To elucidate the mechanism of taurine transport across the hepatic plasma membranes, rat liver sinusoidal plasma membrane vesicles were isolated and the transport process was analyzed. In the presence of a sodium gradient across the membranes (vesicle inside < vesicle outside), an overshooting uptake of taurine occurred. In the presence ofother ion gradients (K⁺, Li⁺, and choline⁺), taurine uptake was very small and no such overshoot was observed. Sodium-dependent uptake of taurine occurred into an osmotically active intravesicular space. Taurine uptake was stimulated by preloading vesicles with unlabeled taurine (transstimulation) in the presence of NaCl, but not in the presence of KCl. Sodium-dependent transport followed saturation kinetics with respect to taurine concentration; double-reciprocal plots of uptake versus taurine concentration gave a straight line from which an apparent Km value of 0.38mM and Vmax of 0.27nmol/20s×mg of protein were obtained. Valinomycin-induced K⁺-diffusion potential failed to enhance the rate of taurine uptake, suggesting that taurine transport does not depend on membrane potential. Taurine transport was inhibited by structurally related ω-amino acids, such as β-alanine and γ-aminobutyric acid, but not by glycine, ε-aminocaproic acid, or other α-amino acids, such as L-alanine. These results suggest that Na⁺ -dependent uptake of taurine might occur across the hepatic sinusoidal plasma membranes via a transport system that is specific for ω-amino acids having 2-3 carbon chain length.