Incomplete Correspondence Between Repressive and Substrate Action by Amino Acids on Transport Systems A and N in Monolayered Rat Hepatocytes

Stimulation of System N transport of glutamine by amino acid starvation of the rat hepatocyte can be repressed by one of its substrates, histidine, but not by two others, glutamine or asparagine. Furthermore, 2-(methylamino)isobutyric acid is also repressive, although it is not perceptibly a substrate or inhibitor of that system. The repression of System A by glutamine proves in contrast not to be dissociated from transport: relatively slow System A uptake of glutamine has now been shown in this cell. System A transport of glutamine is conspicuous in the hepatoma cell HTC and is increased after amino acid starvation of both hepatocytes and the hepatoma cells. Differential repression of the systems could be shown, although lowering the pH prevented the derepression of one system as much as the other on amino acid starvation.