Calcium homeostasis in guinea pig type-I vestibular hair cell: possible involvement of an Na(+)-Ca2+ exchanger

Na+/Ca2+ exchange in enamel cells is dominated by the K+-dependent NCKX exchanger

Calcium (Ca2+) extrusion is an essential function of the enamel-forming ameloblasts, providing Ca2+ for extracellular mineralization. The plasma membrane Ca2+ ATPases (PMCAs) remove cytosolic Ca2+ (cCa2+) and were recently shown to be efficient when ameloblasts experienced low cCa2+ elevation. Sodium-calcium (Na+/Ca2+) exchange has higher capacity to extrude cCa2+, but there is limited evidence on the function of the two main families of Na+/Ca2+ exchangers in enamel formation. The purpose of this study was to analyze the function of the NCX (coded by SLC8) and the K+-dependent NCKX (coded by SLC24) exchangers in rat ameloblasts and to compare their efficacy in the two main stages of enamel formation: the enamel forming secretory stage and the mineralizing or maturation stage. mRNA expression profiling confirmed the expression of Slc8 and Slc24 genes in enamel cells, Slc24a4 being the most highly upregulated transcript during the maturation stage, when Ca2+ transport increases. Na+/Ca2+ exchange was analyzed in the Ca2+ influx mode in Fura-2 AM-loaded ameloblasts. We show that maturation-stage ameloblasts have a higher Na+/Ca2+ exchange capacity than secretory-stage cells. We also show that Na+/Ca2+ exchange in both stages is dominated by NCKX over NCX. The importance of NCKX function in ameloblasts may partly explain why mutations in the SLC24A4 gene, but not in SLC8 genes, result in enamel disease. Our results demonstrate that Na+/Ca2+ exchangers are fully operational in ameloblasts and that their contribution to Ca2+ homeostasis increases in the maturation stage, when Ca2+ transport need is higher.

Splice-site A choice targets plasma-membrane Ca2+-ATPase isoform 2 to hair bundles

Localization of mechanotransduction in sensory hair cells to hair bundles requires selective targeting of essential proteins to specific locations. Isoform 2 of the plasma-membrane Ca2+-ATPase (PMCA2), required for hearing and balance, is found exclusively in hair bundles. We determined the contribution of splicing at the two major splicing sites (A and C) to hair-cell targeting of PMCA2. When PMCA2 isoforms were immunoprecipitated from purified hair bundles of rat utricle, 2w was the only site A variant detected; moreover, immunocytochemistry for 2w in rat vestibular and cochlear tissues indicated that this splice form was located solely in bundles. To demonstrate the necessity of the 2w sequence, we transfected hair cells with PMCA2 containing different variants at splice sites A and C. Although native hair bundles exclusively use the 2a form at splice-site C, epitope-tagged PMCA2w/a and PMCA2w/b were both concentrated in bundles, indicating that site C is not involved in bundle targeting. In contrast, PMCA2z/a was excluded from bundles and was instead targeted to the basolateral plasma membrane. Bundle-specific targeting of PMCA2w/a tagged with green fluorescent protein (GFP) was diminished, suggesting that GFP interfered with splice-site A. Together, these data demonstrate that PMCA2w/a is the hair-bundle isoform of PMCA in rat hair cells and that 2w targets PMCA2 to bundles. The 2w sequence is thus the first targeting signal identified for a hair-bundle membrane protein; moreover, the striking distribution of inner-ear PMCA isoforms dictated by selective targeting suggests a critical functional role for segregated pathways of Ca2+ transport.

No evidence for calcium electrogenic exchanger in frog semicircular canal hair cells

We investigated the possibility that, in hair cells mechanically isolated from frog semicircular canals, Ca2+ extrusion occurs via a Na+ : Ca2+ (cardiac type) or a Na+ : Ca2+,K+ (retinal type) exchanger. Cells concurrently imaged during whole-cell patch-clamp recordings using the Ca2+ sensitive fluorescent dye Oregon Green 488 BAPTA-1 (100 micro m) showed no voltage dependence of Ca2+ clearance dynamics following a Ca2+ load through voltage-gated Ca2+ channels. Reverse exchange was probed in hair cells dialyzed with a Ca2+- and K+-free solution, containing a Na+ concentration that saturates the exchanger, after zeroing the contribution to the whole-cell current from Ca2+ and K+ conductances. In these conditions, no reverse exchange current was detected upon switching from a Ca2+-free external solution to a solution containing concentrations of Ca2+ alone, or Ca2+ + K+ that saturated the exchanger. By contrast, the same experimental protocol elicited peak exchange currents exceeding 100 pA in gecko rod photoreceptors, used as positive controls. In both cell types, we also probed the forward mode of the exchanger by rapidly increasing the intracellular Ca2+ concentration using flash photolysis of two novel caged Ca2+ complexes, calcium 2,2'-([1-(2-nitrophenyl)ethane-1,2-diyl]bis(oxy))bis(acetate) and calcium 2,2'-([1-(4,5-dimethoxy-2-nitrophenyl)ethane-1,2-diyl]bis(oxy)) bis(acetate), in the presence of internal K+ and external Na+. No currents were evoked by UV-triggered Ca2+ jumps in hair cells, whereas exchanger conformational currents up to 400 pA, followed by saturating forward exchange currents up to 40 pA, were recorded in rod photoreceptors subjected to the same experimental conditions. We conclude that no functional electrogenic exchanger is present in this hair cell population, which leaves the abundant plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPases as the primary contributors to Ca2+ extrusion.

Intracellular calcium regulation in inner hair cells from neonatal mice

The mechanisms that regulate the concentration of ionized intracellular calcium (Ca(2+)(i)) in the base of neonatal mouse inner hair cells, close to synaptic sites, were investigated using confocal microscopy combined with conventional patch-clamp electrophysiology. Cells were depolarized under whole-cell voltage clamp to load the cell with C a(2+) through voltage-activated Ca(2+) channels. Repeated depolarizations produced Ca(2+)(i) increases with similar amplitudes and time-courses of recovery. The rate of recovery from depolarization-induced Ca(2+)(i) loads was used to assess the mechanisms responsible for Ca(2+)(i) regulation. Removal of extracellular sodium had no effect on resting Ca(2+)(i) or the rate of recovery of Ca(2+)(i) suggesting no role for Na:Ca exchange in these cells. Inhibitors of intracellular store uptake such as thapsigargin, 2,5-di(tert-butyl)hydroquinone (BHQ) and cyclopiazonic acid (CPA) caused an increase in resting Ca(2+)(i) and slowed the rate of recovery, indicating that Ca(2+) can be taken up intracellularly. However, 5mM caffeine failed to cause a detectable release of Ca(2+) from intracellular stores. FCCP, a mitochondrial inhibitor, slowed the rate of recovery from Ca(2+)(i) loads, indicating a role for mitochondrial Ca(2+) uptake. The largest effects were seen with intracellular vanadate (1mM) which caused an irreversible rise in resting Ca(2+)(i) and depolarization-induced increases in Ca(2+)(i) failed to recover fully. Together, these data indicate that both thapsigargin-sensitive stores and mitochondria can take up Ca(2+)(i), but that Ca(2+) efflux from the cell occurs solely via a plasma membrane Ca(2+)-ATPase.

Simultaneous monitoring of slow cell motility and calcium signals of the guinea pig outer hair cells

'Slow' motility (shape changes over seconds to minutes) of the mammalian cochlear outer hair cell (OHC) could play a protection role from intense sound pressure and is associated with elevation of the cytosolic free Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)). In the present work, a new approach was elaborated using fluorescent imaging for continuous monitoring of both [Ca(2+)](i) changes and slow motility of OHCs employing the Ca(2+) fluorescent indicator Fura-2. Whole OHC fluorescence and that of cell segments were analyzed to discriminate between fluorescence changes caused by [Ca(2+)](i) rise and those related to change of the cell shape. The reliability of the method was examined by simultaneous monitoring of [Ca(2+)](i) and OHC length changes induced by change of buffer osmolarity or by increase of KCl concentration. The method revealed that the time course of [Ca(2+)](i) increase and rate of cell shortening often do not coincide. It was also observed that [Ca(2+)](i) increased in 70 mM KCl more slowly than the rate of KCl delivery to OHCs. The comparison of the time courses of [Ca(2+)](i) elevation, induced by increase of K(+)/Na(+) ratio and by substitution of Na(+) with N-methyl-D-glucamine(+), indicated that the relatively slow kinetics of [Ca(2+)](i) increase in the OHC is partially attributed to regulation of Ca(2+) homeostasis by the Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchanger.

Calcium currents in hair cells isolated from semicircular canals of the frog

L-type and R-type Ca(2+) currents were detected in frog semicircular canal hair cells. The former was noninactivating and nifedipine-sensitive (5 microM); the latter, partially inactivated, was resistant to omega-conotoxin GVIA (5 microM), omega-conotoxin MVIIC (5 microM), and omega-agatoxin IVA (0.4 microM), but was sensitive to mibefradil (10 microM). Both currents were sensitive to Ni(2+) and Cd(2+) (>10 microM). In some cells the L-type current amplitude increased almost twofold upon repetitive stimulation, whereas the R-type current remained unaffected. Eventually, run-down occurred for both currents, but was prevented by the protease inhibitor calpastatin. The R-type current peak component ran down first, without changing its plateau, suggesting that two channel types generate the R-type current. This peak component appeared at -40 mV, reached a maximal value at -30 mV, and became undetectable for voltages > or =0 mV, suggestive of a novel transient current: its inactivation was indeed reversibly removed when Ba(2+) was the charge carrier. The L-type current and the R-type current plateau were appreciable at -60 mV and peaked at -20 mV: the former current did not reverse for voltages up to +60 mV, the latter reversed between +30 and +60 mV due to an outward Cs(+) current flowing through the same Ca(2+) channel. The physiological role of these currents on hair cell function is discussed.

K+-dependence of Na+-Ca2+ exchange in type I vestibular sensory cells of guinea-pig

The properties of the vestibular Na+-Ca2+ exchanger in mammalian type I vestibular sensory cells were studied using fura-2 fluorescence and immunocytochemical techniques. In the absence of external Na+, the activation of Na+-Ca2+ exchange in reverse mode required the presence of external K+ (K+o) and depended on K+o concentration. Alkali cations Rb+ and NH4+ but not Li+ or Cs+ substituted for K+o to activate the exchange. For pressure applications of 10 mm K+, the contribution of voltage-sensitive calcium channels to the increase in [Ca2+]i was < 15%. The dependence of the exchange on [K+]o was also recorded when the membrane potential was clamped using carbonyl cyanide p-trifluoromethoxy-phenylhydrazone (FCCP) and monensin ionophores. In these conditions, where there was no intracellular Na+, the increase in [Ca2+]i was completely blocked. These physiological results suggest that in reverse mode, Ca2+ entry is driven by both an outward transport of Na+ and an inward transport of K+. The dependence of the vestibular Na+-Ca2+ exchanger on K+ is more reminiscent of the properties of the retinal type Na+-Ca2+ exchanger than those of the more widely distributed cardiac type exchanger. Moreover, the immunocytochemical localization of both types of exchange proteins in the vestibular sensory epithelium confirmed the presence in the vestibular sensory cells of a Na+-Ca2+ exchanger which is recognized by an antibody raised against retinal type and not by an antibody raised against the cardiac type.

The Goldman-Hodgkin-Katz equation and graphical 'load-line' analysis of ionic flow through outer hair cells

While the 'membrane potential' of a cell which has a homogeneous membrane and surrounding environment, and which is not pumping ions electrogenically (passing no net current through its membranes), can be estimated from the Goldman voltage equation, this equation is inappropriate for other cells. In the mammalian cochlea such problematic cells include the cells of stria vascularis and the sensory hair cells of the organ of Corti. Not only is the Goldman voltage equation inappropriate, but in asymmetric cells the concept of a single 'membrane potential' is misleading: a different transmembrane voltage is required to define the electrical state of each section of the cell's heterogeneous membrane. This paper presents a graphical 'load-line analysis' of currents through one such asymmetric cell, the outer hair cells of the organ of Corti. The approach is extremely useful in discussing the effects of various cochlear manipulations on the electrical potential within hair cells, even without a detailed knowledge of their membrane conductance. The paper discusses how modified Goldman-Hodgkin-Katz equations can be used to describe stretch-activated channels, voltage-controlled channels, ligand-mediated channels, and how the combination of these channels and the extracellular ionic concentrations should affect the hair cell's resting intracellular potential and resting transcellular current, its receptor current and receptor potential, and the extracellular microphonic potential around these cells. Two other issues discussed are the role of voltage-controlled channels in genetically determining membrane potential, and the insensitivity of hair cells to changes of extracellular potassium concentration under some conditions.

The effects of perilymphatic tonicity on endolymph composition and synaptic activity at the frog semicircular canal

The effects of changes in perilymphatic tonicity on the semicircular canal were investigated by combining the measurements of transepithelial potential and endolymphatic ionic composition in the isolated frog posterior canal with the electrophysiological assessment of synaptic activity and sensory spike firing at the posterior canal in the isolated intact labyrinth. In the isolated posterior canal, the endolymph was replaced by an endolymph-like solution of known composition, in the presence of basolateral perilymph-like solutions of normal (230 mosmol/kg), reduced (105 mosmol/kg, low NaCl) or increased osmolality (550 mosmol/kg, Na-Gluconate added). Altered perilymphatic tonicity did not produce significant changes in endolymphatic ionic concentrations during up to 5 min. In the presence of hypotonic perilymph, decreased osmolality, K and Cl concentrations were observed at 10 min. In the presence of hypertonic perilymph, the endolymphatic osmolality began to increase at 5 min and by 10 min Na concentration had also significantly increased. On decreasing the tonicity of the external solution an immediate decline was observed in transepithelial potential, whereas hypertonicity produced the opposite effect. In the intact frog labyrinth, mEPSPs and spike potentials were recorded from single fibers of the posterior nerve in normal Ringer's (240 mosmol/kg) as well as in solutions with modified tonicity. Hypotonic solutions consistently decreased and hypertonic solutions consistently increased mEPSP and spike frequencies, independent of the species whose concentration was altered. These effects ensued within 1-2 min after the start of perfusion with the test solutions. In particular, when the tonicity was changed by varying Na concentration the mean mEPSP rate was directly related to osmolality. Size histograms of synaptic potentials were well described by single log-normal distribution functions under all experimental conditions. Hypotonic solutions (105 mosmol/kg) markedly shifted the histograms to the left. Hypertonic solutions (380-550 mosmol/kg, NaCl or Na-Gluconate added) shifted the histograms to the right. Hypertonic solutions obtained by adding sucrose to normal Ringer's solution (final osmolality 550 mosmol/kg) increased mEPSP and spike rates, but did not display appreciable effects on mEPSP size. All effects on spike discharge and on mEPSP rate and size were rapidly reversible. In Ca-free, 10 mM EGTA, Ringer's solution, the sensory discharge was completely abolished and did not recover on making the solution hypertonic. These results indicate that perilymphatic solutions with altered tonicity produce small and slowly ensuing changes in the transepithelial parameters which may indirectly affect the sensory discharge rate, whereas relevant, early and reversible effects occur at the cytoneural junction. In particular, the modulation of mEPSP amplitude appears to be postsynaptic; the presynaptic effect on mEPSP rate of occurrence is presumably linked to local calcium levels, in agreement with previous results indicating that calcium inflow is required to sustain basal transmitter release in this preparation.

Potassium depolarization of mammalian vestibular sensory cells increases [Ca2+]i through voltage-sensitive calcium channels

The existence of voltage-sensitive Ca2+ channels in type I vestibular hair cells of mammals has not been conclusively proven. Furthermore, Ca2+ channels present in type II vestibular hair cells of mammals have not been pharmacologically identified. Fura-2 fluorescence was used to estimate, in both cell types, intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) variations induced by K+ depolarization and modified by specific Ca2+ channel agonists and antagonists. At rest, [Ca2+]i was 90 +/- 20 nM in both cell types. Microperifusion of high-K+ solution (50 mM) for 1 s increased [Ca2+]i to 290 +/- 50 nM in type I (n = 20) and to 440 +/- 50 nM in type II cells (n = 10). In Ca2+-free medium, K+ did not alter [Ca2+]i. The specific L-type Ca2+ channel agonist, Bay K, and antagonist, nitrendipine, modified in a dose-dependent manner the K+-induced [Ca2+]i increase in both cell types with maximum effect at 2 microM and 400 nM, respectively. Ni2+, a T-type Ca2+ channel blocker, reduced K+-evoked Ca2+ responses in a dose-dependent manner. For elevated Ni2+ concentrations, the response was differently affected by Ni2+ alone, or combined to nitrendipine (500 nM). In optimal conditions, nitrendipine and Ni2+ strongly depressed by 95% the [Ca2+]i increases. By contrast, neither omega-agatoxin IVA (1 microM), a specific P- and Q-type blocker, nor omega-conotoxin GVIA (1 microM), a specific N-type blocker, affected K+-evoked Ca2+i responses. These results provide the first direct evidence that L- and probably T-type channels control the K+-induced Ca2+ influx in both types of sensory cells.

Evidence for an Na(+)-K(+)-Cl- cotransporter in mammalian type I vestibular hair cells

In amniotes, there are two types of hair cells, designated I and II, that differ in their morphology, innervation pattern, and ionic membrane properties. Type I cells are unique among hair cells in that their basolateral surfaces are almost completely enclosed by an afferent calyceal nerve terminal. Recently, several lines of evidence have ascribed a motile function to type I hair cells. To investigate this, elevated external K+, which had been used previously to induce hair cell shortening, was used to induce shape changes in dissociated mammalian type I vestibular hair cells. Morphologically identified type I cells shortened and widened when the external K+ concentration was raised isotonically from 2 to 125 mM. The shortening did not require external Ca2+ but was abolished when external Cl- was replaced with gluconate or sulfate and when external Na+ was replaced with N-methyl-D-glucamine. Bumetanide (10-100 microM), a specific blocker of the Na(+)-K(+)-Cl- cotransporter, significantly reduced K(+)-induced shortening. Hyposmotic solution resulted in type I cell shape changes similar to those seen with high K+, i.e., shortening and widening. Type I cells became more spherical in hyposmotic solution, presumably as a result of a volume increase due to water influx. In hypertonic solution, cells became narrower and increased in length. These results suggest that shape changes in type I hair cells induced by high K+ are due, at least in part, to ion and solute entry via an Na(+)-K(+)-Cl- cotransporter, which results in cell swelling. A scheme is proposed whereby the type I hair cell depolarizes and K+ leaves the cell via voltage-dependent K+ channels and accumulates in the synaptic space between the type I hair cell and calyx. Excess K+ could then be removed from the intercellular space by uptake via the cotransporter.