The uptake of manganese in brain endothelial cultures.

The present study focused on central nervous system (CNS) transport kinetics of manganese phosphate and manganese sulfate; these findings were correlated with the transport kinetics of manganese chloride (MnCl2), a model Mn compound that has been previously studied. A series of studies was performed to address the transport of Mn salts in confluent cultured endothelial cells. The initial rate of uptake (5 min) of Mn salts (chloride, sulfate, and phosphate) in rat brain endothelial (RBE4) cell cultures is salt-dependent, with the highest rates of uptake for Mn chloride and Mn sulfate (as reflected by the greatest displacement of 54Mn compared with control). Mn phosphate had a lower rate of uptake than the other two Mn salts. These data show that brain endothelial cells efficiently transport Mn sulfate.