HEPATIC AMINO-ACID-TRANSPORT

Significant progress has been made in the molecular characterization o f the hepatic amino acid transport systems, processes that play a key role in hepatocellular functions such as gluconeogenesis and glycogen formation, and the response of the hepatocyte to injury. Several amino acid transporters have been cloned, and regulation of hepatic amino a cid transport under normal and pathophysiologic conditions can now be examined in greater detail. Recent work on the hepatic amino acid tran sport systems is reviewed, and the clinical implications of these find ings, if known, are discussed.