Delineation of cystine and cysteine transport systems in rat kidney cortex by developmental patterns.

The impaired ability of neonatal rat kidney cortex slices to take up L-cystine at a time when the ability to accumulate cysteine is similar to that of adult tissues indicates the separate nature of the transport processes for these amino acids. Dissimilarities in dependence on oxygen and temperature are also indicative of different transport systems. The intracellular form of the amino acid was largely cysteine when either cystine or cysteine was the transported substrate although significant amounts of both were incorporated into reduced glutathione. No difference in intracellular forms was found between neonatal and adult tissue.