Nucleoside transporters and liver cell growth

Liver parenchymal cells show a wide variety of plasma membrane transporters that are tightly regulated by endocrine and nutritional factors. This review summarizes work performed in our laboratory on these transport systems, particularly nucleoside transporters, which are up-regulated in physiological situations associated with liver cell growth. Rat hepatocytes show a Na+-dependent nucleoside transport activity that is stimulated by pancreatic hormones. Indeed, this biological activity appears to be the result of the co-expression of at least two isoforms of nucleoside carriers, CNT1 and CNT2 (also called SPNT). These two transporters are up-regulated during the early phase of liver growth after partial hepatectomy, although to different extents, suggesting differential regulation of the two isoforms. The recent generation of isoform-specific antibodies allowed us to demonstrate that carrier expression may also have complex post-transcriptional regulation on the basis of the lack of correspondence between mRNA and protein levels. The analysis of nucleoside transport systems in hepatoma cells and the comparison with those in hepatocytes has also provided evidence that the differentiation status of liver parenchymal cells may determine the pattern of nucleoside transporters expressed.