Effect of sulfhydryl reagents on tetraethylammonium transport in rat renal brush border membranes.

Effect of sulfhydryl reagents on the transport of tetraethylammonium, an organic cation, has been studied in brush border membrane vesicles isolated from rat renal cortex. H+ gradient-dependent uptake of tetraethylammonium by the vesicles was inhibited by various sulfhydryl reagents in a dose-dependent manner, and the potency of the reagents was followed in the order of HgCl2 greater than p-chloromercuribenzoate, p-chloromercuribenzene sulfonate (PCMBS) greater than N-ethylmaleimide. In the absence of H+ gradient, tetraethylammonium uptake and efflux also were inhibited by p-chloromercuribenzoate and PCMBS. The sulfhydryl reagents did not affect the dissipation rate of H+ gradient across the membranes. Pretreatment of brush border membranes with PCMBS resulted in an inhibition of tetraethylammonium uptake in the presence and absence of H+ gradient, and this inhibition was reversed by subsequent treatment of the vesicles with thiols such as dithiothreitol, glutathione and cysteine. The inhibitory effect by PCMBS pretreatment was protected in the preincubation with unlabeled tetraethylammonium. These results suggest that sulfhydryl reagents inhibit the transport of tetraethylammonium by their specific interaction with the active sites of the carrier, and that sulfhydryl groups are essential for organic cation transport system in renal brush border membranes.