Pepsinogen secretion: coupling of exocytosis visualized by video microscopy and [Ca2+]i in single cells

ABCC11/MRP8 Expression in the Gastrointestinal Tract and a Novel Role for Pepsinogen Secretion

ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters are involved in chemotherapy resistance. Multidrug-resistance protein 8 (ABCC11/MRP8) is also involved in 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) metabolism. 5-FU and its derivatives are widely used in the treatment of gastrointestinal tract cancers, but little is known about the contribution of ABCC11/MRP8 to gastrointestinal tract and related cancers. Here, we report our investigation of ABCC11/MRP8 expression in normal and cancerous gastrointestinal tract tissues and reveal its novel role in the gastric mucosa. In tissue microarray and surgically resected cancer specimens, immunohistochemical (IHC) staining revealed significantly reduced expression of ABCC11/MRP8 in gastrointestinal tract cancers compared with other cancers. In contrast, strong ABCC11/MRP8 expression was observed in normal gastric mucosa. Additional immuno­fluorescence assays revealed co-localization of ABCC11/MRP8 and pepsinogen I in normal gastric chief cells. Quantitative PCR and Western blot analysis also revealed significant expression of ABCC11/MRP8 in fundic mucosa where the chief cells are mainly located. Furthermore, the ABCC11 mRNA-suppressed NCI-N87 gastric cancer cell line failed to secret pepsinogen I extracellularly. Thus, low expression of ABCC11/MRP8 is consistent with chemotherapeutic regimens using 5-FU and its derivatives in gastrointestinal tract cancers. Our results indicated a novel function of ABCC11/MRP8 in the regulation of pepsinogen I secretion in the normal gastric chief cells.

Methods for imaging Renin-synthesizing, -storing, and -secreting cells

Renin-producing cells have been the object of intense research efforts for the past fifty years within the field of hypertension. Two decades ago, research focused on the concept and characterization of the intrarenal renin-angiotensin system. Early morphological studies led to the concept of the juxtaglomerular apparatus, a minute organ that links tubulovascular structures and function at the single nephron level. The kidney, thus, appears as a highly "topological organ" in which anatomy and function are intimately linked. This point is reflected by a concurrent and constant development of functional and structural approaches. After summarizing our current knowledge about renin cells and their distribution along the renal vascular tree, particularly along glomerular afferent arterioles, we reviewed a variety of imaging techniques that permit a fine characterization of renin synthesis, storage, and release at the single-arteriolar, -cell, or -granule level. Powerful tools such as multiphoton microscopy and transgenesis bear the promises of future developments of the field.

cGMP modulation of ACh-stimulated exocytosis in guinea pig antral mucous cells

In guinea pig antral mucous cells, ACh stimulates the Ca(2+)-regulated exocytosis, which has a characteristics feature: an initial transient phase followed by a sustained phase. The effects of cGMP on ACh-stimulated exocytosis were studied in guinea pig antral mucous cells using video microscopy. cGMP enhanced the frequency of ACh-stimulated exocytotic events, whereas cGMP alone did not induce any exocytotic events under the ACh-unstimulated condition. cGMP did not stimulate either Ca(2+) mobilization or cAMP accumulation. The Ca(2+) dose-response studies demonstrated that cGMP shifted the dose-response curve upward with no shift to the lower concentration. This indicates that cGMP increased maximal responsiveness of the Ca(2+)-regulated exocytosis, but not the Ca(2+) sensitivity. Moreover, under a condition of ATP depletion by dinitrophenol (DNP) or anoxia (N(2) bubbling), ACh evoked only a sustained phase in exocytotic events with no initial transient phase. However, ACh evoked an initial transient phase followed by a sustained phase with addition of cGMP before ATP depletion, whereas only a sustained phase was evoked in a case of cGMP addition after ATP depletion. Thus cGMP-induced enhancement in ACh-stimulated exocytotic events requires ATP, suggesting that cGMP modulates ATP-dependent priming of Ca(2+)-regulated exocytosis in antral mucous cells. In conclusion, cGMP increases the number of primed granules via acceleration of the ATP-dependent priming, which enhances the Ca(2+)-regulated exocytosis stimulated by ACh.

cAMP modulation of Ca(2+)-regulated exocytosis in ACh-stimulated antral mucous cells of guinea pig

Effects of cAMP accumulation on ATP-dependent priming and Ca(2+)-dependent fusion in Ca(2+)-regulated exocytosis were examined in antral mucous cells of guinea pigs by using video-enhanced contrast microscopy. The Ca(2+)-regulated exocytosis activated by 1 microM ACh consisted of two phases, an initial transient phase followed by a sustained phase, which were potentiated by cAMP accumulation. Depletion of ATP by 100 microM dinitrophenol (uncoupler of oxidative phosphorylation) or anoxia induced the sustained phase without the initial transient phase in Ca(2+)-regulated exocytosis. However, accumulation of cAMP before depletion of ATP induced and potentiated an initial transient phase followed by a sustained phase in Ca(2+)-regulated exocytosis. This suggests that the initial transient phase of Ca(2+)-regulated exocytosis is induced by fusion of all primed granules maintained by ATP and that accumulation of cAMP accelerates ATP-dependent priming of the exocytotic cycle. Moreover, ACh and Ca(2+) dose-response studies showed that accumulation of cAMP shifted the dose-response curves to the low concentration side, suggesting that it increases Ca(2+) sensitivity in the fusion of the exocytotic cycle. In conclusion, cAMP accumulation increases the number of primed granules and Ca(2+) sensitivity of the fusion, which potentiates Ca(2+)-regulated exocytosis in antral mucous cells.

Nonselective cation channel as a Ca(2+) influx pathway in pepsinogen-secreting cells of bullfrog esophagus

In pepsinogen-secreting cells of bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana), recent evidence suggests that Ca(2+) release from internal stores followed by Ca(2+) influx across the plasma membrane elicits pepsinogen secretion. Such a Ca(2+) influx could be carried by a background current, potentiated by bombesin, that was found in these cells using the whole cell patch-clamp technique. The permeability ratio of Cs(+)-Rb(+)-K(+)-Na(+)-Li(+)-N-methyl-D-glucamine(+)-Ca(2+) was 1.01:1:1:0.86:0.72:0.54:0.34. The current was almost totally blocked by the nonselective cation channel blockers La(3+) (0.1 mM) and Gd(3+) (0.1 mM) and was activated by intracellular Ca(2+). These properties demonstrated that the current, which was activated by bombesin, was a nonselective cation current. At the same time, Gd(3+) suppressed pepsinogen secretion by 29 +/- 5.6% in isolated pepsinogen-secreting glands. These results are in accord with the idea that a nonselective cation channel in pepsinogen-secreting cells plays a role as a Ca(2+) influx pathway leading to secretion of pepsinogen in bullfrog esophageal mucosa.

Exocytosis and movement of zymogen granules observed by VEC-DIC microscopy in the pancreatic tissue en bloc

The dynamic aspects of exocytosis, especially in the normal acinar tissue en bloc, have remained unclear. We visualized exocytosis directly in the tissue of the exocrine pancreas of rodents by video-enhanced contrast-differential interference contrast (VEC-DIC) microscopy to investigate various exocytosis-related rates and the relationship between the movement of granules and exocytotic responses. Stimulation of the tissue with bethanechol or cholecystokinin caused many of the zymogen granules in the apical pole to disappear abruptly. The exocytotic transients of individual granules were completed in 0.48-0.65 s. Granules destined to participate in the exocytotic response moved randomly at velocities of approximately 0.06 microm/s or less during stimulation. In the tissue preparation, granules located far from the apical pole frequently moved back and forth for 1-7 microm without showing exocytosis. Colchicine suppressed this movement and the late phase of the secretory response. Real-time (VEC-DIC) observation of granule dynamics revealed that the initial step of exocytosis was not coupled directly with the microtubule-dependent translocation but with a continuous, slow Brownian fluctuation of granules.