bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Impaired cell volume regulation in Na(+)-H+ exchange-deficient mutants
Authors: Rotin D. , Grinstein S.
Published: December 2017

To elucidate the mechanism of regulatory volume increase (RVI) in Chinese hamster ovary cells, Na(+)-H+ exchange-deficient mutants, called AP-1, were derived from WT-5 cells, a wildtype subclone. The absence of functional antiports in AP-1 cells was established through measurements of intracellular pH (pHi) and Na+ uptake. Cells exposed to hypotonic medium initially swelled but regained near-normal volume within minutes. When isotonicity was then restored, WT-5 cells shrank immediately and then carried out RVI, which was inhibited by 0.1 mM amiloride. This amiloride-sensitive RVI was absent in the AP-1 mutants, suggesting involvement of Na(+)-H+ exchange. In some cell types, RVI is mediated by Na(+)-K(+)-2Cl- cotransport. Bumetanide-sensitive 86Rb+ (K+) influx was detectable in both WT-5 and AP-1 cells, suggesting the presence of Na(+)-K(+)-2Cl- cotransport. Bumetanide-sensitive influx was stimulated by osmotic shrinking in WT-5 cells, and only slightly in AP-1 cells. However, Na(+)-K(+)-2Cl- cotransport did not contribute to volume regulation, since bumetanide (50 microM) failed to inhibit RVI in osmotically shrunken WT-5 cells. The inability of cotransport to induce a volume gain in WT-5 cells was attributable to the simultaneous stimulation of Na(+)-K(+)-2Cl- efflux. The rate of efflux was similar in magnitude to the corresponding influx rate so that net Na(+)-K(+)-2Cl- cotransport was negligible. These results show that RVI in osmotically shrunken Chinese hamster ovary cells is mediated by the Na(+)-H+ antiport and that, although stimulated, Na(+)-K(+)-2Cl- cotransport does not contribute to anisosmotic volume regulation.
Oscillatory mode of calcium signaling in rat pancreatic acinar cells
Authors: Tsunoda Y. , Stuenkel E. L. , Williams J. A.
Published: December 2017

Cytoplasmic free calcium concentration ((Ca2+]i) was evaluated by dual-wavelength microspectrofluorometry of fura-2-loaded individual rat pancreatic acinar cells. Resting [Ca2+]i in unstimulated acini was 94.1 +/- 4.1 nM. Stimulation with high concentrations of cholecystokinin (CCK, 100 pM to 1 nM) led to an immediate rise in [Ca2+]i to 400-1,000 nM followed by a fall within 2-5 min to a plateau only slightly above the prestimulation level. Lower and more physiological concentrations of CCK (1-30 pM), after a latent period of 60-90 s, induced a smaller sustained increase in [Ca2+]i (30-40 nM) with superimposed repetitive transient [Ca2+]i spikes. These oscillations averaged 120-150 nM in amplitude, occurred at a frequency which averaged 1.5 times/min, and were maintained as long as the stimulus was applied. Similar [Ca2+]i oscillations were observed when acini were stimulated with submaximal concentrations of carbamylcholine (0.1-1 microM) and neuromedin C (0.1-1 nM). Intracellular Ca2+ stores were not depleted during [Ca2+] oscillations, since a subsequent increase to 1 nM CCK led to an immediate rise in [Ca2+]i indistinguishable from the response of cells initially stimulated at this concentration. Although extracellular Ca2+ was required for maintenance of frequency of the spikes, the major source of Ca2+ utilized for oscillations was intracellular, since elimination of medium Ca2+ or Ca2+ entry blockade with lanthanum failed to inhibit oscillations. Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (10 nM) and high K+ (50 mM) did not affect [Ca2+]i oscillations. Antimycin (10 microM), which depletes cytoplasmic ATP, increased basal [Ca2+]i and inhibited the oscillations.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Structure-activity relations of the cardiac gap junction channel
Authors: Spray D. C. , Burt J. M.
Published: December 2017

Cardiac gap junction channels play the important roles of synchronizing pacemaker cells and allowing impulse propagation along the conduction system and throughout the ventricular myocardium. These channels, which support current flow in both longitudinal and tranverse directions, are permeable to anions and cations with radii less than approximately 0.5 nm and in rat heart have unitary conductances on the order of 50 pS. This unitary conductance is consistent with channel geometry described by a right cylindrical pore with diameter large enough for the brilliantly fluorescent dye molecule lucifer yellow to pass between cells. These channels, like others in biological systems, are opened and closed by various treatments, a process termed gating. Cytoplasmic acidification reduces junctional conductance (gj), an effect that is apparently potentiated by elevated myoplasmic Ca ions. Reduced gj also occurs in response to a variety of lipophilic molecules, including halothane, heptanol, and unsaturated fatty acids; the mechanism of action may involve disruption of the protein-lipid microenvironment of the gap junction channel. Arachidonic acid uncouples, and this effect is partially, but incompletely, blocked by an inhibitor of the lipoxygenase metabolic pathways. Cyclooxygenase inhibitors have no protective effects. Certain cyclic nucleotides can rapidly increase gj [adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP)] or slightly decrease it [guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP)], and agents that use these cyclic nucleotides as second messengers (isoproterenol and perhaps carbachol, respectively) produce consistent effects. Agents expected to cause protein kinase C activation (tumor-promoting phorbol esters and diacylglycerol) increase gj rapidly. The gap junction protein from rat heart has been cloned and sequenced. From the primary sequence for the protein, plausible sites of action within the putative cytoplasmic domains are proposed for each of these treatments. In response to gating stimuli that close the channel (halothane, CO2, heptanol), unitary channel conductance is unchanged, suggesting that these agents act by reducing open time probability. Together, these properties constitute the beginnings of our endeavor to define pharmacological agents that are potentially useful in therapeutic manipulation of synchronous discharge, conduction velocity, and isochronous wavefront propagation in cardiac tissue.
Free radical injury to skeletal muscles of young, adult, and old mice
Authors: Zerba E. , Komorowski T. E. , Faulkner J. A.
Published: December 2017

We tested the hypotheses that 1) muscles of old mice are more susceptible to injury than muscles of young and adult mice, and 2) secondary or delayed onset injury results from free radical damage. Extensor digitorum longus muscles were injured in situ by lengthening contractions. Injury was assessed by measurement of maximum isometric tetanic force (Po) expressed as a percentage of the control value and by morphological damage. Mice were treated with a free radical scavenger, polyethylene glycol-superoxide dismutase (PEG-SOD). Three days postinjury, the Po of 44% for muscles of nontreated old mice was significantly lower than the Po of 58 and 61% for those of young and adult mice. In each group, the secondary injury at 3 days was alleviated by treatment with PEG-SOD. For treated muscles of young, adult, and old mice, values for Po were 88, 80, and 70%, respectively. We conclude that muscles of old mice are more susceptible to injury than muscles of young or adult mice and that free radicals contribute to the secondary or delayed onset injury.
Augmentation of GABA-induced current in frog sensory neurons by pentobarbital
Authors: Akaike N. , Tokutomi N. , Ikemoto Y.
Published: December 2017

The effect of pentobarbital sodium (PB) on the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-induced macroscopic and microscopic Cl- currents (ICl and iCl, respectively) was studied in the soma membrane of isolated frog sensory neurons using a rapid concentration-jump and patch-clamp technique. The GABA-induced ICl was composed of a transient peak and a steady plateau. PB shifted the concentration-response curve of the GABA-induced peak ICl to the left without affecting the maximum value. The apparent dissociation constant (KD) decreased from 13 microM at control to 8.0, 4.8, and 2.9 microM by adding 10, 30, and 100 microM PB, respectively. PB also shifted the concentration-response curve for the plateau ICl to the left and augmented the maximum value of the plateau, indicating an increase in the available receptor-channel complex. The Hill coefficient (n = 2) in concentration-response curves of both peak and plateau responses was not changed by adding PB. Both the activation and desensitization phases of GABA-induced ICl consisted of two exponential components. PB significantly increased the time constant of slow desensitization component at all concentrations of GABA used. In the "inside-out" configuration, PB markedly increased the open probability (Po) of a GABA-gated single Cl- channel having a conductance of 14.57 +/- 2.3 pS (n = 123) without affecting the single-channel conductance. The increase of Po was due to the prolongation of mean open time (tau of the tau os) and shortening of mean closed time (tau cf and tau cs), resulting in the increase of channel-opening events.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Proton fluxes associated with the Ca pump in human red blood cells
Authors: Milanick M. A.
Published: December 2017

Ca fluxes and H fluxes were measured in human red blood cells at 37 degrees C to characterize the effects of extracellular protons (Hout) on the Ca pump and to determine the stoichiometry of Ca-H exchange. A pH-stat technique was used to measure the rate of H influx, and 45Ca was used to determine the rate of Ca efflux. 4,4'-Diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid (DIDS) was used to reduce proton permeability. A La-sensitive H influx was observed in Ca-loaded cells (Ca = 2 mmol/l packed cells) and was not observed in the cells loaded with vanadate as well as Ca. Similar results were obtained in Ca-loaded ghosts. The La dose-response curves for H influx and for Ca efflux were similar [50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) = approximately 5 microM] in intact red blood cells. The stoichiometry of the La-sensitive fluxes among different experiments ranged from 1.7 to 2.1 H/Ca when extracellular pH (pHout) = 6.3. Thus the Ca pump in intact red blood cells mediates Ca-2H exchange at pHout = 6.3. A 100-fold decrease in Hout [from pH 6.5 to 8.5; intracellular pH (pHin) approximately 7.4] only decreased Ca efflux 1.5- to 3-fold, hence Hout had little effect on the overall rate under the conditions studied. The small effect of Hout was a surprising result for a Ca-H exchange system, since one would have expected a steep dependence of Ca pump on Hout at Hout less than the Michaelis constant (Km). However, no La-sensitive H influx was observed when pHout = 8. On the basis of these data, it is suggested that the Ca pump also mediates Ca efflux uncoupled from H influx (Ca2+/phi H+). Ca efflux in the presence of 11 mM extracellular Ca (Caout) was one-fifth the value obtained in the absence of Caout at pHout = 8.5; this inhibition was reversed by increasing Hout (to pH 6.1). These results are consistent with a model in which 1) the Ca pump mediates Ca2+/2H+ exchange at high Hout; 2) the Ca pump mediates Ca2+/phi H+ exchange at low pHout; 3) the rates of the two processes are less than or equal to 4-fold different; 4) Caout inhibits pump activity at low Hout; and 5) Caout competes with Hout for binding.
Exercising mammals synthesize stress proteins
Authors: Locke M. , Noble E. G. , Atkinson B. G.
Published: December 2017

Spleen cells, peripheral lymphocytes, and soleus muscles were removed from male Sprague-Dawley rats that had been run on a treadmill (24 m/min) for either 20, 40, or 60 min or to exhaustion (86 +/- 41 min) and were labeled in vitro with [35S]methionine at 37 degrees C. Similar tissues from nonrunning control rats were labeled in vitro at either 37 or 43 degrees C (heat shock). Fluorographic analyses of one- and two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic separations of the proteins from cells and tissues of exercised rats demonstrate the new or enhanced synthesis of proteins of approximately 65, 72, 90, and 100 kDa. Although synthesis of these proteins is low or not detectable in tissues from control rats labeled at 37 degrees C, they are prominent products of similar tissues labeled under heat-shock conditions (43 degrees C) and, in fact, correspond in Mr and pI with the so-called heat-shock proteins. These results suggest that exercise is a sufficient stimulus to induce or enhance the synthesis of heat shock and/or stress proteins in mammalian cells and tissues.
Regulation of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate-induced Ca2+ release. I. Effect of Mg2+
Authors: Volpe P. , Alderson-Lang B. H. , Nickols G. A.
Published: December 2017

Canine cerebellar membranes were fractionated by differential centrifugation into a crude mitochondrial pellet (P2) and a crude microsomal pellet (P3). The effect of Mg2+ on inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3)-induced Ca2+ release and [3H]IP3 binding was assessed. Mg2+ inhibited IP3-induced Ca2+ release in a concentration-dependent manner. Mg2+ influenced both the extent of IP3-induced Ca2+ release and the apparent affinity for IP3. A 10-fold change of free Mg2+ (from approximately 30 to approximately 300 microM) reduced the extent of Ca2+ release by two- to threefold and shifted the apparent Michaelis constant from approximately 0.5 to approximately 0.9 microM IP3. Thus Mg2+ seemed to be noncompetitive inhibitor of IP3-induced Ca2+ release. Mg2+ also inhibited Ca2+ release elicited by glycerophosphoinositol 4,5-bisphosphate, a poorly metabolized analogue of IP3. Mg2+ and heparin sodium were shown to be additive inhibitors of IP3-induced Ca2+ release. Mg2+ inhibited [3H]IP3 binding under experimental conditions designed to minimize IP3 hydrolysis. Scatchard plots indicated that 0.5 mM free Mg2+ reduced maximum binding from 10.9 to 3.5 pmol IP3 bound/mg protein and increased the dissociation constant from 136 to 227 nM. The modulation of [3H]IP3 binding and IP3-induced Ca2+ release by Mg2+ could be physiologically relevant.
Latch-bridge model in smooth muscle: [Ca2+]i can quantitatively predict stress
Authors: Rembold C. M. , Murphy R. A.
Published: December 2017

Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+])-dependent cross-bridge phosphorylation by myosin light chain kinase is postulated to be the primary regulator of stress development in smooth muscle. A four-state model of cross-bridge function, regulated only by [Ca2+]-dependent changes in myosin kinase activity, has been proposed to explain contraction and the latch state of smooth muscle (high force with reduced cross-bridge cycling and ATP consumption). A key test of this model is to determine whether changes in myoplasmic [Ca2+], per se, can quantitatively predict changes in myosin kinase activity, cross-bridge phosphorylation, and therefore force production. We find that changes in aequorin-estimated myoplasmic [Ca2+] can quantitatively predict the time course of phosphorylation and isometric stress production in response to stimulation with histamine and angiotensin II and during adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate-mediated relaxation when [Ca2+] is not changing rapidly. These results suggest that changes in myoplasmic [Ca2+] and activation of myosin light chain kinase may be sufficient to explain both contraction and relaxation of agonist stimulated swine carotid arterial smooth muscle.
Different temperature sensitivity of cardiac Na+ channels in cell-attached and cell-free conditions
Authors: Kohlhardt M.
Published: December 2017

At 19 degrees C and after cooling to 9 degrees C, elementary Na+ currents were recorded in cell-attached and inside-out patches from cultured neonatal rat myocytes. The study aimed to define the temperature sensitivity of single cardiac Na+ channels and to detect a possible modulating influence arising from the recording conditions. Cooling prolonged the open state by reducing the exit rate into a nonconducting configuration [tau open; temperature coefficient (Q10) = 1.90 +/- 0.02] and reduced the unitary current size (i(unit); Q10 = 1.26 +/- 0.03). Reopening proved to be only slightly temperature dependent; the mean number of sequential openings decreased to 91 +/- 2.1% of the value at 19 degrees C. Cooled Na+ channels are still capable of switching to ultralong sequential activity. Cooling reduced reconstructed peak Na+ current (INa) strongly, with Q10 values between 1.85 and 3.11 (mean, 2.36 +/- 0.29), if Na+ channels remained in their natural environment as was the case in cell-attached recording conditions. However, after disrupting the cellular contact, in inside-out patches, the same 10 degrees C drop in temperature diminished peak INa only slightly to 91 +/- 8.1% of the initial control value at 19 degrees C. This suggests a modulating influence on the open probability of cardiac Na+ channels arising from the cytosol of cooled myocytes.
Stability of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase alpha-subunit isoforms in evolution
Authors: Takeyasu K. , Lemas V. , Fambrough D. M.
Published: December 2017

Encoding DNA for alpha 2- and alpha 3-isoforms of the alpha-subunit of the chicken Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase have been cloned, and their nucleotide sequences and deduced amino acid sequences are reported. Comparisons between these data and comparable data for the rat alpha-subunit isoforms make possible an assessment of alpha-subunit isoform diversity among vertebrates. There is approximately twice as much amino acid sequence difference between alpha-isoforms within a single species as there is difference between corresponding alpha-isoforms of bird and mammal. These data are consistent with triplication of the alpha-subunit gene and evolution of substantially different alpha-subunit isoforms before the separation of avian and mammalian lineages over 200 million years ago and then retention of the majority of these structural differences through subsequent evolution. The implications of this conversation of isoform-specific structural features are discussed in terms of transport functions and bioregulation of the Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase.
Adenine nucleotide depletion from endothelial cells exposed to xanthine oxidase
Authors: Aalto T. K. , Raivio K. O.
Published: December 2017

Hypoxia causes breakdown of cellular nucleotides, accumulation of hypoxanthine (HX), and conversion of xanthine dehydrogenase into xanthine oxidase (XO). Upon reoxygenation, the HX-XO reaction generates free radicals, one potential mechanism of tissue damage. Because endothelial cells contain XO and are exposed to circulating HX, they are a likely target for damage. We studied the effect of XO and/or HX at physiologically relevant concentrations on nucleotide metabolism of cultured endothelial cells from human umbilical veins. Cells were labeled with [14C]adenine and incubated for up to 6 h with HX, XO, or both, in the absence or presence of serum. Adenine nucleotides from cell extracts and nucleotide breakdown products (HX, xanthine, and urate) from the medium were separated and counted. HX alone had no effect. XO (80 mU/ml) alone caused a 70% (no serum) or 40% (with serum) fall in adenine nucleotides and an equivalent increase of xanthine and urate. The combination of HX and XO caused a 90% (no serum) or 70% (with serum) decrease in nucleotides, decrease in energy charge, and detachment of cells from the culture plate. Nucleotide depletion was not accounted for by proteolytic activity in the XO preparation. Albumin was only half as effective as serum in preventing nucleotide loss. Thus exogenous XO, in the presence of endogenous HX, triggers adenine nucleotide catabolism, but endogenous XO activity is too low to influence nucleotide levels even at high exogenous HX concentrations. Serum limits the catabolic effect of XO and thus protects cells from free radical damage.
Endocytosis of water channels in rat kidney: cell specificity and correlation with in vivo antidiuresis
Authors: Lencer W. I. , Brown D. , Ausiello D. A. , Verkman A. S.
Published: December 2017

Vasopressin action in the renal collecting duct is believed to be mediated by the cycling of water channels in principal and, possibly, intercalated cells. We used 6-carboxyfluorescein (6-CF) or fluorescein-labeled dextran (FITC-dextran) to determine the location and water permeability of endocytic vesicles from papilla and inner stripe of Brattleboro rats in different states of diuresis. Fifteen minutes after FITC-dextran infusion, fluorescent vesicles were concentrated at the apical pole of principal and intercalated cells. The osmotic water permeability (Pf) of these endosomes was measured by fluorescence quenching. In papillary endosomes, Pf was high (0.04 +/- 0.004 cm/s) when rats were in physiological states of antidiuresis or after treatment with vasopressin, 1-desamino-8-D-arginine vasopressin (DDAVP), or oxytocin; endosomes isolated from these regions of untreated animals had a low Pf. The number of papillary endosomes with high Pf increased with increasing doses of DDAVP. Endosomes from the inner stripe also had a high Pf only after vasopressin treatment. Confocal microscopy of sections of papilla showed that vasopressin significantly increased endocytosis in principal cells but had no effect on intercalated cells. Our data demonstrate that the bulk of fluorescently labeled vesicles from the papilla originate from the apical membrane of principal cells and contain water channels in their limiting membrane only when the rats are in physiological states of antidiuresis. In contrast, the majority of endocytosis in intercalated cells is not involved in water channel recycling.
Regulation of cellular volume in rabbit ventricular myocytes: bumetanide, chlorothiazide, and ouabain
Authors: Drewnowska K. , Baumgarten C. M.
Published: December 2017

Video microscopy was used to study the regulation of cell volume in isolated rabbit ventricular myocytes. Myocytes rapidly (less than or equal to 2 min) swelled and shrank in hyposmotic and hyperosmotic solutions, respectively, and this initial volume response was maintained without a regulatory volume decrease or increase for 20 min. Relative cell volumes (normalized to isosmotic solution, 1T) were as follows: 1.41 +/- 0.01 in 0.6T, 1.20 +/- 0.04 in 0.8T, 0.71 +/- 0.04 in 1.8T, and 0.57 +/- 0.03 in 2.6T. These volume changes were significantly less than expected if all of the measured volume was osmotically active water. Changes in width and thickness were significantly greater than changes in cell length. The idea that cotransport contributes to cell volume regulation was tested by inhibiting Na(+)-K(+)-2Cl- cotransport with bumetanide (BUM) and Na(+)-Cl- cotransport with chlorothiazide (CTZ). Under isotonic conditions, a 10-min exposure to BUM (1 microM), CTZ (100 microM), or BUM (10 microM) plus CTZ (100 microM) decreased relative cell volume to 0.87 +/- 0.01, 0.86 +/- 0.02, and 0.82 +/- 0.04, respectively. BUM plus CTZ also modified the response to osmotic stress. Swelling in 2.6T medium was 76% greater and shrinkage in 0.6T medium was 29% less than in the absence of diuretics. In contrast to the rapid effects of diuretics, inhibition of the Na(+)-K+ pump with 10 microM ouabain for 20 min did not affect cell volume in 1T solution. Nevertheless, ouabain decreased swelling in 0.6T medium by 52% and increased shrinkage in 1.8T medium by 34%. These data suggest that under isotonic conditions Na(+)-K(+)-2Cl- and Na(+)-Cl- cotransport are critical in establishing cell volume, but osmoregulation can compensate for Na(+)-K+ pump inhibition for at least 20 min. Under anisotonic conditions, the Na(+)-K+ pump and Na(+)-K(+)-2Cl- and/or Na(+)-Cl- cotransport are important in myocyte volume regulation.
Atrial natriuretic factor inhibits ciliary motility in cultured rabbit tracheal epithelium
Authors: Tamaoki J. , Kobayashi K. , Sakai N. , Kanemura T. , Horii S. , Isono K. , Takeuchi S. , Chiyotani A. , Yamawaki I. , Takizawa T.
Published: December 2017

To study the effect of atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) on airway ciliary motility, we measured ciliary beat frequency by a photoelectric method in response to ANF in cultured tracheal epithelial cells from rabbits. Addition of ANF but not [Tyr8]ANF-(5-27) decreased ciliary beat frequency in a dose-dependent fashion; the maximal decrease from the baseline value was 24.1 +/- 1.5% (+/- SE, P less than 0.001), and a half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) was 3 x 10(-12) M. Inhibition of neutral endopeptidase activity by phosphoramidon (10(-6) M) or thiorphan (10(-6) M) potentiated the effect of ANF so that the dose-response curve for ANF was shifted to lower concentrations by approximately 0.5 log units (P less than 0.05, in each case). The inhibition of ciliary motility induced by ANF was not affected by the blockade of arachidonic acid metabolism with indomethacin, piroxicam, or nordihydroguaiaretic acid, but it was blocked by methylene blue, a soluble guanylate cyclase inhibitor, and was potentiated by M & B 22948, a guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP) phosphodiesterase inhibitor. The intracellular cGMP levels were increased by ANF, an effect that was further potentiated by phosphoramidon or thiorphan. These results suggest that ANF inhibits ciliary motility presumably through a guanylate cyclase-dependent regulatory pathway and that neutral endopeptidase may play a role in modulating the ANF effect on airway mucociliary transport function.
Effects of vasopressin and cAMP on single amiloride-blockable Na channels
Authors: Marunaka Y. , Eaton D. C.
Published: December 2017

To determine the mechanism by which vasopressin increases sodium transport in sodium-transporting, tight epithelia, we examined single amiloride-blockable Na channels in membrane patches from cultured distal nephron cells (A6) either before or after treatment with arginine vasopressin. Pretreatment of cells with vasopressin (40 mU/ml) for 40-50 min increases NPo (N, the number of Na channels; Po, the open probability of an individual Na channel). The increase in NPo is due to an increase in the number of conductive Na channels with little or no change in the open probability of individual Na channels. Pretreatment of cells for 1 h with 1 mM N6,2'-O-dibutyryladenosine 3', 5'-cyclic monophosphate (DBcAMP) also increased NPo. The increase in NPo caused by DBcAMP pretreatment is also due to the increase in the number of conductive Na channels with no change in the open probability of individual Na channels. Cells pretreated with cholera toxin (CTX; 250 ng/ml) for 4 h appeared similar to cells that had been treated with vasopressin or DBcAMP; that is, the number of Na channels per patch increased with little or no effect on the open probability of individual Na channels. For patches from many untreated cells, when the frequency of occurrence is plotted against the number of channels in an individual patch, the histogram consists of a single peak with a number of channels per patch of 2.0 +/- 1.5 (+/- SD, 126 patches). After pretreatment of cells with vasopressin, DBcAMP, or CTX, the same histogram contains two peaks after vasopressin of 1.8 +/- 1.2 and 9.2 +/- 1.5 (+/- SD, 38 and 53 patches, respectively). These observations suggest that pretreatment of cells with vasopressin, DBcAMP, or CTX may act by promoting insertion of clusters of new sodium channels.
Which value for the first dissociation constant of carbonic acid should be used in biological work?
Authors: Putnam R. W. , Roos A.
Published: December 2017

The apparent first dissociation constant of carbonic acid has been defined in different ways in the literature. Harned and co-workers (8-10) have defined it in terms of molalities of the participating species, including H ions: Ks = mHmHCO3/mCO2. In contrast, Hastings and Sendroy have defined an apparent constant in which acidity is expressed as H ion activity: K'1 = aHmHCO3/mCO2. These constants differ by a factor gamma H, the activity coefficient of H ions at the prevailing ionic strength. Therefore, pK'1 is greater than pKs by an amount equal to -log gamma H, which, at mu = 0.16 M, is approximately 0.1. It is important that the correct value for the apparent dissociation constant or its logarithmic form be entered in the mass action expression or in the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation in order to prevent significant errors in the computation by means of these equations of quantities that cannot be directly measured. Specifically, for the derivation of bicarbonate concentration from PCO2 and pH (-log aH), pK'1 is to be used and not an uncorrected pKs.
Effect of epidermal growth factor on magnesium homeostasis in BC3H1 myocytes
Authors: Grubbs R. D.
Published: December 2017

The acute effects of epidermal growth factor (EGF) on Mg2+ homeostasis were studied in differentiated BC3H1 myocytes. EGF produced a 48-fold stimulation of [3H]thymidine incorporation into quiescent serum-starved cells in the presence of Mg2+, whereas insulin had no effect on [3H]thymidine incorporation. The dose dependence of EGF-stimulated [3H]thymidine incorporation was similar to that of EGF stimulation of 28Mg2+ uptake. In cells loaded with the Mg(2+)-sensitive fluorescent indicator, Mag-fura-2, intracellular Mg2+ concentration ([Mg2+]i) increased after exposure to EGF after a 5-min lag; a similar lag was routinely observed before the stimulation of 28Mg2+ uptake by EGF. In control studies, cytosolic free Ca2+ levels and intracellular pH (pHi) were unchanged during 20 min of exposure to EGF. These results suggest that [Mg2+]i in BC3H1 cells is regulated by EGF. This regulation is not mediated by changes in pHi or intracellular Ca2+ concentration and may constitute an important event in the physiological response of these cells to EGF. The results are discussed within the context of cellular regulation of Mg2+ homeostasis.
Extracellular ATP activates coordinated Na+, Pi, and Ca2+ transport in cardiac myocytes
Authors: De Young M. B. , Scarpa A.
Published: December 2017

Activation of an ATP receptor has previously been shown to induce cytosolic [Ca2+] transients in rat ventricular myocytes. A slower but larger [Ca2+] increase which can cause cell hypercontraction follows the transient when extracellular Pi is increased. This second phase of the [Ca2+] response is stimulated by ATP or adenosine 5'-(gamma-thio)triphosphate in a medium containing 11.2 mM Pi, but not by high concentrations of 2-methylthio-ATP, which stimulate only the initial [Ca2+] transient. Replacing medium Na+ with N-methyl-D-glucamine suppresses this Pi-dependent [Ca2+] increase following ATP addition, suggesting a causal relationship between Na+ transport and Ca2+ influx. Blocking voltage-sensitive Na+ channels, Na(+)-H+ exchange, or Na(+)-K(+)-Cl- cotransport did not reduce ATP-induced cell hypercontraction in 11.2 mM Pi medium, suggesting that these transporters are not involved. ATP stimulation of Na(+)-Pi cotransport was investigated with isotopic methods. The results were consistent with the hypothesis that extracellular ATP stimulates Na(+)-Pi cotransport, which activates Na(+)-Ca2+ exchange. A novel Pi-dependent ATP receptor-effector system has been demonstrated in cardiac cells, and it may have significant effects on cellular transport, contractility, and bioenergetics.
Inhibition of Ca2+ channels via alpha 2-adrenergic and muscarinic receptors in pheochromocytoma (PC-12) cells
Authors: Gollasch M. , Hescheler J. , Spicher K. , Klinz F. J. , Schultz G. , Rosenthal W.
Published: December 2017

Biochemical studies have suggested a voltage-dependent dihydropyridine-sensitive catecholamine release in adrenal chromaffin cells. This release is inhibited by activation of alpha 2-adrenergic and muscarinic receptors; the underlying molecular mechanism is not known. We used undifferentiated PC-12 cells to study the effect of epinephrine and carbachol on transmembranous currents. Applying the patch-clamp technique in the whole cell configuration and using Ba2+ as charge carrier, we identified a high voltage-activated Ca2+ channel current. Both epinephrine (10 microM, in the presence of 1 microM propranolol) and carbachol (10 microM) reversibly inhibited the Ca2+ channel current by 30-40%. Yohimbine abolished and clonidine mimicked the effect of epinephrine. Phenylephrine failed to inhibit the Ca2+ channel current. The effect of carbachol was abolished by atropine. Epinephrine and carbachol did not affect the Ca2+ channel current reduced by the dihydropyridine, PN 200-110 (1 microM), suggesting a selective inhibition of dihydropyridine-sensitive Ca2+ channels. The Ca2+ channel current and its inhibition by receptor agonists were not influenced by intracellularly applied adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP; 100 microM). Pretreatment of cells with pertussis toxin or intracellular infusion of the GDP analogue guanosine-5'-O-(2-thiodiphosphate) was without effects on the control Ca2+ channel current but abolished its hormonal inhibition. Four pertussis toxin-sensitive G proteins were identified in membranes of PC-12 cells: two members of the Gi family, Gi1 and Gi2, and two members of the Go family, Go2 and another Go subtype (possibly Go1). The present data indicate that activated alpha 2-adrenergic and muscarinic receptors inhibit dihydropyridine-sensitive Ca2+ channels via pertussis toxin-sensitive G proteins without the involvement of a cAMP-dependent intermediate step.
Inhibition of gap junction-mediated intercellular communication by alpha-linolenate
Authors: Hasler C. M. , Bennink M. R. , Trosko J. E.
Published: December 2017

The purpose of this investigation was to assess whether alterations in the fatty acid composition of rat liver epithelial (WB-F344) cell phospholipids would modulate gap junction-mediated intercellular communication (GJIC). WB-F344 cells were grown to confluency in culture medium supplemented with one of seven different fatty acids at a concentration of 50 microM for 48 h. Only alpha-linoleate (18:3 n-3) significantly inhibited GJIC. Saturated fatty acids (12:0, 16:0, and 18:0), a monounsaturated fatty acid (18:1 n-9), and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (18:2 and 20:4) did not affect GJIC. The alpha-linolenate-induced inhibition of GJIC was not due to the activation of protein kinase C or intracellular hydroperoxide production, two lipid-dependent parameters previously shown to inhibit GJIC. In addition, alpha-linolenate did not alter membrane fluidity. Although the mechanism by which alpha-linolenate inhibits GJIC is unclear, changes in the fatty acid composition of cell phospholipids may be of critical importance. Subsequent to supplementation with alpha-linolenate, WB-F344 cell phospholipids had reduced 20:4 n-6 and elevated n-3 fatty acids. The results of this investigation emphasize the importance of current research into the influence of lipids on cell function and identify a new mechanism by which gap junctions can be modulated.
MHC composition and enzyme-histochemical and physiological properties of a novel fast-twitch motor unit type
Authors: Larsson L. , Edstrom L. , Lindegren B. , Gorza L. , Schiaffino S.
Published: December 2017

Determinations of fatigue ratio, twitch and tetanus tension, and contraction and half-relaxation times of the isometric twitch were made in 21 single fast-twitch motor units from the rat tibialis anterior muscle. Single motor units were functionally isolated by microdissection of the ventral root, and the glycogen depletion technique was used to demonstrate the muscle fibers in the unit. Morphological and immuno- and enzyme-histochemical methods were applied to serial muscle cross sections to characterize the muscle fibers in the unit. Three of the units had muscle fibers of the IIa type according to staining both for myofibrillar adenosinetriphosphatase after acid preincubation and with the use of monoclonal antibodies specific for myosin heavy chains (MHCs), i.e., the IIa-MHC isoform. The other 18 units were of the IIb type according to enzyme-histochemistry, but immunohistochemistry showed that in six of these units the muscle fibers exhibited the novel type IIx-MHC isoform and in the other 12 units the IIb-MHC isoform. It was found that the IIx motor units have contraction and half-relaxation times similar to those of types IIa and IIb units but have morphological, physiological, and biochemical properties that distinguish them from the latter two types.
HETEs and coronary artery endothelial cells: metabolic and functional interactions
Authors: Gordon E. E. , Gordon J. A. , Spector A. A.
Published: December 2017

Porcine coronary artery endothelial cells have been established in culture. These cells produce prostaglandin (PG) I2, PGF2 alpha, and PGE2 when exposed to either arachidonic acid or ionophore A23187. PG formation was reduced when the cells were exposed to monohydroxy and dihydroxy unsaturated fatty acids. Although all of the hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids (HETEs) produced reductions, 5-HETE caused the largest decrease in PGI2 formation. Therefore, these lipoxygenase products, especially 5-HETE, may impair the nonthrombogenic surface and some vasodilator responses of coronary endothelium. The cells took up each of the HETEs and incorporated them into phospholipids. Uptake was not affected by equimolar amounts of oleic or linoleic acids; even arachidonic acid reduced 12- and 15-HETE uptake by only 50-60%. Like other cells, the coronary endothelium converted 12- and 15-HETE to polar metabolites. As opposed to other cells, however, these cultures also converted 5-HETE to a more polar metabolite. Thus coronary artery endothelium can take up and metabolize all of the major HETEs, including 5-HETE, and thereby reduce their potentially injurious effects in the coronary circulation.
Effect of partial Na pump and Na-H exchange inhibition on [Ca]i during acidosis in cardiac cells
Authors: Nakanishi T. , Seguchi M. , Tsuchiya T. , Cragoe E. J. , Takao A. , Momma K.
Published: December 2017

This study investigated the effects of partial Na pump inhibition and Na-H exchange inhibition on contractile function, intracellular pH (pHi), and intracellular Ca concentration ([Ca]i) during intracellular acidosis, using the fluorescent dyes 2',7'-bis(carboxyethyl)-5,6-carboxyfluorescein and fura-2 in isolated cardiac cells of adult rabbits. Intracellular acidosis with normal extracellular pH was induced by an NH4Cl (10 mM) prepulse technique. A nontoxic concentration (0.5 microM) of ouabain was used to inhibit the Na pump. 5-(N-ethyl-N-isopropyl)amiloride (EIPA) was used to inhibit Na-H exchange. In both the absence and presence of ouabain, pHi fell transiently and then recovered after removal of NH4Cl. Ouabain did not alter the pHi changes observed after removal of NH4Cl. Diastolic and systolic [Ca]i increased during acidosis after NH4Cl removal. In the presence of ouabain, the increase in [Ca]i during acidosis was greater than that in the absence of this drug. Ouabain enhanced the recovery of contractile function during acidosis. In both the absence and presence of ouabain, Na-H exchange inhibition by EIPA reduced the recovery of pHi and mechanical function and the increase in [Ca]i, which were normally observed after NH4Cl removal. These data suggest that in adult rabbit myocytes the Na pump inhibition enhances the increase in [Ca]i during acidosis, and the Na-H exchange inhibition reduces it. The [Ca]i increase during acidosis may be in part due to the altered Na-Ca exchange, which in turn results from the increased Na-H exchange.
Extracellular Na+ dependency of free cytosolic Ca2+ regulation in aortic vascular smooth muscle cells
Authors: Batlle D. C. , Godinich M. , LaPointe M. S. , Munoz E. , Carone F. , Mehring N.
Published: December 2017

This study examined contribution of Na(+)-dependent processes to the regulation of free cytosolic calcium (Ca2+i) in cultured vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) using fura-2. Removal of Na+ from superfusate (replacement with choline) resulted in an increment of Ca2+i that was greatly augmented by pretreatment with ouabain. Under both conditions, Ca2+i increase was followed by partial recovery to a new steady state that was still significantly higher than that seen before removal of external Na+ (Na+o). In ouabain-pretreated cells lowering of Na+o caused progressive increases in Ca2+i. Addition of NiCl2, a Na(+)-Ca2+ exchange inhibitor, completely blocked the increase in Ca2+i produced by removal of Na+o, indicating that the Na(+)-Ca2+ antiporter was responsible for observed Ca2+i changes. Ca2+i increase produced by reduction of Na+o was also seen after depletion of inositol trisphosphate-sensitive Ca2+ stores with repeated pulses of angiotensin II or after blockade of sarcoplasmatic reticulum Ca2+ release with TMB-8 but was not observed in the absence of external Ca2+. These observations indicate that the source of Ca2+i increase in response to changes in the transmembrane Na+ gradient is largely external, and potentiation of the Ca2+i surge by ouabain suggests Ca2+ influx via the Na(+)-Ca2+ exchanger operating in the reverse mode. The relative contribution of a Na(+)-dependent and -independent component of Ca2+i recovery was investigated by superfusing cells with ionomycin in a Na(+)-free medium and later adding Na+ to the medium. This Ca2+ ionophore increased Ca2+i to a peak, and this was followed by a rapid but partial recovery to a new steady state. Readdition of varying amounts of Na+ to the superfusate, in the continued presence of ionomycin, resulted in concentration-related decline in Ca2+i, thereby uncovering a substantial contribution of a Na(+)-dependent mechanism of Ca2+i regulation. Decline of Ca2+i produced by readdition of Na+ was blocked by addition of NiCl2 to the superfusate. Our findings thereby provide evidence for Ca2+i regulation in VSMC via a Na(+)-dependent mechanism, consistent with a Na(+)-Ca2+ exchanger, which acts as a Ca2+ efflux mechanism when Ca2+i is elevated. Na(+)-Ca2+ exchanger acts as a Ca2+ influx mechanism when intracellular Na+ is elevated by prior exposure to ouabain.
Proteoglycan sulfation and storage parallels storage of basic secretory proteins in exocrine cells
Authors: Blair E. A. , Castle A. M. , Castle J. D.
Published: December 2017

Increased storage of basic proline-rich secretory proteins induced in rat parotid acinar cells by isoproterenol is accompanied by increased storage of a chondroitin sulfate-containing proteoglycan. Amino acid analysis of the purified proteoglycan and the chondroitinase digestion products reveals that the polypeptide backbone is a proline-rich protein. Most sulfation occurs in Golgi elements; however, a small fraction of the proteoglycan can be labeled by incubating isolated secretion granules with [35S]phosphoadenosine phosphosulfate ([35S]PAPS), and the amount of sulfate incorporation decreases with increased granule maturity. In vitro incorporation is sensitive to inhibitors of PAPS transport and occurs in intact granules as shown by radioautography. Both the increased production of a chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan following isoproterenol treatment and its sulfation at sites of secretory condensation and storage suggest that sulfation may aid secretory packaging by reducing the known fixed positive charge that stems from the large concentration of basic secretory proteins.
Tissue-specific expression of multiple gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase mRNAs in rat epithelia
Authors: Darbouy M. , Chobert M. N. , Lahuna O. , Okamoto T. , Bonvalet J. P. , Farman N. , Laperche Y.
Published: December 2017

gamma-Glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) is an enzyme that plays a key role in interorgan glutathione transport. Three mRNAs (mRNAI, mRNAII, and mRNAIII) are known to encode the GGT precursor; they are initiated on three separate promoters on the single GGT gene. In this work, we identified by Northern blot and RNase H analysis a new GGT mRNA (mRNAIV). This mRNA differs from the others in its 5'-noncoding sequence. This mRNA species is the predominant GGT mRNA expressed in HTC hepatoma cells and in the small intestine in which its level increases from the base to the apex of the microvillus. The analysis of the GGT gene expression pattern in kidney, mammary gland, small intestine, liver, preneoplastic liver, and HTC hepatoma cells reveals a strong tissue or cell specificity. The mRNAIII was found in all the tissues and cells; in contrast, the expression of mRNAI, mRNAII, and mRNAIV is limited in normal tissues to the kidney and to the small intestine, the two tissues that display the highest enzyme activity. The synthesis of these three mRNAs is linked to the development of the kidney proximal tubule and to the differentiation of the enterocyte. The tissue and cell specificity of the GGT gene expression is based upon the use of multiple promoters that are controlled independently by specific cell factors.
Progesterone increases Ca2+ currents in myometrial cells from immature and nonpregnant adult rats
Authors: Rendt J. M. , Toro L. , Stefani E. , Erulkar S. D.
Published: December 2017

We examined the role of ovarian steroids in regulating Ca2+ channels in rat uterine smooth muscle. Ca2+ currents (ICa) in myometrial cells from nonpregnant adult rats and immature rats injected with either estrogen or progesterone or estrogen plus progesterone were measured with the whole cell patch-clamp method. ICa was more prominent in cells from diestrous rats than in cells from estrous rats. In cells from immature rats the ICa density was significantly greater in cells from progesterone-injected rats than in cells from estrogen-injected or noninjected rats. ICa in cells from rats injected simultaneously with progesterone and the progesterone antagonist RU-486 was not significantly greater than those from noninjected rats. These increases in ICa density are not the result of changes in ICa activation kinetics or voltage dependence, since both are unaffected by steroid injection. The kinetics and voltage dependence of the ICa current in cells from immature and nonpregnant adult rats are similar, suggesting that they represent a single population of Ca2+ channels.
Plasma membrane Na(+)-H+ antiporter and H(+)-ATPase in the medullary thick ascending limb of rat kidney
Authors: Froissart M. , Borensztein P. , Houillier P. , Leviel F. , Poggioli J. , Marty E. , Bichara M. , Paillard M.
Published: December 2017

To characterize H+ transport mechanisms in a fresh suspension of rat medullary thick ascending limb (MTAL) tubules, we have monitored intracellular pH (pHi) with use of the fluorescent probe 2',7'-bis(carboxyethyl)-5,6-carboxyfluorescein. First, a Na(+)-H+ antiporter was identified in bicarbonate-free N-2-hydroxyethylpiperazine-N'-2-ethanesulfonic acid (HEPES)-buffered media at 25 degrees C. pHi recovery of Na-depleted acidified cells was dependent on extracellular sodium concentration, which was inhibited by amiloride in a manner consistent with simple competitive interaction with one external transport site (amiloride Ki = 1.5-2.1 x 10(-5) M); Na-induced pHi recovery of acidified cells was electroneutral since it was not affected by 5 or 100 mM extracellular potassium in the presence or absence of valinomycin. Second, at 37 degrees C, pHi recovery after acute intracellular acidification caused by 40 mM acetate addition to cell suspension was inhibited 36% by 200-400 nM bafilomycin A1, a macrolide antibiotic that specifically inhibits vacuolar-type H(+)-ATPase at submicromolar concentrations. In addition, amiloride-insensitive pHi recovery was inhibited by bafilomycin A1, 10(-3) M N-ethylmaleimide, and 10(-4) M preactivated omeprazole but not by 10(-5) M vanadate, 10(-4) M SCH 28080, or removal of extracellular potassium. Also, metabolic inhibition by absence of substrate, 10(-4) M KCN, or 5 x 10(-4) M iodoacetic acid inhibited amiloride-insensitive pHi recovery. The inhibitory effects of absence of metabolic substrate and iodoacetic acid were removed by reexposure to glucose and L-leucine and by exogenous ATP, respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)