l-Arginine currents in rat cardiac ventricular myocytes

l-Arginine (l-Arg) is a basic amino acid that plays a central role in the biosynthesis of nitric oxide, creatine, agmantine, polyamines, proline and glutamate. Most tissues, including myocardium, must import l-Arg from the circulation to ensure adequate intracellular levels of this amino acid. This study reports novel l-Arg-activated inward currents in whole-cell voltage-clamped rat ventricular cardiomyocytes. Ion-substitution experiments identified extracellular l-Arg as the charge-carrying cationic species responsible for these currents, which, thus, represent l-Arg import into cardiac myocytes. This result was independently confirmed by an increase in myocyte nitric oxide production upon extracellular application of l-Arg. The inward movement of Arg molecules was found to be passive and independent of Na2+, K2+, Ca2+ and Mg2+. The process displayed saturation and membrane potential (Vm)-dependent kinetics, with a K0.5 for l-Arg that increased from 5 mm at hyperpolarizing Vm to 20 mm at +40 mV. l-Lysine and l-ornithine but not d-Arg produced currents with characteristics similar to that activated by l-Arg indicating that the transport process is stereospecific for cationic l-amino acids. l-Arg current was fully blocked after brief incubation with 0.2 mmN-ethylmaleimide. These features suggest that the activity of the low-affinity, high-capacity CAT-2A member of the y2+ family of transporters is responsible for l-Arg currents in acutely isolated cardiomyocytes. Regardless of the mechanism, we hypothesize that a low-affinity arginine transport process in heart, by ensuring substrate availability for sustained NO production, might play a cardio-protective role during catabolic states known to increase Arg plasma levels severalfold

D-Enantiomers Take a Close Look at the Functioning of a Cardiac Cationic L-Amino Acid Transporter

Cationic amino acid transporters are highly selective for L-enantiomers such as L-arginine (L-Arg). Because of this stereoselectivity, little is known about the interaction of these transporters with D-isomers. To study whether these compounds can provide information on the molecular mechanism of transport, inward currents activated by L-Arg with low apparent affinity were measured in whole-cell voltage-clamped cardiomyocytes as a function of extracellular L-Arg and D-Arg concentrations. D-Arg inhibited L-Arg currents in a membrane-potential (VM)-dependent competitive manner, indicating the presence of D-Arg binding sites in the carrier. Analysis of these steady-state currents showed that L- and D-Arg binding reactions dissipate a similar small fraction of the membrane electric field. Since D-Arg is not transported, these results suggest that enantiomer recognition occurs at conformational transitions that initiate amino acid translocation. The VM dependence of maximal current levels suggests that inward currents arise from the slow outward movement of negative charges in the unliganded transporter. Translocation of the L-Arg-bound complex, on the other hand, appears to be electroneutral. D-Arg-dependent transient charge movements, also detected in these cells, displayed a VM-dependent charge distribution and kinetics that are consistent with amino acid binding in an ion well in a shallow, water-filled extracellular binding pocket