Enhancing early bladder cancer detection with fluorescence-guided endoscopic optical coherence tomography

We report an experimental study of the possibility of enhancing early bladder cancer diagnosis with fluorescence-image-guided endoscopic optical coherence tomography (OCT). After the intravesical instillation of a 10% solution of 5-aminolevulinic acid, simultaneous fluorescence imaging (excitation of 380-420 nm, emission of 620-700 nm) and OCT are performed on rat bladders to identify the photochemical and morphological changes associated with uroepithelial tumorigenesis. The preliminary results of our ex vivo study reveal that both fluorescence and OCT can identify early uroepithelial cancers, and OCT can detect precancerous lesions (e.g., hyperplasia) that fluorescence may miss. This suggests that a cystoscope combining 5-aminolevulinic acid fluorescence and OCT imaging has the potential to enhance the efficiency and sensitivity of early bladder cancer diagnosis.

Detection of tumorigenesis in rat bladders with optical coherence tomography

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a novel technique that enables noninvasive cross-sectional imaging of biological tissues. Because of its high resolution (approximately 10 microm), superior dynamic range (140 dB in our case) and up to 2-3 mm penetration depth, OCT is potentially useful for noninvasive screening of superficial lesions. Bladder cancer arises within the transitional epithelium. Despite the ability to visualize the epithelium via cystoscopy, it is often difficult to detect early epithelial cancers and to determine their penetration to the underlying layers. To investigate the potential of OCT to enhance imaging of bladder cancers and other epithelial lesions, we applied OCT to normal and diseased bladder epithelium, and correlated the results with histological findings. OCT images of porcine bladder (a close homolog of human bladder) confirm the ability of this method to image human tissues. To determine whether OCT can track the course of bladder cancer, a standard rat model of bladder cancer in which Fisher rats are exposed to methyl-nitroso-urea (MNU), was followed both with OCT and histological studies. Our results show that the micro morphology of porcine bladder such as the urothelium, submucosa and muscles is identified by OCT and well correlated with the histological evaluations. OCT detected edema, inflammatory infiltrates, and submucosal blood congestion as well as the abnormal growth of urothelium (e.g., papillary hyperplasia and carcinomas). By contrast, surface imaging, which resembles cystoscopy, provided far less sensitivity and resolution than OCT. This is the first OCT study of any tumor documented in a systematic fashion, and the results suggest the potential of OCT for the noninvasive diagnosis of both bladder inflammatory lesions and early urothelial abnormalities, which conventional cystoscopy often misses, by imaging characterization of the increases in urothelial thickening and backscattering. However, because of the depth limitation, OCT may have limited applications in staging the invasion of higher-state urothelial cancers, especially for papillary carcinomas.

Molecular Mechanisms of Water and Solute Transport across Archaebacterial Lipid Membranes

Archaebacteria thrive in environments characterized by anaeobiosis, saturated salt, and both high and low extremes of temperature and pH. The bulk of their membrane lipids are polar, characterized by the archaeal structural features typified by ether linkage of the glycerol backbone to isoprenoid chains of constant length, often fully saturated, and with sn-2,3 stereochemistry opposite that of glycerolipids of Bacteria and Eukarya. Also unique to these bacteria are macrocyclic archaeol and membrane spanning caldarchaeol lipids that are found in some extreme thermophiles and methanogens. To define the barrier function of archaebacterial membranes and to examine the effects of these unique structural features on permeabilities, we investigated the water, solute (urea and glycerol), proton, and ammonia permeability of liposomes formed by these lipids. Both the macrocyclic archaeol and caldarchaeol lipids reduced the water, ammonia, urea, and glycerol permeability of liposomes significantly (6-120-fold) compared with diphytanylphosphatidylcholine liposomes. The presence of the ether bond and phytanyl chains did not significantly affect these permeabilities. However, the apparent proton permeability was reduced 3-fold by the presence of an ether bond. The presence of macrocyclic archaeol and caldarchaeol structures further reduced apparent proton permeabilities by 10-17-fold. These results indicate that the limiting mobility of the midplane hydrocarbon region of the membranes formed by macrocyclic archaeol and caldarchaeol lipids play a significant role in reducing the permeability properties of the lipid membrane. In addition, it appears that substituting ether for ester bonds presents an additional barrier to proton flux.

Effects of vitamin D (calcitriol) on transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder in vitro and in vivo

PURPOSE

Vitamin D (calcitriol) has significant antiproliferative effects on various tumor cells in vitro and in vivo. In the clinical situation a major impediment to systemic administration of calcitriol is the side effect of hypercalcemia. To test the potential usefulness of calcitriol for bladder cancer treatment, we studied the antiproliferative effect of vitamin D on 2 human bladder cancer cell lines, 253j and T-24, in vitro. We also examined the in vivo effects of calcitriol in an animal model of bladder cancer using intravesical administration to avoid the toxicity of systemic calcitriol therapy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The presence of vitamin D receptors in normal and neoplastic human bladder tissue, and tumor cells T-24 and 253j was determined by immunoblot analysis. Tumor cell proliferation in the presence or absence of calcitriol was determined using a crystal violet assay. Calcitriol induced apoptosis was determined by morphology, polyadenosine diphosphate ribose polymerase cleavage and annexin V binding. In vivo studies were performed by weekly intravesical instillation of calcitriol in female Fischer 344 rats after induction of tumors by N-methyl nitrosourea. Calcitriol administration was started 3 weeks after tumor induction for 7 doses at weekly intervals.

RESULTS

Normal and neoplastic human bladder tissue, and the cell lines expressed vitamin D receptors. In the 253j and T-24 cell lines proliferation was significantly inhibited by calcitriol. Progressive cleavage of full length polyadenosine diphosphate ribose polymerase was observed in calcitriol treated cells starting as early as 4 hours after exposure. Similar changes were not observed in the control cells treated with vehicle (ethanol) alone. After 24 hours of treatment with calcitriol 45.8% of 253j cells bound annexin compared to 16.5% of control cells (chi-square p <0.001). Of the control animals 66% developed bladder tumors and 55% of the animals treated with calcitriol early (3 weeks) after tumor induction developed bladder tumors. Almost all of the tumors that developed in the calcitriol group were unifocal, and only 20% were invasive compared to 50% of those in the control animals.

CONCLUSIONS

These results demonstrate that calcitriol inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis in human bladder tumor cells in vitro, and may have therapeutic potential in bladder cancer. In vivo studies using an N-methylnitrosourea induced model of bladder cancer demonstrate that early institution of intravesical calcitriol therapy after carcinogen exposure results in fewer tumors, which are also less likely to be multifocal, high grade or invasive. With our protocol a short course of intravesical calcitriol administration did not result in any significant toxicity.

Reconstituting the barrier properties of a water-tight epithelial membrane by design of leaflet-specific liposomes

To define aspects of lipid composition and bilayer asymmetry critical to barrier function, we examined the permeabilities of liposomes that model individual leaflets of the apical membrane of a barrier epithelium, Madin-Darby canine kidney type 1 cells. Using published lipid compositions we prepared exofacial liposomes containing phosphatidylcholine, sphingomyelin, glycosphingolipids, and cholesterol; and cytoplasmic liposomes containing phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylserine, and cholesterol. The osmotic permeability of cytoplasmic liposomes to water (P(f)), solutes, and NH(3) was 18-90-fold higher than for the exofacial liposomes (P(f(ex)) = 2.4 +/- 0.4 x 10(-4) cm/s, P(f(cy)) = 4.4 +/- 0.3 x 10(-3) cm/s; P(glycerol(ex)) = 2.5 +/- 0.3 x 10(-8) cm/s, P(glycerol(cy)) = 2.2 +/- 0.02 x 10(-6) cm/s; P(NH3(ex)) = 0. 13 +/- 0.4 x 10(-4) cm/s, P(NH3(cy)) = 7.9 +/- 1.0 x 10(-3) cm/s). By contrast, the apparent proton permeability of exofacial liposomes was 4-fold higher than cytoplasmic liposomes (P(H+(ex)) = 1.1 +/- 0. 1 x 10(-2) cm/s, P(H+(cy)) = 2.7 +/- 0.6 x 10(-3) cm/s). By adding single leaflet permeabilities, we calculated a theoretical P(f) for a Madin-Darby canine kidney apical membrane of 4.6 x 10(-4) cm/s, which compares favorably with experimentally determined values. In exofacial liposomes lacking glycosphingolipids or sphingomyelin, permeabilities were 2-7-fold higher, indicating that both species play a role in barrier function. Removal of cholesterol resulted in 40-280-fold increases in permeability. We conclude: 1) that we have reconstituted the biophysical properties of a barrier membrane, 2) that the barrier resides in the exofacial leaflet, 3) that both sphingomyelin and glycosphingolipids play a role in reducing membrane permeability but that there is an absolute requirement for cholesterol to mediate this effect, 4) that these results further validate the hypothesis that each leaflet offers an independent resistance to permeation, and 5) that proton permeation was enhanced by sphingolipid/cholesterol interactions.

A simple comorbidity scale predicts clinical outcomes and costs in dialysis patients

PURPOSE

In a university-based dialysis program, we found that 25% of the patients accounted for 50% of the costs and 42% of the deaths. We determined whether the Charlson Comorbidity Index, a simple measure of comorbid conditions, could predict clinical outcomes and costs in these patients.

METHODS

Patients on hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis from July 1996 to June 1998 at the University of Pittsburgh outpatient dialysis unit were studied. Comorbidity scores and outcomes were determined by reviewing the Medical Archival Retrieval System database and outpatient records.

RESULTS

Two hundred sixty-eight patients were observed for 293 patient-years. The Comorbidity Index strongly predicted admission rate (relative risk per each unit increase = 1.20; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.16 to 1.23, P = 0.0001), hospital days and inpatient costs (both P <0.0001), and mortality (relative risk per unit increase = 1.24, 95% CI: 1.11 to 1.39, P = 0.0002.). Age and diabetes, used in the Health Care Financing Administration dialysis capitation model, correlated poorly with outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

The modified Charlson Comorbidity Index predicts outcomes and costs in dialysis patients. This index may be useful in determining appropriate payment for care of dialysis patients under capitated payment schemes and as a research tool to stratify dialysis patients in order to compare the outcomes of various interventions.

Urothelial pathophysiological changes in feline interstitial cystitis: a human model

Unique barrier properties of the urothelial surface membrane permit urine storage. Interstitial cystitis causes disabling dysuria, and frequency. Similarly, feline interstitial cystitis (FIC) occurs in cats. These studies define the permeability and structural properties of normal and FIC urothelium. To determine the effects of bladder filling, groups were studied before and after hydrodistention. Normal urothelium with or without hydrodistention exhibited high transepithelial resistances (TER) and low water and urea permeabilities, resembling other species. Fluorescence confocal microscopy revealed localization of the marker AE-31 to the apical surface of all umbrella cells in normal urothelium, with the tight junction protein ZO-1 localized to tight junctions. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy revealed uniform distribution of luminal cells with characteristic apical membrane and tight junction morphology. Urothelium in FIC animals displayed reduced TER and increased water and urea permeability following hydrodistention. Structural studies in FIC revealed denuded urothelium, with appearance of AE-31 in underlying epithelial cells. The results demonstrate severe epithelial damage and dysfunction in FIC and suggest novel approaches toward examining the etiology and therapy of IC.

Substance P dependence of endosomal fusion during bladder inflammation

Urinary bladder instillation of ovalbumin into presensitized guinea pigs stimulates rapid development of local bladder inflammation. Substance P is an important mediator of this inflammatory response, as substance P antagonists largely reverse the process. Vacuolization of the subapical endosomal compartment of the transitional epithelial cells lining the bladder suggests that changes in endosomal trafficking and fusion are also part of the inflammatory response. To test directly for substance P mediation of changes in endosomal fusion, we reconstituted fusion of transitional cell endosomes in vitro using both cuvette-based and flow cytometry energy transfer assays. Bladders were loaded with fluorescent dyes by a hypotonic withdrawal protocol before endosomal isolation by gradient centrifugation. Endosomal fusion assayed by energy transfer during in vitro reconstitution was both cytosol and ATP dependent. Fusion was confirmed by the increase in vesicle size on electron micrographs of fused endosomal preparations compared with controls. In inflamed bladders, dye uptake was inhibited 20% and endosomal fusion was inhibited 50%. These changes are partly mediated by the neurokinin-1 (NK1) receptor (NK1R), as 4 mg/kg of CP-96,345, a highly selective NK1 antagonist, increased fusion in inflamed bladders but had no effect on control bladders. The receptor-mediated nature of this effect was demonstrated by the expression of substance P receptor mRNA in rat bladder lumen scrapings and by the detection of the NK1R message in guinea pig subapical endosomes by Western blot analysis. The NK1Rs were significantly upregulated following induction of an inflammatory response in the bladder. These results demonstrate that 1) in ovalbumin-induced inflammation in the guinea pig bladder, in vitro fusion of apical endosomes is inhibited, showing endocytotic processes are altered in inflammation; 2) pretreatment in vivo with an NK1R antagonist blocks this inhibition of in vitro fusion, demonstrating a role for NK1R in this process; and 3) the NK1R is present in higher amounts in apical endosomes of inflamed bladder, suggesting changes in translation or trafficking of the NK1R during the inflammatory process. This suggests that NK1R can change the fusion properties of membranes in which it resides.

Water transport across yeast vacuolar and plasma membrane-targeted secretory vesicles occurs by passive diffusion

To determine whether solute transport across yeast membranes was facilitated, we measured the water and solute permeations of vacuole-derived and late secretory vesicles in Saccharomyces cerevisiae; all permeations were consistent with passive diffusive flow. We also overexpressed Fps1p, the putative glycerol facilitator in S. cerevisiae, in secretory vesicles but observed no effect on water, glycerol, formamide, or urea permeations. However, spheroplasts prepared from the strain overexpressing Fps1p showed enhanced glycerol uptake, suggesting that Fps1p becomes active only upon insertion in the plasma membrane.

Primary uroepithelial cultures. A model system to analyze umbrella cell barrier function

Despite almost 25 years of effort, the development of a highly differentiated and functionally equivalent cell culture model of uroepithelial cells has eluded investigators. We have developed a primary cell culture model of rabbit uroepithelium that consists of an underlying cell layer that interacts with a collagen substratum, an intermediate cell layer, and an upper cell layer of large (25-100 micrometer) superficial cells. When examined at the ultrastructural level, the superficial cells formed junctional complexes and had an asymmetric unit membrane, a hallmark of terminal differentiation in bladder umbrella cells. These cultured "umbrella" cells expressed uroplakins and a 27-kDa uroepithelial specific antigen that assembled into detergent-resistant asymmetric unit membrane particles. The cultures had low diffusive permeabilities for water (2.8 x 10(-4) cm/s) and urea (3.0 x 10(-7) cm/s) and high transepithelial resistance (>8000 Omega cm2) was achieved when 1 mM CaCl2 was included in the culture medium. The cell cultures expressed an amiloride-sensitive sodium transport pathway and increases in apical membrane capacitance were observed when the cultures were osmotically stretched. The described primary rabbit cell culture model mimics many of the characteristics of uroepithelium found in vivo and should serve as a useful tool to explore normal uroepithelial function as well as dysfunction as a result of disease.

Purification and functional reconstitution of soybean nodulin 26. An aquaporin with water and glycerol transport properties

Infection of soybean roots by nitrogen-fixing Bradyrhizobium japonicum leads to expression of plant nodule-specific genes known as nodulins. Nodulin 26, a member of the major intrinsic protein/aquaporin (AQP) channel family, is a major component of the soybean symbiosome membrane (SM) that encloses the rhizobium bacteroid. To investigate the water and solute transport characteristics of nodulin 26, we purified the protein from SMs and reconstituted it into carboxyfluorescein-loaded liposomes for transport studies using stopped-flow spectrofluorimetry. Liposomes containing nodulin 26 exhibited a high osmotic permeability (Pf = 0. 012 +/- 0.0013 cm/s), a value fivefold higher than that obtained with control liposomes. Water flux through nodulin 26 showed a low activation energy (Ea) (4.07 kcal/mol) and was reduced 70% upon addition of 1 mM HgCl2. Reconstituted nodulin 26 exhibited a single-channel conductance of 3.8 +/- 2.5 x 10(-)15 cm3/s (n = 3), a value that is lower than other characterized AQPs. Nodulin 26 proteoliposomes also facilitate glycerol transport, showing a 43-fold higher rate of glycerol flux than control liposomes. This observation was supported by expression experiments in Xenopus oocytes that showed that nodulin 26 facilitated glycerol flux in a manner indistinguishable from the Escherichia coli GlpF glycerol facilitator. Consistent with the results of water transport, glycerol transport was inhibited by HgCl2 and showed a low Ea (4.43 kcal/mol). These results indicate that nodulin 26 is a multifunctional AQP that confers water and glycerol transport to the SM, and likely plays a role in osmoregulation during legume/rhizobia symbioses.

Reconstituted aquaporin 1 water channels transport CO2 across membranes

Biological membranes provide selective barriers to a number of molecules and gases. However, the factors that affect permeability to gases remain unclear because of the difficulty of accurately measuring gas movements. To determine the roles of lipid composition and the aquaporin 1 (AQP1) water channel in altering CO2 flux across membranes, we developed a fluorometric assay to measure CO2 entry into vesicles. Maximal CO2 flux was approximately 1000-fold above control values with 0.5 mg/ml carbonic anhydrase. Unilamellar phospholipid vesicles of varying composition gave widely varying water permeabilities but similar CO2 permeabilities at 25 degreesC. When AQP1 purified from human red blood cells was reconstituted into proteoliposomes, however, it increased water and CO2 permeabilities markedly. Both increases were abolished with HgCl2, and the mercurial inhibition was reversible with beta-mercaptoethanol. We conclude that unlike water and small nonelectrolytes, CO2 permeation is not significantly altered by lipid bilayer composition or fluidity. AQP1 clearly serves to increase CO2 permeation, likely through the water pore; under certain circumstances, gas permeation through membranes is protein-mediated.

The cost of caring for end-stage kidney disease patients: an analysis based on hospital financial transaction records

The costs of care for end-stage renal disease patients continue to rise because of increased numbers of patients. Efforts to contain these costs have focused on the development of capitated payment schemes, in which all costs for the care of these patients are covered in a single payment. To determine the effect of a capitated reimbursement scheme on care of dialysis patients (both hemodialysis [HD] and peritoneal dialysis [PD]), complete financial records (all reimbursements for inpatient and outpatient care, as well as physician collections) of dialysis patients at a single medical center over 1 year were analyzed. For the period from July 1994 to July 1995, annualized cost per dialysis patient-year averaged $63,340, or 9.8% higher than the corrected estimate from the U.S. Renal Data Service (USRDS; $57,660). The "most expensive" 25% of patients engendered 44 to 48% of the total costs, and inpatient costs accounted for 37 to 40% of total costs. Nearly half of the inpatient costs resulted from only two categories (room charges and inpatient dialysis), whereas other categories each made up a small fraction of the inpatient costs. PD patients were far less expensive to care for than HD patients, due to reduced hospital days and lower cost of outpatient dialysis. Care for a university-based dialysis population was only slightly more expensive than estimates predicted from the USRDS. These results validate the USRDS spending data and suggest that they can be used effectively for setting capitated rates. Efforts to control costs without sacrificing quality of care must center on reducing inpatient costs, particularly room charges and the cost of inpatient dialysis.

Recent advances in water transport

Complex organisms regulate the osmolalities of their compartments by limiting water flow across some membranes and promoting rapid water flow across others via proteins called aquaporins. Barrier epithelia limit water flow by reducing the mobilities of fatty acid chains in their apical membranes, especially in the outer leaflets of these membranes. Aquaporins are 28 to 30 kDa, 6 membrane-spanning proteins that are expressed in a wide variety of organisms from bacteria to plants to mammals. The structural and biophysical data are summarized to develop our best understanding of water pore function. In addition, the regulation of trafficking of AQP 2 into and out of the apical membranes of collecting duct principal cells is described.

Water and solute permeabilities of medullary thick ascending limb apical and basolateral membranes

The medullary thick ascending limb (MTAL) reabsorbs solute without water and concentrates NH4+ in the interstitium without a favorable pH gradient, activities which require low water and NH3 permeabilities. The contributions of different apical and basolateral membrane structures to these low permeabilities are unclear. We isolated highly purified apical and basolateral MTAL plasma membranes and measured, by stopped-flow fluorometry, their permeabilities to water, urea, glycerol, protons, and NH3. Osmotic water permeability at 20 degrees C averaged 9.4 +/- 0.8 x 10(-4) cm/s for apical and 11.9 +/- 0.5 x 10(-4) cm/s for basolateral membranes. NH3 permeabilities at 20 degrees C averaged 0.0023 +/- 0.00035 and 0.0035 +/- 0.00080 cm/s for apical and basolateral membranes, respectively. These values are consistent with those obtained in isolated perfused tubules and can account for known aspects of MTAL function in vivo. Because the apical and basolateral membrane unit permeabilities are similar, the ability of the apical membrane to function as the site of barrier function arises from its very small surface area when compared with the highly redundant basolateral membrane.

Reconstitution of water channel function of aquaporins 1 and 2 by expression in yeast secretory vesicles

Aquaporins 1 (AQP1) and 2 (AQP2) were expressed in the yeast secretory mutant sec6-4. The mutant accumulates post-Golgi, plasma membrane-targeted vesicles and may be used to produce large quantities of membrane proteins. AQP1 or AQP2 were inducibly expressed in yeast and were localized within isolated sec6-4 vesicles by immunoblot analysis. Secretory vesicles containing AQP1 and AQP2 exhibited high water permeabilities and low activation energies for water flow, indicating expression of functional AQP1 and AQP2. AQP1 solubilized from secretory vesicles was successfully reconstituted into proteoliposomes, demonstrating the ability to use the yeast system to express aquaporins for reconstitution studies. The AQP2-containing secretory vesicles showed no increased permeability toward formamide, urea, glycerol, or protons compared with control vesicles, demonstrating that AQP2 is highly selective for water over these other substances. We conclude that the expression of aquaporins in yeast sec6 vesicles is a valid system to further study mammalian water channel function.

Disruption of guinea pig urinary bladder permeability barrier in noninfectious cystitis

Although most cell membranes permit rapid flux of water, small nonelectrolytes, and ammonia, the apical membranes of bladder epithelial umbrella cells, which form the bladder permeability barrier, exhibit strikingly low permeabilities to these substances. In cystitis, disruption of the bladder permeability barrier may irritate the bladder wall layers underlying the epithelium, causing or exacerbating inflammation, and increasing urinary frequency, urgency, and bladder pain. To determine the effects of inflammation on the integrity of the permeability barrier, guinea pigs were sensitized with ovalbumin, and the bladders were exposed subsequently to antigen by instillation on the urinary side. Inflammation of the bladder wall markedly reduced transepithelial resistance of dissected epithelium mounted in Ussing chambers and increased water and urea permeabilities modestly at 2 h and more strikingly at 24 h after induction of the inflammation. Transmission and scanning electron microscopy of bladders at 30 min and 24 h after antigen exposure revealed disruption of tight junctions, denuding of patches of epithelium, and occasional loss of apical membrane architecture. These permeability and structural effects did not occur in nonsensitized animals in which the bladders were exposed to antigen and in sensitized animals exposed to saline vehicle rather than antigen. These results demonstrate that inflammation of the underlying muscle and lamina propria can disrupt the bladder permeability barrier by damaging tight junctions and apical membranes and causing sloughing of epithelial cells. Leakage of urinary constituents through the damaged epithelium may then exacerbate the inflammation in the underlying muscle layers.

Interactions of ultrapure bovine hemoglobin with renal epithelial cells in vivo and in vitro

Using an ultrapurified hemoglobin (Hb) solution, we investigated the physiological effects and cellular processing of Hb in rat kidneys and in cultured opossum kidney (OK) cells. Rats infused with < 5.0 g/kg Hb showed no change in baseline serum creatinine (SCr) values (0.58 +/- 0.05 mg/dl) over 48 h, whereas transient acute renal failure followed infusion of 7.5 g/kg Hb (SCr 3.4 +/- 1.02 mg/dl, P = 0.02). Histology of Hb-infused kidneys demonstrated tubular epithelial cell injury. Renal injury was not caused by volume or oncotic load, cardiovascular effect, or ATP depletion. After Hb infusion, heme oxygenase, the rate-limiting enzyme in Hb catabolism, was induced in an organ-specific fashion. Inhibiting heme oxygenase activity with cimetidine did not alter Hb renal injury. Using OK cells, we determined that renal epithelia process Hb by fluid-phase endocytosis. Proton permeability of fluorescein Hb endosomes was unaltered compared with fluorescein dextran controls, demonstrating that Hb does not alter endosomal membrane integrity. These data suggest that Hb renal injury in rats occurs following large doses of ultrapure Hb, does not alter early steps in Hb endosomal processing by renal epithelia, and involves a mechanism that is not heme oxygenase dependent.

Low permeabilities of MDCK cell monolayers: a model barrier epithelium

Barrier epithelia such as the renal collecting duct (in the absence of antidiuretic hormone) and thick ascending limb, as well as the stomach and mammalian bladder, exhibit extremely low permeabilities to water and small nonelectrolytes. A cell culture model of such epithelia is needed to determine how the structure of barrier apical membranes reduce permeability and how such membranes may be generated and maintained. In the present studies, the transepithelial electrical resistance and isotopic water and urea fluxes were measured for Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) type I and type II cells, as well as type I cells expressing the mucin protein, MUC1, in their apical membranes. Although earlier studies had found the unstirred layer effects too great to permit measurement of transepithelial permeabilities, use of ultrathin semipermeable supports in this study overcame this difficulty. Apical membrane diffusive water permeabilities were 1.8 +/- 0.4 x 10(-4) cm/s and 3.5 +/- 0.5 x 10(-4) cm/s in MDCK type I and type II cells, respectively, at 20 degrees C. Urea permeability in type I cells at the same temperature was 6.0 +/- 0.9 x 10(-6) cm/s. These values resemble those of other barrier epithelial apical membranes, either isolated or in intact epithelia, and the water permeability values are far below those of other epithelial cells in culture. Transfection of MDCK type I cells with the major human urinary epithelial mucin, MUC1, led to abundant expression of the fully glycosylated form of the protein on immunoblots, and flow cytometry revealed that virtually all the cells expressed the protein. However, MUC1 had no effect on water or urea permeabilities. In conclusion, MDCK cells grown on semipermeable supports form a model barrier epithelium. Abundant expression of mucins does not alter the permeability properties of these cells.

Functional analysis of nodulin 26, an aquaporin in soybean root nodule symbiosomes

Upon infection of soybean roots, nitrogen-fixing bacteria become enclosed in a specific organelle known as the symbiosome. The symbiosome membrane (SM) is a selectively permeable barrier that controls metabolite flux between the plant cytosol and the symbiotic bacterium inside. Nodulin 26 (NOD 26), a member of the aquaporin (AQP) water channel family, is a major protein component of the SM. Expression of NOD 26 in Xenopus oocytes gave a mercury-sensitive increase in osmotic water permeability (Pf). To define the biophysical properties of NOD 26 water channels in their native membranes, symbiosomes were isolated from soybean root nodules and the SM separated as vesicles from the bacteria. Permeabilities were measured using stopped-flow fluorimetry in SM vesicles with entrapped carboxyfluorescein. Osmotic water permeability (Pf) of SM was high, with a value of 0.05 +/- 0.003 cm/s observed at 20 degrees C (mean +/- S.E.; n = 15). Water flow exhibited a low activation energy, was inhibited by HgCl2 (0.1 mM), and exhibited a unit conductance of 3.2 +/- 1.3 x 10(-15) cm3/s, a value 30-fold lower than that of AQP 1, the red blood cell water channel. Diffusive water permeability (Pd) was 0.0024 +/- 0.0002 cm/s, and the resulting Pf to Pd ratio was 18.3, indicating that water crosses the SM in single file fashion via the NOD 26 water channel. In addition to high water permeability, SM vesicles also show high mercury-sensitive permeability to glycerol and formamide, but not urea, suggesting that NOD 26 also fluxes these solutes. Overall, we conclude that NOD 26 acts as a water channel with a single channel conductance that is 30-fold lower than AQP 1. Because the solutes that permeate NOD 26 are far larger than water, and water appears to cross the channel via a single file pathway, solute flux across NOD 26 appears to occur by a pathway that is distinct from that for water.

Permeability properties of the intact mammalian bladder epithelium

Because the mammalian bladder must store urine of composition which differs markedly from that of plasma for prolonged periods, the bladder permeability barrier must maintain extremely low permeabilities to substances which normally cross membranes relatively rapidly, such as water, protons, and small nonelectrolytes like urea and ammonia. In the present studies, permeabilities of the apical membrane of dissected rabbit bladder epithelium to water, urea, ammonia, and protons were measured in Ussing chambers and averaged (in cm/s) for water, 5.15 +/- 0.43 x 10(-5); for urea, 4.51 +/- 0.67 x 10(-6); for ammonia, 5.14 +/- 0.62 x 10(-4); and for protons, 2.98 +/- 1.87 x 10(-3), respectively. These permeability values are exceptionally low and are expected to result in minimal to no leakage of these normally permeable substances across the epithelium. Water permeabilities in intact whole rabbit bladders were indistinguishable from those obtained in the dissected epithelial preparation. Moreover, addition of nystatin to the apical solution of dissected epithelia rapidly increased water permeability in conjunction with loss of epithelial resistance. These results confirm that the apical membrane of the bladder epithelial cells represents the bladder permeability barrier. In addition, they establish a model system that will permit examination of how membrane structure reduces permeability and how epithelial injury compromises barrier function.

Low permeabilities of apical membranes of barrier epithelia: what makes watertight membranes watertight?

Several epithelia, including those of collecting duct (in the absence of antidiuretic hormone), thick ascending limb of Henle, and mammalian bladder exhibit extremely low permeabilities for water, small nonelectrolytes like urea, and protons. This brief review describes how apical membrane structure might account for these low permeabilities by incorporating recent biophysical and molecular modeling results.

Phosphodiesterases (PDEs) hydrolyze the 3' phosphoester bond of the purine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphates, cAMP and cGMP

Resistance to the natriuretic action of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) is a hallmark of states of pathological sodium retention including congestive heart failure, cirrhosis of the liver, and nephrotic syndrome. A variety of mechanisms including reduced delivery of filtrate to ANP-sensitive sites in the inner medullary collecting duct and diminished receptor density in this tubular segment have been offered to account for this resistance. Recent studies in experimental nephrotic syndrome and in liver disease produced by ligation of the common bile duct in rats suggest that increased activity of cyclic guanosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cGMP) phosphodiesterase may be an important mediator of renal resistance to ANP. Such increased enzyme activity rapidly catabolizes the second messenger cGMP, normally formed when ANP interacts with its biologically active natriuretic peptide. A receptors, thereby leading to blunted ANP responsiveness. This increased phosphodiesterase activity offers a novel approach to the management of clinical conditions associated with sodium retention and edema formation.

Effects of submicellar bile salt concentrations on biological membrane permeability to low molecular weight non-ionic solutes

Bile salts have been hypothesized to mediate cytotoxicity by increasing membrane permeability to aqueous solutes. We examined whether submicellar bile salt concentrations affect model and native membrane permeability to small uncharged molecules such as water, urea, and ammonia. Osmotic water permeability (Pf) and urea permeability were measured in large unilamellar vesicles composed with egg yolk phosphatidylcholine (EYPC) +/- cholesterol (Ch) or rat liver microsomal membranes by monitoring self-quenching of entrapped carboxyfluorescein (CF). Ammonia permeability was determined utilizing the pH dependence of CF fluorescence. Submicellar bile salt concentrations did not significantly alter Pf of EYPC +/- Ch or rat liver microsomal membranes. At taurodeoxycholate (TDC) or tauroursodeoxycholate concentrations approaching those that solubilized membrane lipids, CF leakage occurred from vesicles, but Pf remained unchanged. Higher bile salt concentrations (0.5-2 mM TDC) did not alter Pf of equimolar EYPC/Ch membranes. The activation energy for transmembrane water flux was unchanged (12.1 +/- 1.2 kcal/mol for EYPC) despite the presence of bile salts in one or both membrane hemileaflets, suggesting strongly that bile salts do not form transmembrane pores that facilitate water flux. Furthermore, submicellar bile salt concentrations did not increase membrane permeability to urea or ammonia. We conclude that at submicellar concentrations, bile salts do not form nonselective convective channels that facilitate transmembrane transport of small uncharged molecules. These results suggest that bile salt-mediated transport of specific substrates, rather than nonselective enhancement of membrane permeability, underlies bile salt cytotoxicity for enterocytes and hepatocytes.

Individual leaflets of a membrane bilayer can independently regulate permeability

Water rapidly crosses most membranes, but only slowly crosses apical membranes of barrier epithelia such as bladder and kidney collecting duct, a feature essential to barrier function. How apical membrane structure reduces permeabilities remains unclear. Cell plasma membranes contain two leaflets of distinct lipid composition; the role of this bilayer asymmetry in membrane permeability is unclear. To determine how asymmetry of leaflet composition affects membrane permeability, effects on bilayer permeation of reducing single leaflet permeability were determined using two approaches: formation of asymmetric bilayers in an Ussing chamber, with only one of two leaflets containing cholesterol sulfate, and stabilization of the external leaflet of unilamellar vesicles with praeseodymium (Pr3+). In both systems, permeability measurements showed that each leaflet acts as an independent resistor of water permeation. These results show that a single bilayer leaflet can act as the barrier to permeation and provide direct evidence that segregation of lipids to create a low permeability of barrier epithelial apical membranes.

Phosphorylation of aquaporin-2 does not alter the membrane water permeability of rat papillary water channel-containing vesicles

Antidiuretic hormone modulates the water permeability (Pf) of epithelial cells in the rat kidney by vesicle-mediated insertion and removal of the aquaporin-2 (AQP-2) water channel. AQP-2 possesses a single consensus cAMP-dependent protein kinase A (PKA) phosphorylation site (Ser-256) hypothesized to regulate channel Pf(Kuwahara, M., Fushimi, K., Terada, Y., Bai, L., Sasaki, S., and Marumo, F. (1995) J. Biol. Chem. 270, 10384-10387). To test whether PKA phosphorylation of AQP-2 alters channel Pf, we compared the Pf values of purified AQP-2 endosomes after incubation with either PKA or alkaline phosphatase. Studies using [gamma-32P]ATP reveal that AQP-2 endosomes contain endogenous PKA and phosphatase activities that add and remove 32P label from AQP-2. However, the Pf (0.16 +/- 0.06 cm/s) of endosomes containing phosphorylated AQP-2 (0.7 +/- 0. 3 mol of PO4/mol of protein) is not significantly different from the same AQP-2 endosomes where 95 +/- 8% of the phosphate has been removed (Pf 0.14 +/- 0.06 cm/s). These data do not support a role for PKA phosphorylation in alteration of AQP-2's Pf. Instead, AQP-2 phosphorylation by PKA may modulate AQP-2's distribution between plasma membrane and intracellular vesicle compartments.

Chronic regulation of transepithelial Na+ transport by the rate of apical Na+ entry

In several settings in vivo, prolonged inhibition of apical Na+ entry reduces and prolonged stimulation of apical entry enhances the ability of renal epithelial cells to reabsorb Na+, an important feature of the load-dependent regulation of renal tubular Na+ transport. To model this load dependency, apical Na+ entry was inhibited or stimulated for 18 h in A6 cells and vectorial transport was measured as short-circuit current (Isc) across monolayers on filter-bottom structures. Basal amiloride-sensitive Isc represents the activity of apical Na+ channels, whereas Isc after permeabilization of the apical membrane to cations with nystatin represents maximal activity of the basolateral Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase. Chronic inhibition of apical Na+ entry by 18-h apical exposure to amiloride or replacement of apical Na+ with tetramethylammonium (TMA+), followed by washing and restoration of normal apical medium, revealed a persistent decrease in Isc that remained despite exposure to nystatin. Both basal and nystatin-stimulated Isc recovered progressively after restoration of normal apical medium. In contrast, chronic stimulation of apical Na+ entry by short circuiting the epithelium increased Isc in the absence and presence of nystatin, indicating upregulation of both apical Na+ channels and basolateral Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase. Basolateral equilibrium [3H]ouabain binding was reduced to 67 +/- 5% in TMA+ vs. control cells, whereas values in 18-h short-circuited cells increased by 42 +/- 19%. The results demonstrate that load dependency of tubular Na+ transport can be modeled in vitro and indicate that the regulation of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase observed in these studies occurs in part by changes in the density of functional transporter proteins within the basolateral membrane.

Functional analysis of aquaporin-1 deficient red cells. The Colton-null phenotype

The aquaporin-1 (AQP1) water transport protein contains a polymorphism corresponding to the Colton red blood cell antigens. To define the fraction of membrane water permeability mediated by AQP1, red cells were obtained from human kindreds with the rare Colton-null phenotype. Homozygosity or heterozygosity for deletion of exon I in AQP1 correlated with total or partial deficiency of AQP1 protein. Homozygote red cell morphology appeared normal, but clinical laboratory studies revealed slightly reduced red cell life span in vivo; deformability studies revealed a slight reduction in membrane surface area. Diffusional water permeability (Pd) was measured under isotonic conditions by pulsed field gradient NMR. Osmotic water permeability (Pf) was measured by change in light scattering after rapid exposure of red cells to increased extracellular osmolality. AQP1 contributes approximately 64% (Pd = 1.5 x 10(-3) cm/s) of the total diffusional water permeability pathway, and lipid permeation apparently comprises approximately 23%. In contrast, AQP1 contributes > 85% (Pf = 19 x 10(-3) cm/s) of the total osmotic water permeability pathway, and lipid permeation apparently comprises only approximately 10%. The ratio of AQP1-mediated Pf to Pd predicts the length of the aqueous pore to be 36 A.

The relationship between membrane fluidity and permeabilities to water, solutes, ammonia, and protons

Several barrier epithelia such as renal collecting duct, urinary bladder, and gastric mucosa maintain high osmotic pH and solute gradients between body compartments and the blood by means of apical membranes of exceptionally low permeabilities. Although the mechanisms underlying these low permeabilities have been only poorly defined, low fluidity of the apical membrane has been postulated. The solubility diffusion model predicts that lower membrane fluidity will reduce permeability by reducing the ability of permeant molecules to diffuse through the lipid bilayer. However, little data compare membrane fluidity with permeability properties, and it is unclear whether fluidity determines permeability to all, or only some substances. We therefore studied the permeabilities of a series of artificial large unilamellar vesicles (LUV) of eight different compositions, exhibiting a range of fluidities encountered in biological membranes. Cholesterol and sphingomyelin content and acyl chain saturation were varied to create a range of fluidities. LUV anisotropy was measured as steady state fluorescence polarization of the lipophilic probe DPH. LUV permeabilities were determined by monitoring concentration-dependent or pH-sensitive quenching of entrapped carboxyfluorescein on a stopped-flow fluorimeter. The relation between DPH anisotropy and permeability to water, urea, acetamide, and NH3 was well fit in each instance by single exponential functions (r > 0.96), with lower fluidity corresponding to lower permeability. By contrast, proton permeability correlated only weakly with fluidity. We conclude that membrane fluidity determines permeability to most nonionic substances and that transmembrane proton flux occurs in a manner distinct from flux of other substances.

Regulation of collecting duct Na+ reabsorption by ANP 31-67

1. The bulk of studies of the actions of atrial natriuretic peptides (ANP) have focussed on the carboxyterminal derivative (ANP 99-126) of the prohormone (ANP 1-126), but recent evidence indicates that an additional peptide derived from ANP 1-126, namely, ANP 31-67 also circulates, and has natriuretic actions. 2. The effects of ANP 31-67 on inner medullary collecting duct (IMCD) Na+ transport have been examined in freshly prepared suspensions of rabbit IMCD cells. Like ANP 99-126, ANP 31-67 reduces Na+ transport in these cells. 3. However, unlike ANP 99-126, this effect is not mediated by cGMP, and does not result from inhibition of apical Na+ channels. Rather, ANP 31-67 inhibits basolateral Na/K-ATPase, probably via the stimulation of PGE2 synthesis. 4. These results are discussed in the context of other natriuretic substances (interleukin 1 and endothelin), which also inhibit Na+ reabsorption by PGE2-mediated inhibition of Na/K-ATPase.

Permeability properties of the mammalian bladder apical membrane

The luminal surface of mammalian bladder is exposed to urine with a composition widely different from that of plasma that bathes the basolateral surface of epithelium. Therefore we predict that the bladder permeability barrier, which is likely located in the apical membrane (AM), will exhibit low permeabilities to water, urea, NH3, H+, and small nonelectrolytes. AM surface area increases as the bladder fills with urine and decreases during emptying, a process that involves cyclical endocytosis and reinsertion of membrane from a pool of AM endosomes (AME). Rigid-appearing plaques composed of three proteins, uroplakins, have been identified and occupy 70-90% of AM surface area. To determine permeability properties of the AM permeability barrier, we purified AME and measured their permeabilities. Rabbit urinary bladders were removed, and their apical surface was exposed to carboxyfluorescein (CF) or horseradish peroxidase (HRP). Exposure to hypotonic and then isotonic basolateral solutions induced endocytosis of luminal CF or HRP into AME. Electron microscopy of bladders after this treatment revealed HRP entrapped within AME bordered by plaques. AME were purified by differential and sucrose-gradient centrifugation, and CF-containing AME were purified 17.0 +/- 3-fold (SD) with respect to homogenate. Analysis of purified AME by flow cytometry showed that > 95% of vesicles contained CF entrapped from luminal solution and were selectively labeled with anti-uroplakin antibody. AME osmotic water permeability averaged 2.3 +/- 0.66 x 10(-4) cm/s and exhibited a high activation energy, indicating that AM contains no water channels. Permeability to urea and NH3 averaged 7.8 +/- 3.7 x 10(-7) and 1.5 +/- 0.3 x 10(-3) cm/s, respectively, which are exceptionally low and similar to permeabilities of other water-tight membranes, including toad urinary bladder and gastric mucosa. AME behaved as a single population in all permeability studies, which will permit future characterization of protein and lipid structure responsible for these unique permeability properties.

Mutations in aquaporin-1 in phenotypically normal humans without functional CHIP water channels

The gene aquaporin-1 encodes channel-forming integral protein (CHIP), a member of a large family of water transporters found throughout nature. Three rare individuals were identified who do not express CHIP-associated Colton blood group antigens and whose red cells exhibit low osmotic water permeabilities. Genomic DNA analyses demonstrated that two individuals were homozygous for different nonsense mutations (exon deletion or frameshift), and the third had a missense mutation encoding a nonfunctioning CHIP molecule. Surprisingly, none of the three suffers any apparent clinical consequence, which raises questions about the physiological importance of CHIP and implies that other mechanisms may compensate for its absence.

Human red cell Aquaporin CHIP. II. Expression during normal fetal development and in a novel form of congenital dyserythropoietic anemia

Channel-forming integral protein (CHIP) is the archetypal member of the Aquaporin family of water channels. Delayed CHIP expression was shown recently in perinatal rat (Smith, B. L., R. Baumgarten, S. Nielsen, D. Raben, M. L. Zeidel, and P. Agre. 1993. J. Clin. Invest. 92:2035-2041); here we delineate the human patterns. Compared with adult, second and third trimester human fetal red cells had lower CHIP/spectrin ratios (0.72 +/- 0.12, 0.94 +/- 0.22 vs 1.18 +/- 0.11) and reduced osmotic water permeability (0.029, 0.026 vs 0.037 cm/s); CHIP was already present in human renal tubules by the second trimester. A patient with a novel form of congenital dyserythropoietic anemia (CDA) with persistent embryonic and fetal globins and absent red cell CD44 protein was studied because of reduced CHIP-associated Colton antigens. Novel CDA red cells contained < 10% of the normal level of CHIP and had remarkably low osmotic water permeability (< 0.01 cm/s), but no mutation was identified in Aquaporin-1, the gene encoding CHIP. These studies demonstrate: (a) unlike rat, human CHIP expression occurs early in fetal development; (b) red cell water channels are greatly reduced in a rare phenotype; and (c) disrupted expression of red cell CHIP and CD44 suggests an approach to the molecular defect in a novel form of CDA.

Determinants of apical membrane permeabilities of barrier epithelia

Renal collecting duct and thick ascending limb, as well as stomach, exhibit strikingly low permeabilities to water and solutes. However, the apical membrane characteristics responsible for these unique permeabilities remain unknown. While the lipid composition of artificial membranes governs membrane permeability, exoplasmic and cytoplasmic leaflets of biological apical membranes exhibit striking asymmetries in lipid composition. This asymmetry, as well as the presence of membrane proteins, may be critical to barrier function. To determine the role of bulk lipid composition in apical membrane barrier function, we compared permeabilities to water (Pf), protons, ammonia, and several small nonelectrolytes of gastric apical membrane vesicles [native gastric vesicles (NGV)] and liposomes prepared from lipids quantitatively extracted from these vesicles [gastric lipid large unilamellar vesicles (LUV)]. Permeabilities were measured on a stopped-flow fluorimeter by monitoring self- or pH-sensitive quenching of entrapped carboxyfluorescein. NGV exhibited low Pf (2.8 +/- 0.3 x 10(-4) cm/s) while gastric lipid LUV Pf averaged 1.2 +/- 0.1 x 10(-3) cm/s, a fourfold increase compared with the value in NGV. Gastric lipid LUV also demonstrated higher permeabilities to protons, ammonia, propylene glycol, butyramide, ethanolamine, and acetamide compared with values in NGV. In contrast, gastric lipid LUV exhibited the same or lower permeabilities to urea, glycerol, and ammonia compared with values in NGV. We conclude that lipid composition alone can reconstitute membrane permeabilities to some, but not all, molecules. These results indicate that bilayer asymmetry may be required for the unique permeability of "water-tight" apical membranes and reveal different barrier mechanisms for water and protons, as opposed to ammonia, urea, and glycerol.

Membrane lipid composition and vesicle size modulate bilirubin intermembrane transfer. Evidence for membrane-directed trafficking of bilirubin in the hepatocyte

To characterize the mechanisms underlying intracellular bilirubin transport, stopped-flow fluorometry was utilized to study the effects of membrane vesicle size and lipid composition on the kinetics of unconjugated bilirubin movement between model and native hepatocyte membranes. Bilirubin transfer rates declined asymptotically with increasing donor vesicle diameter, due primarily to a 1.4 kcal.mol-1 decrease in the entropy of activation for the larger vesicles. The incorporation of phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylserine significantly enhanced the dissociation of bilirubin from phosphatidylcholine vesicles. Cholesterol induced a biphasic effect on the transfer rate constant; an initial decrease in rate from 248 to 217 s-1 associated with cholesterol:phospholipid ratios up to 20% was followed by a dramatic rise to 312 s-1 as the cholesterol concentration was increased to 70 mol %. The bilirubin dissociation rate from isolated rat liver endoplasmic reticulum (9.1 s-1) was significantly slower than for both basolateral and canalicular plasma membranes, which exhibited rate constants of 11.7 and 25.8 s-1, respectively. Collectively, these data suggest that the cholesterol: phospholipid ratio is the principal determinant of bilirubin dissociation from membranes. We postulate that the inherent cellular membrane cholesterol gradient in the hepatocyte creates a directed flux of bilirubin from the plasma membrane to teh endoplasmic reticulum and represents a potential driving force for intracellular bilirubin transport.

Characterization of purified endosomes containing the antidiuretic hormone-sensitive water channel from rat renal papilla

Antidiuretic hormone (ADH) stimulation of renal epithelial cells elicits a large increase in apical membrane osmotic water permeability (Pf) produced by the fusion of water channel containing vesicles with the apical membrane. Removal of ADH stimulation results in retrieval of apical water channels into a specialized non-acidic endosomal compartment. Previous studies (Sabolic, I., Wuarin, F., and Shi, L. B. (1992) J. Cell Biol. 119, 111-122) have shown that water channel containing papillary endosomes labeled with fluorescein-dextran can be isolated from rat renal papilla. We have utilized small particle flow sorting methodology to both monitor and improve upon the purification of these water channel containing endosomes (WCV). Flow cytometry analysis on a vesicle-by-vesicle basis demonstrates that WCV are homogeneous with respect to entrapped fluorescein-dextran, the apical membrane enzyme marker leucine amino peptidase and ultrastructural morphology. WCV do not acidify their luminal contents after addition of Mg-ATP but contain abundant functional water channels (Pf0.28 cm/s at 23 degrees C) as determined by stopped flow fluorimetry. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis shows that purified WCV are composed of 20 major protein bands. To determine the identity of WCV water channels, WCV proteins were probed with affinity purified antisera recognizing two renal water channel proteins. These include Aquaporin-CHIP found in the proximal tubule and thin descending limb of Henle and the candidate ADH water channel protein WCH-1 or Aquaporin- (AQP) CD present in the ADH-responsive epithelial cells of the collecting duct. These data reveal that WCV contained little or no AQP-CHIP protein. In contrast, WCV are highly enriched for AQP-CD protein. Together, these data define the protein composition of the papillary WCV and link directly the presence of functional apical membrane water channels with the presence of the AQP-CD protein.

Ultrastructure, pharmacologic inhibition, and transport selectivity of aquaporin channel-forming integral protein in proteoliposomes

Reconstitution of highly purified aquaporin CHIP (channel-forming integral protein) into proteoliposomes was previously shown to confer high osmotic water permeability (Pf) to the membranes [Zeidel et al. (1992) Biochemistry 31, 7436-7440]. Here we report detailed ultrastructural, pharmacologic, and transport studies of human red cell CHIP in proteoliposomes. Freeze-fracture and transmission electron microscopy revealed a uniform distribution of CHIP which was incorporated into the membranes in both native and inverse orientations. Morphometric analysis of membranes reconstituted at three different concentrations of CHIP revealed that the intramembrane particles correspond to tetramers or possible higher order oligomers, and the Pf increased in direct proportion to the CHIP density. Proteolytic removal of the 4-kDa C-terminal cytoplasmic domain of CHIP did not alter the Pf or oligomerization in red cell membranes. CHIP exhibited a similar conductance for water when reconstituted into membranes of varied lipid compositions. The sensitivities of CHIP-mediated Pf to specific sulfhydryl reagents were identical to known sensitivities of red cell Pf, including a delayed response to p-(chloromercuri)benzenesulfonate. CHIP did not increase the permeability of the proteoliposome membranes to H+/OH- or NH3. These studies demonstrate that CHIP proteoliposomes exhibit all known characteristics of water channels in native red cells and therefore provide a defined system for biophysical analysis of transmembrane water movements.

Biologically active two-dimensional crystals of aquaporin CHIP

Plasma membranes of several mammalian tissues are highly permeable to water due to the presence of CHIP, the 28-kDa channel-forming integral protein which is the archetypal member of the aquaporin family of water channel proteins. To define its native structure, purified red cell CHIP protein was reconstituted into lipid bilayers at a high protein-to-lipid ratio, and the resulting 3-microns diameter membrane vesicles were examined by high resolution electron microscopy. The reconstituted membranes contained highly ordered two-dimensional crystalline lattices of p422(1) symmetry in which each CHIP tetramer contained a central depression extending from the outer and inner surfaces of the membrane into the transbilayer domain of the molecule. The reconstituted membranes also exhibited extremely high osmotic water permeability, Pf = 0.472 cm/s, corresponding to the sum of activities of all incorporated CHIP molecules. These studies report the first two-dimensional crystallization of a biologically active water channel and provide direct evidence of the structure responsible for its pore-like behavior.

Permeability properties of rat renal lysosomes

Although lysosomes maintain large pH gradients and may be subjected to significant osmotic gradients in vivo, little is known about their passive permeability properties. In recent studies, vacuolar H(+)-adenosine-triphosphatases (ATPases), such as those found in lysosomes, have been suggested to act as water channels. In addition, the erythrocyte and proximal tubule water channel CHIP28 is present on the plasma membrane of proximal tubule cells and may undergo endocytosis so that it is incorporated in lysosomes. We therefore examined water, proton, and small nonelectrolyte permeabilities in freshly purified lysosomes from rat renal proximal tubule. Lysosomes were purified by differential and Percoll gradient centrifugation. The preparation contained only lysosomes when examined by electron microscopy. Moreover, analysis by flow cytometry showed virtually all particles to be positive for acid phosphatase and cathepsin B activities. Permeabilities were measured on a stopped-flow fluorimeter by monitoring the self-quenching or pH-sensitive quenching of entrapped fluorescein derivatives. Osmotic water permeability (Pf) averaged 0.011 +/- 0.003 cm/s (n = 6), a value similar to that of biological membranes containing water channels. However, Pf was insensitive to the organic mercurial reagent p-chloromercuribenzene-sulfonate and to HgCl2 and exhibited an activation energy of 10.8 +/- 0.8 kcal/mol. These results indicate that water flux in lysosomes occurred via the lipid bilayer, and not via water channels. Addition of ATP led to lysosomal acidification (proton flux = 4.6 +/- 0.8 x 10(-11) mmol H+.s-1.cm-2), which was completely inhibited by 0.1 microM bafilomycin. Pf was insensitive to this agent as was the passive proton permeability (0.36 +/- 0.18 cm/s, n = 4). Permeabilities to small nonelectrolytes varied in proportion to the oil-water partition coefficient, confirming the applicability of Overton's rule to lysosomes. We conclude that proximal tubular lysosomes exhibit high Pf, which occurs via the lipid bilayer and not via vacuolar H(+)-ATPase.

Isolation of highly purified, functional endosomes from toad urinary bladder

Endosomes are difficult to isolate as they share size and density properties with much more abundant cellular organelles such as mitochondria. In cultured cell lines the tandem use of charge-dependent isolation techniques and differential centrifugation is necessary to isolate endosomes. Endosomal populations of the toad urinary bladder are of special interest because they are thought to contain a water channel. Understanding of the molecular structure of the water channel has been constrained, as there is currently no practical method to isolate functional water-channel-containing vesicles. This study reports the tandem use of charge-dependent techniques and centrifugation to isolate populations of endosomes from the toad urinary bladder. To purify water-channel-containing vesicles aqueous two-phase partition was utilized to fractionate a preparation partially purified by differential centrifugation. Populations of endosomes were analysed by small-particle flow cytometry techniques. A 5-fold enrichment in endosomes, achieved with aqueous two-phase partition, allowed us to identify two populations of endosomes of diverse size in a toad bladder endosomal fraction. Preenrichment also improved the efficiency of flow cytometry sorting, allowing isolation of the two endosomal populations in sufficient quantities for secondary analysis. A population of larger endosomes had very high water permeability, indicating the presence of water channels. The two populations had different SDS/PAGE fingerprints. Electron micrographs of the flow-sorted material shows a uniform population of membrane vesicles devoid of mitochondria and other identifiable cellular organelles. Hence, aqueous two-phase partition and flow cytometry allow identification of two populations of endosomes in the toad urinary bladder which have diverse structural and functional properties. Isolation of functional water-channel-containing vesicles allows co-localization of water-channel function with candidate water-channel proteins.

The molecular structure of the antidiuretic hormone elicited water channel

Measurements of osmotic water permeability (Pf) have shown that the plasma membranes of human red cells and certain epithelial cells possess specialized water channels. Although these water channels have been characterized extensively using biophysical techniques, the proteins that compose these unique channels have only recently been identified. Antidiuretic hormone (ADH) stimulation rapidly increases collecting duct epithelial cell Pf by fusion of water channel-containing vesicles (WCV) with their apical membranes. The proteins of WCV from toad bladder and rodent kidney have been characterized. The principal proteins in toad bladder WCV are 55,000 daltons (55 kDa) and 53 kDa and span the lipid bilayer of these vesicles. Polyclonal antisera raised against the 55-kDa and 53-kDa proteins inhibit ADH-stimulated toad bladder Pf by 80% and recognize protein bands of 46, 38 and 30 kDa in mouse kidney. Purification of WCV from rat kidney reveals enrichment of the 46-kDa protein. Recently, a 28-kDa integral membrane protein (called CHIP-28) has been isolated from human red cells. It forms functional water channels in Xenopus oocytes and when reconstituted into proteoliposomes. Large amounts of CHIP-28 protein are present in epithelial cells of the proximal tubule and descending thin limb of Henle's loop. Molecular cloning efforts are underway to elucidate the structure and function of these candidate water channel proteins.

Concurrent expression of erythroid and renal aquaporin CHIP and appearance of water channel activity in perinatal rats

Major phenotypic changes occur in red cell membranes during the perinatal period, but the underlying molecular explanations remain poorly defined. Aquaporin CHIP, the major erythroid and renal water channel, was studied in perinatal rats using affinity-purified anti-CHIP IgG for immunoblotting, flow cytometry, and immunofluorescence microscopy. CHIP was not detected in prenatal red cells but was first identified in circulating red cells on the third postnatal day. Most circulating red cells were positive for CHIP by the seventh postnatal day, and this proportion rose to nearly 100% by the 14th day. The ontogeny of red cell CHIP correlated directly with acquisition of osmotic water permeability and inversely with Arrhenius activation energy. Only minor alterations in the composition of red cell membrane lipids occurred at this time. Immunohistochemical analysis of perinatal kidneys demonstrated a major induction of CHIP in renal proximal tubules and descending thin limbs at birth, coincident with the development of renal concentration mechanisms. Therefore, water channels are unnecessary for oxygen delivery or survival in the prenatal circulation, however CHIP may confer red cells with the ability to rehydrate rapidly after traversing the renal medulla, which becomes hypertonic after birth.

Water channels

The movement of water across cell membranes has been an active area of research for more than 100 years and is of fundamental importance in the normal water metabolism of all terrestrial animals. The objective of this review is to integrate recent data obtained from the isolation and molecular cloning of water channel proteins, with functional information provided by biophysical measurements of membrane water transport. Whereas the water permeability of most cell membranes can be accounted for by the diffusion of water across the lipid bilayer, other cells, including the erythrocyte as well as certain cells in renal epithelia, possess specialized water channels. Water channels are composed of specialized proteins that create highly selective aqueous pores across cell membranes. Data concerning the distribution, permeability, and function of these various water channels will greatly enhance our knowledge of how water is transported across cell membranes.

Fate of antidiuretic hormone water channel proteins after retrieval from apical membrane

In toad bladder granular cells, antidiuretic hormone (ADH) stimulates insertion of vesicles containing water channels (WCV), markedly increasing apical membrane osmotic water permeability (Pf). After withdrawal of ADH stimulation, WCV are removed from the apical membrane and fluid-phase markers endocytosed from the apical solution appear predominantly in endosomes at 10-15 min and multivesicular bodies at 30-60 min. Although the luminal contents of this endocytic pathway have been well characterized, the fate of membrane proteins, including functional ADH water channels in these vesicles remains unclear. Using electron microscopic, flow cytometric, and stopped-flow fluorescence measurements and characterization of labeled vesicle proteins, we examined the fate of membrane proteins contained within WCV. The protein complements of endosomes harvested after 10, 30, and 60 min of ADH withdrawal were similar. Selective covalent labeling of apical proteins during ADH stimulation followed by ADH reversal for 30 or 60 min showed that apical proteins colocalize with fluid-phase marker-labeled endosomes at all times, and most apically labeled protein bands present in the 10-min fraction were also present in the 30- and 60-min endosome fractions. Endosomes at 10 and 30 min but not at 60 min contained functional water channels revealed by high Pf and proton permeability, low activation energy of Pf, and sensitivity of Pf to mercurial reagents. We conclude that a portion of apically exposed membrane proteins, including candidate water channel proteins, travel together with fluid-phase markers from 10-min endosomes into later endosomal compartments. Functional water channels may be inactivated or some essential protein component selectively sorted away between 30 and 60 min after ADH withdrawal.

Hormonal regulation of inner medullary collecting duct sodium transport

The inner medullary collecting duct (IMCD) is the final arbiter of renal Na+ excretion, and Na+ transport in this segment is controlled by a wide variety of hormones and renal autacoids. This review examines the mechanisms of IMCD Na+ transport and its regulation using results obtained from micropuncture and microcatheterization studies in the intact animal, as well as data from isolated perfused tubules, freshly prepared cell suspensions, and cultured IMCD cells. Where appropriate, results from closely related tissues such as the cortical collecting duct and model urinary epithelia are examined. Na+ reabsorption in this segment occurs predominantly via apical amiloride-sensitive Na+ channels and basolateral Na(+)-K(+)-adenosinetriphosphatase (Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase). Although there is some evidence for the activities of other transporters such as Na(+)-K(+)-2Cl- and Na-Cl cotransporters and Na+/H+ exchanger, their role in Na+ homeostasis remains undefined. Mineralocorticoids augment the activities of both apical Na+ channels and basolateral Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase by a variety of complex mechanisms. Prostaglandin E2 inhibits Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase and appears to mediate the actions of several peptide hormones, including endothelin, interleukin-1, and atrial natriuretic peptide [ANP-(31-67)]. Several peptides in the ANP family [ANP-(99-126), urodilatin, and brain natriuretic peptide] bind to guanylate cyclase-linked receptors, leading to inhibition of apical Na+ channel function. These mechanisms of regulation of IMCD Na+ transport likely play important roles in total body Na+ balance in health and disease.

Differential actions of cisplatin on renal proximal tubule and inner medullary collecting duct cells

Cisplatin (CP) nephrotoxicity in vivo is characterized by proximal tubule (PT) and collecting duct dysfunction. We reported previously that mitochondrial injury is an important early event in CP toxicity to PT cells and precedes inhibition of Na+,K(+)-ATPase activity and loss of cell K+. In the present study, we monitored oxygen consumption (QO2) and net K+ fluxes in intact inner medullary collecting duct (IMCD) and PT cells in vitro, using O2- and K(+)-sensitive electrodes, to determine if CP has similar effects on IMCD cells. Short-term exposure of IMCD cells to CP resulted in inhibition of spontaneous, ouabain-sensitive and ouabain-oversensitive QO2, but to a lesser degree than in PT. Ouabain-sensitive K+ transport and cell K+ content were also reduced in intact IMCD cells in this setting, confirming inhibition of Na+,K(+)-ATPase activity. In contrast, Na+,K(+)-ATPase activity measured in IMCD cell lysates was not altered. These results suggested that CP inhibited Na+,K(+)-ATPase activity in intact IMCD cells indirectly either by blocking Na+ entry or by inhibiting mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. Nystatin (Na+ ionophore) and carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP, uncoupler of oxidative phosphorylation) were used to distinguish between these possibilities. Nystatin-stimulated and CCCP-uncoupled QO2 were reduced in CP-treated IMCD cells by 34 +/- 10% and 25 +/- 5%, respectively, indicating mitochondrial injury. Again, the effects of CP on nystatin-stimulated and CCCP-uncoupled QO2 in IMCD cells were significantly less dramatic than in PT cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Transport defects of rabbit inner medullary collecting duct cells in obstructive nephropathy

Urinary obstruction markedly reduces collecting duct Na+ reabsorption. To define the cellular mechanisms of this derangement in Na+ reabsorption in inner medullary collecting duct (IMCD) of obstructed kidneys, suspensions of intact IMCD cells and inner medulla plasma membranes (IMPM) were prepared from 24 h obstructed and untreated control kidneys. Oxygen consumption (QO2) studies revealed marked reductions in both amiloride-sensitive and ouabain-sensitive QO2 but not ouabain-insensitive QO2 in intact IMCD cells from obstructed, compared with control animals, indicating a reduction in oxygen-dependent transport activities of both the Na+ channel and the Na(+)-K(+)-adenosinetriphosphatase (ATPase). Amiloride-sensitive conductive 22Na+ uptake in intact IMCD cells from obstructed kidneys was significantly decreased by 45% at 10 s, 30 s, and 1-5 min (10 s: 2.42 +/- 0.63 vs. 4.49 +/- 0.64 nmol Na+ flux/mg protein, n = 7, P < 0.05; 1 min: 4.65 +/- 0.7 vs. 8.27 +/- 0.98 nmol Na+ flux/mg protein, n = 7, P < 0.05), indicating decreased activity of amiloride-sensitive Na+ channels in these cells. However, immunoblots of IMPM with antibodies to Na+ channel proteins did not show significant differences in content of Na+ channel proteins between membranes from obstructed and control groups. Ouabain-sensitive Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase activity in IMPM of obstructed kidneys was also reduced (61.1 +/- 18.1 vs. 152.6 +/- 25.8 nmol ATP degradation.min-1.mg protein-1, n = 6, P < 0.02), and immunoblots with monoclonal antibodies against the alpha 1- and beta-subunits of rabbit Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase showed a 51 +/- 7% reduction of both subunits in IMPM from obstructed kidneys (n = 4).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Apical membrane of the gastric parietal cell: water, proton, and nonelectrolyte permeabilities

Gastric parietal cell apical membranes must protect the cell from the extremely low pH and wide variations in osmolality of the gastric juice. To characterize the permeability properties of gastric apical membranes, we have measured passive permeabilities to water, protons, NH3, and small nonelectrolytes of membrane vesicles derived from parietal cells of fasted animals and fed animals. Both preparations are known to be highly enriched in H+/K(+)-ATPase, the enzyme responsible for acidifying the gastric contents. The preparations behaved as single populations, and their permeability properties were similar in all respects, permitting pooling of the results. This similarity suggests that insertion of tubulovesicles into the apical membrane does not change the behavior of the lipid bilayer. Osmotic water permeability (Pf) averaged (mean +/- SD) (2.8 +/- 0.3) x 10(-4) cm/s, a value 10-fold lower than that obtained in lecithin large unilamellar vesicles (LUV) and similar to that obtained in other water-tight epithelia. Similarly, ammonia permeability (PNH3) was low [(4.4 +/- 2.3) x 10(-3) cm/s] and 10 times below that of lecithin LUV. By contrast, proton permeability (PH+) was surprisingly high (0.030 +/- 0.011 cm/s) and similar to that of lecithin LUV. These results suggest that the pathway for proton permeation differs from that of water and NH3. Nonelectrolyte permeabilities were strikingly similar to those obtained in another water-tight epithelium, the toad urinary bladder. Moreover, these permeabilities followed Overton's rule in that permeability varied in accordance with the oil-water partition coefficient. We conclude that the gastric apical membrane, like that of several renal epithelia, is relatively water-tight and exhibits low permeabilities to small nonelectrolytes. These properties are likely to be essential to the ability of this membrane to perform its barrier function.