Calcium-dependent release of adenosine and uridine nucleotides from A549 cells

Extracellular nucleotides play an important role in lung defense, but the release mechanism and relative abundance of different nucleotide species secreted by lung epithelia are not well defined. In this study, to minimize cell surface hydrolysis, we used a low-volume, flow-through chamber and examined adenosine and uridine nucleotide concentrations in perfusate aliquots of human lung A549 cells challenged by 50% hypotonic shock. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP), adenosine diphosphate (ADP), adenosine monophosphate (AMP), and adenosine (Ado) were quantified in high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis of fluorescent etheno derivatives, and uridine triphosphate (UTP) and uridine diphosphate (UDP) were measured using HPLC-coupled radioenzymatic assays. After the onset of hypotonic shock, ATP, ADP, UTP, and UDP in the perfusates increased markedly and peaked at approximately 2.5 min, followed by a gradual decay in the next 15–20 min; peak changes in Ado and AMP were relatively minor. The peak concentrations and fold increment (in parentheses) were: 34 ± 13 nM ATP (5.6), 11 ± 5 nM ADP (3.7), 3.3 ± 1.2 nM AMP (1.4), 23 ± 7 nM Ado (2.1), 21 nM UTP (>7), and 11 nM UDP (27). Nucleotide release was almost completely abolished from cells loaded with the calcium chelator 1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (BAPTA). Under isotonic conditions, elevation of intracellular calcium with the calcium ionophore ionomycin (5 μM, 3 min) also released nucleotides with kinetics and relative abundance as above, albeit less robust. ADP:ATP (1:3) and UDP:UTP (1:2) ratios in perfusates from stimulated cells were markedly higher than the cytosolic ratios of these species, suggesting that a nucleotide diphosphate (NDP)-rich compartment, e.g., the secretory pathway, contributed to nucleotide release. Laser confocal microscopy experiments illustrated increased FM1-43 uptake into the plasma membrane upon hypotonic shock or ionomycin treatment, consistent with enhanced vesicular exocytosis under these conditions. In summary, our results strongly suggest that calcium-dependent exocytosis is responsible, at least in most part, for adenosine and uridine nucleotide release from A549 cells

Purinergic inhibition of Na+,K+,Cl− cotransport in C11-MDCK cells: Role of stress-activated protein kinases

Previously, we observed that sustained activation of P2Y1 leads to inhibition of Na+,K+,Cl− cotransport (NKCC) in C11 cells resembling intercalated cells from collecting ducts of the Madin-Darby canine kidney. This study examined the role of stress-activated protein kinases (SAPK) in NKCC inhibition triggered by purinergic receptors. Treatment of C11 cells with ATP led to sustained phosphorylation of SAPK such as JNK and p38. Activation of these kinases also occurred in anisomycin-treated cells. Surprisingly, we observed that compounds SP600125 and SB202190, known as potent inhibitors of JNK and p38 in cell-free systems, activated rather than inhibited phosphorylation of the kinases in C11 cells. Importantly, similarly to ATP, all the above-listed activators of JNK and p38 phosphorylation inhibited NKCC. Thus, our results suggest that activation of JNK and/or p38 contributes to NKCC suppression detected in intercalated-like cells from distal tubules after their exposure to P2Y1 agonists

ATP release via anion channels

ATP serves not only as an energy source for all cell types but as an ‘extracellular messenger-for autocrine and paracrine signalling. It is released from the cell via several different purinergic signal efflux pathways. ATP and its Mg2+ and/or H+ salts exist in anionic forms at physiological pH and may exit cells via some anion channel if the pore physically permits this. In this review we survey experimental data providing evidence for and against the release of ATP through anion channels. CFTR has long been considered a probable pathway for ATP release in airway epithelium and other types of cells expressing this protein, although non-CFTR ATP currents have also been observed. Volume-sensitive outwardly rectifying (VSOR) chloride channels are found in virtually all cell types and can physically accommodate or even permeate ATP4- in certain experimental conditions. However, pharmacological studies are controversial and argue against the actual involvement of the VSOR channel in significant release of ATP. A large-conductance anion channel whose open probability exhibits a bell-shaped voltage dependence is also ubiquitously expressed and represents a putative pathway for ATP release. This channel, called a maxi-anion channel, has a wide nanoscopic pore suitable for nucleotide transport and possesses an ATP-binding site in the middle of the pore lumen to facilitate the passage of the nucleotide. The maxi-anion channel conducts ATP and displays a pharmacological profile similar to that of ATP release in response to osmotic, ischemic, hypoxic and salt stresses. The relation of some other channels and transporters to the regulated release of ATP is also discussed

Temperature dependence of Ca²⁺-activated K⁺ currents in the membrane of human erythrocytes

The currents through single Ca2+-activated K+ channels were studied in excised inside-out membrane patches of human erythrocytes. The effects of temperature on single-channel conductance, on channel gating and on activation by Ca2+ were investigated in the temperature range from up 0 to 47° C. The single-channel conductance shows a continuous increase with increasing temperature; an Arrhenius plot of the conductance gives the activation energy of 29.6 ± 0.4 kJ/mol. Reducing the temperature alters channel-gating kinetics which results in a significant increase of the probability of the channel being open (Po). The calcium dependence of Po is affected by temperature in different ways; the threshold concentration for activation by Ca2+ is not changed, the Ca2+ concentration of half-maximal channel activation is reduced from 2.1 μmol/l at 20° C to 0.3 μmol/l at 0° C, the saturation level of the dependence is reduced for temperatures higher then about 30° C. The relevance of the obtained data for the interpretation of the results known from flux experiments on cells in suspensions is discussed

Single K⁺ channels in the apical membrane of amphibian peritoneum

Application of the patch-clamp technique to the apical membrane of amphibian peritoneum revealed a K+ permeability governed by voltage-dependent, K+-permeable channels (PK/PNa = 3.5) that are reversibly blocked by 20 mmol/l internally applied tetraethylammonium. The channels show discrete and multiple conductance levels with elementary conductance of about 22 pS (in 120 mmol/l KCl solution on both sides of the membrane). The channels' behaviour is consistent with an aggregation of channel-forming subunits into clusters with cooperative gating mechanism

Properties of the Ca²⁺-activated K⁺ conductance of human red cells as revealed by the patch-clamp technique

Application of Ca2+ to the inner surface of red-cell membranes activates unitary currents that can be measured in cell-attached and cell-free membrane patches. Ca2+ can be replaced by Pb2+ to activate the single channels. In addition to internal Ca2+ external K+ has to be present. The channels are preferentially permeable to K+ with a selectivity ratio PK:PNa of about 15:1 as estimated from measurement of reversal potentials. The dependence of channel activity on Ca2+ is compatible with the conception that the binding of two Ca2+ is necessary to open a single channel. Both the channel activity and the single-channel conductance exhibit inward rectification. External and internal Na+ inhibit the K+ currents. The reported results suggest that the unitary current events are responsible for the Ca2+-dependent K+ permeability known from measurement on cell suspensions. Therefore, comparison of the two techniques allows calculation of the number of K+ channels per red cell, which on average is about 10

Potential dependence of the "electrically silent" anion exchange across the plasma membrane of Xenopus oocytes mediated by the band-3 protein of mouse red blood cells

Mouse erythroid band-3 protein was incorporated into the plasma membrane ofXenopus oocytes by microinjection of poly(A)+-mRNA from spleens of anemic mice. Subsequently, the efflux of microinjected 36Cl was continuously followed in single oocytes in a perfusion chamber the bottom of which was formed by the window of a Geiger-Müller tube. During the flux measurements, the membrane potential was clamped to different holding potentials. The efflux increased over the voltage range of −10 to −100 mV by a factor of about 1.5. Since the membrane potential cannot act as a driving force of anion exchange, it is suggested that the observed slight potential dependence is related to a recruitment of the anion-loaded transport protein by the electrical field, thereby changing the steady-state distribution between inwardly and outwardly facing anion binding sites of the transport molecules. The experimental data are discussed in terms of ping-pong kinetics, assuming that the potential dependence is primarily due to an effect of the electrical field in the membrane on the ratelimiting interconversion of inwardly and outwardly oriented anion binding sites. The results are compatible with the assumption that in the oocyte membrane the substrate-loaded band-3 molecules are preferentially inwardly oriented, and that the transition from the inwardly to the outwardly oriented conformation is associated with a reorientation of an effective charge of 0.1 elementary charge. During progesterone-induced maturation of the oocytes, several endogenous transport systems change their activity drastically. The mouse band-3 protein in the oocyte membrane also undergoes activity changes; however, these changes do not seem to involve direct regulation by specific metabolic processes. They can be explained as a consequence of the depolarization of the membrane potential associated with the maturation process