Sodium-dependent uptake of [3H]scyllo-inositol by Tetrahymena: incorporation into phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylinositol-linked glycans, and polyphosphoinositols.

[3H]Scyllo-inositol was taken up by Tetrahymena cells through a sodium-dependent pathway wherein unlabeled scyllo- and myo-inositol competed for uptake. d-Glucose was a competitor of [3H]myo-inositol uptake, but did not appear to compete for [3H]scyllo-inositol uptake. Transport of [3H]scyllo- and [3H]myo-inositol was inhibited when sodium was removed from the labeling buffer and by phlorizin, an inhibitor of sodium-dependent transporters. Cytochalasin B, an inhibitor of facilitated glucose transporters, had no significant effect on inositol transport. Internalized [3H]scyllo-inositol was readily incorporated intact into phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylinositol-linked glycans, and polyphosphoinositols. Distribution of [3H]scyllo- and [3H]myo-inositol radioactivity into individual polyphosphoinositols was found to differ.