Iodide transport of thyroid plasma membranes

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Abstract
Plasma membranes consisting of closed vesicles were isolated from hog thyroid homogenate. The membrane vesicles showed uphill transport of iodide from an external medium containing monovalent cations, of which K+ induced iodide transport more potently than Na+. The activity of the iodide transport expressed as T/M[I−] was as little as 3 to 11 in the presence of K+, but was invariably present. The ratio reached a maximum within about 10 min and then decreased fairly rapidly to unity. The addition of SCN− or ClO−4 to the external medium inhibited iodide transport. The transport activity was found to be maximum at pH 7.0 to 7.5 in the external medium. A kinetic study showed that the transport rate was saturated with respect to the iodide concentration. These observations suggested the presence of a carrier-mediated iodide transport system which was coupled with K+ flux across the plasma membrane.