Cyclosporin binding to a protein component of the renal Na(+)-D-glucose cotransporter

The immunosuppressive and nephrotoxic agent cyclosporin binds to a renal polypeptide with an apparent molecular weight of 75,000 which has been identified as a component of the renal Na(+)-D-glucose cotransporter (Neeb, M., Kunz, U., and Koepsell, H. (1987) J. Biol. Chem. 262, 10718-10729). The same Mr 75,000 polypeptide was covalently labeled with the D-glucose analog 10-N-(bromoacetyl)amino-1-decyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside and with the cyclosporin analog N epsilon-(diazotrifluoroethyl)benzyl-D-Lys8- cyclosporin (CSDZ). CSDZ labeling was decreased when the brush-border membrane proteins were incubated with monoclonal antibodies against the Na(+)-D-glucose cotransporter. In the presence of 145 mM Na+, CSDZ labeling was decreased by D-glucose (1 microM, 1 mM, or 100 mM) and by phlorizin (100 or 500 microM). In the absence of Na+, CSDZ labeling was distinctly increased by 50 microM phlorizin and was slightly increased by 1 mM D-glucose, whereas CSDZ labeling was decreased by 50 microM phloretin and by 500 microM phlorizin. Furthermore, Na(+)-dependent high affinity phlorizin binding to the Na(+)-D-glucose cotransporter was competitively inhibited by cyclosporin A (Ki = 0.04 microM) while Na(+)-D-glucose cotransport was not influenced. The data suggest that a part of the cyclosporin binding domain on the Na(+)-D-glucose cotransporter is identical to the phloretin binding domain of the high affinity phlorizin binding site. While phloretin or the phloretin moiety of phlorizin may directly displace cyclosporin, interaction of D-glucose or of the D-glucose moiety of phlorizin with the transporter may alter the conformation of the cyclosporin binding site and this conformational change may be modulated by Na+.     

Monoclonal antibodies against the renal Na+-D-glucose cotransporter. Identification of antigenic polypeptides and demonstration of functional coupling of different Na+-cotransport systems

Eight monoclonal antibodies are described which are directed against the renal Na+-D-glucose cotransporter. In porcine renal brush-border membranes, the antibodies either bind to one or to three polypeptides which have been identified as components of the Na+-D-glucose cotransporter (Neeb, M., Kunz, U., and Koepsell, H., (1987) J. Biol. Chem. 262, 10718-10727). Their molecular weights and isoelectric points are 75,000 and pH 5.5, 60,000 and pH 5.2, and 47,000 and pH 5.4. Six antibodies were able to influence Na+-dependent D-glucose uptake and/or Na+-dependent high affinity phlorizin binding. In the presence of Na+, the binding of all antibodies to native membrane proteins was altered by D-glucose but not by D-mannose. Since this effect was observed with D-glucose concentrations less than 1 x 10(-8) M, a high affinity D-glucose-binding site on the D-glucose transporter has been implied. Some of the antibodies probably interact also with other Na+-coupled transporters since their binding was altered by micromolar concentrations of L-lactate, L-alanine, or L-glutamate but not by the nontransported control substances D-alanine and D-glutamate. L-lactate increased the binding of one antibody in the absence but not in the presence of D-glucose. Effects of L-lactate and L-alanine on the binding of another antibody were only observed when D-glucose was present. Thus, some epitopes on the Na+-D-glucose cotransporter are altered by D-glucose and also by substrates of other Na+ cotransporters. This finding suggests functional coupling of different Na+-cotransport systems.     

Partial purification and reconstitution of the Na+-D-glucose cotransport protein from pig renal proximal tubules

Brush border membranes from renal proximal tubules were solubilized with deoxycholate, and the proteins were incorporated into liposomes formed from cholesterol and phosphatidylserine by a freeze-thaw procedure. In the proteoliposomes Na+-D-glucose cotransport was demonstrated by showing that the D-glucose concentration in the liposomes increased far above the equilibrium value if a Na+ gradient was applied. The initial D-glucose uptake rate, stimulated by an inside directed gradient of 89 mM Na+, was 4 pmol/mg of protein-1 s-1. High affinity phlorizin binding could not be measured. After two precipitation steps with the solubilized membrane proteins, a protein fraction was obtained in which significantly high affinity phlorizin binding was detected. After reconstitution, proteoliposomes were formed in which more than 70% of the protein was represented by two polypeptides with molecular weights of 94,000 and 52,000. An initial Na+ gradient-dependent D-glucose uptake rate of 118 pmol/mg of protein-1 s-1 was obtained. In these liposomes, the D-glucose uptake rate could be inhibited by phlorizin (Ki = 0.3 microM), and 55-pmol phlorizin-binding sites per mg of protein (KD = 0.5 microM) were measured. In different liposomal preparations a correlation between Na+ gradient-dependent D-glucose uptake rate and the amount of 52,000 molecular weight polypeptide was observed.     

Proximo-distal gradient of Na+-dependent D-glucose transport activity in the brush border membrane vesicles from the human fetal small intestine

Brush-border membrane vesicles were isolated from the jejunum and ileum of 17-20-week-old normal human fetuses and found to be highly enriched in sucrase activity with less than 5% contamination by basolateral membranes. Time course studies of D-glucose uptake clearly showed a transient, phlorizin-sensitive, and Na+-dependent accumulation of sugar into these vesicles. Higher maximum overshoot values and initial rates of D-glucose uptake were recorded in jejunal as compared to ileal vesicles while low substrate binding to the membranes, identical intravesicular volumes and equivalent dissipation of the Na+-gradient were found in the two preparations. It was concluded that a fully functional Na+-D-glucose cotransport system is present with a proximo-distal gradient of activity during the early gestation period.     

Structural state of the Na+/D-glucose cotransporter in calf kidney brush-border membranes. Target size analysis of Na+-dependent phlorizin binding and Na+-dependent D-glucose transport

Target sizes of the renal sodium-D-glucose cotransport system in brush-border membranes of calf kidney cortex were estimated by radiation inactivation. In brush-border vesicles irradiated at -50 degrees C with 1.5 MeV electron beams, sodium-dependent phlorizin binding, and Na+-dependent D-glucose tracer exchange decreased exponentially with increasing doses of radiation (0.4-4.4 Mrad). Inactivation of phlorizin binding was due to a reduction in the number of high-affinity phlorizin binding sites but not in their affinity. The molecular weight of the Na+-dependent phlorizin binding unit was estimated to be 230 000 +/- 38 000. From the tracer exchange experiments a molecular weight of 345 000 +/- 24 500 was calculated for the D-glucose transport unit. The validity of these target size measurements was established by concomitant measurements of two brush-border enzymes, alkaline phosphatase and gamma-glutamyltransferase, whose target sizes were found to be 68 570 +/- 2670 and 73 500 +/- 2270, respectively. These findings provide further evidence for the assumption that the sodium-D-glucose cotransport system is a multimeric structure, in which distinct complexes are responsible for phlorizin binding and D-glucose translocation.     

The Na+ gradient-dependent transport of D-glucose in renal brush border membranes.

The Na+-dependent transport of D-glucose was studied in brush border membrane vesicles isolated from the rabbit renal cortex. The presence of a Na+ gradient between the external incubation medium and the intravesicular medium induced a marked stimulation of D-glucose uptake. Accumulation of the sugar in the vesicles reached a maximum and then decreased, indicating efflux. The final level of uptake of the sugar in the presence of the Na+ gradient was identical with that attained in the absence of the gradient, suggesting that equilibrium was established. At the peak of the overshoot the uptake of D-glucose was more than 10-fold the equilibrium value. These results suggest that the imposition of a large extravesicular to intravesicular gradient of Na+ effects the transient movement of D-glucose into renal brush border membranes against its concentration gradient. The stimulation of D-glucose uptake into the membranes was specific for Na+. The rate of uptake was enhanced with increased concentration of Na+. Increasing Na+ in the external medium lowered the apparent Km for D-glucose. The Na+ gradient effect on D-glucose transport was dissected into a stimulatory effect when Na+ and sugar were on the same side of the membrane (cis stimulation) and an inhibitory effect when Na+ and sugar were on opposite sides of the membrane (trans inhibition). The uptake of D-glucose, at a given concentration of sugar, reflected the sum of the contributions from a Na+-dependent transport system and a Na+-independent system. The relative stimulation of D-glucose uptake by Na+ decreased as the sugar concentration increased. It is suggested, however, that at physiological concentrations of D-glucose the asymmetry of Na+ across the brush border membrane might fully account for uphill D-glucose transport. The physiological significance of the findings is enhanced additionally by observations that the Na+-dependent D-glucose transport system in the membranes in vitro possessed the sugar specificities and higg phlorizin sensitivity characteristic of more intact preparations. These results provide strong experimental evidence for the role of Na+ in transporting D-glucose across the renal proximal tubule luminal membrane.     

Decreased D-glucose transport across renal brush-border membrane vesicles from streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

The uptake of Na(+)-dependent D-glucose by renal brush-border membrane vesicles (BBMV) isolated from streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats was decreased as compared with controls. Since a Vmax of 4.8 nmol/mg protein per 30 s in diabetic BBMV was significantly decreased as compared with that of controls (Vmax = 7.0 nmol/mg protein per 30 s) without changing an apparent affinity for D-glucose, the decrease in the Na(+)-dependent D-glucose uptake in diabetic rats is likely to be due to the reduction in the number of the transporter. These results are also confirmed by the binding study of [3H]phlorizin to diabetic BBMV. When the blood glucose level is lowered in diabetic rats by both the treatment with insulin and starvation, the decreased Na(+)-dependent D-glucose uptake is returned to control level. These results suggest that Na(+)-dependent D-glucose reabsorption through the apical membrane in proximal tubular kidney cells is dynamically regulated by the change in blood glucose level.     

Reconstitution of a partially purified Na+-independent D-glucose transport system from rat jejunal basolateral membranes

1. Basolateral membranes of rat small intestine were first solubilized in a 0.6% cholate buffer and then the insoluble fraction was reextracted with a 1.2 or 1.6% cholate buffer. 2. Proteoliposomes reconstituted from the 1.2 or 1.6% cholate-extracted membrane fraction demonstrated characteristic Na+-independent D-glucose transport of the native basolateral membrane vesicles: inhibitable by mercuric chloride and D-galactose. 3. To further purify this D-glucose transport system, the 1.6% cholate-extracted membrane fraction was chromatographed on either hydroxylapatite, concanavalin A, wheat-germ lectin or castor bean lectin-120 affinity gels. 4. Proteoliposomes reconstituted from the membrane proteins adsorbed on hydroxylapatite and subsequently passed through agarose-castor bean lectin-120 showed a 12-fold enrichment of Na+-independent D-glucose transport activity over that of the native membrane vesicles. 5. SDS-electrophoretic analysis showed that the protein composition of the hydroxylapatite-castor bean lectin-120 treated fraction was much simpler than that of both 1.6% cholate-extracted fraction and the native membrane vesicles.     

Energetics of the Na+-dependent transport of D-glucose in renal brush border membrane vesicles.

The energetics of the Na+-dependent transport of D-glucose into osmotically active membrane vesicles, derived from the brush borders of the rabbit renal proximal tubule, was studied by determining how alterations in the electrochemical potential of the membrane induced by anions, ionophores, and a proton conductor affect the uptake of the sugar. The imposition of a large NaCl gradient (medium is greater than vesicle) resulted in the transient uptake of D-glucose into brush border membranes against its concentration gradient. In the presence of Na+ salts of isethionate or sulfate, both relatively impermeable anions, there was no accumulation of D-glucose above the equilibrium value. With Na+ salts of two highly permeable lipophilic anions, NO3- and SCN-, the transient overshoot was enhanced relative to that with Cl-. With Na+ salts whose mode of membrane translocation is electroneutral, i.e. acetate, bicarbonate, and phosphate, no overshoot was found. These findings suggest that only anions which penetrate the brush border membrane and generate an electrochemical potential, negative on the inside, permit the uphill Na+-dependent transport of D-glucose.     

Kinetics of D-glucose transport across the intestinal brush-border membrane of the cat

1. D-glucose transport across the intestinal brush-border membrane of the cat, a carnivorous animal, was investigated using isolated brush-border membrane vesicles (BBMV). Kinetic experiments were performed under zero-trans conditions (initial [Na+]in and [Gluc]in = O) with the transmembrane electrical potential difference clamped to zero. 2. D-glucose uptake by the BBMV was strongly stimulated by an inwardly directed Na+-gradient. Uptake under Na+-free conditions seemed to occur by simple diffusion. 3. The apparent kinetic constants (Vmax, Km) of Na+-dependent D-glucose transport were computed by forcing initial uptake rates at 0.002-10.0 mmol/l D-glucose to either a Michaelis-Menten type equation with a single or with two carrier-mediated components. 4. Best fit of the experimental data was obtained with the two-component model indicating the existence of two Na+-dependent carrier-mediated mechanisms. System 1 and system 2 differ with respect to the transport velocity as well as the substrate affinity constants with Vmax being 2.5-fold and Km being 5-fold higher for system 1 compared with system 2.     

Characterization and histochemical localization of the rat intestinal Na(+)-D-glucose cotransporter by monoclonal antibodies

The localization of the Na(+)-D-glucose cotransporter in rat small intestine was investigated with four monoclonal antibodies which were raised against porcine renal brush-border membrane proteins. The antibodies alter high affinity phlorizin binding or Na+ gradient-dependent D-glucose uptake in kidney and intestine. In both organs, the antibodies react with polypeptides with apparent molecular weights of 75,000 and 47,000. In pig kidney, these polypeptides were identified as components of the Na(+)-D-glucose cotransporter (Koepsell, H., K. Korn, A. Raszeja-Specht, S. Bernotat-Danielowski, D. Ollig, J. Biol. Chem. 263, 18419-18429 (1988)). The electron microscopic localization of antibody binding was investigated by immunogold labeling of ultrathin plastic sections. In villi and crypts of duodenum, jejunum and ileum the antibodies bound specifically to brush-border membranes of enterocytes and did not react with the basolateral membranes. The density of antigenic sites in brush-border membranes was highest in jejunum, intermediate in ileum and lowest in duodenum. On the tip, the middle and the basis of the villi the density of antigenic sites was similar. The data demonstrate homologous Na(+)-D-glucose cotransporters in kidney and intestine. They suggest that during maturation of the enterocytes when the total area of brush-border membrane increases, the concentration of the Na(+)-D-glucose cotransporter in the brush-border membrane remains constant. However, we found that different segments of small intestine not only contain different surface areas of the transporter-containing brush-border membrane per intestinal length but also different densities of the transporter within the brush-border membrane.     

Purification of a putative Na+/D-glucose cotransporter from pig kidney brush border membranes on a phlorizin affinity column

Phlorizin, a potent inhibitor of the Na+/D-glucose cotransporter, was derivatised to 3-aminophlorizin and subsequently coupled to Affi-Gel 15. Affinity chromatography of pig kidney brush border membranes solubilised in Triton X-100 allowed the purification of a 60 kDa protein on this resin. We consider this protein to be the Na+/D-glucose cotransporter, or part of it, for the following reasons: (i) binding of this protein to Affi-Gel 15 specifically requires phlorizin covalently attached to the resin and is lowered when phlorizin is replaced by phloretin; (ii) binding of the 60 kDa protein to a phlorizin affinity column requires the presence of Na+; (iii) polyclonal as well as monoclonal antibodies against the 60 kDa protein inhibit binding of phlorizin to brush border membranes from rabbit and pig kidney.     

Bile-salt inhibition of sodium ion-coupled D-glucose and L-alanine accumulation by brush-border-membrane vesicles from hamster jejunum.

The effects of bile salts on Na+-coupled accumulation of D-glucose and L-alanine by brush-border-membrane vesicles isolated from hamster jejunum were investigated. The approximate percentage inhibition of Na+-coupled D-glucose accumulation produced by various bile salts at a concentration of 1 mM were: deoxycholate and chenodeoxycholate, 60%; glycine and taurine conjugates of deoxycholate and chenodeoxycholate, 40--50%; lithocholate, 45%; cholate and its glycine and taurine conjugates, less than 10%. Inhibition of Na+-coupled accumulation of D-glucose was rapid, reversible and not due to dissolution of the vesicles. Na+-coupled accumulation of L-alanine was also inhibited by deoxycholate. Deoxycholate but not cholate enhanced (1) the rate of Na+ influx, (2) the rate of influx of D-glucose and L-alanine in the absence of a Na+ gradient and (3) the rate of efflux of D-glucose and L-alanine from vesicles preloaded with this sugar or amino acid. Deoxycholate-stimulated efflux of D-glucose was not blocked by phlorizin, which completely prevented efflux in the absence of this bile salt. These results suggest that selected bile salts inhibit Na+-coupled accumulation of D-glucose and L-alanine by enhancing the rate of dissipation of the Na+ gradient required for substrate accumulation. In addition, bile salts may also decrease D-glucose and L-alanine accumulation by increasing the rate of efflux of these substrates across the brush-border plasma membrane.     

Increased Na(+)-dependent D-glucose transport and altered lipid composition in renal cortical brush-border membrane vesicles from bile duct-ligated rats.

Erythrocyte membranes of patients with liver disease are characteristically enriched in cholesterol, a change known to impair several carrier-mediated membrane transport functions. In the present study we have assessed whether experimental liver disease can affect the membrane lipid composition and transport function of kidney epithelial cells. Small (about 5%) but significant (P less than 0.01) increases were found in the cholesterol-to-phospholipid molar ratio (C/PL) of rat renal cortical brush-border membrane (BBM) vesicles 3, 8, and 15 days after bile duct ligation which correlated closely with increased fluorescence polarization, i.e., decreased membrane fluidity (r = 0.75, P less than 0.001; n = 27). A lipoprotein-mediated pathogenesis was suggested by the close relationship between BBM C/PL and plasma C/PL (r = 0.69, P less than 0.001). The mean high-affinity Na(+)-coupled D-glucose uptake by BBM vesicles was higher 1, 3, 8, and 15 days after ligation than in non-operated rats, significantly so at 3 and 8 days (611 +/- 37 and 593 +/- 22 vs. 507 +/- 21 pmol/mg protein per 4 sec; P less than 0.05), and was positively correlated with BBM C/PL (r = 0.58, P less than 0.01) and fluorescence polarization (r = 0.41, P less than 0.05). Brief incubation of BBM vesicles from normal rats with cholesterol-rich phospholipid liposomes simultaneously increased BBM C/PL and Na(+)-dependent D-glucose uptake. Stimulation of BBM Na(+)-glucose cotransport in ligated rats was not due to delayed dissipation of the Na+ gradient or to a more rapid development of membrane potential. High-affinity Na(+)-dependent D-glucose uptake kinetics in 3-day bile duct-ligated rats showed a lower Kt, without an alteration in maximum velocity, Vmax, compared to sham-operated animals (0.298 +/- 0.015 vs. 0.382 +/- 0.029 mM; P less than 0.05), whilst the binding dissociation constant, Kd of high-affinity phlorizin binding sites was reduced by ligation (0.453 +/- 0.013 vs. 0.560 +/- 0.015 microM; P less than 0.001). We conclude that an early effect of bile duct ligation is to enrich renal cortical brush-border membranes in cholesterol, thereby decreasing membrane fluidity and stimulating Na(+)-dependent D-glucose uptake by increasing the affinity of the carrier.     

A two sodium ion/D-glucose symport mechanism: membrane potential effects on phlorizin binding

Apical membrane vesicles isolated from a continuous renal cell line, LLC-PK1, catalyze electrogenic Na+-stimulated hexose transport and Na+-dependent binding of 3H-labeled 1-[2-(beta-D-glucopyranosyloxy)-4, 6-dihydroxyphenyl]-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-1-propanone [( 3H]phlorizin), a competitive ligand of this transport system. Phlorizin was not itself transported across the membrane and thus can serve as a probe of the binding step. The stoichiometry of Na+-dependent phlorizin binding in vesicles was 1:1, whereas Na+/hexose cotransport in vesicles exhibited a 2:1 stoichiometry. Na+ increased the affinity of phlorizin binding without affecting the total number of binding sites. An increased number of Na+-dependent phlorizin binding sites was observed under conditions of interior-negative membrane potential. These results are consistent with a model of the Na+/glucose cotransport cycle in which the unloaded transporter is negatively charged and its orientation influenced by membrane potential. Glucose and one sodium ion interact with the transporter, resulting in an uncharged complex. Binding of a second sodium ion triggers translocation of glucose and both sodium ions via formation of a loaded carrier complex bearing a single positive charge.     

Gentamicin inhibits Na+-dependent D-glucose transport in rabbit kidney brush-border membrane vesicles

We studied the effect of gentamicin on Na+-dependent D-glucose transport into brush-border membrane vesicles isolated from rabbit kidney outer cortex (early proximal tubule) and outer medulla (late proximal tubule) in vitro. We found the same osmotically active space and nonspecific binding between control and gentamicin-treated brush-border membrane vesicles. There was no difference in the passive permeability properties between control and gentamicin-treated brush-border membrane vesicles. Kinetic analyses of D-glucose transport into 1 mM gentamicin-treated brush-border membrane vesicles demonstrated that gentamicin decreased Vmax in the outer cortical preparation, while it did not affect Vmax in the outer medullary preparation. With regard to Km, there was no effect of gentamicin in any vesicle preparation. When brush-border membrane vesicles were incubated with higher concentrations of gentamicin, Na+-dependent D-glucose transport was inhibited dose-dependently in both outer cortical and outer medullary preparations. Dixon plots yield inhibition constant Ki = 4 mM in the outer cortical preparation and Ki = 7 mM in the outer medullary preparation. These results indicate that the Na+-dependent D-glucose transport system in early proximal tubule is more vulnerable to gentamicin toxicity than that in late proximal tubule.     

The mechanism of decreased Na+-dependent D-glucose transport in brush-border membrane vesicles from rabbit kidneys with experimental Fanconi syndrome

In our previous paper (Yanase, M. et al. (1983) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 733, 95-101) we reported that the Na+-dependent D-glucose uptake into brush-border membrane vesicles is decreased in rabbits with experimental Fanconi syndrome (induced by anhydro-4-epitetracycline). In the present paper we investigate the mechanism underlying this decrease. D-Glucose is taken up into the osmotically active space in anhydro-4-epitetracycline-treated brush-border membrane vesicles and exhibits the same distribution volume and the same degree of nonspecific binding and trapping as in control brush-border membrane vesicles. The passive permeability properties of control and anhydro-4-epitetracycline-treated brush-border membrane vesicles are shown to be the same as measured by the time-dependence of L-glucose efflux from brush-border membrane vesicles. D-Glucose flux was measured by the equilibrium exchange procedure at constant external and internal Na+ concentrations and zero potential. Kinetic analyses of Na+-dependent D-glucose flux indicate that Vmax in anhydro-4-epitetracycline-treated brush-border membrane vesicles (79.3 +/- 7.6 nmol/min per mg protein) is significantly smaller than in control brush-border membrane vesicles (141.3 +/- 9.9 nmol/min per mg protein), while the Km values in the two cases are not different from each other (22.3 +/- 0.9 and 27.4 +/- 1.8 mM, respectively). These results suggest that Na+-dependent D-glucose carriers per se are affected by anhydro-4-epitetracycline, and that this disorder is an important underlying mechanism in the decreased Na+-dependent D-glucose uptake into anhydro-4-epitetracycline-treated brush-border membrane vesicles.     

Reconstitution of a partially purified Na+-dependent D-glucose transport system from rat jejunal brush border membranes

The Na+-dependent D-glucose transport system of rat jejunal brush border membranes was partially purified and reconstituted into functional proteoliposomes. Brush border membrane vesciles isolated from villous cells were first extracted with 0.3% cholate to remove extrinsic proteins and the insoluble residual pellet was reextracted with 1.2% cholate. The 1.2% cholate-extracted soluble fraction was then further purified by hydroxylapatite and Concanavalin A affinity chromatography in tandem. When the HLP-unadsorbed-ConA-unadsorbed fraction was reconstituted into proteoliposomes, it showed a characteristic Na+-coupled, phlorizin inhibitable, D-glucose transport activity that was 3 fold higher than that of the reconstituted proteoliposomes of the 1.2% cholate-extracted fraction. This partially purified fraction also displayed the simplest polypeptide composition pattern among all the membrane fractions analysed in SDS-polyacrylamide gels.     

Aboral changes in D-glucose transport by human intestinal brush-border membrane vesicles.

D-Glucose transport was investigated in isolated brush-border membrane vesicles from human small intestine. Characteristics of D-glucose transport from the jejunum were compared with that in the mid and terminal ileum. Jejunal and mid-ileal D-glucose transport was Na+-dependent and electrogenic. The transient overshoot of jejunal D-glucose transport was significantly greater than corresponding values in mid-ileum. The terminal ileum did not exhibit Na+-dependent D-glucose transport, but did exhibit Na+-dependent taurocholate transport. Na+-glucose co-transport activity as measured by tracer-exchange experiments was greatest in the jejunum, and diminished aborally. We conclude that D-glucose transport in man is Na+-dependent and electrogenic in the proximal intestine and directly related to the activity of D-glucose-Na+ transporters present in the brush-border membranes. D-Glucose transport in the terminal ileum resembles colonic transport of D-glucose.