Transport of [3H]tetraethylammonium (NEt4+), an organic cation, has been studied by using apical-membrane vesicles isolated from cultured kidney epithelial cell line LLC-PK1. The uptake of NEt4+ by apical-membrane vesicles was osmotically sensitive, time-dependent and saturable. The presence of an H+ gradient ([H+]i greater than [H+]o) induced a marked stimulation of NEt4+ uptake against its concentration gradient (overshoot phenomenon), and this concentrative uptake was inhibited by HgCl2. These results suggest that apical membranes isolated from the LLC-PK1 cells retain the transport characteristics of NEt4+ similar to those observed in renal brush-border membranes.