Cellular Li+ opens paracellular path in toad skin: amiloride blockable effect

Patterns of free calcium in multicellular stages of Dictyostelium expressing jellyfish apoaequorin

To examine the patterns of high free cytosolic calcium or [Ca2+]i during Dictyostelium's development, we expressed apoaequorin in D. discoideum, reconstituted aequorin and observed the resultant patterns of calcium-dependent luminescence. Specific, high calcium zones are seen throughout normal multicellular development and are roughly coincident with those regions that later differentiate into stalk or stalk-like cells. A slug, for example, shows a primary high calcium zone within its front quarter and a secondary one around its tail; while a mound shows such a zone around the periphery of its base. Combined with previous evidence, our findings support the hypothesis that high [Ca2+]i feeds back to favor the stalk pathway. We also discovered several high calcium zones within the mound's base that do not coincide with any known prepatterns in D. discoideum. These include two, relatively persistent, antipodal strips along the mound's periphery. These various persistent zones of high calcium are largely made up of frequent, 10 to 30 second long, semiperiodic calcium spikes. Each of these spikes generates a correspondingly short-lived, 200 to 500 microns long, high calcium band which extends along the nearby surface. Similar, but relatively large and infrequent, spikes generate cross bands which extend across migrating slugs and just behind their advancing tips as well as across the peripheries of rotating mounds and midway between their antipodal strips. Moreover, calcium has a doubling time of about a second as various spikes rise. This last observation suggests that the calcium bands seen in Dictyostelium may be generated by so-called fast calcium waves.

Transient alterations in cellular permeability in cultured human proximal tubule cells: implications for transport studies

Primary cultures of human proximal tubule (HPT) cells possess the characteristics of a tight epithelium and retain the characteristics of in vivo renal function. HPT cells form confluent monolayers when grown on collagen-coated polycarbonate inserts in a hormonally defined serum-free medium. However, initial studies of transepithelial transport observed large bidirectional fluxes of the paracellular probe inulin. The present studies were designed to assess the transformation of HPT cell tight junctions to a "leaky" state and subsequent recovery. The apparent transepithelial electrical resistance of HPT cells at confluence was 952.0 +/- 70.0 ohms*cm2, suggesting a well-developed tight junction-mediated paracellular pathway in this epithelium. However, replacement of the growth media produced an immediate 90% drop in the initial resistance, which was paralleled by an increased flux of inulin and of phenol red. This transient abolition of barrier function spontaneously reestablished over 1-2 h by a process that was dependent on the ionic composition of the added media. Complete recovery of cellular resistance was paralleled by markedly decreased fluxes of inulin and of phenol red. The recovery of cellular barrier function was inhibited by cytochalasin B suggesting an intracellular action, not a physical disruption of the monolayer. These results suggest that the tight junctions in these cells appear to transiently produce a leaky state during removal of the media, but rearrange to a "tight conformation" when incubated in the appropriate media.

Structural and functional response of the isolated toad skin to mucosal lithium

Structural and functional changes induced by long-term Li-exposure of the outer surface of toad skin was studied. Electron microscopy revealed that total Na by Li replacement in the outer compartment of short-circuited toad skin promotes a conspicuous cellular damage expressed as focal swollen cells with altered intercellular spaces and nuclear morphology. Short-circuit current (SCC) decreases by about 70% over the first 60 min after 115 mmol/l Li-exposure. An amiloride sensitive transepithelial Li transport remains intact over a further 150 min despite the epithelial damage, indicating that the pathways across the apical barrier are functioning. Increase of the paracellular permeability is detected by elevation of Na-efflux. Partial 50% or 10% Na by Li replacements induce minor structural alterations and are not sufficient to trigger appreciable Na-efflux and SCC alterations. Therefore, low Li concentrations are less effective than 115 mmol/l in promoting morphofunctional responses. Although ouabain and Li reduce the SCC, ouabain does not promote structural lesions, showing that Li-inhibition of Na transport by itself is not responsible for the observed morphological alterations. In the light of this study, Li utilization as a tool to investigate transepithelial Na transport requires careful judgement.

Hydrosmotic salt effect in toad skin: urea permeability and glutaraldehyde fixation of water channels

The "hydrosmotic salt effect" (HSE), the reversible dependence of skin osmotic water permeability upon the ionic concentration of the outer bathing solution, is known to induce the appearance of sucrose-impermeable pathways in the apical membrane of the outermost epithelial cell layer. Diffusional 14C-urea permeability, measured in the Jv = O condition to prevent solvent drag effects, indicates that the newly formed pathways induced by HSE are narrower than the size of the urea molecule, being therefore highly selective for water molecules. After mild glutaraldehyde (2% solution) fixation of the apical membrane structures, the water channels induced by the HSE are no longer affected by the ionic strength of the outer solution. This indicates that the channel-forming membrane protein can be fixed in different configurations with the water channels in the open or closed states.

Lack of PCMB action upon the outer barrier sodium permeability in the absence of Na in toad skin

The stimulation of apical Na permeability by p-chloromercuribenzoate (PCMB) was evaluated by studying its effect on unidirectional 24Na flux (JNaeff) from inner to outer compartment in the isolated short-circuited toad skin. With Na present in the inner compartment, addition of PCMB to the outer skin surface led to an increase of JNaeff. However, after replacing all Na of the inner compartment by K or choline, the amiloride inhibitable Na permeability of the outer cell membrane increased, and PCMB was no longer effective. It is concluded that PCMB releases the blocking effect of intracellular Na on apical Na channels. If intracellular Na is drastically reduced virtually all Na channels are opened so that PCMB does no longer act.

Vanadate and ouabain: a comparative study in toad skin

In this study we compare the effects of two inhibitors of the Na,K-ATPase, ouabain and vanadate, upon transport properties of the isolated short-circuited toad skin: The main conclusions are: Both inhibitors induce a similar decline in short-circuit current (SCC). They differ regarding skin electrical resistance (R). Ouabain induces an increase in resistance that, after some delay, builds up slowly after its addition to the preparation, while vanadate causes a fast increase in resistance that remains constant for most of the experimental period. Vanadate, but not ouabain, promotes an unspecific increase in skin permeability characterized by a delayed and progressive rise of 42K (JK eff) and 14C sucrose (J suc eff) effluxes. Vanadate effect upon skin permeability, as measured by JK eff, is not affected by pre-treating the skin with DIDS, a stilbene derivative, indicating that anion-exchange is not an important step for the entrance of vanadate into the epithelial cells to trigger its effect. Vanadate effect upon JK eff is also not affected by previous ouabain inhibition of the Na,K-ATPase, showing that this effect is not mediated by the inhibition of this enzyme. Vanadate action in toad skin seems to occur at junctional structures opening paracellular routes. A possible mechanism for the effect of vanadate is discussed in terms of cytosolic Ca2+ balance, cytoskeleton and their interplay with the sealing of tight junctions.