Sodium-coupled sugar and amino acid transport in an acidic microenvironment

1. Nutrient transport mechanisms of lobster hepatopancreatic epithelial brush border membrane vesicles (BBMV) are strongly influenced by the acidic nature of the tubular lumen. 2. Sodium-dependent glucose uptake by BBMV was electrogenic and was stimulated at low pH by reducing sugar transport Ki, without affecting JM. 3. Glutamate was largely transported in zwitterionic form at pH 4.0 by an electrically silent cotransport mechanism with both Na and Cl. 4. Increased H+ concentration tripled the apparent membrane permeability to glutamate as well as the amino acid transport JM. 5. At pH 4.0 leucine was transported as a cation by two dissimilar carrier systems: a Na-independent process shared by polar amino acids, and an electroneutral Na-2Cl-dependent mechanism shared with non-polar amino acids. 6. A model is proposed for hepatopancreatic BBMV at acidic pH which employs ionic chemical gradients and membrane potential as nutrient transport driving forces.