Amino acid transport by epithelial membranes

Abstract

This review summarizes the current view of amino acid transport by epithelial cells of vertebrates. A wide variety of transporter proteins are expressed in apical and basolateral membranes and collectively play complex interactive roles in controlling the entire organism's overall metabolism of amino acids. Regulation of the transport systems can be manifested at many levels, including gene splicing and promoter regulation, interactions between requisite subunits of oligomers, thermodynamic electrochemical gradients contributed by ion exchangers, overlap of substrate specificity, selective tissue distribution, and specific spatial distribution of transporters leading to net vectorial flow of the amino acids. The next frontier for workers in this field is to uncover a comprehensive molecular understanding of the manner by which epithelial cells signal gene expression of transporters as triggered by substrates, hormones or other triggers, in order to further understand the trafficking and interactions among multimeric transport system proteins, to extend discoveries of novel small drug substrates for oral and ocular delivery, and to examine gene therapy or nanotherapy of diseases using small molecules delivered via amino acid transporters.