Barbiturate inhibition of GLUT-1 mediated hexose transport in human erythrocytes exhibits substrate dependence for equilibrium exchange but not unidirectional sugar flux.

Barbiturates inhibit GLUT-1 mediated hexose transport both in vivo [Gjedde & Rasmussen (1980) J. Neurochem. 35, 1382-1387; Otsuka et al. (1991) Am. J. Physiol. 261, R265-R275] and in vitro [Honkanen et al. (1995) Biochemistry 34, 535-544]. In the present study, the mechanism by which barbiturates inhibit GLUT-1 mediated hexose transport was examined by measuring both unidirectional zero trans and equilibrium exchange fluxes of hexoses in the functionally well-characterized, GLUT-1 rich human erythrocyte system. Unidirectional influx were both inhibited (> 80%) by 10 mM pentobarbital (PB). This symmetrical inhibition of unidirectional flux by PB was virtually independent of cis sugar concentration (2-130 mM) and exhibited an IC50 of approximately 2 mM. In contrast to unidirectional sugar flux, PB inhibition of equilibrium exchange sugar flux is attenuated by increased substrate concentration (e.g., 88% inhibition at 1 mM Glc versus 40% inhibition at 130 mM Glc in the presence of 10 mM PB) and exhibits an IC50 of approximately 10 mM at 100 mM Glc. Other barbiturates were found to inhibit sugar flux in human erythrocytes in this differential manner. These findings, when viewed with kinetic models proposed for GLUT-1 mediated transport [Carruthers (1990) Physiol. Rev. 70, 1135-1176], are consistent with barbiturates being noncompetitive inhibitors of Glc translocation and preferentially inhibiting the unoccupied form of the carrier protein. We propose, therefore, that barbiturates may prevent or alter the conformational changes associated with the reorientation of the carrier protein within the membrane. Overall, these results imply that barbiturates may more strongly inhibit GLUT-1 mediated Glc flux in vivo when the trans Glc is near zero as a result of either metabolism or another transport process.