Cellular and molecular mechanisms of renal peptide transport

Renal epithelial cells express membrane transport proteins capable of cellular uptake of a large variety of di- and tripeptides. These transporters contribute to renal amino acid homeostasis and the efficiency of conservation of amino acid nitrogen. In addition, these transporters appear to play a role in the renal handling of xenobiotics that possess a peptide backbone. Peptide carriers specialized in transport of di- and tripeptides have been identified in bacteria, fungi, plants, and epithelial cells of mammalian intestine and kidney. They appear to represent an archaic transporter family conserved throughout evolution. As a unique feature, these peptide carriers utilize a transmembrane-electrochemical proton gradient as the driving force that enables them to transport peptides against a concentration gradient. Renal peptide transporters have been characterized in terms of mechanism of transport function and substrate specificity in a number of model systems. Within the last two years, kidney peptide transporters of a variety of species have been identified by cloning techniques. In this review we discuss the physiological importance of renal peptide carriers and the transport mechanisms at the cellular level. We also present the recent advancements in functional expression of the cloned proteins that provide first insights into their molecular architecture and mode of operation.