Relative lack of ATP-driven H+ translocase activity in isolated parotid secretory granules

The H+/K+-ATPase (proton) pump is expressed in human laryngeal submucosal glands

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS

Diagnosis and treatment of gastroesophageal and laryngopharyngeal reflux disease has significantly increased over recent years. The larynx is highly sensitive to the effects of LPRD and is similarly responsive to proton pump inhibitor pharmacotherapy. The hypothesis of the study was that proton pump activity exists in the human larynx and plays a functional role in normal and/or pathological laryngeal tissue.

STUDY DESIGN

Pathological investigation.

METHODS

Two fresh human cadaveric larynges (one male and one female larynx) were obtained as part of an exempt protocol from the Human Subjects Committee and were formalin fixed and paraffin embedded. Banked human stomach tissue was also obtained for use as comparative positive and negative control specimens. Sections were immunostained with monoclonal antibodies reactive with both alpha and beta subunits of the H+/K+-ATPase (proton) pump. Specimens were reviewed for staining pattern and intensity.

RESULTS

Stomach parietal cells (known to produce gastric acid) exhibited strongly positive staining for both the alpha and beta subunits of the proton pump. There was no staining in stomach cells that were not morphologically consistent with the parietal cell. In the human larynx there were strong focal and identical staining patterns in the serous cells and ducts of the minor seromucinous glands by both alpha and beta monoclonals to the proton pump. There was variable staining in the laryngeal epithelium that was thought to be consistent with artifact staining resulting from tissue processing.

CONCLUSION

The H+/K+-ATPase (proton) pump is present in serous cells and ducts of submucosal glands in the human larynx. Proton pump inhibitor pharmacotherapy may have a site of action in seromucinous glands of the human larynx, with possible relevance for patients treated for chronic laryngitis with or without laryngopharyngeal reflux disease.

Ion channels in secretory granules of the pancreas and their role in exocytosis and release of secretory proteins

Regulated secretion in exocrine and neuroendocrine cells occurs through exocytosis of secretory granules and the subsequent release of stored small molecules and proteins. The introduction of biophysical techniques with high temporal and spatial resolution, and the identification of Ca(2+)-dependent and -independent "docking" and "fusion" proteins, has greatly enhanced our understanding of exocytosis. The cloning of families of ion channel proteins, including intracellular ion channels, has also revived interest in the role of secretory granule ion channels in exocytotic secretion. Thus secretory granules of pancreatic acinar cell express a ClC-2 Cl(-) channel, a HCO-permeable member of the CLCA Ca(2+)-dependent anion channel family, and a KCNQ1 K(+) channel. Evidence suggests that these channels may facilitate the release of digestive enzymes and/or prevent exocytosed granules from collapsing during "kiss and run" recycling. In pancreatic beta-cells, a granular ClC-3 Cl(-) channel provides a shunt pathway for a vacuolar-type H(+)-ATPase. Acidification "primes" the granules for Ca(2+)-dependent exocytosis and release of insulin. In summary, secretory granules are equipped with specific sets of ion channels, which modulate regulated exocytosis and the release of macromolecules. These channels could represent excellent targets for therapeutic interventions to control exocytotic secretion in relevant diseases, such as pancreatitis, cystic fibrosis, or diabetes mellitus.

Identification of Goalpha, Gqalpha, and Gsalpha immunoreactivity associated with the rat pancreatic zymogen granule membrane

In this study we have determined which Galpha proteins are associated with the pancreatic zymogen granule membrane. The purity of the granule preparation was evaluated both morphologically and biochemically. These studies demonstrated that the isolated zymogen granules were free of any significant cross contamination from other organelles including the plasma membrane. Western blot analysis showed that Goalpha, Gqalpha, and Gsalpha are associated with the zymogen granule membrane, but that Gi1alpha, Gi2alpha, and Gi3alpha are not. The location of these Galpha proteins suggests that they may modulate regulated exocytosis in the pancreatic acinar cell.

Differential sorting of lysosomal enzymes out of the regulated secretory pathway in pancreatic beta-cells

In cells specialized for secretory granule exocytosis, lysosomal hydrolases may enter the regulated secretory pathway. Using mouse pancreatic islets and the INS-1 beta-cell line as models, we have compared the itineraries of procathepsins L and B, two closely related members of the papain superfamily known to exhibit low and high affinity for mannose-6-phosphate receptors (MPRs), respectively. Interestingly, shortly after pulse labeling INS cells, a substantial fraction of both proenzymes exhibit regulated exocytosis. After several hours, much procathepsin L remains as precursor in a compartment that persists in its ability to undergo regulated exocytosis in parallel with insulin, while procathepsin B is efficiently converted to the mature form and can no longer be secreted. However, in islets from transgenic mice devoid of cation-dependent MPRs, the modest fraction of procathepsin B normally remaining within mature secretory granules is increased approximately fourfold. In normal mouse islets, immunoelectron microscopy established that both cathepsins are present in immature beta-granules, while immunolabeling for cathepsin L, but not B, persists in mature beta-granules. By contrast, in islets from normal male Sprague-Dawley rats, much of the proenzyme sorting appears to occur earlier, significantly diminishing the stimulus-dependent release of procathepsin B. Evidently, in the context of different systems, MPR-mediated sorting of lysosomal proenzymes occurs to a variable extent within the trans-Golgi network and is continued, as needed, within immature secretory granules. Lysosomal proenzymes that fail to be sorted at both sites remain as residents of mature secretory granules.

The effect of HCO3- on anion-stimulated ATPase from rat parotid granules

ATPase from isolated secretory granules was stimulated in a concentration-dependent manner by HCO3- above 0.9 mM. Maximal stimulation was found at about 16 mM HCO3- and was about half of that with sulphite (SO3(2-)). The activation site(s) appeared to be similar to at least one class of SO3(2-) sites, HCO3(-)-stimulate ATPase was inhibited by SITS. Furthermore, maximal stimulation with SO3(2-) was not enhanced with HCO3-. At low Mg2+ concentrations, Ca2+ stimulated granule ATPase. At higher concentrations of Mg2+ (0.5 mM and above), Ca2+ at 0.1 mM or less had little effect on HCO3(-)-ATPase, and Ca2+ at 4 mM inhibited HCO3(-)-ATPase. At concentrations of Ca2+ above 0.44 mM, the enzyme was partially stimulated in the absence of Mg2+ and presence of HCO3-. Mitochondrial contamination did not account for the presence of ATPase in the isolated granule fraction. The granule ATPase may be regulated by HCO3- and calcium and this could be related to changes in the granule environment during exocytosis.

Reduction capacity of untreated and of repeatedly isoproterenol treated parotid gland of the mouse

Osmium impregnation was used to show possible differences of reduction capacity of perinuclear space, rough endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi apparatus of unstimulated mouse parotid gland and in the gland after repeated pharmacological doses of isoproterenol. There were some significant differences between the staining of acinar and duct cells. In all intercalated and striated duct cells the staining is dense in the perinuclear space and in the rough endoplasmic reticulum. Osmiophility was not detected in the Golgi complex of intercalated duct cells. The staining was also lacking in the perinuclear space and endoplasmic reticulum of the acinar cells. The cis face of the Golgi complex and numerous transitional vesicles in the acinar cells showed variability of the reduction capacity of their membrane segments. In chronically treated acinar cells Os black was lacking in the Golgi cisternae, except that the numerous transitional vesicles were heavily stained. These results reveal characteristic differences of reduction capacity of endomembrane compartments in different parotid glandular cells, as well as between untreated and treated acinar cells.

Characteristics of anion-stimulated Mg-ATPase from rat parotid gland secretory granules

Magnesium-dependent adenosine triphosphatase (Mg-ATPase) was assayed in highly purified secretory granules. The enzyme was stimulated by sulphite and isethionate, unaffected by chloride and inhibited by fluoride and thiocyanate. Inhibition was not related to the permeant properties of the anion, but the relative inhibitory potency of the anions was similar to that in some other studies of secretory granule ATPases. Maximum contribution to the anion-stimulated ATPase by contaminating mitochondria was estimated at 9.3%. The enzyme was inhibited by the stilbene disulphonic acid inhibitor, 4-acetamido-4'-isothiocyano-2,2'-stilbene disulphonic acid (SITS). The IC50 was 0.16 mM in the absence of sulphite and increased in the presence of sulphite. The relation of the inhibition by SITS to sulphite was complex. Both Vmax and Km parameters were changed by SITS. Furthermore the data are consistent with the presence of two anion-stimulated ATPases. The ATPase was sensitive to tributyltin, dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCCD) and oligomycin, only moderately sensitive to azide, probenecid and N-ethylmaleimide (NEM) and rather insensitive to carbonylcyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP) and sulphisoxazole. ATPase activity was stimulated by calcium both in the presence and absence of magnesium. These findings suggest that the ATPase(s) present in parotid secretory granules is unique among secretory granule ATPases.

Similarities and differences among neuroendocrine, exocrine, and endocytic vesicles

Secretory and endocytic vesicles have analogous functions as cyclic carriers between specific cellular compartments. The centrifugally functioning secretory system operates from the Golgi complex, whereas the centripetally functioning endocytic system operates from the cell surface. Further, within polarized epithelial cells the export traffic can be directed to a distinct plasmalemmal domain which distinguishes exocrine from endocrine secretion and import traffic can be directed transcellularly. These shuttle operations involve a special class of lipid-rich, protein-poor membranes that appear to use an inwardly directed H+-translocase activity to varying extents for pH-dependent sorting and for accumulation and concentration of transported molecules. Comparative analyses of purified membrane preparations from exocrine and endocrine sources identify compositional overlap between different types of shuttle membrane. However, the structural elements that specify a particular origin or destination for a given carrier or determine function in storage and stimulus-dependent shuttling remain unknown.

The condensing vacuole of exocrine cells is more acidic than the mature secretory vesicle

A number of intracellular, membrane-bound compartments in both the endocytic and exocytic pathways of eukaryotic cells have an acidic internal pH. In endocrine cells, the mature secretory vesicle has an acidic pH; secretory vesicles isolated from exocrine cells, however, appear to have a neutral pH. Recently we have used a newly developed immunocytochemical technique to map low-pH compartments in insulin-secreting islet cells with the electron microscope and find that during the maturation of the secretory vesicle there is a progressive acidification of these vesicles that begins as soon as the trans Golgi condensing vacuoles form. Now we have used this technique to examine two exocrine cells: the pancreatic acinar cell and the parotid serous cell. In both cell types, the trans Golgi condensing vacuoles are acidic and accumulate the low-pH probe to the same extent as condensing vacuoles of insulin-secreting islet cells. Unlike insulin-secreting cells, however, maturation of the granules is accompanied by a return of luminal pH to near neutrality. Therefore, although the pH of storage granules in exocrine and endocrine cells is different, the pH of the condensing vacuoles in both cells is acidic.

The proton pump ATPase of lysosomes and related organelles of the vacuolar apparatus

In this review, I hope to achieve the following: (a) to document the presence of a lysosome-like proton pump ATPase in many different membrane systems of animal, plant and microbial origin; (b) to glean from the diverse data common characteristics of these ATPases, especially as regards their similarities and differences with mitochondrial-type F1F0 proton pump ATPases; and (c) to consider questions of synthesis and regulation of a cellular proton pump system with such a widespread distribution.