Rapid co-transport of sodium and chloride ions in giant salivary gland cells of the leech Haementeria ghilianii

Expression of the Na+-HCO3- cotransporter and its role in pHi regulation in guinea pig salivary glands

Patterns of salivary HCO(3)(-) secretion vary and depend on species and gland types. However, the identities of the transporters involved in HCO(3)(-) transport and the underlying mechanism of intracellular pH (pH(i)) regulation in salivary glands still remain unclear. In this study, we examined the expression of the Na(+)-HCO(3)(-) cotransporter (NBC) and its role in pH(i) regulation in guinea pig salivary glands, which can serve as an experimental model to study HCO(3)(-) transport in human salivary glands. RT-PCR, immunohistochemistry, and pH(i) measurements from BCECF-AM-loaded cells were performed. The amiloride-sensitive Na(+)/H(+) exchanger (NHE) played a putative role in pH(i) regulation in salivary acinar cells and also appeared to be involved in regulation in salivary ducts. In addition to NHE, NBC also played a role in pH(i) regulation in both acini and ducts. In the parotid gland, NBC1 was functionally expressed in the basolateral membrane (BLM) of acinar cells and the luminal membrane (LM) of ducts. In the submandibular gland, NBC1 was expressed only in the BLM of ducts. NBC1 expressed in these two types of salivary glands takes up HCO(3)(-) and is involved in pH(i) regulation. Although NBC3 immunoreactivity was also detected in submandibular gland acinar cells and in the ducts of both glands, it is unlikely that NBC3 plays any role in pH(i) regulation. We conclude that NBC1 is functionally expressed and plays a role in pH(i) regulation in guinea pig salivary glands but that its localization and role are different depending on the type of salivary glands.

Epithelial transport and osmoregulation in annelids

Epithelial transport related to osmoregulation has so far not been extensively investigated in annelids. Compared with the large body of information about ion transport across crustacean or insect epithelia, only a few studies have been done with isolated preparations of annelids, using the body wall of marine polychaetes or Hirudinea. Nephridial function and general body homeostasis have received more attention, and have probably been best investigated in Hirudinea. With recent advances in the molecular physiology of epithelial transport systems in vertebrates, the cloning of various transporters and ion channels, and the considerable number of osmoregulatory peptides that have now been found and analyzed from annelids, it should now be possible, and is timely, to conduct functional studies on individual selected epithelial preparations or isolated cells from annelids. Such studies may be important for establishing useful models with somewhat less complexity than mammalian systems. For example, annelids lack aldosterone, an important osmoregulatory hormone, which is a key factor in the regulation of sodium reabsorption in vertebrates. Therefore, not only would such studies contribute to annelid physiology, but they would be important in a broader sense for understanding osmoregulation and its evolution. They should also facilitate the discovery and investigation of new specific regulatory pathways.

Differential modulation of voltage-activated conductances by intracellular and extracellular cyclic nucleotides in leech salivary glands

1. Two-electrode voltage clamp was used to study the effects of adenosine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate (cyclic AMP) and guanosine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate (cyclic GMP) on voltage-dependent ion channels in salivary gland cells of the leech, Haementeria ghilianii. 2. Intracellular cyclic AMP specifically blocked delayed rectifier K+ channels. This was shown by use of 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX, a phosphodiesterase inhibitor), forskolin (an activator of adenylyl cyclase) and intracellular injection of cyclic AMP and its dibutyryl and 8-bromo analogues. Cyclic AMP appeared to be the second messenger for the putative neuroglandular transmitter, 5-hydroxytryptamine. 3. Intracellular injection of cyclic GMP specifically potentiated high-voltage-activated (HVA) Ca2+ current and the effect was mimicked by zaprinast, an inhibitor of cyclic GMP-dependent phosphodiesterase. 4. Extracellularly, cyclic GMP and cyclic AMP specifically decreased the amplitude and increased the rate of inactivation of HVA Ca2+ current. These effects of the cyclic nucleotides are identical to those known for extracellular ATP, which activates a presumed purinoceptor. The pyrimidine nucleotide, UTP, was almost equipotent to ATP (threshold dose < 10(-6) M), indicative of a vertebrate-type nucleotide receptor. However, suramin (5 x 10(-5) M), a non-specific P2-receptor antagonist, failed to block the effects of 5 x 10(-6) M ATP (higher suramin doses could not be reliably tested because of the depolarization and increase in membrane conductance produced by the drug). 5. Activation of the putative purinoceptor by ATP did not affect inward rectifier Na+/K+ current which is known to be potentiated by intracellular cyclic AMP and reduced by intracellular cyclic GMP. 6. The preparation may provide a useful model for study of nucleotide actions, and interactions, in channel modulation. It has technical advantages such as large cells (1200 microns in diameter) which lack intercellular coupling and may be individually dissected for biochemical studies.

Modulation of inwardly rectifying Na(+)-K+ channels by serotonin and cyclic nucleotides in salivary gland cells of the leech, Haementeria

The electrically excitable salivary cells of the giant Amazon leech, Haementeria, display a time-dependent inward rectification. Under voltage clamp, hyperpolarizing steps to membrane potentials negative to about -70 mV were associated with the activation of a slow inward current (Ih) which showed no inactivation with time. The time course of activation of Ih was described by a single-exponential function and was strongly voltage dependent. The activation curve of Ih ranged from -72 to -118 mV, with half-activation occurring at -100 mV. Ion-substitution experiments indicated that Ih is carried by both Na+ and K+ ions. 5-Hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) increased the amplitude of Ih and its rate of activation. It also produced a positive shift of the activation curve of the conductance underlying Ih (Gh) without altering the slope factor, thus indicating that the voltage dependence of Ih was modulated by 5-HT. Cs+ blocked both Ih and the 5-HT-potentiated current in a voltage-independent manner, whereas Ba2+ had little effect. It is concluded that 5-HT increases Ih by modulating the inwardly rectifying Na(+)-K+ channels in the salivary cells. The effect of 5-HT may be mediated by an increase in adenylate cyclase activity since Ih was increased by 8-bromo-cyclic AMP and by the phosphodiesterase inhibitor, 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine. In contrast, Ih was reduced by 8-bromo-cyclic GMP and by zaprinast (an inhibitor of cyclic GMP-sensitive phosphodiesterase). Cyclic GMP itself also reduced Ih, and the effect was specific to the 3',5' form; 2',3'-cyclic GMP was inactive. The results suggest that the inward-rectifier channel may be modulated in opposite directions by cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP.