Ionophore-induced Cl- transport in human erythrocyte suspensions: a multinuclear magnetic resonance study

Erythrocyte plasma membrane potential: past and current methods for its measurement

The plasma membrane functions both as a natural insulator and a diffusion barrier to the movement of ions. A wide variety of proteins transport and pump ions to generate concentration gradients that result in voltage differences, while ion channels allow ions to move across the membrane down those gradients. Plasma membrane potential is the difference in voltage between the inside and the outside of a biological cell, and it ranges from ~- 3 to ~- 90 mV. Most of the most significant discoveries in this field have been made in excitable cells, such as nerve and muscle cells. Nevertheless, special attention has been paid to some events controlled by changes in membrane potential in non-excitable cells. The origins of several blood disorders, for instance, are related to disturbances at the level of plasma membrane in erythrocytes, the structurally simplest red blood cells. The high simplicity of erythrocytes, in particular, made them perfect candidates for the electrophysiological studies that laid the foundations for understanding the generation, maintenance, and roles of membrane potential. This article summarizes the methodologies that have been used during the past decades to determine Δψ in red blood cells, from seminal microelectrodes, through the use of nuclear magnetic resonance or lipophilic radioactive ions to quantify intra and extracellular ions, to continuously renewed fluorescent potentiometric dyes. We have attempted to highlight the advantages and disadvantages of each methodology, as well as to provide a description of the technical aspects involved.

Voltammetric study on ion transport across a bilayer lipid membrane in the presence of a hydrophobic ion or an ionophore

This review describes voltammetric studies on ion transport from one aqueous phase (W1) to another (W2) across a bilayer lipid membrane (BLM) containing a hydrophobic ion, valinomycin (Val) or gramicidin A (GA). In particular, the ion transport mechanisms are discussed in terms of the distribution of a pair of ions between aqueous and BLM phases. By addition of a small amount of hydrophobic ion into W1 and/or W2 containing a hydrophilic salt as a supporting electrolyte, the hydrophobic ion was distributed into the BLM with the counter ion to maintain electroneutrality within the BLM phase. It was found that the counter ion was transferred between W1 and W2 across the BLM by applying a membrane potential. Facilitated transport of alkali ions across a BLM containing Val as an ion carrier compound, could be interpreted by considering not only the formation of the alkali metal ion-Val complex but also the distribution of both the objective cation and the counter ion. In the case of addition of GA as a channel-forming compound into the BLM, the facilitated transport of alkali ions across the BLM depended on the ionic species of the counter ions. It was discovered that the influence of the counter ion on the facilitated transport of alkali ions across the BLM could be explained in terms of the hydrophobicity and the ionic radius of the counter ion.

Ion pairing between Cl- or ClO4- and alkali metal complexes of ionophore antibiotics in organic solvents: a multinuclear NMR and FT-IR study

The extent of ion pairing in chloride and perchlorate salts was studied by measurement of the Cl- and ClO4- resonances and the observation of the perchlorate stretching frequency by use of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), respectively, for a variety of ionophores in various solutions and in large unilaminar vesicles (LUVs). The NMR line widths of chloride and perchlorate were larger in solutions containing the neutral ionophores valinomycin (Val) and nonactin (Non) than in solutions containing the negatively charged ionophores nigericin (Nig), lasalocid (Las), and monensin (Mon). The viscosity-corrected perchlorate NMR line widths in solutions containing Val and Las were significantly negatively correlated (r2 > or = 0.99) with the dielectric constant of the solvent. Solvents with low dielectric constants favored ion pair formation. From methanolic solutions containing the Li+, Na+, K+, and Cs+ salts of Cl- and ClO4-, it was determined that the cation with the highest selectivity for the ionophore affords the most ion pairing. A decrease in pH from 7 to 3 had no significant effect on the NMR line widths of chloride and perchlorate in methanolic solutions containing Val, whereas a similar decrease in pH in a methanolic solution containing Mon caused a 2-fold increase in the line widths. The FT-IR difference spectrum of KClO4 in a methanolic solution containing Val showed splitting at the perchlorate stretching frequency. No band splitting was observed in the FT-IR difference spectrum of KClO(4) in methanolic solutions containing Las. The efflux of 35Cl in LUVs containing the neutral ionophore Val followed first-order kinetics with an efflux constant of 1.70 x 10(-3) x min(-1), as determined by 35Cl NMR spectroscopy. The induction of increased membrane permeability in LUVs by the ionophore was determined to be negligible for Val and Nig by fluorescence spectroscopy.

19F NMR studies of changes in membrane potential and intracellular volume during dexamethasone-induced apoptosis in human leukemic cell lines

The induction of apoptosis in leukemic cells by dexamethasone is well known, but the mechanism of this type of cell death and of dexamethasone resistance by some variants is still poorly understood. Apoptotic cell death is preceded by many changes in cellular properties, such as glucose metabolism, cell size, cell density, and others. In this study, 19F-NMR has been used to characterize changes in cell membrane potential and intracellular accessible volume during dexamethasone induced apoptosis. One dex-sensitive (CEM-C7) and three dex-resistant variants (CEM-C1, CEM-ICR27, and CEM-4R4) were examined. We have observed separate intracellular and extracellular resonances for trifluoroacetate and trifluoroacetamide added to suspended leukemic cells. From the equilibrium distribution of these fluoro-compounds between intra and extracellular spaces, the changes in membrane potential and intracellular accessible volume were calculated. The membrane potential for CEM-C7 cells was found to significantly decrease in the presence of dexamethasone (9-mV decrease within 18 h of dexamethasone treatment), while that of CEM-ICR27 was found in some samples to increase on dexamethasone incubation. The membrane potential for CEM-C1 decreased slightly, while that of CEM-4R4 was not appreciably affected by dexamethasone. The reduction of membrane potential seems to be an early step in the mechanism of dexamethasone induced apoptosis. Although the intracellular volume varied with cell type and dexamethasone incubation (for CEM-C7), the fractional intracellular volume (alpha = Vin/Vcell) was found to be the same (0.82 +/- 0.06) for all the cell lines in the presence and absence of dexamethasone.