore similar to that of System T, the erythrocyte T3/Trp transporter. These Trp-inhibitable high-affinity T3-binding sites were also present in peripheral protein-depleted membrane vesicles, indicating that they are integral part of the membrane. Ghosts prepared from human erythrocytes, which have very low System T transport activities, contained no detectable Trp-inhibitable high-affinity T3-binding sites. In rat erythrocyte ghosts, N-ethylmaleimide inactivated both the binding and the transport of T3. This inactivation was blocked by T3 and Trp with similar efficiencies. Phenylglyoxal, an arginine residue modifier, also inhibited both high-affinity T3 binding and System T transport activity. It is concluded that the Trp-inhibitable high-affinity T3-binding sites in the rat erythrocyte membrane are likely to be associated with System T.

The specific and tightly controlled transport of numerous nutrients and metabolites across cellular membranes is crucial to all forms of life. However, many of the transporter proteins involved have yet to be identified, including the vitamin transporters in various human pathogens, whose growth depends strictly on vitamin uptake. Comparative analysis of the ever-growing collection of microbial genomes coupled with experimental validation enables the discovery of such transporters. Here, we used this approach to discover an abundant class of vitamin transporters in prokaryotes with an unprecedented architecture. These transporters have energy-coupling modules comprised of a conserved transmembrane protein and two nucleotide binding proteins similar to those of ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporters, but unlike ABC transporters, they use small integral membrane proteins to capture specific substrates. We identified 21 families of these substrate capture proteins, each with a different specificity predicted by genome context analyses. Roughly half of the substrate capture proteins (335 cases) have a dedicated energizing module, but in 459 cases distributed among almost 100 gram-positive bacteria, including numerous human pathogens, different and unrelated substrate capture proteins share the same energy-coupling module. The shared use of energy-coupling modules was experimentally confirmed for folate, thiamine, and riboflavin transporters. We propose the name energy-coupling factor transporters for the new class of membrane transporters.

Mammalian cells rely on cellular uptake of the essential amino acid tryptophan. Tryptophan sequestration by up-regulation of the key enzyme for tryptophan degradation, indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), e.g., in cancer and inflammation, is thought to suppress the immune response via T cell starvation. Additionally, the excreted tryptophan catabolites (kynurenines) induce apoptosis of lymphocytes. Whereas tryptophan transport systems have been identified, the molecular nature of kynurenine export remains unknown. To measure cytosolic tryptophan steady-state levels and flux in real time, we developed genetically encoded fluorescence resonance energy transfer nanosensors (FLIPW). The transport properties detected by FLIPW in KB cells, a human oral cancer cell line, and COS-7 cells implicate LAT1, a transporter that is present in proliferative tissues like cancer, in tryptophan uptake. Importantly, we found that this transport system mediates tryptophan/kynurenine exchange. The tryptophan influx/kynurenine efflux cycle couples tryptophan starvation to elevation of kynurenine serum levels, providing a two-pronged induction of apoptosis in neighboring cells. The strict coupling protects cells that overproduce IDO from kynurenine accumulation. Consequently, this mechanism may contribute to immunosuppression involved in autoimmunity and tumor immune escape., Author Summary Although regulated suppression of the immune system prevents autoimmunity and is important during pregnancy to protect the fetus or after organ transplant to block graft rejection, it can be harmful if co-opted by tumors to escape detection. T cells of the immune system normally recognize and destroy abnormal cells, including cancerous and grafted tissues. This process requires the amino acid tryptophan. Foreign grafts and cancer cells can dampen the immune response by starving T cells of tryptophan through a mechanism involving uptake and conversion to kynurenines using an enzyme called indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase (IDO). Independent of tryptophan starvation, kynurenines induce T cell death when they are excreted through an unknown mechanism. We constructed fluorescent nanosensors that report tryptophan levels in two immortalized cell lines, COS-7 cells and human oral cancer KB cells. Using single-cell, real-time imaging analysis, we demonstrate that an L-amino acid transporter protein (LAT1) exchanges tryptophan for its kynurenine degradation products. LAT1 together with IDO forms a metabolic minicycle that couples tryptophan starvation with kynurenine-induced cell death, providing a two-pronged inactivation of neighboring cells. The strict coupling protects the cells that overproduce IDO from accumulating kynurenine. This cycle may contribute to suppression of the immune response in autoimmune diseases and cancer., Genetically encoded FRET nanosensors were developed to measure cytosolic tryptophan steady-state levels and flux in real time.

Tryptophan is an essential amino acid. Apart from its incorporation into body proteins, tryptophan is known to play important biological roles, most of them being associated to metabolic pathways involved in tryptophan catabolism. Tryptophan is the precursor for the synthesis of serotonin, an important neuromediator associated to mood, stress response, sleep and appetite regulation. From a quantitative point of view, the proportion of tryptophan used for the production of serotonin is very low: less than 10% of tryptophan that is degraded would be into serotonin. Tryptophan transport and availability in the brain seems to be one of the limiting steps for the synthesis of brain serotonin. Low tryptophan diets are known to depress feed intake. The relationship between tryptophan and serotonin is usually considered as the mechanism involved in the depressive effect of low tryptophan diet on appetite. Other mechanisms such as modulation of insulin sensitivity and ghrelin secretion are presented and discussed. Most of tryptophan degradation occurs through the complex kynurenine pathway. Two enzymes are involved in the first step of tryptophan catabolism into kynurenine: TDO located in the liver degrades tryptophan in excess; in this review, we focus on the second enzyme, IDO expressed by immune cells and tissues targets by inflammation. Increased tryptophan catabolism through the IDO pathway occurs during inflammatory states and immune stress leading to reduced tryptophan availability when this amino acid is not provided at a sufficient amount by the diet. Pigs fed with a low tryptophan diet developed a more important inflammatory response. Tryptophan catabolism through IDO pathway is probably involved in the regulation of T cells proliferation and the production of antioxidant molecules. Finally, we will question the utilisation of growth rate as a single criterion for the evaluation of tryptophan requirement.

Inflammation activates the tryptophan-kynurenine metabolism pathway. Circulating kynurenine is transported into the brain at the vascular blood–brain barrier (BBB) by the large amino-acid transporter LAT-1, where it is further metabolized into neurotoxic metabolites responsible for depressive symptoms. LAT-1 transports tryptophan, kynurenine and the amino acid leucine. We sought to competitively inhibit kynurenine blood-to-brain transport with leucine in order to attenuate lipopolysaccharide-induced depression-like behavior in CD-1 mice. Given that the concentration of circulating kynurenine is 100 fold less than kynurenine, we hypothesized that leucine should inhibit kynurenine more than tryptophan transport. We had already demonstrated that inflammation increases luminal-to-abluminal transport of tryptophan using an in vitro model of BBB transport. Here we show that lipopolysaccharide-treated mice (0.83 mg/kg, ip) develop depression-like behavior at 24 h (reduced sucrose preference and increased forced swim test immobility; p p p p

Tryptophan catabolism via the enzyme indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) allows human monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM) and other APC to suppress T cell proliferation. IDO helps protect murine fetuses from rejection by the maternal immune system and can promote tolerance and immunosuppression. For tryptophan to be catabolized by IDO, it must first enter the APC via transmembrane transport. It has been shown that MDM in vitro readily deplete tryptophan present in the extracellular medium to nanomolar levels via IDO activity; yet, no currently known amino acid transport system displays high affinity and specificity sufficiently to permit efficient uptake of tryptophan at these low concentrations. Here, we provide biochemical characterization of a novel transport system with nanomolar affinity and high selectivity for tryptophan. Tryptophan transport in MDM was predominantly sodium-independent and occurred via two distinct systems: one consistent with the known system L transporter and a second system with 100-fold higher affinity for tryptophan (Km

Expression of the Bacillus subtilis tryptophan biosynthetic genes trpEDCFBA and trpG, as well as a putative tryptophan transport gene (trpP), are regulated in response to tryptophan by the trp RNA-binding attenuation protein (TRAP). TRAP regulates expression of these genes by transcription attenuation and translation control mechanisms. Here we show that TRAP also regulates translation of ycbK, a gene that encodes a protein with similarities to known efflux proteins. As a likely TRAP-binding site consisting of 11 NAG repeats overlaps the ycbK translation initiation region, experiments were carried out to determine whether TRAP regulates translation of ycbK. TRAP was observed to regulate expression of a ycbK'-'lacZ translational fusion 20-fold in response to tryptophan. Binding studies indicated that TRAP binds to the ycbK transcript with high affinity and specificity. Footprint studies revealed that the central seven triplet repeats were protected by bound TRAP, while toeprint results suggest that nine triplet repeats contribute to TRAP binding. Additional toeprint and in vitro translation analyses demonstrated that bound TRAP regulates YcbK synthesis by blocking ribosome binding. We also identified two dipeptide coding minigenes between the Shine-Dalgarno sequence and start codon of ycbK. Expression of one of the minigenes modestly interfered with translation of ycbK.

4-Phenylbutyrate (PB) induces differentiation and is being intensively studied as a treatment for brain, prostate, breast, and hematopoietic cancer. While many different primary targets for PB have been proposed, the mechanism by which it causes cellular differentiation remains unknown. To identify the primary cellular target, we investigated its effects on Saccharomyces cerevisiae and showed that it inhibits tryptophan transport. We show here that PB and sorbic acid induce an ubiquitin-dependent turnover of the tryptophan permease Tat2p. However, the inhibition of transport is not a consequence of the loss of Tat2p, since it also occurs when turnover is prevented by deleting the Tat2p ubiquitination sites. When we tested the effects of PB and other growth inhibitory agents on the growth of amino acid auxotrophs, we found that several auxotrophs are hypersensitive to a number of chemically unrelated agents, including PB and some, but not all, weak acids; and this sensitivity is due to the inhibition of amino acid transport. For the inhibitory weak acids, inhibition is not confined to aromatic amino acid auxotrophs, nor is it a general weak acid stress response, since the degree of inhibition is independent of weak acid hydrophobicity and p Ka. Our results show that diverse agents affect the activity of the Tat2p permease rather than its stability and suggest the hypothesis that the anti-neoplastic action of PB is due to a decrease in the activity of surface receptors or other membrane proteins needed to maintain the transformed state.

We have incorporated an RNA binding site for the biological amino acid tryptophan within an RNA complex with affinity for phospholipid bilayer membranes. The resulting RNA (9:10Trp) creates a selective route through the bilayer for the amino acid. Binding and enhanced tryptophan permeability are nonlinear in RNA concentration, suggesting that RNA aggregation is required for both. Tryptophan permeability saturates with increased concentration, though at ~1000-fold greater level than when binding a free aptamer. The RNA (9:10Trp) complex, bound at a mean of two per liposome, halves the activation energy for tryptophan transport (to 46 kJ/mole), specifically increasing tryptophan entry to a maximal velocity of 0.5 sec-1 per liposome with little or no accompanying increase in general permeability. Individual RNAs turn over tens of thousands of times at high tryptophan concentration. Thus, a specific passive membrane transporter whose properties overlap those of single-molecule transporter proteins, can be made of RNA alone. Permeability changes probably rely on disturbances in lipid conformation as well as on an advantageous low free energy position for tryptophan at the membrane. Other RNA activities may yield other RNA-membrane nanosystems via this route.

The isoprenoid pathway and its metabolites--digoxin, dolichol, and ubiquinone--were assessed in autism. The isoprenoid pathway and digoxin status was also studied for comparison in individuals of differing hemispheric dominance to determine the role of cerebral dominance in the genesis of autism. There was an upregulation of the isoprenoid pathway as evidenced by elevated HMG CoA reductase activity in autism. Digoxin, an endogenous Na+-K+ ATPase inhibitor secreted by the hypothalamus, was found to be elevated and RBC membrane Na+-K+ ATPase activity was found to be reduced in autism. Membrane Na+-K+ ATPase inhibition can result in increased intracellular Ca2+ and reduced magnesium levels. Hypothalamic digoxin can modulate conscious and subliminal perception and its dysfunction may lead to autism. Digoxin can also preferentially upregulate tryptophan transport over tyrosine resulting in increased levels of depolarizing tryptophan catabolites--serotonin, quinolinic acid (NMDA agonist), strychnine (blocks glycinergic inhibitory transmission), and nicotine (promotes dopamine release) and decreased levels of hyperpolarizing tyrosine catabolites--dopamine, noradrenaline, and morphine--contributing to membrane Na+-K+ ATPase inhibition. Increased nicotine levels can produce increased dopaminergic transmission in the presence of low dopamine levels. NMDA excitotoxicity could result from hypomagnesemia induced by membrane Na+-K+ ATPase inhibition and quinolinic acid, an NMDA agonist acting on the NMDA receptor. Hypomagnesemia and increased dolichol level can affect glycoconjugate metabolism and membranogenesis leading on to disordered synaptic connectivity in the limbic allocortex and defective presentation of viral antigens and neuronal antigens contributing to autoimmunity and viral persistence important in the pathogenesis. Membrane Na+-K+ ATPase inhibition can produce immune activation, a component of autoimmunity. Mitochondrial dysfunction consequent to altered calcium/magnesium ratios and reduced ubiquinone levels can result in increased free radical generation and reduced free radical scavenging and defective apoptosis leading to abnormal synaptogenesis. Autism can thus be considered a syndrome of hypothalamic digoxin hypersecretion consequent to an upregulated isoprenoid pathway. The biochemical patterns including hyperdigoxinemia observed in autism correlated with those obtained in right hemispheric chemical dominance. Right hemispheric chemical dominance is a predisposing factor for autism.

The fundamental importance of any given membrane transport protein is something that is stated repeatedly at conferences with each speaker, in turn, using it to justify their career and funding. But how ‘important’ is any particular transport protein in a physiological sense? In reality, it is not something that can be quantified easily. It is certain that some transporters are important, e.g. the Na+,K+-ATPase, because they are expressed ubiquitously. Other transport proteins have been demonstrated to be important because mutations lead to dysfunction and disease, e.g. the CFTR chloride channel, defects in which cause cystic fibrosis. Some transporters appear important because they are expressed abundantly in tissues that are highly amenable to experimentation. Other transporters have apparently become important because they have been known about for many years and have been the focus of much grant funding and many scientific publications. There are, however, some transport proteins that do not fit comfortably into any of the four categories described above. Thus, many transport systems are likely to be essential for success or survival of the organism but little is known about their physiological function. Such transport proteins might be expressed at low levels, or in a small subset of cells within a mixed cell population, or in a tissue or membrane that is simply difficult to work with. Even in today's post-genomic era there remain many transporter-like proteins that have yet to be assigned any known physiological activity. A transport system that does not fit into any of the four categories described above is system T. System T is a Na+-independent, Cl−-independent, low affinity (Km 0.5–7.0 mm for tryptophan) uniporter of the aromatic amino acids tryptophan (hence the T in the name), tyrosine and phenylalanine, plus l-DOPA and derivatives. It was described originally (and named) in a study that characterised tryptophan transport in human erythrocytes (Rosenberg et al. 1980) and its function has since been described in hepatocytes, placenta and pre-implantation conceptuses. The cDNA has been isolated from rat, human and mouse (Kim et al. 2001, 2002; Park et al. 2005; Ramadan et al. 2006) and named TAT1 (T-type amino acid transporter 1). TAT1 is most similar in amino acid sequence to the thyroid hormone transporter MCT8 and the monocarboxylate transporters MCT1–4 and is thus categorised as the tenth member of solute carrier family 16 (SLC16A10). In contrast, most of the well-characterised, plasma-membrane, mammalian amino acid transporters are found in the SLC1, 6, 7, 36, 38 and 43 families. The distribution of TAT1 mRNA varies between species, but in broad terms it is found in small intestine, colon, kidney, liver, skeletal muscle, placenta, heart, spleen, thymus, prostate and pancreas. This relatively broad tissue distribution might suggest key physiological roles, yet it is probably fair to state that, of the so called ‘classical’ amino acid transporters, system T is described in the smallest number of publications. TAT1 protein has been immunolocalised to the basolateral membrane in the small intestine, kidney (proximal tubule) and liver (Kim et al. 2001, 2002; Park et al. 2005; Ramadan et al. 2006). Our knowledge of the roles of basolateral transporters is limited somewhat due to the difficulty in measuring transport, resulting in the basolateral membrane sometimes being described as the ‘dark side’. Although limited knowledge of the membrane distribution of this carrier protein allows us to postulate some of the likely functions, the question still remains: what is it that system T does? One way to determine the physiological function of a transport system is to create a knockout rodent model and to determine the effects on whole animal physiology. In an article in this issue of The Journal of Physiology, Mariotta et al. (2012) adopt such an approach to investigate the physiological roles of system T. The study makes three key observations regarding the physiological roles of this uniporter in amino acid influx in the liver, and efflux in the kidney and small intestine. The tat1−/− mice have increased plasma aromatic amino acid levels and an associated aromatic amino acid uria. The normal levels of hepatic aromatic amino acids in the null mice coupled with the increased plasma levels identify that system T is key in controlling whole body aromatic amino acid homeostasis by mediating influx into hepatocytes (the major site of aromatic amino acid metabolism). The second key role for system T identified by Mariotta et al. (2012) is in the kidney where this carrier mediates the basolateral efflux step of aromatic amino acid reabsorption from the renal filtrate. Lack of system T activity at the proximal tubular basolateral membrane results in an increase in aromatic amino acid levels in the kidney and a major amino acid uria. Interestingly, in animals on a high protein diet, neutral amino acid substrates for the amino acid exchanger system lat2/4f2hc are also lost to urine. Thus, an additional role for system T involves functional cooperation with lat2/4f2hc to maximise amino acid reabsorption under normal circumstances. The third physiological role is observed in the gut, where increased cellular accumulation of aromatic amino acid from lumen in the proximal small intestine of tat1−/− mice demonstrates the role of system T in basolateral release of aromatic amino acids from diet. Despite aromatic amino acids being the precursors of serotonin, nicotinic acid, catecholamines and thyroid hormones, tat1−/− mice grow and reproduce normally suggesting that loss of system T alone may not cause an obvious disease phenotype. Perhaps the real ‘importance’ of system T in small intestine and kidney is that it forms part of a functional network of amino acid transporters to optimise epithelial activity (net solute transport). This complex of basolateral transporters is likely to demonstrate both cooperativity and redundancy and disease phenotypes may appear only with ageing, dietary restriction or other specific stresses. Alternatively, more subtle and complex disease phenotypes may become evident following mutation of multiple transporter genes, as observed with apical amino acid transporters in iminoglycinuria (Broer et al. 2008). The data presented in this investigation provide the first evidence for the physiological roles for the amino acid transporter system T. The importance of the basolateral membrane, and its complement of nutrient transporters, is often under-investigated and so overlooked due to the difficulty in performing the experiments. The availability of the tat1−/− mouse model provides a useful experimental tool for further investigation of the functions of this most neglected of amino acid transporters, where a role in the transepithelial transport of aromatic amino acid-related drugs in the small intestine and kidney should be explored.

The isoprenoid pathway and its metabolites – digoxin, dolichol and ubiquinone were assessed in schizophrenia. There was an upregulation of the isoprenoid pathway as evidenced by elevated HMG CoA reductase activity. Digoxin, an endogenous Na+-K+ ATPase inhibitor secreted by the hypothalamus was found to be elevated and RBC membrane Na+-K+ ATPase activity was found to be reduced in schizophrenia. Membrane Na+-K+ ATPase inhibition can result in increased intracellular Ca2+ and reduced magnesium levels. Hypothalamic digoxin can modulate conscious and subliminal perception and its dysfunction may lead on to schizophrenia. Digoxin can also preferentially upregulate tryptophan transport over tyrosine resulting in increased levels of depolarising tryptophan catabolites – serotonin and quinolinic acid (NMDA agonist), and decreased levels of hyperpolarising tyrosine catabolites – dopamine and noradrenaline contributing to membrane Na+-K+ ATPase inhibition. NMDA excitotoxicity could result from hypomagnesemia induced by membrane Na+-K+ ATPase inhibition and quinolinic acid, an NMDA agonist acting on the NMDA receptor. Hypomagnesemia and increased dolichol level can affect glycoconjugate metabolism and membranogenesis leading on to disordered synaptic connectivity in the limbic allocortex and defective presentation of viral antigens and neuronal antigens contributing to autoimmunity and viral persistance important in the pathogenesis. Membrane Na+-K+ ATPase inhibition can produce immune activation, a component of autoimmunity. Mitochondrial dysfunction consequent to altered calcium/magnesium ratios and reduced ubiquinone levels can result in increased free radical generation and reduced free radical scavenging & defective apoptosis leading on to abnormal synaptogenesis. Schizophrenia can thus be considered as a syndrome of hypothalamic digoxin hypersecretion consequent to an upregulated isoprenoid pathway.

Computer analysis of the Bacillus subtilis genome sequence revealed a gene with no previously attributed function, yhaG , specifying a transcript containing a presumptive binding site for the tryptophan-activated regulatory protein, TRAP. The presumptive TRAP binding site overlaps the yhaG Shine-Dalgarno sequence and translation initiation region. TRAP was shown to regulate expression of yhaG translationally. Production of the yhaG transcript in vivo was found to compete for the binding of TRAP to other known TRAP binding sites. YhaG is likely to be a transmembrane protein involved in tryptophan transport.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae cho1/pss mutants, which are severely impaired in phosphatidylserine (PS) synthesis, do not have detectable amounts of PS in their lipid fractions. Their derivatives with mutations that cause defects in tryptophan synthesis grew poorly in a medium containing 5 micrograms/ml of L-tryptophan, a concentration that met the requirements of tryptophanauxotrophic CHO1/PSS strains. The rates of tryptophan uptake of trp1 cho1/pss mutants were low at low tryptophan concentrations. This defect in the use of tryptophan was restored either by expression of CHO1/PSS or by introduction of a gene encoding tryptophan transporter, TAT1 or TAT2. These results indicate that PS synthesis is required for the maximal tryptophan-transporting activity of S. cerevisiae at low tryptophan concentrations.

Amino acid supply in brain is regulated by the activity of the large neutral amino acid transporter (LAT) at the brain capillary endothelial cell, which forms the blood–brain barrier (BBB) in vivo . Bovine BBB poly(A) + RNA was isolated from 2.0 kg of fresh bovine brain and size fractionated on a sucrose density gradient, and a size-fractionated bovine BBB cDNA library in the pSPORT vector was prepared. The full-length cDNA encoding the bovine BBB LAT was isolated from this library, and the predicted amino acid sequence was 89–92% identical to the LAT1 isoform. The bovine BBB LAT1 mRNA produced a 10-fold enhancement in tryptophan transport into frog oocytes coinjected with bovine BBB LAT1 mRNA and the mRNA for 4F2hc, which encodes the heavy chain of the heterodimer. Tryptophan transport into the mRNA-injected oocytes was sodium independent and was specifically inhibited by other large neutral amino acids, and the K m of tryptophan transport was 31.5 ± 5.5 μM. Northern blotting with the bovine BBB LAT1 cDNA showed that the LAT1 mRNA is 100-fold higher in isolated bovine brain capillaries compared with C6 rat glioma cells or rat brain, and the LAT1 mRNA was not detected in rat liver, heart, lung, or kidney. These studies show that the LAT1 transcript is selectively expressed at the BBB compared with other tissues, and the abundance of the LAT1 mRNA at the BBB is manyfold higher than that of transcripts such as the 4F2hc antigen, actin, or the Glut1 glucose transporter.

We have identified both N-ethylmaleimide (NEM)-resistant (system T) and NEM-sensitive (system L1) L-[3H]tryptophan transporters in sinusoidal membrane vesicles (SMVs) from euthyroid, hypothyroid (propylthiouracil-treated), and hyperthyroid [L-3,5,3'-triiodothyronine (L-T3)-injected] rats. L-[125I]T3 associates with SMVs largely by surface binding. Kinetic characteristics of tryptophan uptake and T3 binding (transporter or receptor abundance and substrate affinity) are not significantly affected by thyroid status. T3 and thyroxine (T4) inhibit NEM-resistant tryptophan uptake in SMVs to an extent dependent on the thyroid status of the donor rat, increasing in the order hypothyroid < euthyroid < hyperthyroid; the inhibitor constant for this inhibition (0.3 microM T3) is equal to the dissociation constant for T3 binding. Both T3 binding and T3 inhibition of tryptophan transport in SMVs are markedly reduced by treatments (Triton X-100 or trypsin) that do not significantly affect vesicle integrity or transport of tryptophan and glucose. T3 and/or T4 transport at the liver-plasma interface may be facilitated by direct interactions between hormone receptors and system T transporter proteins. Modulation of such interactions may be important for control of hepatic T4 and/or T3 turnover and aromatic amino acid metabolism during altered thyroid status.

Liver failure, or shunting of intestinal blood around the liver, results in hyperammonemia and cerebral dysfunction. Recently it was shown that ammonia caused some of the metabolic signs of hepatic encephalopathy only after it was metabolized by glutamine synthetase in the brain. In the present study, small doses of methionine sulfoximine, an inhibitor of cerebral glutamine synthetase, were given to rats either at the time of portacaval shunting or 3-4 weeks later. The effects on several characteristic cerebral metabolic abnormalities produced by portacaval shunting were measured 1-3 days after injection of the inhibitor. All untreated portacaval-shunted rats had elevated plasma and brain ammonia concentrations, increased brain glutamine and tryptophan content, decreased brain glucose consumption, and increased permeability of the blood-brain barrier to tryptophan. All treated rats had high ammonia concentrations, but the brain glutamine content was normal, indicating inhibition of glutamine synthesis. One day after shunting and methionine sulfoximine administration, glucose consumption, tryptophan transport, and tryptophan brain content remained near control values. In the 3-4-week-shunted rats, which were studied 1-3 days after methionine sulfoximine administration, the effect was less pronounced. Brain glucose consumption and tryptophan content were partially normalized, but tryptophan transport was unaffected. The results agree with our earlier conclusion that glutamine synthesis is an essential step in the development of cerebral metabolic abnormalities in hyperammonemic states.

The Na(+)-independent neutral amino acid transporter (NAA-Tr) that we had previously cloned from rat kidney has been investigated with respect to its distribution in mammalian tissues and cells. By Northern blot analysis and RNase protection assay, a 2.4-kilobase (kb) mRNA in rat intestine was found to be identical to that in rat kidney. Of the other rat tissues examined, only brain and heart were found to contain mRNAs related to kidney NAA-Tr by Northern assay. However, these were larger (approximately 5 and approximately 7 kb). Mouse and rabbit kidney also contain mRNAs of 2.4 kb that exhibited a high degree of homology with rat kidney NAA-Tr. Of the several cultured cells investigated that demonstrated considerable Na(+)-independent neutral amino acid transport activity, only human colon carcinoma (Caco) cells were positive by Northern assay. The failure to detect NAA-Tr mRNA in many cells and tissues that carry out Na(+)-independent transport indicates that unrelated transporters must also exist. Cells and tissues that were negative with respect to rat kidney NAA-Tr as well as those that were positive transported leucine and tryptophan equally well. However, when mRNA from the same cells and tissues was expressed in oocytes, in all cases tryptophan was transported far less efficiently than leucine. This defect in tryptophan transport is apparently due to aberrant expression of neutral amino acid transporters in general in Xenopus oocytes.

1. Tegumental transport of choline at concentrations ranging from 0.005–5.0 mM provided no evidence for saturable, carrier-mediated entry of this amine in the tegument of the rat tapeworm (Hymenolepis diminuta). 2. In contrast, the large neutral amino acid tryptophan appears to be taken up via a high-affinity transporter. In the 1st quartile of 17-day-old tapeworms (Km = 0.033 mM, Vmax = 0.7 nmol·min−1 · g−1), in the 2nd quartile (Km = 0.015 mM, Vmax = 0.3 nmol·min−1 · g−1), in the 3rd quartile (Km = 0.022 mM, Vmax = 0.5 nmol · min−1 · g−1) and in the 4th quartile (Km = 0.025 mM, Vmax = 0.5 nmol · min−1 · g−1) saturable tryptophan transport was kinetically characterized. 3. The non-saturable diffusion component (Kd) for tryptophan transport ranged from 3.8–10.2 μl · min−1 · g−1. 4. These studies suggest choline does not appear to be transported across the tapeworm tegument. Saturable transport of tryptophan via a high-affinity carrier is reported, and no regional variations in indole amino acid uptake were detected.

Escherichia coli forms three permeases that can transport the amino acid tryptophan: Mtr, AroP, and TnaB. The structural genes for these permeases reside in separate operons that are subject to different mechanisms of regulation. We have exploited the fact that the tryptophanase (tna) operon is induced by tryptophan to infer how tryptophan transport is influenced by the growth medium and by mutations that inactivate each of the permease proteins. In an acid-hydrolyzed casein medium, high levels of tryptophan are ordinarily required to obtain maximum tna operon induction. High levels are necessary because much of the added tryptophan is degraded by tryptophanase. An alternate inducer that is poorly cleaved by tryptophanase, 1-methyltryptophan, induces efficiently at low concentrations in both tna+ strains and tna mutants. In an acid-hydrolyzed casein medium, the TnaB permease is most critical for tryptophan uptake; i.e., only mutations in tnaB reduce tryptophanase induction. However, when 1-methyltryptophan replaces tryptophan as the inducer in this medium, mutations in both mtr and tnaB are required to prevent maximum induction. In this medium, AroP does not contribute to tryptophan uptake. However, in a medium lacking phenylalanine and tyrosine the AroP permease is active in tryptophan transport; under these conditions it is necessary to inactivate the three permeases to eliminate tna operon induction. The Mtr permease is principally responsible for transporting indole, the degradation product of tryptophan produced by tryptophanase action. The TnaB permease is essential for growth on tryptophan as the sole carbon source. When cells with high levels of tryptophanase are transferred to tryptophan-free growth medium, the expression of the tryptophan (trp) operon is elevated. This observation suggests that the tryptophanase present in these cells degrades some of the synthesized tryptophan, thereby creating a mild tryptophan deficiency. Our studies assign roles to the three permeases in tryptophan transport under different physiological conditions.

We have studied transport of L-tryptophan, L-tyrosine and L-phenylalanine as factors contributing to homeostasis of these amino acids in preimplantation mouse conceptuses. Benzenoid amino acids were transported by the Na(+)-independent systems L and b0,+ in 1-cell conceptuses, and by these systems plus the Na(+)-dependent systems B0,+ and B in blastocysts. In addition, a component of Na(+)-independent tryptophan, tyrosine and phenylalanine transport in 1-cell and 2-cell conceptuses and in blastocysts resisted inhibition by L-leucine. The latter component of transport not only preferred benzenoid amino acids and in particular tryptophan as substrates, but it also was inhibited strongly and competitively by alpha-N-methyl-L-tryptophan. The leucine-resistant component of tryptophan transport also was inhibited strongly by N-ethylmaleimide and D-tryptophan, and it appeared to be inhibited weakly by 3-amino-endo-bicyclo[3.2.1]octane-3-carboxylic acid (BCO) but not by other amino acids tested as inhibitors. By these criteria, the leucine-resistant component of transport of benzenoid amino acids resembled system T in human red blood cells and rat hepatocytes. It is not entirely clear why preimplantation blastocysts have five good systems for transport of tryptophan. It is possible, however, that tryptophan homeostasis is particularly important during preimplantation development since it has been shown elsewhere that tryptophan availability in blood increases within one day after rat eggs are fertilized.

Portacaval shunting in rats results in brain dysfunction, as indicated by reduced energy metabolism and behavioral abnormalities, as well as many biochemical changes in plasma and brain. No etiological connections have been made between these findings, which have been studied mainly 2 wk or more after shunting. To determine how soon the various abnormalities occur and which are associated temporally with the decrease in brain glucose use, we studied shunted and sham-operated rats between 6 h and 11 days after surgery. Six hours after portacaval shunting, plasma aromatic amino acids, brain glutamine, aromatic amino acids, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, and tryptophan transport into the brain were all significantly higher than normal. Brain glucose use showed a downward trend and was fully depressed within 1 day. Plasma branched-chain amino acids and threonine were decreased, and brain serotonin and norepinephrine content increased only after 2 days; these changes were therefore dissociated from the other abnormalities that developed in a shorter period. The results showed that the cerebral dysfunction characteristic of portacaval shunting began within hours and was fully established by 2 days.

The tnaT gene of Symbiobacterium thermophilum encodes a protein homologous to sodium-dependent neurotransmitter transporters. Expression of the tnaT gene product in Escherichia coli conferred the ability to accumulate tryptophan from the medium and the ability to grow on tryptophan as a sole source of carbon. Transport was Na(+)-dependent and highly selective. The K(m) for tryptophan was approximately 145 nm, and tryptophan transport was unchanged in the presence of 100 microM concentrations of other amino acids. Tryptamine and serotonin were weak inhibitors with K(I) values of 200 and 440 microM, respectively. By using a T7 promoter-based system, TnaT with an N-terminal His(6) tag was expressed at high levels in the membrane and was purified to near-homogeneity in high yield.

The uptake of tryptophan at various stages of development was examined in plasma membrane vesicles derived from rat brain. The total uptake has two components Na+-dependent and Na+-independent respectively. The Na+-dependent component of the transport system appears around the 5th postnatal day and increases with the age. The Km value of the system does not vary during development. The Vmax increases five-fold between 14 and 35 day of postnatal life. Plasma membrane vesicles derived from T3-treated rats are able to accumulate nearly three-fold more tryptophan than nontreated rats. The results support the idea that thyroid hormones at the earlier stages of life, promote the establishment of neurotransmission in the developing nervous system.

1. l. In in vitro experiments with accumulating mucosal preparations (AMP) and everted intestinal sacs, as well as in in vivo experiments with isolated loops of the small intestine the stimulating effect of a number of amino acids on l -tryptophan uptake was investigated. 2. 2. Under “switched off” active transport (anoxia, 2,4-DNF treatment, sodium ion replacement by lithium ions in the mucosal solution) an expressed stimulation of l -tryptophan transport was observed within the mucosa and across the wall of the small intestine in the presence of l -proline, glycine, l -α-alanine, l -histidine and l -lysine. 3. 3. Preincubation of AMP in the solutions of glycine, l -α-alanine and l -lysine was characterized by a stimulation of l -tryptophan transport, and the increase of its concentration in tissue was accompanied by the exit of an equivalent amount of glycine from it. 4. 4. These observations show the participation of exchange transport in the uptake of l -tryptophan in the small intestine of chicks. 5. 5. The mechanism of exchange transport in chicks starts to function on the 25th day after hatching and its intensity depends on the character of amino acid-modifier participating in the process. 6. 6. Maximum activity of the exchange transport of l -tryptophan is demonstrated in the middle ileum. 7. 7. l -α-Alanine stimulates the absorption of l -tryptophan from the isolated intestinal loop proving the existence of an exchange transport mechanism in a living organism. 8. 8. An increased intensity of exchange transport is observed when feeding chicks with diets deficient and enriched in tryptophan.

Phenylalanine is accumulated in the genetically linked deficiency phenylketonuria. The effect ofl-phenylalanine on the transport of tryptophan was studied using membrane vesicles from rat-brain synaptosomes. Phenylalanine at similar concentrations to those found in phenylketonuric patients competitively inhibits tryptophan uptake, with aK i of the same order as theK m for tryptophan. This inhibition could be responsible for the depletion of serotonin found in phenylketonuria.