Characterization of Na+-dependent phosphate uptake in cultured kidney cells (JTC-12) from monkey

Phosphate uptake was studied in confluent monolayers of an epithelial-cell line (JTC-12) derived from monkey kidney. Phosphate uptake consisted of a saturable, Na+-dependent, component, which accounted for about 80% of the uptake, and a nonsaturable, Na+-independent, component. The saturable component was specifically dependent on the presence of extracellular Na+ and has an apparent Km value for phosphate of 0.12 mM at 137-mM-Na+, which is close to those reported in the brush-border membranes in mammalian kidneys. The presence of Na+ in the uptake solution decreased the Km for phosphate without affecting the Vmax. Phosphate uptake was inhibited by carbonyl cyanide p-trifluoromethoxyphenylhydrazone and ouabain, suggesting that phosphate transport is an active, energy-dependent, process and is dependent on an Na+ gradient across cell membranes. With respect to the effect of external Na+ concentration, a sigmoid relation was seen between the initial velocity of phosphate uptake and Na+ concentrations, and Hill analysis gave a Hill coefficient of 1.8. In the pH range 6.6-7.4, phosphate uptake declined with increasing pH. Phosphate uptake was stimulated when cells were cultured in the presence of insulin, and was also affected by changes in phosphate concentrations in cultured medium. These results indicate that JTC-12 cells have an Na+-dependent phosphate-transport system with many of the features of phosphate transport in the proximal tubule.