1. Despite the depletion of both their content of exchangeable endogenous amino acids and reserves of ATP, starved hypo-osmotically shocked preparations of the tumour cells accumulated relatively large amounts of (14)C-labelled 2-aminoisobutyrate, l-alanine, glycine, l-leucine, l-methionine, l-phenylalanine and l-serine, against their respective concentration gradients, by a process apparently driven by the spontaneous flow of Na(+) ions into the cellular phase. Dependent on (a) which compound was used, (b) its concentration and (c) the direction of the Na(+) ion gradient, the peak value of the ratio of the cellular to extracellular amino acid concentration varied from about 0.4 to 7. 2. The extent to which ATP increased the ratio was defined for l-methionine. 3. Chemical analysis of the cellular amino acid content showed that this increased in parallel with the absorption of (14)C. 4. The accumulation of l-methionine and of glycine, against their own concentration gradients, continued in the presence of either 0.3mm-ouabain or 10mug of oligomycin/ml. Thus the sodium pump was probably not involved in the process when ATP was lacking. 5. l-Leucine caused 0.72+/-0.12 (s.e.m.; 6) extra equivalents of Na(+) to enter the shocked starved tumour cells in parallel with the uptake of leucine itself. Only a small loss of K(+) was induced. 6. The influx and efflux of l-methionine in preparations depleted of ATP were both markedly accelerated by the presence of Na(+) ions. 7. The observations provide further examples of the application of the ion-gradient hypothesis, according to which Na(+) ions act as co-substrates of the amino acid pump. The quantitative importance of parallel Na(+)-independent systems was studied with a new mathematical model.

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5-(2-Chloro-6-methoxyphenyl)oxazolidine-2,4-dione (49) is the most potent agent selected from a series of 5-substituted oxazolidinediones that were found to cause improvements in glucose tolerance in previously fasted rats and potentiation of insulin release in response to a glucose challenge. These compounds were unique in not producing hypoglycemia below the normal fasting glycemia levels. Substituent effects at positions 2-6 of the phenyl ring were investigated. Optimal positions for substitution were found to be the 2-, 5-, and 6-positions. Variations in the oxazolidinedione ring generally lead to loss of activity. The synthesis and structure-activity relationships of this series are detailed.

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