Toad bladder amiloride-sensitive channels reconstituted into planar lipid bilayers

In the present study we used established methods to obtain apical membrane vesicles from the toad urinary bladder and incorporated these membrane fragments to solvent-free planar lipid bilayer membranes. This resulted in the appearance of a macroscopic conductance highly sensitive to the diuretic amiloride added to the cis side. The blockage is voltage dependent and well described by a model which assumes that the drug binds to sites in the channel lumen. This binding site is localized at about 15% of the electric field across the membrane. The apparent inhibition constant (K(0)) is equal to 0.98 microM. Ca2+, in the micromolar range on the cis side, is a potent blocker of this conductance. The effect of the divalent has a complex voltage dependence and is modulated by pH. At the unitary level we have found two distinct amiloride-blockable channels with conductances of 160 pS (more frequent) and 120 pS. In the absence of the drug the mean open time is around 0.5 sec for both channels and is not dependent on voltage. The channels are cation selective (PNa/PCl = 15) and poorly discriminate between Na+ and K+ (PNa/PK = 2). Amiloride decreases the lifetime in the open state of both channels and also the conductance of the 160-pS channel.     

Ion channels activated by swelling of Madin Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) cells

Summary According to previous studies hyposmotic swelling of Madin Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) cells leads to a marked decrease of cell membrane resistance. The present study has been performed to identify the underlying ion channels using the patchclamp technique: reduction of extracellular osmolarity to 230 mmol/liter leads to a transient activation of K⁺ channels and a sustained activation of anion channels. The K⁺ channels are inwardly rectifying with a single-channel slope conductance of 56 ± 3 pS at –50 mV (cell negative) and of 29 ± 2 pS at 0 mV PD across the patch 150 mmol/liter K⁺ in pipette). The same channels are activated by an increase of intracellular calcium activity, as shown previously. The anion channels display a single-channel slope conductance of 41 ± 4 pS at –50 mV (cell negative) and of 25 ± 3 pS at 0 mV PD across the patch (150 mmol/liter Cl^– in pipette). The channel is anion selective and conducts both bicarbonate and chloride with a preference for bicarbonate. Its open probability is not affected by changing intracellular calcium from 0.1–10 mol/liter. The channels observed explain the effects of cell swelling on PD, ion selectivity and resistance of the cell membrane in MDCK cells.The authors gratefully acknowledge the valuable discussion with Drs. P. Deetjen, E. Wöll and F. Friedrich, the skilled technical assistance of G. Siber and S. David, and the excellent mechanic and electronic support by K.-H. Streicher, Ing. M. Hirsch and M. Plank. This study was supported by the Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung, Grant No. P5813 and P6792M.     

Possible mechanism of ciliary stimulation by extracellular ATP: Involvement of calcium-dependent potassium channels and exogenous Ca2+

Summary Ciliary motility was examined optically in tissue cultures from frog palate epithelium and frog's esophagus as a function of extracellular concentration of adenosine 5-triphosphate (ATP) and related compounds. The addition of micromolar concentration of ATP caused a strong enhancement of frequency and wave velocity in the direction of the effective stroke. Since adenosine 5-[, imido]-triphosphate (AMP-PNP), a nonhydrolyzable analog of ATP, produces the same effects, ATP hydrolysis is not required. The overall potency is ATP AMP-PNP>ADP adenosine>AMP. It is suggested that both the phosphate and the base moieties are involved in ATP binding.The enhancement of ciliary activity by extracellular ATP is dependent on the presence of extracellular Ca²⁺, which can be replaced by extracellular Mg²⁺. The effect of a number of potent inhibitors of the voltage-gated calcium channels on the stimulation of ciliary activity by ATP were examined. No effect was detected in the concentration range within which these agents are specific. On the other hand, quinidine, a potent inhibitor of K⁺ (calcium-dependent) channels, inhibits the effect of ATP.The following model is suggested: exogenous ATP interacts with a membrane receptor in the presence of Ca²⁺, a cascade of events occurs which mobilizes intracellular calcium, thereby increasing the cytosolic free Ca²⁺ concentration which consequently opens the calcium-activated K⁺ channels, which then leads to a change in membrane potential. The ciliary response to these changes is the enhancement of ciliary activity.This work was supported by a grant from the Fund for Basic Research administered by the Israel Academy of Science and Humanities.     

Differential response of DPI-modified cardiac Na+ channels to antiarrhythmic drugs: No flicker blockade by lidocaine

Summary Elementary Na⁺ currents were recorded in cell attached patches from short-time cultured neonatal cardiocytes in order to test the hypothesis whether the open state of DPI-modified, noninactivating cardiac Na⁺ channels is basically sensitive to blocking drug molecules such as antiarrhythmics.Lidocaine (300 mol/liter) effectively reduced the open probability of cardiac Na⁺ channels and, at a stimulation rate of 1 Hz, depressed the reconstructed macroscopic peak I _Na to 40+ 3.5% of the predrug value. The same drug concentration failed to influence DPI-modified Na⁺ channels. Their open state proved almost insensitive to lidocaine. _open decreased only slightly to 85 ±2%. Still more importantly, the number of transitions between the conducting and a nonconducting configuration did not increase. At –40 mV, lidocaine may interfere with the open state with an association rate constant of 1.3×10⁵ mol^–1sec^–1 which is about two orders of magnitude smaller than the rate constant obtained with propafenone or prajmalium. Moreover, propafenone (10–20 mol/liter) or prajmalium (30 mol/liter) led to a tremendous increase in the number of transitions between the open and a nonconducting configuration. Lidocaine also failed to evoke a fast flicker blockade with reaction kinetics in the microsecond range.It is concluded that DPI-modified cardiac Na⁺ channels discriminate between lidocaine and other antiarrhythmic drugs. As a tentative explanation, this might be indicative for multiple binding sites for those drugs in cardiac Na⁺ channels.This work was supported by a grant from the Deutsche Forschungs-gemeinschagt (Ko 778/2–3), Bonn.     

Lipopolysaccharide induction of outward potassium current expression in human monocyte-derived macrophages: Lack of correlation with secretion

Summary Although an outwardly rectifying K⁺ conductance (I _K, A) is prominently expressed in human alveolar macrophages, the expression of this conductance in human monocyte-derived macrophages (HMDMs) is rare. We have analyzed the induction of the expression of I _K, A in voltage-clamped, in vitro differentiated HMDMs by a number of stimuli which produce either priming or activation of macrophages. Cultures were stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 2 g/ml), interleukin 2 (IL-2, 100 U/ml), or combinations of LPS and either recombinant interferon-gamma (-IFN, 10 U/ml), phorbol myristate acetate (PMA, 0.01 or 1 g/ ml) and platelet activating factor (PAF, 20 ng/ml) for periods of up to 24 hr. Treatment of the cells with either LPS or IL-2 greatly enhanced the frequency of current expression. Treatment with either PMA or -IFN alone did not induce current expression; treatment of the cells with a combination of LPS and either PMA, -IFN, or PAF did not enhance current expression over that observed with LPS alone. The expression of the outwardly rectifying K⁺ current was observed in 36% (n=321) of the cells for cultures treated with LPS and 33% (n=55) of the cells for cultures treated with IL-2. The inactivating outward K⁺ current was absent in cells which were not treated with either LPS or IL-2. The kinetics of current activation and inactivation appeared identical to that previously described for the transient-inactivating outward current of the human alveolar macrophage. Cycloheximide (1 g/ml), an inhibitor of protein synthesis, completely suppressed LPS-induced current expression. No correlation was found between peak current amplitude and cell size in LPS-activated cells expressing the outwardly rectifying K⁺ current, indicating that current density was not held constant from cell to cell. The coupling of ion channel expression and secretion in individual HMDMs was studied using the reverse hemolytic plaque assay. Although an enhancement of K ⁺ current expression was observed following either LPS or IL-2 treatment, a quantitatively similar and uniform increase in the percentage of either IL-1 or lysozyme-secreting cells was not observed. The frequency of current expression in cells identified as secreting tumor necrosis factor- (TNF-), interleukin 1 (IL-1), or lysozyme was the same or decreased over that observed for nonsecreting cells. Thus, LPS treatment increases the number of K⁺ channels on HMDM membranes; however, K⁺ channel expression alone was not sufficient to give rise to enhanced secretion in LPS-activated macrophages. Enhanced K⁺ channel expression appears to be a part of the primary activation signal. K⁺-channel activation would hyperpolarize the membrane potential, potentially providing the driving force for calcium entry through voltage-independent pathways activated by the subsequent binding of soluble substances to membrane surface receptors, the secondary signal linked to secretion.This work was supported by NIH grant RO 1 GM36823.     

The formation of cytoplasmic channels between tapetal cells inZea mays

Summary In this report we show that large cytoplasmic channels form between the tapetal cells ofZea mays (maize) during the period of tapetal cell differentiation. Tapetal cells are connected by plasmodesmata through their cellulosic cell walls prior to the first meiotic division of the meiocytes. As the tapetal cellulose wall is degraded at the onset of meiosis, both plasmodesmata and cytoplasmic channels measuring 50–200 nm are detectable between tapetal cells. By the time the meiotic tetrad is formed, the cytoplasmic channels are well-established and vary in size from 100–400 nm. The channels, with an average diameter of 200–300 nm, persist after the microspores are released from the callose wall and throughout the period of exine development in microsporogenesis. The channels could potentially allow for free exchange of cytoplasm and organelles. As the tapetal cells begin to pull apart and become vacuolate prior to microspore mitosis, the connecting channels are no longer detectable.     

Differential sensitivity of cardiac K(ATP) + channels to guanine nucleotides — evidence for a heterogeneous channel population

In cell-free patches from cultured neonatal rat cardiocytes, the cytosolic presence of GTP--S (100 µmol/l) or GDP-\-S (100 µmol/1) activated K_(ATP) ⁺ channels. GTP--S required cytosolic Mg⁺⁺, suggesting that an activated G-protein causes the increase in open probability. The great variations of the channel response to GTP--S and GDP-\-S indicates that cardiac K_(ATP) ⁺ channels represent a heterogeneous family. Correspondence to: M. Kohlhardt     

Stimulus-Secretion Coupling in Isolated Adrenal Chromaffin Cells: Calcium Channel Activation and Possible Role of Cytoskeletal Elements

Abstract: The catecholamine secretory function of a preparation of isolated bovine adrenal chromaffin cells has been further characterized under conditions designed to elucidate the mechanism of calcium channel activation and the possible role of cytoskeletal elements in stimulus-secretion coupling. Three related sets of data were obtained: (1) Differences in kinetics, Ca dependence, strength, and additivity of the secretory response to acetylcholine (ACh) versus excess K; (2) the effects on secretion of the Ca channel-blocking agents, Ni, Mg, and verapamil; and (3) the Ca dependence of vinblastine action on ACh- and K-evoked secretion. The results suggest that a major portion of the Ca influx required for catecholamine release enters the cell via voltage-dependent Ca channels with some additional Ca influx via the ACh receptor channel. Comparison of the present secretion data with corresponding known electrophysiological properties of isolated chromaffin cells provides added evidence for a role of chromaffin cell action potentials in regulation of Ca influx and the secretory response. Elevated Ca concentrations enhanced K-evoked secretion to levels comparable to that of ACh but did not induce a vinblastine block of K-evoked release. This provides further evidence against a role of microtubules in the common exocytosis event per se. However, a role of cytoskeletal elements in directing the movement of secretory granules, or an action of vinblastine at cholinergic receptors, remain distinct possibilities.     

Protein interactions with lipid bilayers: The channels of kidney plasma membrane proteolipids

Summary Proteolipids extracted from bovine kidney plasma membrane induce irreversible changes in the electrical properties of lipid bilayers formed from diphytanoyl phosphatidylcholine. The interaction with the proteolipid produces channels which are cation selective. At low protein concentrations (i.e., <0.6 g/ml), the single-channel conductance is approximately 10 pS in 100mm KCl and 3 pS in 100mm NaCl. In the presence of protein concentrations above 1 g/ml, another population of channels appears. These channels have a conductance of about 100 pS in 100mm KCl and 30 pS in 100mm NaCl. Further, these channels are voltage dependent in KCl, closing when the voltage is clamped at values 30 mV. The steady-state membrane conductance, measured at low voltages, was found to increase proportional to a high power (2–3) of the proteolipid concentration present in one of the aqueous phases. In 100mm NaCl, the conductance increases at protein concentrations above 5 g/ml, whereas in 100mm KCl in increases at protein concentrations above 0.6 g/ml. These measurements indicate that the higher steady-state conductance observed in KCl at a given proteolipid concentration in a multi-channel membrane presumably results because more channels incorporate in the presence of KCl than in the presence of NaCl.The two major fractions which comprise the proteolipid complex were also tested on bilayers. It was found that both fractions are required to produce the effects described.     

Nicotinic Receptor-Mediated Release of Noradrenaline in the Human Neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y

Abstract: Dimethylphenylpiperazinium iodide (a nicotinic agonist) evokes noradrenaline release from human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells that have been pretreated with 12- O -tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate for 8 min. This effect of dimethylphenylpiperazinium iodide was inhibited by 1 μ M mecamylamine but not by 1 μ M atropine, which suggests that SH-SY5Y cells express nicotinic receptors coupled to the release of noradrenaline. Dimethylphenylpiperazinium iodide-evoked release was enhanced by 5 μ M Bay K 8644 (an L-type calcium agonist) and inhibited by 1 μ M nifedipine. Dimethylphenylpiperazinium iodide depolarised SH-SY5Y cells and enhanced the level of intracellular calcium in cells loaded with fura 2. The effects of dimethylphenylpiperazinium iodide on noradrenaline release, depolarisation, and intracellular calcium levels were all inhibited by 1 μ M desmethylimipramine. The results of this study show that nicotinic receptors in SH-SY5Y cells stimulate noradrenaline release by activation of L-type calcium channels.