Enhancement of choline uptake by glycine in hamster heart

Choline uptake by the isolated hamster heart has been shown to be inhibited by exogenous ethanolamine. In this study, the effect of glycine on choline uptake was investigated. At 0.01-1.0 mM glycine in the perfusate, an enhancement of choline uptake (30%) by the isolated heart was observed. Despite the higher choline uptake, the presence of glycine did not affect the rate of phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis. At higher glycine concentration (50 mM), the enhancement of choline uptake was abolished. Exogenous choline had no effect on the uptake of glycine. We postulate that choline and glycine are transported by separate mechanisms, and that glycine may play a regulatory role in the control of choline uptake by the hamster heart.