L-cystine transport by papain-treated rat renal brush-border membrane vesicles

In papain-treated rat renal brush-border membrane vesicles, cystine uptake was enhanced under sodium gradient conditions. This effect was not observed when sodium was equilibrated across the vesicle membrane or when sodium was completely absent from the incubation medium. The increased rate of cystine uptake occurred within the first two minutes of incubation and coincided with the period of increased flux of sodium known to occur after papain treatment. Under sodium gradient conditions, the Vmax of cystine uptake by treated vesicles was 65% greater while the Km was 25% lower than the value observed in untreated membranes. The increased cystine uptake after papain treatment occurred when medium cystine was in the electroneutral form. In the absence of a sodium gradient, cystine uptake by control membranes was insensitive to changes in membrane potential and this was unaltered after papain treatment. Exposure of the membranes to papain also resulted in a profound decrease in cystine binding which occurs in native membranes incubated with cystine. The fact that cystine uptake is unchanged under sodium equilibration and even enhanced under sodium gradient conditions suggests that the component of cystine binding is not essential for cystine transport and may represent non-specific binding to membrane proteins.