Kinetics of Na transport in the rat submaxillary main duct perfused in vitro

Identifying stem cells in the main excretory ducts of rat major salivary glands: adventures with commercial antibodies

We investigated the entire length of the main excretory ducts (MED) of the major sublingual, parotid and submandibular salivary glands of mature laboratory rats for mucous (goblet) and luminal ciliated cells, biomarkers of cell proliferation, apoptosis, and five biomarkers of stem cells. Spleen and testis were used as positive controls. We used formalin fixed, paraffin embedded tissues. No mucous cells or cells with luminal cilia were observed in hematoxylin and eosin, alcian blue or periodic acid-Schiff stained sections. Immunohistochemistry using rabbit anti-rat antibodies produced anomalous reactions with cleaved caspase-3 for apoptosis, Ki-67 for proliferative activity and Sox 2. Following antigen retrieval, no primary antibody and all three negative controls, labeled macrophages appeared in the spleen. TUNEL staining revealed a few cells per section undergoing apoptosis. Reactions deemed valid occurred in MED with cytokeratin-5 and c-Kit and stem cell antigen 1 (Sca-1) mostly in the gland and middle segments. Other ducts, but not acini or myoepithelial cells, also were variably stained with c-Kit and Sca-1.

A quantitative analysis of electrolyte exchange in the salivary duct

A healthy salivary gland secretes saliva in two stages. First, acinar cells generate primary saliva, a plasma-like, isotonic fluid high in Na(+) and Cl(-). In the second stage, the ducts exchange Na(+) and Cl(-) for K(+) and HCO(3)(-), producing a hypotonic final saliva with no apparent loss in volume. We have developed a tool that aims to understand how the ducts achieve this electrolyte exchange while maintaining the same volume. This tool is part of a larger multiscale model of the salivary gland and can be used at the duct or gland level to investigate the effects of genetic and chemical alterations. In this study, we construct a radially symmetric mathematical model of the mouse salivary gland duct, representing the lumen, the cell, and the interstitium. For a given flow and primary saliva composition, we predict the potential differences and the luminal and cytosolic concentrations along a duct. Our model accounts well for experimental data obtained in wild-type animals as well as knockouts and chemical inhibitors. Additionally, the luminal membrane potential of the duct cells is predicted to be very depolarized compared with acinar cells. We investigate the effects of an electrogenic vs. electroneutral anion exchanger in the luminal membrane on concentration and the potential difference across the luminal membrane as well as how impairing the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator channel affects other ion transporting mechanisms. Our model suggests the electrogenicity of the anion exchanger has little effect in the submandibular duct.

Channels and transporters in salivary glands

According to the two-stage hypothesis, primary saliva, a NaCl-rich plasma-like isotonic fluid is secreted by salivary acinar cells and its ionic composition becomes modified in the duct system. The ducts secrete K(+) and HCO (3) (-) and reabsorb Na(+) and Cl(-) without any water movement, thus establishing a hypotonic final saliva. Salivary secretion depends on the coordinated action of several channels and transporters localized in the apical and basolateral membrane of acinar and duct cells. Early functional studies in perfused glands, followed by the molecular cloning of several transport proteins and the subsequent analysis of mutant mice, have greatly contributed to our understanding of salivary fluid and the electrolyte secretion process. With a few exceptions, most of the key channels and transporters involved in salivary secretion have now been identified and characterized. However, the picture that has emerged from all these studies is one of a complex molecular network characterized by redundancy for several transport proteins, compensatory mechanisms, and adaptive changes in health and disease. Current research is directed to the molecular interactions between the determinants and the ways in which they are regulated by extracellular signals and intracellular mediators. This review focuses on the functionally and molecularly best-characterized channels and transporters that are considered to be involved in transepithelial fluid and electrolyte transport in salivary glands.

Modulation of Ca2+ mobilization by protein kinase C in the submandibular duct cell line A253

The expression of protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms and the modulation of Ca2+ mobilization by PKC were investigated in the human submandibular duct cell line A253. Three new PKC (nPKC) isoforms (delta, epsilon, and theta) and one atypical PKC (aPKC) isoform (lambda) are expressed in this cell line. No classical PKC (cPKC) isoforms were present. The effects of the PKC activator phorbol 12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA) and of the PKC inhibitors calphostin C (CC) and bisindolymaleimide I (BSM) on inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) and Ca2+ responses to ATP and to thapsigargin (TG) were investigated. Pre-exposure to PMA inhibited IP3 formation, Ca2+ release and Ca2+ influx in response to ATP. Pre-exposure to CC or BSM slightly enhanced IP3 formation but inhibited the Ca2+ release and the Ca2+ influx induced by ATP. In contrast, pre-exposure to PMA did not modify the Ca2+ release induced by TG, but reduced the influx of Ca2+ seen in the presence of this Ca2+-ATPase inhibitor. These results suggest that PKC modulates elements of the IP3/Ca2+ signal transduction pathway in A253 cells by (1) inhibiting phosphatidylinositol turnover and altering the sensitivity of the Ca2+ channels to IP3, (2) altering the activity, the sensitivity to inhibitors, or the distribution of the TG-sensitive Ca2+ ATPase, and (3) modulating Ca2+ entry pathways.

H+ transporters in the main excretory duct of the mouse mandibular salivary gland

1. We used microspectrofluorimetry with the pH-sensitive fluoroprobe 2',7'-bis(2-carboxyethyl)-5(and-6)-carboxyfluorescein (BCECF) to study the regulation of cytosolic pH (pHi) in the isolated, perfused main excretory duct of the mouse mandibular gland. 2. In nominally HCO3(-)-free solutions, removal of Na+ from the lumen alone caused pHi to decline whereas removing it from the bath alone did not. 3. Readmission of Na+ to the lumen of ducts studied under zero-Na+ conditions caused pHi to recover fully. This recovery was blocked by 5-(N-ethyl-N-isopropyl)-amiloride (EIPA) with a half-maximum concentration of 0.5 mumol l-1, indicating the presence of an apical Na(+)-H+ exchanger. 4. Readmission of Na+ to the bath of ducts studied under zero-Na+ conditions also caused pHi to recover. This recovery was blocked by 100 mumol l-1 EIPA, indicating the presence of a basolateral Na(+)-H+ exchanger. 5. Measurements of H+ fluxes indicated that the apical Na(+)-H+ exchanger was approximately four times more active than the basolateral Na(+)-H+ exchanger. 6. In three sets of experiments (in the absence of Na+, in the presence of Na+, and in the presence of Na+ plus 100 mumol l-1 EIPA), the effects of changing luminal K+ concentration on pHi were examined. We found no evidence for the presence of K(+)-H+ exchange or Na(+)-coupled K(+)-H+ exchange in the apical membranes of duct cells. 7. pHi recovery under nominally HCO3(-)-free conditions following acidification with an NH4Cl pulse was abolished by removal of Na+ from the bath and luminal solutions, indicating that no Na(+)-independent systems such as H(+)-ATPases were present. 8. A repeat of the above experiments in the presence of 25 mmol l-1 HCO3- plus 5% CO2 did not reveal any additional H+ transport systems. The removal of luminal Cl-, however, caused a small rise in pHi. This latter effect was blocked by 500 mumol l-1 4,4'-diisothiocyanatodihydrostilbene-2,2'-disulphonic acid (H2-DIDS), suggesting that a Cl(-)-HCO3- exchanger in the apical membrane might contribute in a minor way to pHi regulation. 9. We conclude that the predominant H+ transport systems in the mouse mandibular main excretory duct are Na(+)-H+ exchangers in the apical and the basolateral membranes. The model we postulate to account for electrolyte transport across the main duct in the mouse mandibular gland is quite different from that previously developed for the rat duct but is similar to that developed for the rabbit duct. The difference is in concordance with the known ability of the mandibular gland of the rat, but not the rabbit or the mouse, to secrete a HCO3(-)-rich final saliva.

The effect of beta-sympathomimetic stimulation on parotid salivation in the red kangaroo (Macropus rufus)

Salivation was stimulated by intracarotid isoprenaline infusion given alone or combined with acetylcholine. By itself, isoprenaline (0.12-1.2 nmol kg-1 min-1) stimulated flow rates of 0.037-0.233 ml min-1 (2.77-10.5 microliters/g gland per min). Salivary Na, Cl, PO4 and total solute concentrations were positively correlated with flow; K, Mg and urea were negatively correlated with flow; and Ca, H+, HCO3, protein and amylase activity were not correlated with flow. Relative to cholinergic saliva, isoprenaline-evoked saliva had higher levels of amylase activity, urea, protein, K, Mg, H+, PO4 and Cl but lower osmolality, Na, Ca and HCO3. At a steady flow (1 ml min-1), isoprenaline infusion (0.3 nmol kg-1 min-1) superimposed on a pre-existing acetylcholine infusion increased salivary amylase activity, protein, urea, K, Mg, Cl and PO4, reduced HCO3 and did not alter Na, Ca, H+ and osmolality. Superimposition of isoprenaline infusion (0.5 nmol kg-1 min-1) on a low-level acetylcholine infusion increased flow rate by 400-900%. Excretion rates of K, Mg, Cl and PO4 were higher and Ca lower than predicted for saliva secreted at equivalent flows during acetylcholine stimulation. Na, H+ and HCO3 were as predicted for the same flow rate under cholinergic stimulation. The simplest coherent interpretation of these data is that isoprenaline affects transport of protein and ions at the end organs, but has little effect on the resting transport characteristics of the striated and excretory ducts of the kangaroo parotid, in accord with the known nerve distribution of this gland.

Na+ and K+ concentration of rat parotid saliva. Comparison of carbachol and auriculo-temporal stimulation

The effects of carbachol and auriculo-temporal stimulation on the Na+ and K+ concentrations of rat parotid saliva have been compared. The main duct perfused in situ, does not transport Na+ or K+ and is water impermeable. The Na+ concentration of secretion evoked by either stimulus is flow dependent, increasing with increasing flow rate and plateauing at near plasma Na+ levels. At low flow rate the carbachol evoked secretion has a higher Na+ concentration. This is not due to the release of catecholamines since neither sympathectomy nor adrenoceptors block altered the nature of the secretion. The K+ concentration, whilst flow dependent, decreasing with increasing flow rate, was the same for both stimuli.

Modification of salivary duct electrolyte transport in rat and rabbit by physalaemin, VIP, GIP and other enterohormones

The effects of various polypeptide enterohormones and the tachykinin secretogogue, physalaemin, on electrolyte transport by the main excretory duct of the mandibular gland of the rabbit were studied in vitro. Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP, 2 X 10(-11) mol 1(-1)) and gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP, 10(-11) mol 1(-1)) reduced nett Na+ movement from lumen to interstitium and VIP also reduced the transepithelial potential difference; the effective concentrations of the two hormones lay within the range of normal plasma concentrations. Gastrin (5 x 10(-7) mol 1(-1)) and synthetic secretin (2 x 10(-7) mol 1(-1)) had similar effects but only at concentrations well above the normal plasma levels. Caerulein, an analogue of the octapeptide of cholecystokinin, had no effect on duct function even at a concentration of 10(-6) mol 1(-1). The potent salivary secretogogue, physalaemin (4 x 10(-8) mol 1(-1)), which is an analogue of Substance P, a putative mammalian enterohormone and neurotransmitter substance, caused a marked increase in ductal Na transport (in rat as well as rabbit). It is concluded that VIP and GIP would normally play a role in determining salivary electrolyte composition and it is postulated that their action may be antagonized by a tachykinin such as Substance P.

Kinetics of active sodium transport in rat proximal tubules and its variation by cardiac glycosides at zero net volume and ion fluxes. Evidence for a multisite sodium transport system

1. Transepithelial Na concentration difference, deltaCNa, across proximal tubules of rat kidney was measured at varying intraluminal Na concentrations (CNainfinity) under conditions of zero net volume and Na flux. Simultaneous stopped-flow intratubular and artificial peritubular capillary perfusion techniques were used together with intratubular raffinose to achieve zero net fluxes. Under these conditions in rat proximal tubules, deltaCNa represents active transport, JactNa, factored by permeability, PNa, plus an electrical factor depending on transepithelial potential difference. 2. The relationship between CNainfinity and deltaCNa appeared sigmoidal with saturation being reached when intratubular Na was above 80 m-mole/kg. In the presence of ouabain (10(-2)M) and scilliroside (10(-3)M) the relationship remained the same. The maximum deltaCNa was reduced by approximately 50% by cardiac glycoside inhibition whereas the half-saturation constant was essentially unchanged. These changes from the control represent simple non-competitive inhibition by the cardiac glycosides. 3. Absence of potential difference (p.d.) measurements precludes exact description of the relation between true active transport and substrate concentration but much evidence indicates that the apparently sigmoid relation in the presence and absence of cardiac glycoside inhibition, would be retained if correction of deltaCNa values were possible. Such results could then be explained if there are at least three or more sites for Na on the pump system, of which at least two are not cardiac glycoside sensitive. They would also unequivocally exclude the presence of a single-site single-pump system or the simple algebraic addition of two such units since the kinetic curves for both would be hyperbolic rather than sigmoidal.

On the mechanism of action of triamterene: effects on transport of Na+, K+, and H+/HCO3- -ions

The rat salivary duct epithelium, which actively transports Na+, K+, and H+/HCO3- in a manner similar to renal distal tubules, was used as a model tissue to study the mechanism of action of triamterene on electrolyte transport. 10(-4) M triamterene completely blocked Na+ resorption and lowered net K+ secretion to half that of controls, whereas HCO3- accumlated in the lumen, probably due to a decrease in H+ secretion. The rates of K+ and H+/HCO3- transport in the presence of triamterene did not differ from those determined after omission of Na+ from the luminal fluid. This was considered to be evidence against a direct action of triamterene on transport of K+ and H+/HCO3-. Triamterene rapidly and reversibly reduced the transepithelial electrical potential difference. This was due to almost complete abolition of Na+ conductance of the luminal membrane at 10(-4) M triamterene, whereas K+ conductance was not altered. Triamterene, administered in vitro from the interstitial side of the isolated duct epithelium was ineffective even at the highest concentrations. The activities of the Na-K-ATPase, the Mg-ATPase and the microsomal HCO3-ATPase were influenced by 10(-4) M triameterene in a similiar fashion. These effects were clearly demonstrated only in the homogenate of the duct tissue and not in intact cells in the isolated duct preparation. Therefore they were considered unspecific. The transport studied demonstrate a primary effect of triamterene on Na+ entry from lumen to cell. Influences on net K+ and H+/HCO3 transport are secondary consequences of functional coupling between movement of Na+ and movement of K+ and H+ across the luminal cell membrane.