Transport and phosphorylation of 2-deoxy-D-galactase in renal cortical cells

The transport and phosphorylation of 2-deoxy-D-[3H]galactose in rabbit renal cortical cells was studied. 1. The uptake of 2-deoxy-galactose by cortical slices is associated with an appearance of both free and phosphorylated sugar in the cells. At 1 mM external sugar the cells establish a steady-state gradient of free 2-deoxy-galactose of 3.97 +/- 0.15 (23 animals). 2. The acid-labile sugar phosphate accumulated in the tissue has been identified by a combination of paper and radio-chromatography, as well as on the basis of some of its chemical properties, as 2-deoxy-D-galactose 1-phosphate. Ice-cold trichloroacetic acid produces a decomposition of this compound. 3. Increasing external pH (6-8) brings about a decrease in the steady-state levels of both free and phosphorylated sugar in slices. On the other hand, increasing pH activates the phosphorylation of 2-deoxy-D-galactose by a crude kinase in a tissue extract. 4. Sugar phosphate accumulated in the cells is dephosphorylated by the action of a Zn2+ -activated phosphatase. 5. The efflux of 2-deoxy-D-galactose from the cells is rather slow compared with that found for D-galactose. The efflux is associated with some dephosphorylation of cellular sugar phosphate, and some loss of 2-deoxy-galactose phosphate into the wash-out medium takes place. 6. An inhibition analysis of the uptake of 2-deoxy-D-galactose by the slices indicates that the transport site is shared by D-galactose. The following points of interaction between the sugar molecule and the carrier are identified: C1-OH, C3-OH and C4-OH (both axial) and C6-OH. A (pyranose) ring structure is also essential. A close packing between the substrate and the carrier in the vicinity of C2 is indicated. 7. The data suggest that the above transport system is localized predominantly at the antiluminal (basolateral) face of the renal tubular cells. While the detailed mechanism of the actual transport step (i.e. active transport of the free sugar, or by the action of a phosphotransferase) is still unclear, the data present evidence that both galactokinase and a Zn2+ -activated phosphatase participate in the maintenance of an intracellular steady state of the transported sugar.