Amino acid transport by resealed ghosts from pigeon erythrocytes

Resealed ghosts from pigeon erythrocytes were shown to haemolyse during incubation in isotonic media with pH values greater than about 7 and high concentrations of Na+ inside the ghosts seemed to enhance this effect. At lower pH values the ghosts were stable but still highly permeable to Na+ and K+, and moderately permeable to sucrose. Under the latter conditions the ghosts transported amino acids in a way qualitatively but not quantitatively similar to intact erythrocytes. The Na+-dependent transport of serine and alanine by the ghosts consisted essentially of an exchange of extracellular for intracellular amino acids, with no significant net flux. In contrast, net fluxes of glycine in the direction of the Na+-concentration gradient across the ghost membrane were demonstrated. However, under one condition a small net influx of glycine occurred against the prevailing Na+-concentration gradient. Unlike Na+-dependent glycine uptake, the uptake of six other amino acids by intact pigeon erythrocytes was not influenced by the nature of the anion present. The significance of these findings in relation to previous work on the Na+-gradient hypothesis of membrane transport is discussed.