The pinocytosis of 125I-labelled poly(vinylpyrrolidone), [14C]sucrose and colloidal [198Au]gold by rat yolk sac cultured in vitro.

The rates of uptake of 125I-labelled poly(vinylpyrrolidone), [14C]sucrose and colloidal [198Au]gold by 17.5-day rat yolk sac cultured in vitro were studied. Over a 6.5h period each substrate was accumulated at a constant and reproducible rate of approx. 2microliter/h per mg of protein. After accumulation in vitro, the three substances were released from the tissue into substrate-free medium at low rates. Sucrose present in the medium at concentrations up to 10 mg/ml was without effect on the accumulation of either [14C]sucrose or 125I-labelled poly(vinylpyrrolidone), but at higher concentrations inhibited the uptake of both substrates. Some batches of colloidal [198Au]gold had a significantly higher Endocytic Index (up to 5 microliter/h per mg of protein). The Endocytic Index of such a batch decreased with increasing substrate concentration, but colloidal gold did not decrease the Endocytic Index of 125I-labelled poly(vinylpyrrolidone). It is concluded that the three substrates enter the yolk sac by pinocytosis in the liquid phase. Those batches of colloidal [198Au]gold with higher Endocytic Indices are considered to enter also by adsorption on membrane binding-sites.