Glutamate transport asymmetry and metabolism in the functioning kidney.

Renal glutamate extraction in vivo shows a preference for the uptake ofd-glutamate on the antiluminal and l-glutamate on the luminal tubule surface. To characterize this functional asymmetry, we isolated rat kidneys and perfused them with an artificial plasma solution containing either d- orl-glutamate alone or in combination with the system [Formula: see text]specific transport inhibitor,d-aspartate. To confirm that removal of glutamate represented transport into tubule cells, we monitored products formed as the result of intracellular metabolism and related these to the uptake process. Perfusion withd-glutamate alone resulted in a removal rate that equaled or exceeded thel-glutamate removal rate, with uptake predominantly across the antiluminal surface;l-glutamate uptake occurred nearly equally across both luminal and antiluminal surfaces. Thus the preferential uptake ofd-glutamate at the antiluminal and l-glutamate at the luminal surface confirms the transport asymmetry observed in vivo. Equimolard-aspartate concentration blocked most of the antiluminald-glutamate uptake and a significant portion of the luminall-glutamate uptake, consistent with system [Formula: see text] activity at both sites. d-Glutamate uptake was associated with 5-oxo-d-proline production, whereas l-glutamate uptake supported both glutamine and 5-oxo-l-proline formation;d-aspartate reduced production of both 5-oxoproline and glutamine. The presence of system[Formula: see text] activity on both the luminal and antiluminal tubule surfaces, exhibiting different reactivity towardl- andd-glutamate suggests that functional asymmetry may reflect two different[Formula: see text] transporter subtypes.